Tag google

Google Wave First Impressions

Google Wave, a new API/protocol and platform was presented on Google I It’s a hosted, embeddable communications and collaboration platform that introduces quite a few interesting features that are currently either not available or require multiple service vendors It was written in Java Google has made it clear that the protocol is going to be […]

A Dotted-Zero Droid Sans Mono

For the programmers out there. Now that the controversy regarding the licence of the Droid font family included in Android is over --- and it's clear that the fonts are licensed under the Apache licence --- I am releasing a dotted version of the Droid Sans Mono, monospaced font that I am using for development (usually its either that or Liberation Mono nowadays). I prefer the dotted zero to a slashed zero in most monospaced fonts. More information can be found in the software page. I used FontForge to edit the font, so --- since some of the hinting instructions are not supported by this application --- I've scraped them and used the built-in autohinter. If you wish to use the modified font, they are --- of course --- also provided under the Apache licence, like the original. As always, your comments are very welcome.

Developer G1 Phone

This, unlocked, sim-free phone sells for $399.
Participating markets include US, UK, Germany, Japan, India, Canada, France, Taiwan, Spain, Australia, Singapore, Switzerland, Netherlands, Austria, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Hungary.
Naturally, Hellas could not have been a 'participating market', simply because there are no developers here. Sigh. [Relevant Google page]

I can say it's a good start

And that's about all it is. Mediocre now, but promising. Lacking in features, but open. A relatively dated foundation in some respects, but one that's accessible to everyone. Android may not be what people expected; it's nowhere near being an iPhone killer and the software experience could definitely use some polish --- it's without a doubt firmly in the 1990s. But Android innovates too; if not just because it's open, because it is full of extremely innovative concepts --- concepts that can primarily happen in an open environment. Take for example 'intents'. In the end, I'm sure the G1 is going to be 'ok'. Nothing special. But it wasn't meant to be. It's a 1.0, by a company that has no experience in that sort of thing, but at the same time has most of the mindshare.

Το Σεντούκι των Δηλώσεων

Το Google επέκτεινε το ευρετήριο δηλώσεων από τις ειδήσεις σε 5 έτη, επιτρέπωντας έτσι στον καθένα να εξερευνήσει τα όσα είπαν πολιτικοί, αστέρες του κινηματογράφου και της μουσικής, προσωπικότητες της τέχνης και επιχειρηματίες τα τελευταία πέντε χρόνια. Το περσυνό καλοκαίρι ο Γιώργος πέταξε στο τραπέζι την ιδέα του factcheck.gr. Ίσως η ανάπτυξη ενός παρόμοιου ευρετηρίου για την Ελλάδα (ή η χρήση του ευρετηρίου του Google --- εαν αυτό κάποτε καταστεί δυνατό) θα βοηθούσε στον έλεγχο των δηλώσεων και μείωση του θορύβου στα όσα λέγονται και γράφωνται και -- ίσως -- στο μέλλον αποτελούσε παράγοντα αύξησης της ποιότητας των δηλώσεων δημόσιων προσώπων. Αν μη τι άλλο, θεωρώ πως ένα τέτοιο 'εργαλείο' θα αποτελούσε ένα (σημαντικό) βήμα προς την υλοποίηση ενός οργανικού factcheck ιστοτόπου για τα ελληνικά δεδομένα.

Chrome. Another piece in the puzzle

Google just announced Chrome, its own browser based on Webkit, Gears, the V8 VM and a host of features inspired by Opera, Safari and Firefox. The move will no doubt be considered ‘controversial’ by some, given Google’s dominance of the market, but the company seems to have taken many steps to avoid this: everything in […]

An Empty Promise?

Ars Technica writes of the recent controversy on Google's commitment to an open source Android, the transparency of the development process and the availability of the SDK. Valid criticism for the most part, but no conclusive proof of Google's bad intentions. Yet, it'd really be a shame if Google, a company that hasn't really faltered until now, misses its chance in the mobile phone industry through the alienation of the community and the betrayal of its own values.

Google Earth Browser Plugin

Sure, AJAX, when viewed through the prism of the still world of HTML and CSS, can be beautifully dynamic. But, let's face it, Google Earth --- despite its resource-laden design and slow response on slower systems --- is a much more natural, a friendlier way to view geographic data. With Microsoft trying hard to reclaim the (tech) lead on mapping (see Virtual Earth, WorldWide Telescope), it's up to Google to stop the surge. Enter the Google Earth API and browser plugin --- software that opens up Google Earth for use within browsers and accessible by web developers. Sadly, it's only available for Windows right now --- I bet this will change soon.

The Face of Hypocrisy.

Late last year, in an article about the need for interconnectedness of social networks and the ownership of user profile data, I wrote: If Facebook can connect to another service with your account (and your permission), what’s stopping the creation of a MetaSocial Network. A network to which you provide the login details for all […]

Oh, the irony!

Gruber may be more articulate than the average Mac zealot, but I usually find his opinions irritatingly illogical and biased, especially when he tries --- and subsequently fails miserably --- to rebut perfectly valid criticism about Apple. This is not one of those times. Following on from earlier criticism about Google's 'demo' Huddlechat, Gruber sums it up perfectly in a very concise manner:
Even if you think it’s OK to copy someone else’s application feature-for-feature, the big fear for developers with something like Google App Engine is that you’re trusting Google with all of your source code. Why should small indie web developers trust Google when the first example app is a Google rip-off of a small indie web app?
HuddleChat was a Google product and it certainly was a clone of Campfire. Still, it remains to be seen whether there is an ethical issue with cloning existing, commercial applications/services and releasing them to the world for free. Isn't this more or less what Microsoft and later Google became well-known -- and in some cases loved --- for? Would Gruber, and everyone else --- and I'm not excluding myself --- have a problem if it was a text-book, Startup.com-like company that had cloned Campfire and released it as a demo of an app-hosting service + framework (ala Wordpress.com), or is the criticism firmly rooted in the fact that Google is rapidly becoming a threat to [everything] in the minds and hearts of so many?