Tag Archives: android
What Is Boot 2 Gecko? A Look At Mozilla’s Chrome-esque Cloud OS
Posted on 08. Aug, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 
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Mozilla’s been having a pretty rough time lately. Their browser, Firefox; started out in a pretty sweet spot- as an excellent alternative to Internet Explorer. Now, it seems as though their browser is the one people are seeking an alternative to- and that alternative just happens to be Google Chrome. It’s no secret that both Firefox and IE have been losing market share to Chrome lately- and if they keep going at the rate they’re going, Chrome could very well end up as the dominant browser in the market.
Recently, Google nixed Firefox’s Google Bar. While versions that already had the bar designed for them still kept the addon, any version beyond 5 no longer offered it. Naturally, there were a lot of fans of the browser who were rather unhappy with Google’s decision- and a great many people who felt that a move like this only underscored that Google no longer saw Mozilla as an ally; but an enemy instead. I won’t go into the details of the Google bar’s demise- because honestly, they’re irrelevant to us. What we are going to focus on is an announcement that Mozilla made shortly after Google officially cut support for the Firefox addon.
Apparently, Mozilla is working on a web-based operating system.
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Want to Know the Q2 Numbers For G +, Android, and Chrome?
Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 0 Comments
Well, looks like Google’s doing well. Recently, Google CEO Larry Page announced Google’s second quarter earnings, as well as some usage statistics. Fans of Google will be happy to know that pretty much every one of the primary platforms is booming. Let’s take a belated look at what Larry shared with us, shall we?
Earnings:
Google’s earnings have gone up 32% from last year, netting Google around $9.03 billion dollars in gross revenue, with 6.23 of that being generated from Google-owned sites. Though Page asserted that search and advertising are still Google’s core businesses, products like Chrome, Youtube, and Google + are part of a long term goal and should generate “huge new business” for the company, which is quickly moving from a search-engine giant to a multimedia empire. Think that’s a hyperbolic statement? Take a look at some of the other stats Page has released.
Google +:
True to Paul Allen’s prediction, Larry announced on the earnings call that Google+ had broken the ten million user mark, with one billion items shared each day, and Google’s +1 button being clicked up to 2.3 billion times a day. And just think- if Mr. Allen was right about Google + having ten million users on Thursday, might he also be right in predicting that it’s ballooned to over twenty million by now?
Chances are good that he is.
Android:
Android now has 550,000 devices activated each day, with one hundred sixty million devices(and over four hundred unique models) worldwide. Something tells me Apple might be getting a bit nervous about this one.
Chrome:
And here’s the news you’ve all been waiting for. As of Thursday, Chrome has one hundred sixty million users- and they’re still going strong. Unless Microsoft or Mozilla manages to pull out some incredible feature that leaves Chrome in the dust, something tells me that it might just be the dominant browser on the market in a few years time.
And I see absolutely nothing wrong with that.
via All Geek
Send A Text To Chrome With MightyText
Posted on 28. Jul, 2011 by Nicholas Greene. 3 Comments
Have you ever wanted to be able to send and receive texts on your computer? No, I’m not talking about instant messaging systems, or the limited functionality of some websites to send data to mobile phones. I’m talking about full blown SMS on your computer. It’s now possible- assuming you’ve got an Android phone, and Google Chrome. (Though if you didn’t have the latter, I’d question why you were here.) The app that lets you do it, developed by a company of the same name, is known as Mighty Text.
Maneesh Arora, former Google employee and co-founder of the company, saw that there was a marked absence of software designed to allow users to access SMS services over their computer. He clearly felt it a rather odd thing for modern phones to be lacking, given how many mobile services there are which require connection to a computer in some way, shape or form. “During meetings[At Google] everyone was on laptops and used Gchat. But when my wife texted me, I had to reach into my pocket. So strange. With six trillion text messages sent per year, SMS is still broken. Why can’t I search a text from last month, from anywhere, at any time?”
Naturally, he set out to develop an app that rectified the problem; and in so doing, evidently filled a very large niche in the market- “So far,” says Arora, “we have routed over 18 million SMS messages since our beta launch just two months ago.”
So…what’s the point?
So just what is this app good for, anyway? There’s actually a few uses for it. First up, you can text without having to look away from your computer screen. Seems a very small boon when you write it down on paper, but in practice that’s actually pretty awesome. Plus, if I’m given the choice between the often cramped keyboard on a smartphone and the full keyboard on a PC, well…that choice is something of a no-brainer, wouldn’t you say? What’s more, the app will show you the name and phone number of whoever happens to call you while you’re using it, alerting you if you miss the call. Plus, you can send texts from your own phone number, instead of having to use a proxy.
There’s more coming in the future, too. Arora plans to add a function that allows users to access and search through old texts. Not only that; if Arora has his way, it won’t just be computers that can use this service. He’s hoping to extend it to tablets and tablet-like devices, as well. “We want to send texts wherever the eyeballs are” Arora explained. Question is, will this app still use Chrome on the devices in question? I suppose we’ll just have to wait and see.
Final Thoughts
Truth be told, this is a pretty interesting idea. If I had an Android device, I’d give it a try myself. Those of you who do have phones that run Android, you’ll need to install the app to both your phone and your Chrome browser. One short setup process later, and you’re ready to start texting.
You can sign up to join the beta on Mightytext’s website. Currently the app’s free, and there’s been no talk of what sort of price it’ll run at when it’s completed.
via CNET
Chrome Webapps Are Nothing Without, Well, the Web
Posted on 30. Oct, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
I’ve tried to emphasize in the past the importance of internet connectivity in making sure that the web generation of computer products such as Chrome OS devices are a success. Because of this I’ve done a bit of coverage on wireless companies and how they play an important role.
Despite some of the conventional thinking out there that wireless operators are just “dumb pipes”, the reality is that they play an important role in the future of the mobile internet. No other companies out there have the infrastructure for us to connect to the web no matter where it is that we are.
Logitech Google TV Ad: Part 5
Posted on 22. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
More Google TV weirdness.
Logitech Google TV Ad: Part 4
Posted on 21. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Another Google TV promotion from Logitech. The launch is next month.
Logitech Google TV Ad: Part 3
Posted on 27. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
I don’t know how many installments Logitech is providing to advertise their Google TV Revue set top box, but here’s another one that was released recently. It seems as if there’s got to be some sort of story arc here somewhere. Check out part one here, and then part two if you’re interested.
Logitech Google TV Ad: Part 2
Posted on 26. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
This is the second installment of Logitech’s Google TV series of ads. Despite the consternation of some in the entertainment industry, Google TV will launch this fall with a set top box that runs Android with the Chrome browser.
thechromesource Daily: Links for 8/23/10
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
New Omnibox and Infobar experimental APIs have been announced for the beta channel of Chrome, as well as a context menu API.
ConceivableyTech’s Wolfgang Gruener tries to hunt down hardware acceleration in Chrome 7.
Google’s idea of integrating Flash into Chrome is indeed resulting in users having the most current (and safest) version.
Interesting feature: the Google Mobile App for iPhone can now push notifications to the device.
Should the fragmentation of Android across device manufacturers and wireless carriers cause some concern?
Best Buy Bringing the Tablet Bonanza
Posted on 23. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Forbes.com blogger Elizabeth Woyke is reporting that Best Buy’s president of wireless Shawn Score plans on bringing the heat, tablet -style this Christmas season.
“Going into the holidays, we will make tablets a focus,“ Score said.”Like e-readers over the last couple years, we think customers will think of Best Buy for tablets and expect us to have the right ones.”
Yeah. Like e-readers. I don’t know if I agree that monochrome book replacements really have the same cachet as a multimedia tablet, but whatever. The fact of the matter is that there is going to be a wide selection of tablets showing up in the next few months, and we’ll see which one can stand up to the incumbent iPad.
Score declined to say what operating systems these tablets will have, perhaps maybe because he doesn’t even know, or maybe because they’re still trying to keep secret that there’s a Chrome OS tablet on the horizon. It’s hard to say at this point.
Android, Windows 7, webOS, Chrome OS and whatever a Blackberry tablet would run on are all possibilities. Best Buy is also expected to have a tablet at some point under their own brand, Rocketfish.
thechromesource Weekend: Links for 8/15/10
Posted on 15. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Chrome OS can follow the same path for tablets and netbooks as Android has for smartphones, says the Wall Street Journal.
A New York-based Google think tank is in works; it supposedly will be called Ideas and headed by Jared Cohen from the US State Dept.
Making services “come to you” socially will be a big part of Google social strategy according to Playfish’s Sebastien de Halleux.
Visual search technology firm Like.com will soon be acquired by Google according to TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington.
Does Oracle’s lawsuit against Google somehow benefit Apple’s mobile strategy?
Chrome to Phone Also Syncs with Android Apps
Posted on 13. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments
Although Chrome to Phone is pretty cool, I didn’t realize that you could also trigger Android apps using the service. In this official Google video clip, it shows beaming a map to your smartphone with it loading the Google Maps application.
Pretty sweet.
