If you’ve poked around in Gmail Labs you’ve no doubt seen the Keyboard shortcuts, but might not have been able to figure out why that would be useful. Gmail blog’s Tip: Read your mail without touching your mouse is an excellent primer for using Gmail with minimal to no mouse required. Sure you **can** use your mouse but once you get used to these shortcuts you may find yourself zipping around Gmail faster than ever using just the keyboard.
I wish I knew weeks ago I could just hit the ? key and get help (as ‘?’ answers your shortcut questions points out), then I would already have been using these for weeks!
Tags: gmail tips
For those of you used to the old blue George’s Wonder Blog, you’re not at the wrong blog - I’ve just updated to the latest version of WordPress and installed new theme. The old blue site was nice, but it doesn’t appear the author has kept pace with Wordpress updates, so to be on the safe side I switched. In the coming weeks I’ll be editing the theme some and moving things around here. it should be fun.
Oh, check out my strictly tech blog if you want to read a little about how GoDaddy.com’s new site look.
Tags: site update, wordpress upgrade
Do you have web development team? Do you have compelling content you’d like to deliver offline onto desktops (read that as meaning not just Windows desktops)? If you answered yes to these questions then Adobe AIR (formerly Adobe Apollo) is for you. But what, you may ask, spurred me on to suddenly write about deploying Internet-like applications to the desktop?
Okay, here’s where I’m going to get web-spanked, but here goes anyway. I saw a ZDNet alert (if you read me enough you know I’m ZDNet fan) in my inbox today that had an interesting lead-in title I couldn’t resist - Clickjacking: Researchers raise alert for scary new cross-browser exploit. I read through that one with intense interest (and concern) but then I stumbled onto an older articles with an interesting lead-in at the bottom of the page, Apollo is not a browser, stop the comparisons (from March 28th, 2007). Immediately I thought, “What the heck is Apollo?” so I clicked and began reading.
Back to the web spanked part…. admittedly I am writing in response to an old article, but I just disagree with a couple of points expressed there. Back in March of 2007 Ryan Stewart wrote:
[The Internet is] a good development model, and it’s universal, but convenience aside, are “browser apps” better than desktop applications? No way!
And it’s not just offline capabilities. It’s about freeing yourself from the browser chrome, giving your users the ability to access your application in a new, more powerful environment, and really branding the experience in a way that the browser just can’t handle. The desktop is a fertile ground for applications, and it’s been the primary driver of software for a very long time. The browser will never be able to replace that. What makes Apollo compelling is that we can bring some of the web knowledge we’ve acquired over the years as developers onto that rich desktop platform.
1. “browser apps” can be better than desktop apps
I think “browser apps” have some major advantages that desktop apps do not - firstly they can more easily be cross platform. Take a movie, for example, save it as a Flash movie and it can be viewed on most modern home computers, Mac, Windows or Linux. Now admittedly Adobe Apollo has morphed into Adobe AIR which some 18 months after Ryan wrote his piece, supports Linux and may not have when he originally posted, but that’s probably not much of a surprise to anyone that knows the web, or Adobe for that matter. I think the Interent will continue to become more and more important to daily life, and more and more personal information will be used, stored and moved around the web. Some of this is already available for free to the average Internet user. Google offers Gmail (free online email that can also check your POP3 email accounts, has great spam filtering and some manages contacts), Google Docs (word processor, presentations, and spreadsheets), Google Calendar, Picasa Web Albums (share pictures online), Google Reader (Feed Reader), and the list goes on. I can hear you saying, “Yes but that’s just Google stuff,” and my response would be “You are right, but that’s only on 2008.” When things are successful, others will offer similar services, so what Google (and others) have started online is just the beginning. My friend Eybee over at The Eye introduced me to online video from Joost last year and Vimeo this year. In January of this year Comcast launched Fancast, where they tout “See your favorite shows and movies online. Free.” and as I type this I am (sort of) watching Pitch Black on other monitor on Fancast. If you have broadband you almost don’t need conventional TV.
Secondly, “browser apps” are portable. Using of the previously mentioned applications could feasibly provide many of today’s consumers with a ‘virtual computer‘ where all of someone’s applications, email, calendar info, contacts, documents and even entertainment can be accessed from any Internet-connected computer, with fast enough connection, of course. That can’t as handily be accomplished using conventional desktop apps.
2. the browser might replace desktops as the primary driver of software
Saying that the browser will never be able to replace the desktop as the primary driver of software is a large statement. Its also counter to what I think is happening, has been happening. More and more power and function goes online all of the time, the available speed of our online connections keeps increasing. I wouldn’t be so bold as to say that the browser will replace the desktop, but I also wouldn’t rule it out. As it is Microsoft has already began using Internet Explorer to enhance their desktop, notably (in a less-than-popular move) Outlook Express and the Windows Help system rely on it.
As far as I can tell skimming the Internet tonight, a second round of stimulus checks has not been approved for this year. What I did find is talk about the government helping business or possibly states. No, unless Sen. Obama’s Emergency Economic Plan gets passed, a second round of stimulus checks to individuals probably isn’t going to happen.
SOME OF MY READING ON STIMULUS CHECKS
Ask the taxgirl: Second Round of Stimulus Checks (7/30/08)
Obama’s ‘emergency’ economic plan (8/1/08)
Obama’s Emergency Economic Plan (8/1/08)
The Check Is NOT In the Mail … (8/14/08)
Stimulus cash still going out (8/29/08)
According to Can Google out-cool Apple? T-Mobile announced the T-Mobile G1 yesterday, the first cell phone to run Google’s new Android OS…
T-Mobile G1
According to ZDNet’s article, the T-Mobile G1 is not an iPhone killer because the two target different audiences. Here are some things ZDNet had to say about those 2 audiences:
In terms of cool, I think that the iPhone is still the outright winner, after all, put the G1 and the iPhone side-by-side and the iPhone wins hands down when it comes to stylishness…
the G1 will appeal to geeks…
The Google vs. Apple (or G1 vs. iPhone) won’t be fought based on which device is coolest, it’ll be based on which is geekiest.
The only thing I’d add to their assessment here is that price will surely play a role in the audiences. How much is the G1 gonna set you back? I couldn’t say, but from what I’ve read you might want to ask “How much is that 2 year T-Mobile contract gonna cost?” There are other geek-lover’s options out there if you don’t want to shell out the big bucks for either of these 2 smart phone giants.
RELATED RESOURCES
Read about Android OS (video links as well)
India Cracks Blackberry Encryption
Tags: google android, iphone killer, t-mobile G1