Android Apps

I've just got hold of Google's Android SDK, which includes an emulator of the Android platform. I must say I'm pretty excited about this, it looks like Android has the potential to create the "ideal" PDA OS - that is, one based on open standards (Linux), and that doesn't lock anything down (quote from the Android website:
Android does not differentiate between the phone's basic and third-party applications -- even the dialer or home screen can be replaced.) This is really going to be great for everyone who loves the iPhone's features but wished it wasn't locked down so much.

So, I started up the android emulator, and was extremely impressed with the sleekness of the interface. It's also very responsive - even with my CPU going 100% and no graphics card. The interface is very smooth and polished, with the capability to create translucent windows and animation effects.

I'm certainly looking forwards to writing apps for the Android. It uses a pseudo-Java VM called "Dalvik" (can anyone hear an "exterminate!" here?) to run third-party apps, and although there are a few new UI concepts (Activities, Views, Intents...), the API is overall very easy to learn. To encourage developers to write "great apps" for the Android, Google is offering USD$10 million worth of prizes for the most promising apps. This should create a huge incentive for developers, and I expect to see plenty of Android apps by the closing date of March 08.

Overall, the Android looks pretty darn good - it's not just the iPhone opensourced, but a whole new concept of open, integrated phones. I'll give you updates as I get used to the API and OS, but for now, rest assured that all the hype about the "gPhone" has been justified - and doubly at that. I just can't wait for the "official" release in late 2008!

Google Translation Widget and Templates

Well, I'm now back! I've finished exams, so you should be seeing a bit more of me now. I've started adding some improvements to my blog template (as you can see, it still needs a lot of work - the logo still needs to be fixed :D), and in the course of renovation I discovered this handy Google translation widget.

Google recently changed over to using their internally developed language translation system, and they will now automatically translate 29 different languages. So far my tests have proved Google Translate to be a reasonable translation system, certainly better than a lot I have tried. If anyone is reading this who speaks another language, I would greatly appreciate it if you could tell me what you think of the automatic translation tools.

Actually I think I'm going to have to change templates again. This template just doesn't allow you to customize it much, and I think I'd prefer a 3-column one anyway. What do you think? If you've got any thoughts please post a comment or email them to me - there's no way of me knowing what you want unless you tell me! :)

MySpace joins Google OpenSocial's sponsors

This Thursday Google announced that social networking giant MySpace will be joining the supporters of their new OpenSocial API. This makes OpenSocial into a very serious threat to Facebook, who just opened their platform to developers recently.

"OpenSocial is going to become the de facto standard (for developers) instantly out of the gates. It is going to have a reach of 200 million users, which is way bigger than anything else out there," Chris DeWolfe, chief executive and co-founder of MySpace, told reporters.

Google lost out to Microsoft last week in a bid to invest in Facebook, but now they look like having something even bigger than MySpace and Facebook combined. When OpenSocial goes live early Friday morning, it's going to be the biggest thing in social networking since Facebook was launched earlier this year. Not only will this new platform give Google a huge boost in the area, but OpenSocial will also allow anyone from small start-ups to big multi-million-dollar companies to use a standard programming interface to interact, store and manage about the user.

Update:As a testimony to the worldwide belief in the success of OpenSocial, Google shares surged to an all-time high of $713.72 on Nasdaq on Thursday, before closing at $703.21, down $3.79. This shows the investors' support of Google's operations, and the future looks bright for Google's latest addition to their online strategy.

Keep posted for more info on OpenSocial when it is released on Friday.

Google OpenSocial Launched - A New Era for Web Integration?

Although it's still unofficial, many reports show that tomorrow Google will release their new "OpenSocial" developer API. But it's more then just an API. Google plans to "out-open" Facebook with a totally new strategy of integration by opening their entire platform to third party developers. TechCrunch says:

"On November 5 we’ll likely see third party iGoogle gadgets that leverage Orkut’s social graph information - the most basic implementation of what Google is planning. From there we may see a lot more - such as the ability to pull Orkut data outside of Google and into third party applications via the APIs. And Google is also considering allowing third parties to join the party at the other end of the platform - meaning other social networks (think Bebo, Friendster, Twitter, Digg and thousands of others) to give access to their user data to developers through those same APIs."

This looks like it could turn into something big. I'll give you more reports on it over the week (if I can fit it in-between exams!), but for now rest assured that Google has the beginnings of something really big here. And I mean big. It just depends on who adopts it, but this has the potential to revolutionize the whole social and consumer-based development model of the web.

New Gmail Version is Live

Google Operating System reports that the new version of Gmail that was the subject of speculation a few days ago is now live on a few accounts. The new features include an updated Contact Manager and faster loading of messages due to the prefetching features built in. However, Google Gears support is still lacking, and makes this seem like a minor update instead of a major overhaul.

Now, the question is: When is my account gonna be upgraded? :)

Quote

Here's an interesting quote I found on my iGoogle homepage:

Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions.
— G.K. Chesterton

G.K. Chesterton was a wonderful writer and composed many great arguments. I think this quote fits in to today's world perfectly, despite the fact that he said it many years ago.

Gmail adds IMAP support

Many users have been waiting a long time for Google to add IMAP support to their popular Gmail service. Today Google System announced that this feature has finally been added, and will be rolled out to all existing accounts in the next few days.

IMAP has many benefits over POP, including a continuous connection to the server and more intelligent client/server interaction. This means that users of Outlook or Evolution will be able to
synchronize their read items and folders across computers. When you mark an item as read in Outlook on your desktop, the same item will be marked read on the web interface as well as your laptop and PDA.

This is a long-awaited feature which is certainly going to boost Gmail's appeal, especially to the business users of Google Apps.

Device driver update causes Vista activation to expire

James Bannan has discovered that updating the drivers for major system components such as hard drives and graphics cards can cause your Vista system to deactivate and become unusable. Microsoft has confirmed the problem, and it seems there is no way to fix it other than give Microsoft Help and Support a call to reactivate your system.

Windows Vista's activation scheme hasn't changed much since XP. Basically, if you change a certain number of components in your system's hardware configuration, Windows will deactivate as an anti-piracy measure. The problem is, Vista counts driver updates as hardware changes. This can cause your system to deactivate unexpectedly, and without warning.

This is a very serious problem with Windows, especially for mission-critical configurations. If someone unknowingly updates the graphics card drivers to make the system run faster or use a new feature, the whole system could fail. Then the company or individual relies on Microsoft being available on the phone and ready to reactivate quickly. Although the chance of Microsoft's support center being unavailable is small, this does present a serious problem of being "reliant on Microsoft", not just for your initial installation, but for reactivation at any time you feel like upgrading your software.

NTFS write support for Linux

Hooray! Linux can finally write to NTFS partitions, thanks to the NTFS-3G project. Check it out, I've found that it is incredibly helpful in writing to my (Windows Formatted) external hard drive.

This just goes to show: no matter how closed Microsoft made the NTFS standard, somebody was bound to break it open.

China Blocks Google, Yahoo, Live Search Engines with Redirect to Baidu

Reports have streamed in that the three major search engines Google, Yahoo and Microsoft Live Search are being blocked in China, with all request for the sites being redirected to China's own Baidu Search Engine.

Some people think that the redirect was due to China's strained relations with the USA over the Dalia Lama. However, there have been some reports of Google.com functioning correctly from within China, so there doesn't seem to be a nationwide blockage. Of course, these people could just be Chinese Internet Police.... ;) Another possibility is that China is upgrading their whole blocking infrastructure, and this is resulting in irregular false-positives with the search engines. This is supported by the fact that BabelFish.com is also reported to have been blocked.

Keep watching this space and I'll get news to you as soon as some more definite reports come in. For now - if you're in China, you might only have 3 search engines to choose from: Baidu, Baidu, or Baidu.

Ubuntu 7.10 released!

It's here! Today Canonical officially announced the release of Ubuntu 7.10, aka "Gutsy Gibbon". This release incorporates new features from the past six months, including the latest release of GNOME and a new Deskbar desktop search feature. Ubuntu 7.10 is easier to use than ever, with automatic printer detection and fast user switching. The fast user switching is absolutely fabulous compared with Windows Vista - on my fast Vista laptop it takes over 1 minute to switch users, even with both already logged in!

Along with the release of Ubuntu, Kubuntu 7.10 has also been announced. Although it does not include KDE4 (as the release schedule has been delayed to December), the latest KDE4 Beta 3 is available in the Kubuntu Universe repositories.

I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this latest release, but unfortunately my internet has slowed to dialup speed and the CDs will take a few weeks to ship, so I'll have to wait a fair while. But I'm sure it will be worth the wait.

'Vixta' Linux distro mimics Vista's look and feel

Here's an interesting distro - just like China's Red Flag Linux emulates the look of Windows XP, a new Linux distribution called 'Vixta' seeks to imitate Vista's look, right down to the start menu and transparent titlebars.

There has been much controversy over the issue of whether or not Linux should copy Vista's look and feel. I think that although it doesn't need to (as the Linux KDE GUI is in my view better than Vista's), there's nothing wrong with some of Vista's good design ideas turning up in Linux as well. KDE4 is actually deliberately trying not to "copy" Vista, but they are still turning up with some similar features by innovation.

I have yet to get my hands on a copy of Vixta, but it looks like it could be worth trying. Now I can tell my friends "Hey, look, I got Vista!" and maybe even "Well, if you want I could give you a copy too...."!

Leopard to Leap later this month

APCmag.com has just posted an article announcing that Apple's latest version of the Macintosh operating system is planned for release on the 26 October. It looks like it will be a strong beast, improving on the strengths of the previous versions while adding in a few new features of it's own.

Apple's Steve Jobs has taken advantage of Windows Vista's confusing multi-version release, saying that this is the 'best upgrade' Apple had ever released, and "everyone gets the ‘Ultimate’ version. The pricing is much better than Vista as well, with the single version costing just $158.

The new version of the Mac will have much the same hardware requirements as Vista, recommending a minimum of 512MB RAM with an 867Mhz or faster processor.

Overall this release is another improvement to the already excellent operating system. It certainly doesn't look like anybody will be deserting the Mac for Windows anytime soon.... :) Here's looking forward to the release.

Google Analytics Updated - now tells you what your visitors want

Today Google announced some upgrades to their popular Google Analytics product. The first and most important update, is site search statistics.

According to the official blog announcement, with the new search tracking you can see "what people search for on your site and where these searches lead." They continue to say that "Site Search reports show you the keywords and search refinement keywords people use, the pages from which people begin and end their searches. You can also see how search on your site affects site usage, conversion rates, and e-commerce activity."

For me personally this feature will be a bonus, as I can now see what my visitors are looking for when they come to my site. It is almost as if Google Analytics is "telling me" what my visitors want. This could even turn out to be something like the Zeitgest (or Google Hot Trends) in the future. What do you think?

Holiday Time!

I'm going on a holiday for two weeks starting from tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'll have internet connectivity during that time. Hopefully one of the caravan parks offers wireless internet!

Anyway, I probably won't be able to update this blog for about 2 weeks. In the meantime, you might want to check out My Nature Photography Blog or have a look at Lightning-Alley, a similar blog to this one, with tech news, photography and random ideas.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to put up with Windows XP while on holidays, as my laptop has broken down (hard drive connection problem). I'm not looking forwards to using Windows that much after my installation difficulties recently!