Google Chrome Beta- Rock On

With the surprise launch of the beta of Google Chrome, the Web and search giant has already changed the current browser landscape and is poised to potentially change the future of the Web.

And before I go any further I just want to clarify that I’ve only had a short few hours with the new Google Web browser, and subsequent and sustained use may reveal issues that would change my view of the browser.

But right now, based on this short amount of testing, Google Chrome may just be the most impressive new Web browser that I have ever seen. While there are still a few beta hiccups, much of the experience of using Google Chrome just feels like the way that a browser should work.

Of course, a lot of the credit for the solid features and capabilities of the Google Chrome beta should go to its competitors, including Firefox, Opera, Safari and, yes, even Internet Explorer. That’s because there isn’t much in Google Chrome that is completely new. Most of the features, from tabs to private browsing modes, are already found in competing browsers.

But the way that Google Chrome implements these features is done very well in most cases, resulting in a browser with excellent usability and core capabilities.

When launching Google Chrome, which currently is only available for Windows systems, the browser walks users through some of the interface features, such as the integrated search and address bar (the default search engine is Google but users can change it to competing search sites) and the new tab features, which are pretty much lifted completely from Opera’s speed dial feature.

As one surfs using Google Chrome, more of the features start to take shape. Clicking a new tab shows thumbnails of frequently visited sites and links to bookmarks. I liked this feature although I would have preferred if it let users customize the thumbnailed sites rather than only using the most visited sites.

Like Internet Explorer 8, Chrome has a private browsing mode, which is called incognito mode. A new window can be launched in this mode or you can choose to launch a window from a link directly into incognito mode. In this mode no traces of a Web surfing session (such as cookies) are saved, and users know when they are in incognito mode by the spy figure shown in the upper left-hand corner of the browser.

The address bar in Chrome combines both search and standard URL entry. This took a little getting used to but once I got the hang of it I liked this single-box method of using a browser address bar.

Another interesting feature of Google Chrome is its integrated use of Google Gears. Called application shortcuts in the browser, this feature lets users take any Web application and save it as a desktop-based Web application, with its own launch icons in the Start menu, Quick Launch and desktop.

Like other browsers, Google Chrome will warn users when they go to a secure site where the certificate doesn’t match the address entered. Also, in one of the only areas that I’ve found so far where the browser integrated with Google Search, when a Web site failed to launch, the error page displayed by Chrome gave the option of launching the site from Google Cache.

During my short amount of testing I never ran into any unstable sites or applications so I was unable to test the new feature where every tab in Google Chrome runs as a separate process, which should keep a single site or application from bringing down the entire browser.

Google Chrome is based on the WebKit engine, which has excellent standards support. In my short amount of testing I have yet to run into a site that didn’t work in Chrome, though I am sure they are out there.

All in all, the beta of Google Chrome is an exciting and impressive new entry into the Web browser field. As I continue to test this beta and subsequent releases I’ll keep you updated on any new discoveries or possible issues with the browser.

Those wanting to try out the Google Chrome beta can find it at www.google.com/chrome.

Exctracts from eWeek.

Ex Google Staffers Launch Cuil Search

Former Google search experts have revealed what they hope will be a threat to their previous employer’s dominant search service. The new engine is named Cuil, after the Gaelic word for “wisdom.” It’s perhaps not the catchiest name ever, but neither was Google, before it became a household name. The people at Cuil claim the new search engine uses far fewer servers than the search leader, yet indexes a much larger chunk of the Web. It also purports to produce more relevant search results, because the information it returns in response to queries is based on organization of ideas rather than link popularity. A final—and important—differentiator from Google is that Cuil, according to the company, doesn’t collect information on its users’ search histories or IP addresses. Of course, that last advantage is significant only if the product is worth using.

 

Why terrorists attack soft targets?

We have had three waves of anger among the Indian Muslim youth — the first was after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992 and the second after the Gujarat riots of 2002. These waves have since dissipated. Since last year, one has been noticing a fresh wave of anger after the convictions of a number of Muslims by a Mumbai court in the Mumbai blasts of March, 1993. A common theme in all their Internet chatter is what they see as the inherent unfairness of the Indian criminal justice system towards Muslims.

While taking strong action against the terrorists, whoever they are, it is important to address this perception that our criminal justice system is unfair to Muslims.

July 25 @ Bangalore- The BLAST-ing day

The eight blasts that rocked Bengaluru on July 25 points to high orchestration, but low intensity. The blasts reportedly took place within about 12 minutes at around 1-30 pm, that is after the Friday’s mid-day namaz in the local mosques.

The high orchestration used in timing five to six blasts, with some precision, resembled the serial blasts in Jaipur in May last year and in three towns of Uttar Pradesh in November.

While timers were used to activate the improvised explosive devices, the explosive material used does not appear to have been of a sophisticated kind. Ammonium nitrate, mixed with a booster, was the preferred explosive in previous terrorist incidents, but one does not know whether ammonium nitrate was used in the Bengaluru blasts too.

Some TV reports speak of the possible use of gelatin sticks. If so, these blasts would resemble, from the point of view of the composition of the IEDs, the serial blasts in Coimbatore carried out by Al Ummah, a Muslim extremist organisation of South India, in February 1998 to protest against the alleged police excesses against Muslim youth after the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Investigation into the Coimbatore blasts showed that Muslim youth had fabricated the IEDs with the help of explosive material stolen from the quarries of south India.

From preliminary reports, one could make the following surmise: firstly, the terrorists did not want to cause mass casualties; secondly, Bengaluru has the largest concentration of foreign businessmen and experts, but they did not want to target them; thirdly, they did not want to target the foreign tourists either.

Is Twitter down?

What Twitter did when I tried to log in?

Serial bomb blast @ Bangalore; not scared da

Today five serial bomb blasts tried to scatter the unity of various culture and people of Bangalore later in the noon. Then said, the anti-social activities won’t be able to shake the spirit of Bangalore macha…

A nice one :)

Bill Gates met God, and God said, “Well, Bill, I’m really confused on this one. I’m not sure whether to send you to Heaven or to Hell. After all, you enormously helped society by putting a computer in almost every home in the world, and yet you created that ghastly Windows. I’m going to do something I’ve never done before. I’m going to let you decide where you want to go.”

Bill Gates said, “What’s the difference between the two?”

God said, “It might help you decide if you took a peek at both places. Shall we look at Hell first?”

Bill was amazed. He saw a clean, white sandy beach with clear waters. There were thousands of beautiful men and women running around, playing in the water, laughing and frolicking about. The sun was shining and the temperature was perfect. “This is great!” said Bill. “If this is Hell, I can’t wait to see Heaven.”

God said, “Let’s go!” and off they went to Heaven.

Bill saw puffy white clouds in a beautiful blue sky, with angels drifting about playing harps and singing. It was nice, but surely not as enticing as Hell. Bill thought for only a brief moment and rendered his decision. “God, I do believe I would prefer to go to Hell.”

“As you wish,” said God.

Two weeks later, God decided to check up on the late billionaire to see how things were going. He found Bill shackled to a wall, screaming amidst the hot flames in a dark cave. He was being tortured by demons with pitchforks. “How ya doin’, Bill?” asked God.

Bill responded with anguish and despair, “This is awful! This is not what I expected at all! What happened to the beach and the beautiful women playing in the water?”

“Oh, that,” said God. “That was the screen saver.”

Celebrate Valentine’s Week With One You LOVE Most

The month of February has always been much awaited for the love-birds. Folks make your Valentine’s week a memorable day and gift the moment of love to your loveables. Here’s a quick walk through the whole week:

February 7th Rose day- Gift her a rose and show the passion of your love.
February 8th Propose day- Express your love by telling him/her how much you love.

February 9th Chocolate day- This goes for boys, go get her a choco treat and make her feel cozy

February 10 th Teddy day- The cute one.

February 11 th Promise day- The day to make the eternal promise of love and togetherness.

February 12 th Kiss day- The tenderness which makes you feel loved.

February 13 th Hug day- Hug him/her and give a feeling of forever protection and shelter in your arms.

February 14 th Valentine day- The final day to be together and stay together in love forever.

Social Media and Networking, how much impact it has on Indian community?

Networking on the net isn’t new; there have been so many sites bringing friends together, dating and matrimonial and even business networking sites; but suddenly there is hush hush about the user generated content(UGC). Content communities, social and business networking are emerging all over the net. What brought about the change?
If I start mentioning about UGC sites then it would take me pages to jot about them but to name few, there are several sites those who have been so very well performed to serve the user to broadcast or showcase their content on the net. YouTube and MySpace are most extensive examples driven on:
1. Broadband.
2. Content already there, present it in a social format.

The impact on the community is to identify the difference between the approach to en-cash the concept of social networking and community content. Google AdSense and several ads publishers/sponsors gives a good start to develop around the social networking concept. It’s a good option to start the transactions but may not be a possible option always.

There are so many social networking sites approaching the common goal; being social but there’s a thin line in this game that has to be drawn. I call this forecast an eagle-eye, developing a content oriented site where networking should be a mean of sharing or making the content social but NOT the end. Be more polite, networking should not be end but it should be a medium of content oriented sites.

So what would be main ingredients in making of a successful community? Obviously, understanding one’s pain would always be highlighted and then throwing them the options as solution to their pain has always a good impact. That’s what is needed to translate the impact in a successful community. The main ingredients or key bullet points would be:
1. Understanding your user and their needs(the pain)
2. Offering a simple but targeted product/service
3. Go social(Log on….log on…log on)

Creating a forum and discussion board to observe the conversation may be easy but on the community scales it may be tough. We need multimedia capabilities and user engagement(user activity) to involve more(go social).

Sony uses social media

Social media such as social networking sites and blogs, in particular, are being used to spread the buzz. Sony Entertainment Television (SET) India took this route when it launched its comedy reality show, Champion Chaalbaaz No. 1.

Albert Almeida, executive vice-president and business head, SET India, says, “The idea was to cash in on UGC (user-generated content) that refers to various kinds of media content, which is publicly available and which is produced by end users… The response to this site has been tremendous in terms of page views and reach.”

According to Saurabh Gupta, chief executive officer of Phonethics, Mian Fekoo has already posted about two lakh entries on social media sites in the last six months, so people were familiar with it. “The character acted as a brand ambassador in endorsing the show. On Facebook, Mian Fekoo has 130 friends, and we received about one lakh visits to the blog during the campaign.”

Though the campaign ended in January, Mian Fekoo is still alive and kicking and continues to add postings on the blog. The character will continue creating content on various sites, says Gupta, and may be licensed to other advertisers in the future.