Thumbs Up on Google Chrome

September 3rd, 2008

google_chrome

The reviews are coming in on Google’s new browser Chrome. It seems to be passing the test of early scrutiny. According to the search giant, Google Chrome is a browser that combines minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier. Google sees their latest offering as a result of rethinking current browser design. It was built from scratch and designed to render rich interactive applications. It is meant to be a modern platform for web pages and applications. It was designed to handle the beefed up internet of today and not the static web of yesterday.

Some features of Google Chrome include a blazing fast rendering engine built around the same engine used in Safari, Webkit. Google Chrome has an incognito mode for private browsing. In this mode, no traces of your surfing are left behind. Chrome also sports an intelligent start page which lists thumbnails of frequently visited web pages. Each tab within Chrome is handled by a separate process so if a site crashes one tab, the other tabs are not effected. The built in task manager also lets you see the amount of resources, such as CPU and memory, a web site is consuming. Finally, Chrome lets you drag a tab into its own window and an individual window into its own tab.

All in all Google Chrome looks to present another viable browser choice which should serve to make all players in the market that much stronger.

Comcast Makes Internet Cap Use Official

August 30th, 2008

comcast

Comcast, the world’s second largest internet service provider has announced that beginning Oct. 1, it will update its user agreement to say that users will be allowed 250 gigabytes of traffic per month. Until now, Comcast has reserved the right to cut off subscribers who use too much bandwidth each month without specifying exactly what constitutes excessive use. Customers who exceed the limit will be contacted by the company and asked to reduce their usage. Comcast had floated the idea of charging customers an additional fee for excessive use, but the mention of an overage fee is not mentioned in the official statement. According to Comcast, the average customer uses approximately 2 to 3 gigabytes monthly. With the 250 gigabyte limit, a user could theoretically download 125 standard-definition movies, about four per day, before hitting the limit. The company states this curb is needed to keep the network fast and responsive for other users.

Forget Your Mouse with Launchy

August 27th, 2008

Launchy

Launchy is a nice little freeware program that allows you to open applications, directories, and files with just a few keystrokes on Windows. No more searching through the Start Menu or file manager to get your programs and files up and running. Of course you could use the Start > Run option, but Launchy is much slicker and you don’t need to remember the arcane names of all your programs and utilities. Simply download and install. Launchy quickly catalogs your system based on its default settings. However, to get the most from Launchy you should customize the directories and file types you want it to catalog. When you need to launch an app, directory, or file just hit ALT + Spacebar and type in the name of what you want to open.  Hit ALT + Spacebar again and Launchy disappears. Also be sure to check out the Tips & Tricks section on Launchy’s website to learn how to maximize all of its capabilities. There are nice nuggets there for using Launchy to search sites, get weather info, and create indexes of photos and music on your system. No muss, no fuss, quick and lightweight. Give it a try!

Technology Expectations Too High and So Goes the Rhetoric

August 26th, 2008

netflix

Reporting mediums are still feeding on the carcass of the NetFlix outage which occurred earlier this month. NetFlix has reported that it has traced the cause of the outage to a hardware glitch which prevented it from shipping movies to its customers. Most people report not even noticing a delay and received their movies as scheduled. I received my new red envelopes about a day longer than the usual turn around time. To be honest, I wouldn’t have even noticed the delay if it weren’t for all the media reports analogous to the sky falling.

Today I read an article written by CNET’s Greg Sandoval raising the question “Is it time for NetFlix to invest in a system upgrade?”. My response to that article is “Upgrade what?”. Since NetFlix has released no details about the hardware failure, I find it ridiculous that this question is even being asked. Sandoval’s article is just one more example of how gas is poured on the flames in the tech world.

We all depend on things that from time to time suffer from a part failure or an interruption in service. Cars, phones, cable, and electric service are but a few. The response to these breakdowns and outages seem to be very miniscule in comparison to what a technology based, or so called Web 2.0 company, suffers. Think about it… What was your response the last time you lost electricity to your home. Was there a huge out cry for system upgrades and portents of disaster for the industry? Chances are you just waited for the lights to pop back on, and then went back to business as usual. Why aren’t technology and web based companies afforded this same behavior?

Sensational reports and rhetorical questions have been posed about Amazon, Twitter, and Google just to name a few. Rafe Needleman, also at CNET, even posted an article citing the 10 Worst Web Glitches of 2008 (so far). It’s interesting to see these things noted, but the level to which the attention rises is way out of proportion. After all, there is a great chance of disaster when electricity ceases to flow. The same cannot be said if someone receives their DVDs a bit late in the mail.

Gmail Tools & Plugins – The Ultimate List

August 26th, 2008

gmaillogob

Gmail has quickly become the de facto mail client for most of us. To that end, web developers have created many tools for extending the functionality of the venerable mail application. I ran across the Ultimate List of Gmail Tools & Tips on TechoCrunch. It’s very comprehensive. If you are looking for a way to tweak Gmail to your liking then check it out.