TECH BOTTLE http://tbottle.com

Play with Google, RSS Advancements

Jon Mallin — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 01:36:33 +0000

FUNNY! Click to Enlarge

Google unveiled its latest lab today, Google Play (http://www.google.com/reader/play/), a magazine-style RSS reader. It shows thumbnails along the bottom edge and the viewing window enlarges images and makes them more prominent. A slideshow mode also makes Play dissimilar from Google Reader. Play includes the ability to “like” an item, share an item and star an item for later viewing.

The recipe for Play seems to be two parts Google Reader, one part Google Fast Flip and one part StumbleUpon.

A touchscreen device would be the ideal platform for Play; readers could simply flick ahead to the next snippet. Perhaps this product was developed primarily for the upcoming touchscreen tablets.

I found the funny image [points up and to the right] using Play. One of the people I follow on Google Buzz shared it.

No related posts.

That $2.0B Bing Advertising Campaign in the U.K. (I just Googled about it.)

Jon Mallin — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:55:40 +0000

This post was inspired by Stan Schroeder’s post on Mashable entitled, “Bing takes on ‘Goliath’ Google with Huge UK Advertising Campaign.” Apparently, Microsoft will spend up to $2.0B on an advertising campaign in the U.K. To put this “huge” campaign into perspective, Microsoft current has a market cap of approximately $253B.

65 Google buzzers replied with comments. I commented: “Microsoft is pushing Bing prematurely. Wired ran a very good article about Google which, among other things, compared the accuracy of results between Google and Bing. Bing was pathetic.” The Wired article is entitled, “Exclusive: How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web.” In that article, Google’s accuracy is compared with Microsoft Bing’s.

I have no doubt that Google will dominate internet search, perhaps in perpetuity, but this has less to do with the algorithm Google uses than the Wired title suggests. Google is womping the competitors because it has something they don’t… better data and a steady flow of it. When I say better data, I don’t mean that Google knows about web pages that other search engines don’t (although it’s quite possible). Google search is the smartest around because it has a phenomenal algorithm, no doubt, but also because it has been collecting data generated by humans (clicks) for a very long time. Between the data and the algorithm, Google can predict what content you want to view. In a sense, Google search is the high watermark for artificial intelligence. It can predict human behavior based on a person typing a word or two.

According to the Inside Google special on CNBC, Google saves everything typed into Google indefinitely. Your own search results are identified with your Google account and IP address for a period of 18 months and then anonymized. This information makes Google smarter. Now, a full 20% of Google searches are actually tailored to you and differ from Joe Schmoe’s search results.

Enter Bing. Bing is an outgrowth of MSN Search. MSN Search was never a dominant player in the search business. AltaVista, Yahoo and others were Google’s chief competitors. In the early days, search was dominated by who had the biggest map of the internet which was a function of the “spidering” software. Another factor was the algorithm used to produce results. Google won the search war but it did it by being innovative and leveraging data. It learned if you clicked the what you were looking for and didn’t return to Google for another X seconds.

Microsoft is trying to play catch up. It needs to brand Bing but it also needs Bing to accurately predict what you want to click. How can it accomplish this when Google has virtually monopolized the search market? Maybe spending $2.0B in the UK will bring in $2.0B+ worth of data (clicks). Then again, maybe it won’t. It will be difficult to leverage this localized data because Google will generate more and arguably better data in the same period of time globally. It’s data where Google excels; even if Bing had precisely the same algorithm and the same map of the web, it would lose the search war on data alone.

Bing’s strategy seems somewhat outside of the box. Colorful graphics and promotions seem to be in Bing’s playbook. These seem like mere window dressing to me. When it comes to getting accurate results, Google wins. It knows what I want to click. Will Bing ever be smart enough to be a viable alternative? I’m not sure but spending $2.0B in advertising off in the U.K. won’t propel it ahead of Google.

No related posts.

Gmail improvement, POP on demand

Jon Mallin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:25:27 +0000

Gmail users can now enable “Refresh POP Accounts” in the Labs section. Once enabled, the refresh link (pictured) will check all POP accounts for new mail.

Friday I was complaining about the previous method for checking POP accounts to a friend who hasn’t yet become a Gmail convert. The 1 hour POP times were driving me nuts and the manual POP checks were cumbersome. This new Lab is a dandy. Anyone who uses Gmail to POP mail from other accounts should activate this.

[Official Gmail Blog]

Google to Add Status Update Feature to Gmail [Analysis]

Blackberry and Google Buzz Notifications & Gmail Dupe Emails [Workarounds]

The Web Gets a New Anthem [VIDEO]

Jon Mallin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:44:06 +0000

I believe the web has a new anthem, replacing the Black Eyed Peas Now Generation, depending on your taste in music. The video featured below has already been viewed on YouTube over 32,000 times and has scored a five star rating. It’s entertaining and it is the most web-centric of any music out there… as well as a great parody.

The New Dork ~ The Entrepreneur State of Mind.

And if you missed the Black Eyed Peas Now Generation, here it is:

[via Mashable]

Best. Browser. Ever. Google Chrome. [Video]

Alleged Assassins in Dubai [Video]

Most Over the Top Wedding Save the Date [Video]

Music (Video) Mondays on Google Buzz

MIT Media Lab’s “SixthSense” Project [VIDEO]

Google Chrome OS Business-Style in 2011

Jon Mallin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 19:12:40 +0000

Will Dewry, Google software security engineer, recently revealed that Chrome OS will be released in two flavors, one intended for home use and the other for business use. The business version will not be released until next year.

This comes as a surprise to many considering Chrome OS is already built like a tank but runs as fast as a Formula One race car. It is unclear what features will be added to the business version but Dewry stated that it would offer more “management muscle.” To me, that sounds like remote access by the IT staff and restricting peons from changing settings.

I would also expect better integration with Google Apps in the business version. Additionally, the home version requires users to login with a gmail account; perhaps the business version will support custom domains.

[via Engadget]

Mozilla (Firefox, Thunderbird and upcoming Raindrop) vs. Google in 2011?

Chrome OS World Weakest Link… Google Docs

Google Chrome OS World — Winners & Losers in the Paradigm Shift

Why Google won’t have antitrust issues with Chrome OS…

Best. Browser. Ever. Google Chrome. [Video]

Apple and Verizon hate each other. Will the iPhone ever come to Verizon?

Jon Mallin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:09:12 +0000

I think there’s reasonable evidence that Apple and Verizon really hate each other, especially in light of recent developments. If I’m right, this may dash hopes of some loyal Verizon customers wishing that Verizon and Apple would strike a deal to bring the iPhone to Verizon. Below are the pieces of the puzzle that suggest the two companies aren’t fond of one another:

Apple united with AT&T over Verizon for the iPhone and signed into a long-term exclusive deal.
Verizon has twice tried to launch an iPhone killer, failing miserably both times. The first was the Blackberry Storm which was the brainchild of Verizon and never took in the marketplace. The second was the Motorola Droid and the heavy “iDon’t” campaign.
Verizon and AT&T continue to take swipes at one another in their advertisements and, obviously, Apple is heavily invested in AT&T’s success.
Despite rumors that sounded credible before the iPad launch that it would be offered on Verizon, Apple again signed an exclusive deal with AT&T.
Apple’s recent patent lawsuit against HTC is really targeted at HTC, Google and Verizon collectively. Why didn’t Apple file the lawsuit when the Nexus One was launched on T-Mobile? Are Apple’s lawyers really that slow? Probably not. The lawsuit was filed just prior to the launch of the Google/HTC Nexus One launch on Verizon (around the same time the FCC approved the CDMA version of the Nexus One) and Apple seeks to enjoin the sale of the Nexus One phone in the U.S. Perhaps this could actually speed up the launch of the Nexus One on Verizon, which is expected within the next few weeks, because it may benefit the defendants to have the phone in the market before there is a ruling on the injunction. BGR is reporting that Verizon employees are already being trained on the Nexus One.

The contract between Apple and AT&T regarding iPhone exclusivity is expected to be up for renewal this summer. Will Apple renew it? Most of the speculation I have read is that iPhone exclusivity in the U.S. will end; nonetheless, I have become increasingly doubtful that Verizon and Apple could ever become friendly with one another, especially in light of Apple v. HTC.

Apple Field Testing Next-Gen iPhone

The Verizon/Blackberry Story, Starring: Storm, Tour, Storm 2, Droid & iPhone

Confirmed: Google Nexus One Phone Coming to Verizon in the Spring

Apple First?: RFID “Swiper” iPhones in the Works

Apple’s Lesser News of the Day… VOIP on the iPhone

Tech Bottle’s New Theme

Jon Mallin — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 02:52:03 +0000

I re-themed Tech Bottle because many of the newer WordPress themes are more versatile and visually appealing than the Constructor theme I previously used. I went with Suffusion which is designed by Sayontan. If Tech Bottle looks somewhat like another site you visit, don’t be surprised. The Suffusion theme has been downloaded nearly 5,000 times from WordPress.org.

Click around, take a look and let me know what you think either in the comments or by email – JON at TBOTTLE.COM.

500 Spam Comments on Tech Bottle… Sweet

Tech Bottle Now Has a Google Buzz Button

NEW: Tech Bottle has a Facebook page (and other ways to follow us)…

2009 Blog Stats for Tech Bottle & 2010 Goals

Mashup of Best Tech Stories of the Past Few Days

Blackberry Slider does look like Palm Pre [Confirmed/Photo]

Jon Mallin — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 18:22:36 +0000

The upcoming Blackberry Slider (a/k/a “Mr. T”) is pictured below. Kudos to Salomondrin for Tweeting the tip back in December that the upcoming slider would be a portait, Palm Pre-like, slider. This isn’t the first time his predictions have turned out to be spot on. I posted a brief bit about it shortly after he tweeted due to his strong track record. BBLeaks.com posted up the photo and several others. Apparently, a video is on the way too.

Click to Enlarge

Upcoming Blackberry Slider to look like Palm Pre [rumor]

Blackberry Slider — “Mr. T” — Patent Design from RIM

New Palm Pixi vs. Palm Pre

Confirmed: Google Nexus One Phone Coming to Verizon in the Spring

Two promising Blackberry apps you haven’t heard of…

Jon Mallin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 01:48:21 +0000

I’ve been writing about the cloud lately and remotely hosted files. Quite a few Blackberry users already use the cloud to backup contacts and calendars either with Google Sync or mIQ. I recently discovered two new Blackberry cloud apps that have significant potential… one for managing cloud hosted files and another for streaming your Mp3s or discovering new music.

Glide Engage

Glide Engage v. 1.0 is a free app for the Storm, Tour and Bold 9700 (as well as an Android flavor). It is intended to operate somewhat like Twitter but with a much higher character limit and the ability to post multimedia (a la Google Buzz). Frankly, I wasn’t interested at all in the “engage” element of the app. Instead, I noticed that you can browse the 30 free gigs of cloud storage they give each user that I wrote about four days ago. This is nifty…

…but you can’t seem to do anything with your files through the Blackberry. I thought I’d be able to download, attach, delete and rename files. Nope. You can view thumbnails of the documents that are too small to be legible on the Blackberry screen. Maybe someone can figure this out and comment on this blog post because I’m really curious why these features aren’t baked into the app. I assume that they’re in development.

To create a Glide account and claim your 30 free gigs of cloud storage, visit http://glideos.com/. To download the free Blackberry app, point your Blackberry’s browser to http://glideos.com/download/glideengage.jad.

GrooveShark Mobile

GrooveShark mobile requires a premium GrooveShark account ($3/month, discussed below) and allows Blackberries to tap into GrooveShark’s music library and a user’s own cloud-hosted music library. It streams the music with high sound quality and creating playlists is a breeze. (I’m listening to Roger Waters’ Radio Waves as I type this.) You can also create your playlists on the computer and launch them with the app. Also, this app, like the desktop web version I wrote about yesterday, allows you to play a “Radio” mode similar to the Pandora and Slacker apps. GrooveShark mobile allows unlimited skips.

The GrooveShark mobile app is well designed and easy to use. It is much more polished than the Glide Engage app. Where I think GrooveShark is going wrong is the “pay $3/month to play music you already own” model. Frankly, most Blackberry owners can accommodate their music libraries on their MicroSD cards and preserve battery life by not streaming data. For this app to take off, I think GrooveShark should follow the UberTwitter and IM+ app model and have visual advertisements in the app and drop the monthly charge.

To get started with GrooveShark, visit http://grooveshark.com.

Closing Remarks

These apps have the potential to be really cool. Even without the apps, I recommend both services even if you only intend to use them on the computer. If you have any opinions on the Glide Engage or GrooveShark apps, leave a comment. I’ll see if I can get the developers’ attention.

Chevy Volt to be accompanied by iPhone and Blackberry apps

Two New Blackberry Apps — eBay and New York Times

Blackberry App World Adds Category for Beta Apps

Switching from Pandora to Slacker (available for Blackberry, iPhone and Android)

mIQ Backup from Best Buy Mobile for Blackberry and Mobiles

GrooveShark Cloud Music Service

Jon Mallin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:37:41 +0000

Click to visit GrooveShark.Com

GrooveShark is a cloud-based music service that works in two different ways. First, you can use it like a custom radio similar to Pandora and Slacker but with unlimited skips (yes, even in the free version). Second, you can upload your MP3s and maintain a cloud library of music that you can stream from any browser. There is a paid version of GrooveShark that eliminates visual ads on the web interface and includes apps for streaming your tunes to your smartphone.

There does not appear to be a quota on the size of a user’s library but I found the upload process which is entirely Java based to be very, very slow. (The uploader estimates my remaining 956 songs will take about 7 hours and 20 minutes to upload. Yikes!) If you choose to upload a song already in the collective GrooveShark library, it will appear in your personal library without actually uploading it. Also, uploaded songs augment the collective GrooveShark library.

Wikipedia speaks to copyright issues surrounding GrooveShark and points out that the EULA does not indemnify users from copyright violations. Nonetheless, many people feel comfortable using the service which streams 50 to 60 million songs per month and was growing at a rate of 2% to 3% per day as of April 2009.

Sound quality is very good over a cable internet connection. Not that I’m an audiophile but I couldn’t distinguish my streamed music from the original MP3s even on good speakers.

Although having cloud-hosted music is convenient, I wouldn’t use it as a substitute for a backup because music stored on GrooveShark can be streamed only, not downloaded. If you want to backup your music to a cloud, I recommend using Glide which offers 30 GB of free storage and can sync your music folders regularly. Files stored on Glide can be downloaded later.

[via Gerben van Erkelens on Google Buzz]

Rd.io (private beta) Streaming Music Service Coming

Glide Cloud Free OS 4.0 [Mini-Review]

EpixHD a Hulu-esque Movie Service

Music (Video) Mondays on Google Buzz

Step-by-Step: Winamp Best Method for Syncing Music to a Blackberry (or other Mobile)

Music (Video) Mondays on Google Buzz

Jon Mallin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 01:53:15 +0000

I’m starting a buzz campaign to bring Music Mondays from Twitter to Google Buzz. For those who unfamiliar with Music Mondays, people simply tweet the music they’ve been listening to lately to generate some Twitter activity and to help spread the news about good recording artists.

Music Mondays make more sense on Buzz than Twitter because you can embed YouTube videos directly into a buzz. Simply put “Music Monday” in your buzzes (hashtags on Buzz are for losers) and share your favorites. Maybe include a brief bit about why you like the song or how you discovered it.

My campaign is, admittedly, off to a very warm reception but a slow start because I only have 260 followers on my personal account and 124 on my blog account. Please consider rebuzzing this post with the buzz this link below or just buzz “Music Mondays are now on Google Buzz. Please post a YouTube video like this one…” To embed a YouTube video, just click on the insert link button in your buzz box and paste a YouTube URL into it.

My buzz tomorrow will be a terrific Beck music video with cool robots in it that I discovered on YouTube earlier today. Follow me on Buzz to see and hear it tomorrow. Click here to follow me.

UPDATE: If you want to search buzz for all Music Monday posts with videos, do the following search: “music monday has:videos”

If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz.

Google Buzz: Effects on the Blogosphere and Digital Media

Google Buzz — Complaints and Suggestions

Why Google Buzz is targeted at Twitter… not Facebook yet.

Google, why Buzz? This is probably the answer.

Glide Cloud Free OS 4.0 [Mini-Review]

Jon Mallin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 04:49:31 +0000

Click to visit www.glideos.com

Transmedia Corporation’s “Glide OS 4.0″ is an advertising-free, cloud-based operating system. You can access it through any web browser (including mobile browsers) and through a proprietary desktop app (Windows/Linux and OS X flavors). It has all the bells and whistles of Google’s free cloud services (calendar, email, documents, spreadsheets, etc.) and some other services not offered by Google:

30 GB of free online storage in the “GDrive” and a desktop app to automatically sync directories on your computer and in the cloud.
The best web-based image editor I have seen. While it’s not exactly PhotoShop or GIMP quality, it will do the trick for basic use.
An online version of PowerPoint called “Presenter.”
It’s very customizable, e.g. you can set wallpaper and other custom options.

Frankly, I’m not doing justice to the scope of offerings available in Glide OS 4.0. It’s truly a complete operating system that is remotely hosted. Glide OS 4.0 has been favorably reviewed by InformationWeek, PC World, CNET, eWeek and PC Magazine. Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times both wrote rave reviews about it.

A cloud-based solution like Glide might be particularly appealing to those running Chrome OS on their netbooks (including the Flow variety I wrote about). Currently, there is nothing comparable though Office 2010 is supposed to have a cloud based version. As noted in many of the reviews of Glide, Microsoft is playing catch up with Transmedia’s free offerings. Glide OS 4.0 is completely free for up to 30 GB of storage. This would be more than sufficient for most and I intend to use it for my online backups. A 250 GB account runs $50 per year.

Check it out at http://glideos.com/.

[Thanks Brian]

Mini Review: Nimbuzz [Free] for Blackberry… IM/VOIP Client with Facebook Support

Mini Review: Blackberry MiniPaint Beta (Free)

Mini Review: Blackberry Ubertwitter Beta v0.932 “Leaked”

Mini Review: Seesmic Twitter App for Blackberry & Download Code

Review of BOLT Browser 1.5 for Blackberry (Free) with Download Code

iPhone vs. Android [User Metrics]

Jon Mallin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:53:06 +0000

AdMob just released a report that analyzes various metrics to compare users of the following devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, Android and Palm’s WebOS (notably missing–RIM). The metrics are age, gender, app downloads, app purchases, and likelihood of recommending the device to a friend or colleague. CNN has a pretty good take on the report, along with charts. You can find it here: http://brainstormtech.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2010/02/25/6-ways-iphone-and-android-users-differ/

FourSquare for iPhone & Android (Blackberry Beta App Very Soon)

Switching from Pandora to Slacker (available for Blackberry, iPhone and Android)

Android Developers Complain

Google Android in Your Car’s Dashboard

Why Google Visual Search for Android is Ingenious…

500 Spam Comments on Tech Bottle… Sweet

Jon Mallin — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 00:09:49 +0000

Milestone announcement… I’ve officially deleted 500 spam comments from Tech Bottle. So you’ll know what you missed… cheap auto insurance, viagra, cheap health insurance, cialis, free vacations and a bunch of stuff in other languages. I’m thinking of disabling the comment system on Tech Bottle because almost all of the legitimate comments I have received on the blog were posted to Twitter, Facebook or Google Buzz.

In other Tech Bottle news, readership is on the rise, especially after the Google Buzz launch and on days when I write new posts. The average number of daily readers is approximately 150 which excludes RSS and email subscribers. Across all of the social networks, the blog has around 600 followers, which may include some duplicates.

Tech Bottle Now Has a Google Buzz Button

NEW: Tech Bottle has a Facebook page (and other ways to follow us)…

2009 Blog Stats for Tech Bottle & 2010 Goals

Tech Bottle’s New Theme

Mashup of Best Tech Stories of the Past Few Days

Microsoft to Acquire RIM? Nokia?

Jon Mallin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:29:45 +0000

Reuters recently ran an article about Microsoft shopping around for a mobile device manufacturer. Named as specific potential targets are RIM and Nokia. Apparently, Microsoft believes that the Apple model of vertically integrating handheld hardware and software would work well for Windows Mobile 7 Series, the operating system it recently unveiled at the Mobile World Congress.

If Microsoft acquired RIM, it would have tremendous penetration into the business consumer market for smartphones. Also, a takeover could make sense for RIM which is struggling to make its Blackberry operating system competitive. Specifically, the web browser needs work, although RIM is working on a WebKit web browser. Microsoft knows how to build a browser and I’ve read rumors that Windows Mobile 7 Series will have the be-all-end-all of mobile browsers. (Which may or may not be a great boost to WinMo… it’s, by all accounts, a little late to the party.) I’ve read on other blogs that Microsoft has tried courting RIM unsuccessfully several times (often citing unnamed sources).

Nokia has struggled in the smartphone market and even though it has killer hardware (like the Nokia N900), it has also struggled on the software side. I’ve heard great things about Maemo 5 but bugs in the OS lead to substantial delays and a miserable launch for the N900. Nokia would be a more expensive acquisition than RIM based on market caps, $49B vs. $38B. It also doesn’t have a strong presence in the U.S. market.

Another potential target is Palm which once dominated the pocket organizer wars but has slipped considerably in recent years. It’s unclear what tricks Palm management might have to resurrect the company because it did not attend the Mobile World Congress or unveil any new products in recent months (other than the spruced up Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, if you count those).

So, it’s not entirely clear who Microsoft wants to take to the prom but, at least according to some of the sources cited by Reuters, it’s planning on going. The Reuters article is available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61I54A20100219

Microsoft Bing’s Amazing Augmented Reality Maps

With N900 to be released soon, why hasn’t Nokia (NYSE:NOK) seen a run-up?

Nokia N900 Walk-Through Video from YouTube (a re-run for some and an eye opener for others)

If you have a website or blog, Get Clicky [Plug]

Jon Mallin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:31:28 +0000

I want to briefly plug Clicky web analytics. I haven’t received any compensation or free services for the plug.

I was a Google Analytics fan until I was introduced to Clicky. I use the free version on this blog and my professional blog and I’ve found it to be valuable in analyzing web traffic. The setup is easy. The interface is intuitive. Additionally, it offers many advantages over Google Analytics, including:

Twitter analytics
Dedicated iPhone and mobile version
Alerts
“Juicy details” about every single user, including reports about every click
Visitor organizations, hostnames, IP addresses — the works.

A full chart comparing Get Clicky to the competition is available at: http://getclicky.com/ It’s roster of clients include the Boy Genius Report, Mashable and Smashing Magazine. And, it’s worth noting that you don’t have to forfeit Google Analytics to use Clicky. One site can run both tracking codes.

Check it out if you want to know more about your website or blog traffic. http://getclicky.com/

Google Reader Improves: Monitor any Website… and Blackberry Tip

2009 Blog Stats for Tech Bottle & 2010 Goals

Motorola Motoblur/Cliq Interactive Website Rocks

What Google could do to whip iTunes [Wired.com article]

Jon Mallin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 19:38:34 +0000

Last night Wired.Com posted up a good article that lays out a strategy Google could follow to dethrone iTunes as the leader in music distribution. Many of the suggestions involve leveraging the cloud and allowing users to stream their music purchases to their devices.

I have been thinking along similar lines. Google Chrome OS is just a browser and nothing more. It can play music stored up in the cloud but nothing locally stored. Although it is only intended for netbooks for the immediate future, if Chrome OS is to make the leap to the desktop, users need a way to manage and play their precious MP3s. If we could upload our music to Google and stream it back down to Android phones and computers running Chrome OS, Google would make inroads on the traditional buy-and-download model.

Music service LaLa offered a cloud-based solution for music but Google lost the bidding war to acquire LaLa to… Apple, of course. The Wired.Com article is a good read if you find any of this interesting…

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/google’s-music-strategy-past-present-and-future/

Problems with the Google “Revenue Equation” and Solutions

Chat Roulette — The Circus of the Internet

Jon Mallin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:45:24 +0000

What new website has over 500,000 unique visitors a day and anywhere from 20,000 to 150,000 concurrent users? Hint: It’s certainly not this blog. It’s the interwebs latest rage, ChatRoulette.com, an overnight sensation created by a 17 year old Russian computer hobbyist. Chat Roulette has been featured in the New York Times, Mashable and Tech Crunch, among other sources. It piqued my interest when I saw such substantial media coverage. A quick search on Twitter shows almost universal intrigue about Chat Roulette and quite a few fans.

Chat Roulette is aptly named. Users fire up webcams and click through other users (literally clicking “Next” about once per second) until they find someone with whom they would like to communicate. The user-base spans the globe and at all hours there are people online clicking through images looking for the net “hit” of Chat Roulette. Users can type or speak their dialogues, some of which are made difficult by language barriers.

Chat Roulette has become a venue for exhibitionist sex acts and drug use. (I’m curious if the 17 year old expected this when he launched the site. There is a button to report indecent acts but I expect that it is clicked infrequently and ends up in ignored in /dev/null.) So, if a very brief glimpse of something indecent is going to ruin your day, avoid Chat Roulette.

Despite exhibitionist/voyeuristic tendencies of some users, it seems that the vast majority of users seem to be interested in just having a good laugh. I’ve seen puppet shows, magic tricks, costumes, parties and people just looking for a cure to common boredom.

If you’re curious and you’re willing to smile for the webcam (and risk ending up on YouTube too because a number of videos seem to be appearing), visit http://chatroulette.com/ or http://chatrt.com/. It’s the 24 hour, 7 days a week, live circus of the internet.

P.S. Apparently it is easy to piss someone off on Chat Roulette without actually doing anything. If someone sticks their middle finger up at you on Chat Roulette, just do it back and click next.

P.P.S. This 17 year old is going to make a ton of money once the site displays paid advertisements.

UPDATE: From Chat Roulette’s website, “We are currently replacing servers. You may experience slight issues with connection. All perfomance problems will be fixed in 20 hours.”

Internet Explorer users click ads 5x more often than Google Chrome users [DATA]

Chrome OS Flow by Hexxeh Review

Jon Mallin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:17:41 +0000

I’m blogging from within Google Chrome OS Flow by Hexxeh. As you may know from my previous posts (e.g., this one), Chrome OS is simply a bootup and login to the Google Chrome browser. The simplicity of the Chrome OS offers performance advantages on netbooks. I’m evaluating the very popular and recently released Flow build of the Google Chrome OS which is offered up by Hexxeh (link at end of post).I have a first generation netbook, a Gateway that is equivalent to an Acer Aspire One, with Wifi G, 1 GB RAM and an Intel Atom 1.60 Ghz processor. (This was a terrific Black Friday find on NewEgg.com for $199.) The beauty of Flow is that it can be run off of a USB device or even an SD Card (both of which require at least a 2 GB capacity and will be wiped clean before the installation). I chose to install it on an SD Card. Here are my observations:

1. It’s screaming fast. Pages pop into place quickly. The rendering is almost immediate and the weakest link in terms of speed is probably the Wifi G card. Oh, and I almost forgot to mention, my netbook boots in about 10 seconds and shuts down in 4 seconds.

2. Hexxeh built in a really cool update feature that will allow you to upgrade by simply clicking through the browser.

3. The Chrome desktop (or whatever you want to call it.. the left-most tab) comes with links to many sites broken down into the following categories: Email, Games, IM, Media, Productivity, Shop, Social and Search. You can flag any of the icons as favorites and they appear on the “My Apps” tab. Ubuntu Netbook Remix and Jolicloud users will find this system familiar.

4. Extensions work just as you would expect and the icons can be rearranged (unlike the fixed icons in the latest Windows version of the Chrome Browser).

5. You get more real estate on your screen with Chrome OS than you do with Ubunutu Netbook Remix and Jolicloud because the tabs are flush against the top of the screen. This is especially helpful on first generation netbooks with 1024 x 600 screen resolution.

6. When you power down, your open tabs are saved for your next session. This is similar to the hibernate mode in other linux varieties and Windows.

Where to Get It

You can download Chrome OS Flow from Hexxeh’s website (http://chromeos.hexxeh.net/) and he has complete installation instructions online. Not all netbook hardware configurations are supported. Also, it seems that the first time you login to your netbook (using your Google ID, of course), the netbook must be connected to a wired internet connection. After you get your credentials by wire, the wifi will work as well.

Many thanks to Curtis Edenfield on Google Buzz (join if you are a techie and haven’t yet checked it out) for tipping me off about the Flow variety of Google Chrome OS.

Glide Cloud Free OS 4.0 [Mini-Review]

Quickie Review of the Blackberry Tour 9630

Mini Review: Blackberry Ubertwitter Beta v0.932 “Leaked”

Mini Review: Blackberry MiniPaint Beta (Free)

Mini Review: Seesmic Twitter App for Blackberry & Download Code

Alleged Assassins in Dubai [Video]

Jon Mallin — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 18:35:41 +0000

The whole point of this blog is to post things that I find interesting that you also might find interesting. This video is very interesting. It’s not often that I tune in for a 27 minute video on the internet but this was better than some Hollywood movies. The video is silent so you can watch it at work.

The video is a compilation of various security cameras around Dubai that seem to have caught ten men and one woman carrying out the assassination of a high level Hamas member, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. It was posted by Wired.Com but I was unable to find it on YouTube (so you won’t be able to view the video in full screen mode).

You may be asking yourself, “What the heck does this have to do with technology?” For starters, many of the movements of the group were captured by hidden security cameras. The video also addresses, among other things, encrypted cellphone use, airport security and some type of very small, short-range handheld communication device. The assassination was carried out without any traces of evidence left in the hotel room and the victim was in his own hotel room with the door locked and chained when his body was found. No blood was found. You’ll have to watch the video to learn the apparent cause of death.

Here ya go…

[via Wired.Com]

Most Over the Top Wedding Save the Date [Video]

MIT Media Lab’s “SixthSense” Project [VIDEO]

Augmented Reality Baseball Cards by TOPPS [VIDEO]

Ford’s SYNC to enable Wifi hot spots on the road [VIDEO]

The Web Gets a New Anthem [VIDEO]

Hacker Porting HTC Desire ROM to Google Nexus One Phone…

Jon Mallin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 19:54:52 +0000

Click to Enlarge

Pictured right is a Google Nexus One phone running HTC’s popular, proprietary user interface, Sense. In a nutshell, the ROM from the HTC Desire is being ported to the Nexus One. Although the hardware differences between the HTC Desire and Nexus One are minimal, this is no minor feat nor is the porting complete. Modaco, the hacker porting the ROM, reports that the system file was too large for the Nexus One’s internal storage and some modifications were needed, not all of which are complete.

Expect many Nexus One users to run this ported ROM given the widespread criticism of the “plain” Android 2.1 user interface and the rave reviews of the Sense user interface. Keep in mind that you will need to root your Nexus One to install another ROM and you run the risk of making your phone inoperable. (The lawyer in me wanted to remind you of that.)

[via Engadget via Modaco]

Confirmed: Google Nexus One Phone Coming to Verizon in the Spring

Google Nexus One being reviewed in the blogosphere…

Luxury TAG Heuer MERIDIIST Phone

Pre-Release Device Photos … Mobile Phone “Porn”

First Phone to Dual Boot two OSs… Nokia’s N900 [video and implications]

Blackberry and Google Buzz Notifications & Gmail Dupe Emails [Workarounds]

Jon Mallin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 15:26:32 +0000

So, I’m still wielding a Blackberry Tour 9630. I know that’s very 2009 but that aside… I was encountering two significant problems after consolidating my email on the computer into Gmail (I have the enhanced Gmail plugin installed on my ‘berry) and after I started using Google Buzz:

Duplicate emails. Each time I received an email at something@something.com it also ends up in my Gmail inbox. Works great on the computer. However, my consolidated Blackberry Inbox would show two copies of every message except for those sent directly to my Gmail. I considered removing all email addresses from my Blackberry except for the Gmail address but that would prevent me from composing or replying from any address other than Gmail.
Buzz notifications. My Blackberry was going berserk every time a new buzz appeared in my stream. I would receive an email with every comment on that buzz. This happens even though I have a filter in Gmail to auto-archive those emails (instructions here). Not only was this annoying but it was also hogging the memory on my Blackberry.

The “workaround” isn’t too elegant but it does work. Install the standalone Gmail app from Google (http://m.google.com/ on the Blackberry browser). Use that to read your Gmail. You’ll probably want to move it to your home screen. Remove your Gmail address on your ‘berry through the Email Settings icon. Now, you will not receive any Buzz notifications on your ‘berry if you have a buzz filter to auto-archive those emails. Your Gmail inbox will receive every message your Gmail on the PC receives. Admittedly, this can be kind of slow because sometimes Gmail waits up to an hour before POPing email from other accounts. However, your normal consolidated Blackberry Inbox will receive push email from your non-Gmail addresses. And, you can compose and reply from all of your email addresses. Note that your Gmail will not appear in your consolidated Blackberry Inbox.

This is only a partial solution to problem #1 because anything sent to something@something.com will appear in both the Gmail app and the consolidated Blackberry Inbox. Frankly, I tend to ignore my consolidated Blackberry Inbox because I don’t need to respond to my emails immediately. The workaround above is a complete solution to problem #2. Also, the Gmail App is handy to have for other reasons. For example, you can search your entire email archives for old emails.

I hope that the BIS update RIM is promising solves the duplicate email problem but it is unclear when the BIS update will be released. For the Buzz notifications, I wrote to Google to help make them aware of the problem. If the Buzz notifications are skipping the inbox in Gmail, they shouldn’t push to the Blackberry. The most elegant solution would be to allow users to simply turn off the notifications completely.

HOW-TO: Send a Google Buzz from your Blackberry

Google to Add Status Update Feature to Gmail [Analysis]

If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz.

Brief How-To: Google Wave — E-mail Notifications

Google, why Buzz? This is probably the answer.

Google Buzz: Effects on the Blogosphere and Digital Media

Jon Mallin — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:58:03 +0000

Everyone is buzzing about how to use Google Buzz and whether it will succeed. Some are still tweeting about privacy concerns. Everyone wants to know whether Facebook, Twitter and Google Buzz can coexist. In this post, I take a different approach. I begin with the assumption that Google Buzz will succeed and consider what effects that will have on the world of blogging and on more mainstream digital media. I conclude that Google Buzz will have profound effects that significantly differ from effects of any other social networking site that currently exists.

What do I mean by “succeed”? I mean that Google Buzz becomes a useful repository for information sharing that is frequented by many for news, opinions and sometimes everyday chatter.

Google Buzz Differs from Existing Social Networks

If Google Buzz succeeds, then a relentless flow of information will come into Google Buzz making it very sticky. This is very unlike Twitter, which I contend is not a very sticky site at all. Almost all tweets, other than casual banter, have outbound links. This has created a cottage industry in URL shortening. Tweets are essentially headlines that direct people away from Twitter into a different realm, often the blogosphere. While Google Buzz could be used to drive traffic into a different realm, it is much more sticky for a few reasons. First, there’s no character limit on Buzzes. Google Buzz could be a substitute for blogs, particularly simple ones like the Posterous blogs. (This is a topic I mused about before: “Google Buzz could become a Substitute for Blogs if…”). Second, there’s absolutely no start-up cost and it is easy to begin buzzing. You can login and can begin almost immediately. You don’t have to mess with customizing WordPress. Third, unlike Twitter (and Facebook to some extent), Google Buzz has very good support for images and video. Rich content buzzes are quite common. With Twitter, you needed an outbound link to see any rich content at all with the exception of user avatars. Fourth, Google Buzz has a good commenting system (which is likely to be improved) and discussions are easy to follow, unlike Twitter. With Twitter, even if you read a post on a blog and decide to comment, most likely you would do so on the blog and not via Twitter. Google Buzz, on the other hand, is self-contained and comprehensive.

Google Buzz is designed to draw people away from other sites and into Buzz. It’s baked into Gmail which many millions of people use daily. Google’s popular RSS reader also draws people into Google Buzz through prominent links in Reader. Google made apps for phones and cooked in a location sharing sharing feature via Google Maps (a la FourSquare). Picasa is wired into Google Buzz. Every buzz has an email link at the bottom for sharing it. This draws people into Google Buzz, not away from it. In other words, Google Buzz is well integrated with other properties in the Google ecosystem.

If Google Buzz Succeeds and it’s as “Sticky” as I say, then…

First, traffic to blogs will go down as Google Buzz becomes a substitute for blogging. As long as people can locate people with similar interests (and I’m sure there are third party sites mimicking “WeFollow” as I type and Google may roll something out too), affinity groups can stick with Google Buzz. Second, with rebuzzing, sharing via Google Reader and upcoming integration with Google News, sites that simply aggregate news will be irrelevant and unprofitable. Third, if aggregators are “buzzed out,” then what about the fate of publications like Mashable/TechCrunch or old media like the local newspaper? I predict that they will publish more original content and less “mash-ups” or aggregated content. Further, they will be leery of publishing their content to Google Buzz. Instead, they will try to stick to the Twitter model and drive people with outbound links to their websites to generate advertising revenue. Already, we’re seeing Mashable which boasts 2.3 million followers post outbound links as opposed to publishing directly into Google Buzz. This model could succeed if the original content is attractive enough to draw people away from Google Buzz to read it and the person chooses the outbound link over Google Reader.

How does Facebook fit into the picture? Surprise: Facebook wants to become what Google Buzz already is.

If Google Buzz does succeed and the blogosphere contracts, particularly the amateur blogosphere, it will do so where Twitter and Facebook have failed. As I already discussed, Twitter’s model was to aggregate headlines but it has not produced a sticky site. Facebook is a very sticky site but not for the same reasons Google Buzz will become a very sticky site. Facebook is sticky because people want to share their life’s experience with people they know and/or read about friends and family. Major media outlets and significant blogs have not yet gotten much traction on Facebook. People don’t want to pollute their stream of friends’ news with other content (like the backlash against Zynga’s games publishing into streams). Accordingly, I believe Google Buzz is very unlike Facebook… and in a useful sort of way. While theoretically Google Buzz could be used like Facebook, it is better suited as a sticky news and opinion social network of sorts. This is one of Facebook’s goals but Google actually has a significant head start because of its integration with other Google properties. This runs absolutely counter to what you read elsewhere that Google Buzz is a startup challenging a 400 million strong Facebook. I contend that Google is today buzzing with what Facebook wants to become. (Perhaps I just answered the question of whether Facebook and Google Buzz can coexist. Yes, Facebook for friends and family and Google Buzz for news-worthy content and opinions.)

If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz.

Why Google Buzz is targeted at Twitter… not Facebook yet.

Google Nexus One being reviewed in the blogosphere…

Google Buzz — Complaints and Suggestions

Music (Video) Mondays on Google Buzz

Microsoft Bing’s Amazing Augmented Reality Maps

Jon Mallin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 18:48:31 +0000

I don’t think I’ve ever had a post dedicated entirely to a Microsoft product but this is awesome. Below is a video from the TED conference which shows off the augmented reality features in Bing Maps. The video is long, around 8 minutes, but it gets better and better as it progresses.

[via Alden Torres on Google Buzz]

Augmented Reality Baseball Cards by TOPPS [VIDEO]

Augmented Reality — Explained and Free Examples (Layar, GE, Papervision & BMW)

Microsoft to Acquire RIM? Nokia?

That $2.0B Bing Advertising Campaign in the U.K. (I just Googled about it.)

Trendsmap: Twitter on a Google Maps Overlay to Become More Precise

Samsung sets the bar high with the Halo i8520

Jon Mallin — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 23:44:47 +0000

It’s been a long while since I last blogged about a phone but this one is worth a post on every tech blog. Samsung might hit it out of the ballpark with the Halo i8520. Here are the specs:

3.7″ WVGA Super AMOLED
8 mp camera with flash
4 gb ROM
3 gb RAM (triple most netbooks)
16 gb MoviNAND
1,800 mAh battery
TouchWiz 3 skin over Android 2.1
Pico DLP Projector [Update: this detail comes via Engadget]

This phone is a ridiculously potent. I could not find specs on the processor but expect at least a 1 Ghz snapdragon, maybe more.

The only two things I can think of that would make this phone the uberphone are dual cameras (one forward for videoconferencing/skyping) and an RFID reader (which the upcoming iPhone may have).

Samsung is putting its name on the map for high end devices with the Halo i8520.

[via DroidDog via PhoneDog]

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