Category Archives: Tech

These are technology related posts.

What The Google I/O?

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First, I’d like to take the time to mention that June 18th was the 1 year anniversary of my blog. I don’t have much to show for that year since haven’t posted as often as I’d like but it’s pretty cool to celebrate my first year!

Anyway, did you guys kept up with the Google I/O news last week? I woke up early tuesday morning to watch the launch of the event live because I wanted to know all the news as it happened. First they announced new features for Google+, which I haven’t used at all lately, and these features all look amazing. Check out all the new G+ features here. The party mode feature alone is amazing.

I recall talking to a friend awhile ago wishing there was an app or place where people can all share photos or messages about an event they were all attending. With Google+ events this is finally possible. Even people who didn’t attend the event could check out the photos and everyone’s thoughts about the event and sort of get a feel for how it was. You can have all these amazing features but if no one is using your service then they’re pretty much useless. This is Google’s problem as they try to influence people to begin using Google+.

Facebook’s Events are stuck in the past. They’re focused on who’s going and who isn’t. Once you RSVP, there’s no reason to go to the Event page again. I think they should take a page out of Google’s book and add more features to Event pages. Maybe add people’s statuses to the page

I think with the right branding they can make Google+ seen as more than just a social network for tech people if they focus on simplicity. A lot of people, including myself, when we have to make lists. Or as Google calls them, Circles. I just post to the Public because I don’t really care as much on my Google+ profile but if I were to continue using it and more friends join I could want to share more intimate details about my life and those would be with close personal friends. I think that the more people use and like a service, the more time they’re willing to invest in building their profile and presence on the service.

I wouldn’t call myself an Apple fanboy but lately I’ve been greatly pleased with my iPhone and never really had any experience with Andriod. However, watching all the cool things you can do and how Google is implementing Google Play into the OS I’m really interested in trying the Google Nexus Galaxy which has pretty cool innovative features like facial recognition to unlock your phone. I don’t want to commit to any OS particularly because I think it’s good that they’re both competing. I think that having competitive drives innovation and keeps companies from being stagnant so in the end us, the consumers, win. I need a phone bad because my iPhone 4’s screen is cracked but I’m waiting for fall to see what next iPhone Apple unveils before deciding what my next phone is.

Google also unveiled Google Glasses which is cool. They did a whole stunt to show how the camera works. However, I wasn’t sold. The only functionality they demonstrated was a camera which shows me that this isn’t anywhere near finished. They are shipping meta prototypes to developers but at $1,500 it’s a tough sale.

The last thing they unveiled was the Google Q which is like Sonos only for Andriod devices. It’s for streaming music from your Google Play account. To me it just seems like another device that you don’t need. It’s social features like being able to dj with your friends and anyone with an Andriod device being able to add music to the queue is pretty cool but other than that it seems to lack features. I think this is cool added to Google TV but as a stand alone box it’s pretty pointless. Read more about these products on engdgt.

Tell me what you think about this and everything else Google unveiled at Google I/O in the comments!

Remove YouTube, Facebook, and Other Annoying Ads

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Is it just me or are those YouTube video commercials they play before a video super long and annoying? Some are 5 minutes long and the actual video I’m trying to see is only 3 minutes. Trying to see that new music video on Vevo and have to sit through some dumb irrelevant commercial? It’s annoying and I set out to block them.

Fear no longer! I’ve found the solution. Introducing, adblock plus! It’s a plugin for Google Chrome and it’s also available for other popular browsers like Firefox. As the name would suggest, it’s meant to block ads. It gathers a list of all the URLs websites use to display ads and blocks them from being loads by the browser which means you will never see ads online again! I’ll spare you all the technical details just now that it works perfectly! It even blocks that Sponsored section on Facebook.

My first thought when people complain about the new ads on Facebook is “There’s ads on facebook?” I never see them so I have to keep reminding myself that there is. 😉 It even blocks those annoying popups when visiting shady websites. So go to adblockplus.org and download the plugin now. It’s 2012, you shouldn’t be bothered with ads online!

http://adblockplus.org

Are Desktop Operating Systems Irrelevant?

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Gone are the days where people argued over the best desktop operating system. Some of you might remember the PC vs. Mac campaign. Is the fight really over or has Apple just won? It seems like you can’t go anywhere without seeing someone using a Macbook. Everything is based online and the only thing that really matters is the browser. I see the fight of next year being about which browser is better. Some people prefer Firefox while others are saying Google Chrome. I’m with the latter.

I have been using Chrome since I decided to try it out over a year ago. I must say that I was a heavy Firefox user since it’s release back in 2005. I was an early adopter and really liked the project. I had a lot of addons and really liked the community that built great things that added to the great experience of the browser. At the time it was the fastest, safest, and most innovative browser.

Now, things are much different. I think Firefox became complacent or something, and Google came from under them and took the crown. Maybe they got tired of paying Mozilla for Google Search (it’s the default search engine on Firefox and they get a cut of the advertising revenue.) or they probably thought they could do a better job at making a browser. Whatever the case, Google has made Chrome the best browser out there because it loads much faster than Firefox. Although their recent updates have improved the product a lot, it’s not enough to get me to switch.

I guess I always figured that online was the way to go. I wouldn’t call myself a visionary, I had no idea which operating system would win. I just figured, through a browser anyone can access my product regardless of operating system or browser preference of the user. Why limit myself to a certain demographic of users by creating native apps when I could make a web app that works across the board. When developing native apps, you’re really putting your entire business in the hands of someone else.

What if there’s a windows update and your app breaks? What if Apple changes their guidelines and iOS developers have to update their apps to adhere to all of their demands? Don’t get me started on their 30% cut of your revenue. I rather host my product on my own server where I have control over everything and it’s always my responsibility to keep the security up to date and make sure that my product is safe from exploitation. I don’t want to leave that up for someone else to take care of, even if they might do a better job than I would. That’s why when I began programming, I decided to go with PHP and develop web applications anyone could use.

No longer are we hearing PC this or Mac that. The fight now is between Apple and Google as their mobile operating systems fight for market share. iOS and Andriod have been dueling since Google released their open source operating system and recently caught on as mobile carriers are using the free open source operating system to cut costs and development of their own platform. Since Andriod is free and a lot more beneficial for companies, it’s no mystery why it’s caught on and continues to grow and astonishing rates year after year.

Although I haven’t played with Andriod devices very much or used it as a personal phone, I think the general consensus is that people love the idea and it does some great things but lacks in other areas. I think that competition is what makes products great, it’s what pushes companies to improve on their products if they want to remain relevant. I believe that’s what caused the PC vs. Mac rivalry back in the day and what’s happening in the mobile market today. The people who will benefit from all of this are we as consumers. I wouldn’t say I’m iPhone only, if I believe there’s a better Andriod phone and I’m able to upgrade, I would do it. I just don’t think they’re there yet.

I think it’s very interesting that the fight now is over mobile operating systems and not desktop operating system. It shows that a lot of people find it more convenient to use tablets or smart phones instead of having to sit at a desktop or laptop. The world wants more portability and companies see that and want to cash in on it. So with companies spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns trying to get you to join their bandwagon, a lot of people are choosing sides. Which side are you on, iOS or Andriod?