Thursday, September 04, 2008
New iPods coming September 9?
Apple has sent out invites to journalists and analysts about a special event to be held at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center on September 9. There are lots of rumors what Apple will reveal at the event – including new iPods as well as a new version of iTunes. However, we remain convinced that Apple will actually introduce a music subscription service at its press conference entitled “Let’s Rock”.
Google removes cached page of Chrome download
Being Google has its advantages, of course – for example the ability to completely remove certain pages that accidentally went online, were stored in the search engine’s cache and may reveal more information than Google intended to.
Google’s search engine cache has become one of the most valuable research features of Google Search, since it enables users to travel back in time and find pages that may not exist anymore. Dell has made its experiences in the past with unannounced products that were apparently put online for test purposes and got indexed before the company removed such pages again. Or, remember the recent controversy about the age of Chinese gymnasts whose published age on cached pages did not match their currently published age?
A similar hiccup apparently happened to Google itself when it briefly published the download of the new Chrome browser at http://gears.google.com/chrome/?hl=en exactly at 12:00 am PST, earlier today. A search for “Google Chrome” and “Google Gears” points to a cached page, which, however, is not available anymore. It may have been an intentional leak or an accidental leak, but the fact that the page has been removed from the search engine cache as quickly as it was published may raise eye browse here and there.
Anyone who wants to see a preview of the browser can jump over to Google Blogoscoped, which managed to grab a few screenshots of the browser, before the page disappeared. These images in fact reveal that Chrome will have a user interface that is reduced to a minimum and focus on an “omnibar” search auto-completion feature, a homepage that has tiles of nine homepages, applications that are usually accessed through the browser, but can be added as applications to the Windows Start Menu as well as anonymous browsing support and a Download manager.
Google’s search engine cache has become one of the most valuable research features of Google Search, since it enables users to travel back in time and find pages that may not exist anymore. Dell has made its experiences in the past with unannounced products that were apparently put online for test purposes and got indexed before the company removed such pages again. Or, remember the recent controversy about the age of Chinese gymnasts whose published age on cached pages did not match their currently published age?
A similar hiccup apparently happened to Google itself when it briefly published the download of the new Chrome browser at http://gears.google.com/chrome/?hl=en exactly at 12:00 am PST, earlier today. A search for “Google Chrome” and “Google Gears” points to a cached page, which, however, is not available anymore. It may have been an intentional leak or an accidental leak, but the fact that the page has been removed from the search engine cache as quickly as it was published may raise eye browse here and there.
Anyone who wants to see a preview of the browser can jump over to Google Blogoscoped, which managed to grab a few screenshots of the browser, before the page disappeared. These images in fact reveal that Chrome will have a user interface that is reduced to a minimum and focus on an “omnibar” search auto-completion feature, a homepage that has tiles of nine homepages, applications that are usually accessed through the browser, but can be added as applications to the Windows Start Menu as well as anonymous browsing support and a Download manager.
Chrome captures 1% market share in just nine hours
Google's new browser has zoomed past 1% market share in just ten hours after its release yesterday at 3:02 p.m. EDT and reached almost 1.5% earlier today. Although it is too early to tell which competing browser makers were hit by Google’s new software, the initial numbers numbers indicate that Chrome is off to a good start.
According to Net Applications, Chrome crossed 0.5% just two hours after its release. At midnight (EDT), Chrome surpassed 1% market share. The browser hit 1.48% share of the browsing market at 4 a.m., eventually stabilizing at about 1% over the course of the following hours. According to the data published by the market research firm, Chrome held 1.06% at the time of this writing.
The spike does not come unexpected, especially if we consider the enormous reporting on Google Chrome within the past two days. Google’s own news service indicates that more than 3000 articles covering Chrome were published on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But 1% of the worldwide browser market is huge. It is difficult to estimate how often Chrome may have been downloaded, but considering the fact that there are currently about 1.46 billion Internet users, it would take at least 14 million downloads to keep the 1% mark at a stable level – at least if the Net Applications data is somewhat comparable to the data provided by Internet World Stats.
Even if Chrome isn’t a perfect browser yet, Google certainly has managed to deliver an impressive launch.
According to Net Applications, Chrome crossed 0.5% just two hours after its release. At midnight (EDT), Chrome surpassed 1% market share. The browser hit 1.48% share of the browsing market at 4 a.m., eventually stabilizing at about 1% over the course of the following hours. According to the data published by the market research firm, Chrome held 1.06% at the time of this writing.
The spike does not come unexpected, especially if we consider the enormous reporting on Google Chrome within the past two days. Google’s own news service indicates that more than 3000 articles covering Chrome were published on Tuesday and Wednesday.
But 1% of the worldwide browser market is huge. It is difficult to estimate how often Chrome may have been downloaded, but considering the fact that there are currently about 1.46 billion Internet users, it would take at least 14 million downloads to keep the 1% mark at a stable level – at least if the Net Applications data is somewhat comparable to the data provided by Internet World Stats.
Even if Chrome isn’t a perfect browser yet, Google certainly has managed to deliver an impressive launch.
Why Chrome is a fantastic browser
First Look - We have had a chance to have a thorough look at Google’s new Chrome and run the browser to range of usability tests. Our initial conclusion is that the Chrome beta reveals a much more ergonomic and useful browser than what the available versions of today's established browsers can offer. Yes, it is very rough around the edges, but we are officially impressed with what we've seen so far. Here are our top five observations of features we believe are proof that Chrome is here to stay.
People say that the first impression often is key to make you love or hate a product. In the case of Chrome, it took only a few minutes to convince me that Google’s latest product is an amazing browser and a new type of browser that takes this software category to the next level. At first sight, Chrome may look like it has bypassed all graphic designers, but it is very consistent with all other Google software in a way you would expect it to look and feel – in a similar way how you expect Apple software to look and how you expect Microsoft software to feel.
In Chrome’s case, the GUI is extremely thin and lightweight. Instead of showing shiny buttons, it is focused on usability and speed. Performance, search and browsing are its top three unique selling points that leave any other browser in the dust at this time.
Most importantly, Chrome impressed me with its responsiveness when dozens of tabs were loaded at once. When a site crashes, you simply close a tab to kill all associated processes and reclaim the occupied memory without fragmentation. This is possible because Google actually developed a cloud operating system of its own that just happens to accommodate a browser as well. I am convinced that Chrome is a big step towards what may evolve into an operating system from Google aimed at thin clients.
A fresh user interface
Google user interfaces take time getting used to. Remember the first time you saw Google Search and compared it to Yahoo? It felt a bit empty to me. You may have the same impression with Chrome. A simple, uncluttered user interface gets - a trademark of Google product design – can take you quickly to the feature you need – once you are familiar with Chrome’s workflow and a few shortcuts. The main window is slightly rounded with the standard minimize, maximize and close buttons. There's no window title, no icons or menu bar to obscure your view. Tabs sit on top followed by the toolbar below - that's it. A light blue window background frames the browsing area, tabs and the toolbar.
Consider the UI the opposite extreme of IE8, which occasionally feels overloaded and may overwhelm some users. Chrome is reduced to the minimum, which can speed up your daily browsing tasks. On the downside, you will have to explore the deeper feature set and learn some shortcuts to reveal Chrome’s productivity potential.
Dynamic tabs
Chrome nails the task of window and tab management with useful keyboard shortcuts that simplify navigation patterns. Drag a tab to a new slot and others get out of the way smoothly. Close a few tabs and the remaining extend to the width of your entire after a brief pause – there’s a bit of Apple design philosophy in this feature. You can drag a tab out of the Chrome window (it will turn into a large site thumbnail) onto your desktop to create a new window. You can move tabs between windows effortlessly, without any slowdown or delay. You can also close all tabs associated with the current tab with a single option.
When you open a new tab, the window will show a grid of nine websites you have visited the most. Unlike Opera, Chrome doesn't let you assign your own set of sites to the nine slots. Boxes with search engines you use the most, links to three recently closed tabs and your most recent bookmarks are placed in a right column. You can also access your full browsing history by choosing a small "Show full history" option at the bottom of the “home” page.
Tabs have become one of most important features within a modern browser and Chrome does a great job handling multiple web pages. There is just one annoying omission that spoils the experience - Tabs shrink to an extremely small width when you open lots of them – which means that you can read the window titles anymore. Google should consider the Firefox solution of a scrolled tabs area. Also, there is no drop down menu to view all your tabs and select the one you want.
I also have to say that I like Microsoft’s idea to create groups of tabs – for example for pages you open from one website into multiple tabs. Microsoft color-codes these tab groups, which, in our opinion, is a must-have feature for a modern browser.
Navigation and search/address bar
The main toolbar with navigation options is positioned below your tabs. It has just seven buttons and the dominant URL box. There are forward and backward arrows reload and go buttons, two buttons that open page and settings menus and a star symbol to bookmark a page. The pictograms on buttons should be recognized by anyone who has used a browser before. In fact, Chrome's toolbar combines the best of Firefox 3 (bookmark star, back/forward buttons) and IE7 (buttons with drop-down menus for page options and settings), but it differs in two important details. There is no home button or search bar.
Eliminating these two input options is one of the “strange” new features that will require you to adjust your browsing behavior. But if your homepage is a search engine anyway, then Chrome has eliminated the need for a home page. Here’s why.
The lack of a home button guiding you to a certain website may be a matter of personal preference. It is one of those original features of a web browser that acts as a door to the web and provides you with a starting point. However, Google was able to eliminate the two input options since the most popular websites are listed right on the front page, effectively giving you multiple start options (a fixed configuration option would be nice) and if you are using Google Search as your home page, you can now use the address bar for your searches - no matter where you are.
When you start typing in the address bar, it will suggest popular sites, searches and pages you already visited that contain your search term. You can choose a suggested item from the drop-down list or simply hit ENTER to send your query to the default search provider (which you can set in Chrome's preferences). You can also use common search operators. Additionally, there is a handy Paste-and-Search option - simply mark a word, right-click and search for the selection. But searches in Chrome are much more intelligent than that.
Other, site-integrated search engines are accessible directly from the address bar in an innovative way. Start typing a search engine's URL or name (for example “YouTube”). If Chrome finds it in its internal search engine list, it auto-completes the address and offers you to hit TAB to select that site’s engine for search (if supported by that site.) Simply enter your search term and hit ENTER to be taken directly to that search engine's results page, in this case YouTube's.
Chrome shines when you want to reach previously visited pages. Just start typing any piece of content you can remember, such as a headline, parts of text, or a combination of words you may remember. Since your search provider has cached all the pages you visited before, Chrome can ping it to bring up the appropriate page based on the partial content you provided. If your search provider is Google, then Google Suggest service will be used to provide auto-suggestions. You can turn off the auto-suggestion in Chrome’s settings.
People say that the first impression often is key to make you love or hate a product. In the case of Chrome, it took only a few minutes to convince me that Google’s latest product is an amazing browser and a new type of browser that takes this software category to the next level. At first sight, Chrome may look like it has bypassed all graphic designers, but it is very consistent with all other Google software in a way you would expect it to look and feel – in a similar way how you expect Apple software to look and how you expect Microsoft software to feel.
In Chrome’s case, the GUI is extremely thin and lightweight. Instead of showing shiny buttons, it is focused on usability and speed. Performance, search and browsing are its top three unique selling points that leave any other browser in the dust at this time.
Most importantly, Chrome impressed me with its responsiveness when dozens of tabs were loaded at once. When a site crashes, you simply close a tab to kill all associated processes and reclaim the occupied memory without fragmentation. This is possible because Google actually developed a cloud operating system of its own that just happens to accommodate a browser as well. I am convinced that Chrome is a big step towards what may evolve into an operating system from Google aimed at thin clients.
A fresh user interface
Google user interfaces take time getting used to. Remember the first time you saw Google Search and compared it to Yahoo? It felt a bit empty to me. You may have the same impression with Chrome. A simple, uncluttered user interface gets - a trademark of Google product design – can take you quickly to the feature you need – once you are familiar with Chrome’s workflow and a few shortcuts. The main window is slightly rounded with the standard minimize, maximize and close buttons. There's no window title, no icons or menu bar to obscure your view. Tabs sit on top followed by the toolbar below - that's it. A light blue window background frames the browsing area, tabs and the toolbar.
Consider the UI the opposite extreme of IE8, which occasionally feels overloaded and may overwhelm some users. Chrome is reduced to the minimum, which can speed up your daily browsing tasks. On the downside, you will have to explore the deeper feature set and learn some shortcuts to reveal Chrome’s productivity potential.
Dynamic tabs
Chrome nails the task of window and tab management with useful keyboard shortcuts that simplify navigation patterns. Drag a tab to a new slot and others get out of the way smoothly. Close a few tabs and the remaining extend to the width of your entire after a brief pause – there’s a bit of Apple design philosophy in this feature. You can drag a tab out of the Chrome window (it will turn into a large site thumbnail) onto your desktop to create a new window. You can move tabs between windows effortlessly, without any slowdown or delay. You can also close all tabs associated with the current tab with a single option.
When you open a new tab, the window will show a grid of nine websites you have visited the most. Unlike Opera, Chrome doesn't let you assign your own set of sites to the nine slots. Boxes with search engines you use the most, links to three recently closed tabs and your most recent bookmarks are placed in a right column. You can also access your full browsing history by choosing a small "Show full history" option at the bottom of the “home” page.
Tabs have become one of most important features within a modern browser and Chrome does a great job handling multiple web pages. There is just one annoying omission that spoils the experience - Tabs shrink to an extremely small width when you open lots of them – which means that you can read the window titles anymore. Google should consider the Firefox solution of a scrolled tabs area. Also, there is no drop down menu to view all your tabs and select the one you want.
I also have to say that I like Microsoft’s idea to create groups of tabs – for example for pages you open from one website into multiple tabs. Microsoft color-codes these tab groups, which, in our opinion, is a must-have feature for a modern browser.
Navigation and search/address bar
The main toolbar with navigation options is positioned below your tabs. It has just seven buttons and the dominant URL box. There are forward and backward arrows reload and go buttons, two buttons that open page and settings menus and a star symbol to bookmark a page. The pictograms on buttons should be recognized by anyone who has used a browser before. In fact, Chrome's toolbar combines the best of Firefox 3 (bookmark star, back/forward buttons) and IE7 (buttons with drop-down menus for page options and settings), but it differs in two important details. There is no home button or search bar.
Eliminating these two input options is one of the “strange” new features that will require you to adjust your browsing behavior. But if your homepage is a search engine anyway, then Chrome has eliminated the need for a home page. Here’s why.
The lack of a home button guiding you to a certain website may be a matter of personal preference. It is one of those original features of a web browser that acts as a door to the web and provides you with a starting point. However, Google was able to eliminate the two input options since the most popular websites are listed right on the front page, effectively giving you multiple start options (a fixed configuration option would be nice) and if you are using Google Search as your home page, you can now use the address bar for your searches - no matter where you are.
When you start typing in the address bar, it will suggest popular sites, searches and pages you already visited that contain your search term. You can choose a suggested item from the drop-down list or simply hit ENTER to send your query to the default search provider (which you can set in Chrome's preferences). You can also use common search operators. Additionally, there is a handy Paste-and-Search option - simply mark a word, right-click and search for the selection. But searches in Chrome are much more intelligent than that.
Other, site-integrated search engines are accessible directly from the address bar in an innovative way. Start typing a search engine's URL or name (for example “YouTube”). If Chrome finds it in its internal search engine list, it auto-completes the address and offers you to hit TAB to select that site’s engine for search (if supported by that site.) Simply enter your search term and hit ENTER to be taken directly to that search engine's results page, in this case YouTube's.
Chrome shines when you want to reach previously visited pages. Just start typing any piece of content you can remember, such as a headline, parts of text, or a combination of words you may remember. Since your search provider has cached all the pages you visited before, Chrome can ping it to bring up the appropriate page based on the partial content you provided. If your search provider is Google, then Google Suggest service will be used to provide auto-suggestions. You can turn off the auto-suggestion in Chrome’s settings.
Windows 7 multi-touch LCD demonstrated
Multi-touch is one of the big technology trends these days: Bill Gates recently demonstrated a display integrating multi-touch at the recent D6 conference and unfortunately received little more than lukewarm feedback. Albatron is one of the first companies demonstrating what appears to be a production ready multi-touch device: Having played with the LCD at Computex, we have to say that we are impressed.
It is easy to overlook the truly exciting products at Computex due to the flood of rather common things at the show. After day one of the show, we found that the probably most stunning product on the show floor comes from Albatron. This motherboard and graphics maker may not be the first name that comes to you mind when you are thinking about LCD displays, but we have to admit that the company’s new LCDs reveal a whole new level of interactivity on your PC.
Imagine Apple’s iPhone display on a large scale: Albatron integrated sensors on both sides of the touchscreen display. Robert Doncevski, sales director at Albatron, demonstrated the screen and its features to us and as far as we could see, controlling an operating system is a breeze. You simply only use your fingers to start and close applications. Bill Gates’ demonstration may have been rather underwhelming, but seeing a multi-touch LCD actually in front of us made it clear that this technology works much better than we expected. Playing around with Google Earth was a blast.
Albatron integrated the technology into a 22" LCD providing a resolution of 1680 x 1050 pixels. According to Doncevski, multi-touch is not affected by typical touch-screen limitations. Screen sizes of 24” and above simply require a third sensor on top of the screen. That’s it.
You don’t have to have supernatural powers to predict that this display may become a huge hit when Windows 7 becomes available. At this time, the display works with the current crop of Windows XP users, while Vista is the default operating system.
Pricing and availability has not been announced, but we were told that physical price of this multi-touch screen is only 20% above a regular LCD.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)