Techkeyla

Cuil WAS here. Now it’s gone

Sujoy — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 03:52:00 +0000

Did you miss a day on Techmeme? If that day was the 28th, you might have missed a new buzzword on the blogosphere. If not, you must be by now, jammed with the keyword-Cuil. Launched as the Google killer(yeah right) by ex-Googlers, Cuil did manage to make the entire blogosphere go haywire and make them lap it all up desperately, as if the Blogosphere was desperately waiting for a debutante. And then they talked and talked about it, about how they managed to index the web, the image results and then the hype on day 1 brought the site down. The site couldn’t handle the unexpected load on day 1 and was temporarily unavailable. But then, the question is, how did Cuil manage to create such a buzz all over?

ReadWriteWeb has an interesting explanation to this. It all begins with the buzz that the guys behind this Search Engine are ex-Google employees. So there you go. Does the media (blog media) need any more reason to go frenzy? Yeah well, not only that, the founders made some claims of challenging the big GOOG. And then, certain industry pundits (as they call themselves) made some good claims about the new kid on the block. And then, the press release came out with the headline: Cuil launches Biggest Search Engine on the Web. WHaaaaaa??? Where did Google,Live and Yahoo go for the day? And well, the initial hype surrounded the claims of the pundits. The power of PR took over and then, they must not have expected the backlash.

So here’s what went wrong. Cuil did index the web quite well, in a cheap way. But did NOTHING to bring it back on the front end. The end result, is BAD RESULTS. Almost irrelevant at times. Techcrunch has this article posted -How to Lose your Cuil-Erick Schonfeld talks of how the entire thing has been more hoopla than anything else, and how the bad and irrelevant results have all summed up to a really bad name behind all the PR techniques and Page Rank that it acquired on Day one.

On the other hand, when the press release of Cuil calls itself The Biggest Search Engine on the Internet, I think they should have seen it through if their search Engine IS infact delivering what search engines should at the first place-relevant results. Google,Yahoo and Live, all three search engines show a link to my website Techkeyla-when I search the keyword Techkeyla. But Cuil rather shows a Blogswatch link to my blog and many other such links which are actually just links to my blog. My blog is almost 6 months old, and lotsa crawling has already happened. For Pete’s sake Google manages to grab my meta-data info that was updated last night. So, Mr.Cuil- think before you call yourself the Biggest. I just want to see what Google’s reply would be on this one.

Links for 2008-07-29

Sujoy — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:18:40 +0000

Google Knol and Search Engine Woes

How to Cuil ?

Microsoft Live Search Coming to Facebook

Shortcut Menu: Shift Your Shortcuts

4 must-have online tools (and they’re free!)

How to build a basic computer for only $165!

MobileMe: Yeah, it sucks.

Knol is no Wiki

Sujoy — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 21:12:59 +0000

If everywhere, everyone has been flooded with this image showing an article on INSOMNIA, it is so because KNOL is out for the public now. KNOL is Google’s knowledge base ( a way to tackle Wikipedia) of articles written by people ranging from specialised ones to bloggers to anyone stung by the writer’s bug. As if your blogger/wordpress account wasn’t enough. Google wants to centralise it all. But yeah, no one here would be interested a status update of you at 2 am. Articles here aren’t anonymous. There are personally written posts (quite long ones) on topics by people who are specialized enough to know the ins and outs.

Firstly, do NOT go to Knol.com. That is a Dutch website offering Steam machines. The business for them is so gonna break through the roof. At least they should include Adsense!! Anyway coming back, the official website of Knol is http://knol.google.com. And the homepage has a few past articles featured written by authors who are Neurologists, Proffessors at renowned Universities, and highly qualified physicians. Most of the written posts featured on the homepage are on health topics viz. Heart Diseases, Cancer, Fighting Obesity etc. But there are other topics as well. As this one, written by a certain Chewy (Geeky Geekington) who has written a post on Devil May Cry 4. And from his anonymous profile, (here known as biography of the author) we still don’t know much about Mr.Chewy. So that brings us what Knol is all about. I shall point it out in the points below.

It’s a repository where many specialised/verified(by Google) authors contribute their knowledge on specialised topics.
Topics contain author’s links and hence an author’s profile can be tracked. Unlike wiki, which is a general page and a single page can be updated by multiple authors, and there is no tracking back of authors.
An article can be rated.
Just too many health articles on homepage. A bit scary.
Collaboration of author’s work here.
No editing of Knols. It is considered as a unit of knowledge, so a single topic can have multiple Knols.

Compared to Wiki’s database, Knol has a long long way to go. And I personally believe that Knol would NEVER be able to compete against Wiki. Knol is more like a centralised blogger platform (may be yet another). How much will it be accepted as a knowledge repository or an encyclopedia is a bit questionable. Yes, there will be some articles who will be read more , just because of the fact that these are being written by specialists and not by uncle_benny_543 from Zoolanderland.But having said that, compared to what Wiki offers, and the amount of pages that it has now, in the number of languages in which it offers its services, ahem ahem!!! Let’s talk about something else.

Of course by now, the entire blogosphere is going gaga over another Google service. I have a few links myself which I think should be read if you felt my post on Knol didn’t quench your thirst enough.

Google’s Blog on Knol

Google Launches Knol for All (Just Don’t Call It a Wikipedia Killer)

Google Knol Launches; More Like Squidoo than Wikipedia

Screw Facebook, I’m learning how to unclog toilets from Knol (Google’s “Wikipedia”)

Google unveils Knol, its accountable take on Wikipedia — with ads

Google launches Knol Beta to all !

Google’s Knol Launches: Like Wikipedia, With Moderation

Share Your Expertise in Google’s Knol

Knol, Google’s Version of Wikipedia, Goes Public

Google Launches Knol, The Monetizable Wikipedia

Google Launches Wikipedia Killer “Knol”

Wikipedia, Meet Knol

Links for 2008-07-20

Sujoy — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:29:51 +0000

Install Microsoft Office 2007 on Ubuntu, Wine 1.1.1

Why We Need Reviews To Buy The Right Electronic Equipment

Adding Gravatars to Older Themes

Top 50 Linux Quotes of All Time

The struggle of the Freelancer.

A Powerful Way to Control Your iPhone or iPod Touch

5 essential StumbleUpon Power POints

250 Plugins for Photoshop

GMail Contact is now Clutter Free. Yippee!!

Sujoy — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 09:06:58 +0000

I knew this would soon be fixed and it was quite sooner than I expected. If you have closely followed the trend, anyone whom you mailed twice appeared in your contact list on the left side chat window. This made your chat window filled with even all those names with whom you would never chat. The result- an unorganised, cluttered and populated chat contact list. And as expected, it is FIXED. GMail Blog reports today that the automatic addition to contact list has been modified. The automatic contacts addition/update still works but on two levels viz. My Contacts and Suggested Contacts.

What is the difference? My Contacts are the one added by you explicitly through invites,import,sync etc. This also includes frequently mailed email IDs (not as frequent as the previous one, this one now has a minimum of 5 emails. )

And well, Suggested Contacts is where GMail puts in all the auto-created contacts. The default settings are, that for frequent email-ed Suggested Contacts will be automatically shifted to My Contacts. But the settings can be altered. Through this, the usage based addition to My Contacts can be changed or even removed.

I’d say this one is a good change. Would definitely remove a lot of clutter on my contact list. At least I can tick one on the checklist now.

Call for FREE anywhere from your new iPhone

Sujoy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:05:58 +0000

Rub your eyes, pinch yourself and still it will be true. Ladies and Gentlemen, introducing Truphone, a new Application available for FREE on the Appstore and with which you don’t have to worry about that international roaming when you want to call back home. For frequent flyers, or people who are always on the move (of course, this one has a catch, but what good thing doesn’t), Truphone is the perfect solution to reduce all those International Roaming Bills that have burned not juts a hole, but your entire pocket.

So here is the deal. Instead of the regular GSM network, all you need is to switch over an Internet network via Wi-Fi and voila, through Truphone you can make calls to anywhere for FREE. Anywhere? Yes, anywhere across the world -to landlines, to mobiles et al. But not all of them are for free. And here is the catch!!!

You can call to any user who has the Truphone Application installed on his/her phone. And the app supports most smartphones. Go to the official website for the details. However, if you think that I was fooling you, here’s more. The rates for international calls for anywhere from anywhere are almost uniform at landline calls rated for 0.03 GBP (0.06 US $) per minute and .15 GBP (0.30 US $) per minute for mobile calls. And that is the same if you were to call from Rio to Riyadh or from Denver to Delhi. But then, calls for US, Canada and China cellphones are again at just 0.03 GBP. How cool is that?

Now for some more good news. You can call your Google Talk friends as well from the same App. Check out the iPhone page of the website and the video almost explains it all. I think, AT&T is so much going to hate this one. Also check out the cool features page to know more about the services that the App offers. And that list contains, the already mentioned Google Talk and some more- viz. Facebook, FREE CALLS TO TRUPHONE USERS WORLDWIDE and Voicemail to email. And all you need is a Wi-Fi hotspot. So, anyone downloading this one already? Go to the Appstore on the iPhone/iPod Touch (with the iPhone 2.0 firmware ie) and search for Truphone. Or just go in your iTunes store and search Truphone. Ring Ring!!!

Dude,its July 11th.The iPhone 3G is here.

Sujoy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 11:27:58 +0000

I don’t need to keep repeating what the zillions of bloggers across nations are busy writing now in languages I can’t keep count of. Every second blogger right now is blogging about the new iPhone or the App store. People have been waiting for nearly 72 hours in queue and braving cold, heat, and even ridiculous price plans to lay their hands on the new darling from Cupertino-phew, the new iPhone 3G. So, by the time this post will be finished, there is just 2 hours for the clock to strike 8 am at the 5th Avenue store in Manhattan,NY.And then there is the utter confusion of whether people are more excited over the new iPhone or the App Store’s simultaneous release. There are almost 500 plus apps up for grabs with almost 30% of them being free. Like it or hate it, you just can’t ignore it nor can you get enough of it.

This is not another post which will keep you engaged with many more features of what the new iPhone looks like, feels like, or how it is when it is unboxed etc etc. This is just one huge post of all the biggies who have reported this LARGER THAN APPLE event. And we begin with the marathon post which spans across the world.

Engadget’s LiveBlog of the International Launch of iPhone 3G

And after the jump, all that the blogosphere is buzzing around with. (To have a sneak peek, go straight to the current page of Techmeme, and you’ll get a taste of it).

Engadget:
iPod touch 2.0 leaked to the wolves?

Apple fesses up to MobileMe transition difficulties

Video: iPhone 3G unboxing and first look

Are you having problems with iPhone 2.0?

MobileMe now live, ready for you

It’s iPhone 3G tear-down time

Gizmodo:
MobileMe Web App is Up, One Day of Awkwardness Late

iPod Touch 2.0 Firmware Leaked

The Night Before the 3G iPhone Launch at the 5th Ave Apple Store

White iPhone 3G Unboxed, Definitely White

Somehow, Original iPhones Going For Up To $600, Sell Now!

Call For Photos: iPhone 3G Campers Around the World

Cool Tip: iPhone 2.0 Software Has Built-In Screen Capture

Super Monkey Ball for iPhone Lightning Review: Addictive, Hard as Hell

TechCrunch:
Before the App Store “Opens”, it has already made Apple $55,000

WordPress and TypePad Spawn Mobile Blogging

Live iPhone 3G Unboxing and Review on CrunchGear Tomorrow at 7am EDT

That Didn’t Take Long…iPhone 2.0 OS Unlocked

iPhone App Store: The Early List of Top Downloads

iPhone Application Overview And Demo Videos

And then some MORE:-

TUAW:iPhone 3G unboxing pics: black and white edition

Mashable:Share the Joy and Cheers of the World iPhone 3G Release via Qik Events

ArsTechnica:500 iPhone Apps, but why these?

LifeHacker:What’s Good (and Free!) in the iTunes App Store

GigaOm:I Can’t Find MobileMe

Here comes the Faster Google for the Better iPhone

Sujoy — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 05:10:44 +0000

Google’s first native app for the new iPhone 3G and iPod Touch has been just unveiled. And from what we have seen from it, it is almost too good to be true. The power of Google in yur palm, on the move, all in ONE BIG APP. It combines all the services of Google (almost) and brings it to your new iPhone and iPod Touch. And even with enhanced features like, suggested search keywords, suggested website domains, local services integrated with Google Maps and even call history search. Needless to say it is for FREE.The best part of it is of course TAP TAP TAP!!

To get the Google Mobile App, go to the App Store on your iPhone/iPod Touch or your iTunes and search for Google Mobile App. One more thing, it is still not available elsewhere but only in the US.

And what other features does it carry besides Search. Almost all the Google services which include: GMail, Calender, GTalk, Docs, Google 411, Maps, News, Notebook, Photos, Reader, Youtube and iGoogle. Check out the Youtube video after the Jump.

Here’s the Google Mobile Blog post on the Google Mobile App.

Links for 2008-07-10

Sujoy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 05:00:19 +0000

Robots hidden in Firefox 3

Technology That Never Got Its 15 Minutes Of Fame

Principles for Collaboration with SharePoint

Does it Still Make Any Difference?If a Ranking Falls?

10 Things You Need to Know Before Buying a 3G iPhone

Google Talk on the iPhone. Bye Bye SMS!

Sujoy — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 04:54:59 +0000

Right, so the google guys have been on a roll. As the curtains on the new iPhone 3G get lifted this Friday, we have more reasons to rejoice. There is a new version of GTalk being specifically made for the iPhone. All you need is to go to talk.google.com and sign in, right through the Safari Browser.

Yes, no other downloads required. Chat with your pals on the go, exchange texts etc etc. Read the post on GMail blog on this. The flipside though is, that this is NOT an Always ON Chat Application, and it gets signed out if you were to switch to another browser window, or an app. Hmm, that is bad. But yeah, if you were doing nothing and have a wi-fi in your neigbourhood, or even with the new 3G enabled, GTalk on the iPhone could be a real SMS killer. Probably, we could altogether do away with it in almost a year.

What do the tech-pundits have to say about it?