thechromesource – Google Chrome and Chrome OS News and Forum

Need a Hangout? Use the Check Extension for Chrome

Posted on 26. Sep, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 5 Comments

I’ve been pondering the merits of Google+ recently, especially in light of the fact that Facebook has made some changes to their interface recently. Note that I said, “changes” and not any improvements. In fact, I think what they have done is more than a nuisance more than anything and serves to suggest that maybe Google+ is a viable alternative social network.

But enough about Facebook. One of the key elements that I have always found intriguing about Google+ is the fact that the idea of Hangouts is something that Facebook is unable to compete with right now. Indeed, the new Google+ Hangout Check will even indicate for you if anyone is actually hanging out.

Maybe I don’t have enough Hangout-centric people in my Circles, but it seems to me that the whole concept has petered out. Although I must say, the Hangout Check extension is actually quite useful because when you are not focused on Google+ you can still have an idea if there are people you want to chat with face to face.

Is Google Hangouts a linchpin of Google+ and the overall Chrome space? It’s too soon to tell. Something suggests to me that many people are still a bit uncomfortable with the idea of videoconferencing with friends, despite the fact that many companies already use some form of it for long distances meetings as well as for hiring people remotely.

Once people do use Hangouts and find that they are not uncomfortable or perhaps embarrassed in any way, however, when they use it maybe there will be potential. But there is going to be that hurdle that needs to be overcome, and it won’t be that easy.

via Chrome Story

Google+: How Paranoid Are You About Privacy?

Posted on 21. Jul, 2011 by Wolfgang Gruener. 1 Comments

Editor’s note: this article originally appeared on our partnership site ConceivablyTech.

Summary, response, follow up and criticism – We recently ran an article in which we offered an opinion, not just Kurt’s opinion, but an opinion that has been created among our writers, about the security and especially a lack of security in Google’s social network. Of course, it was an editorial opinion, and you may have a different opinion. Google certainly has a different opinion and agreed to give us some of its time today to explain the approach of privacy in Google+. We still do not agree with it in its entirety, but admit that Google has – from its perspective – a case. In the end, it may all come down to the philosophy of how open your information can be and how paranoid you need to be about your privacy.

One of the advantages of having early access to Google+ is not so much the fact that you can engage with others, simply because there isn’t that much engaging happening right now. However, there is quite a bit you can learn about your personal preferences how a social network should work for you as you can compare Facebook and Google+ side by side in a relatively harmless way: There may be an almost silly volume of interest in Google+, but your exposure on the network is still very limited. If you have read Kurt’s article, you know that we are concerned about Google’s approach to handling privacy (as we are about the protection of privacy in all social networks, by the way.)

Not surprisingly, Google believes it has an approach that is reasonable and appropriate to secure privacy in Google+. Google argues that its social network privacy is much more flexible than the tools provided by its “competition” (we assume that would be Facebook.) Google+ privacy relies on (1) your general Google account settings, (2) the settings in your Google Profile, (3) the use of Circles and (4) your ability to understand your conduct and potential impact of the data you post online.

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Analyst: “Google Has Given Up on Social”

Posted on 05. Jan, 2011 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

This is a Bloomberg clip where Piper Jaffay’s Apple analyst Gene Munster. In it, he says that Google has essentially given up on any sort of social strategy.

I find this to be a little hard to grasp. Sure, Facebook is growing because they make a lot of money selling ads around their social network. But people don’t use Facebook to search for things, use email or many other basic web tasks.

Yes, people spend more time on Facebook than Google now, but I’m certain that most of the time is not well spent. What do you think?

thechromesource Daily: Links for 12/22/10

Posted on 22. Dec, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 1 Comments

Google is certainly entering a new era: how are they going to be able to manage it?

Prominent social researcher Paul Adams has left Google for Facebook.

Google has made a major office space investment in New York, does this signal further advertising aspirations?

Until it becomes a reality, working offline in Google Docs with Chrome OS is still a problem.

The biggest fight that Google has is not against Facebook, but Microsoft.

Google Worried About Facebook? Big Deal, Since Facebook Can’t Compete

Posted on 30. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 3 Comments

Hi.

My name is Google Me, the future social network. I’m not real, just a figment in your head. You’ve probably heard I will be the solution to Google’s problems in terms of Facebook, and I’m glad you heard that.

I just wanted to give you a little reality here.

Let’s imagine for a second that Facebook is the “portal”, or the basis of your digital life. Perhaps let’s even consider Facebook as an operating system. Sound good?

Let’s talk about Facebook for a bit then. Facebook is a social network. Is it ever going to help you get any work done? Let’s break this down for a second.

Does Facebook have a way to contact work relationships? Well, they might have Facebook Messages but if you plan on telling your boss you’re going to miss work that’s probably not going to be the best method.

Does Facebook have a way to write documents? Unless you want to compose something that starts with “What’s on your mind?” then not really.

Does Facebook have a way to crunch numbers? Looking around the options in Facebook, I’ve yet to find a spreadsheet function. Actually, after looking at that last sentence I feel stupid for even trying.

Okay, let’s put this in my (Daniel Cawrey) perspective now.

In the end I’ll let Facebook do what they do. I’m not too concerned that if Google tries to start a social network of their own that it will be a problem. Because Google does something totally different than Facebook. They offer Gmail, Google Apps for those who don’t want Office and search that is better than anything else.

Why are they supposedly afraid of Facebook again? This seems totally different from them.

thechromesource Daily: Links for 11/11/10

Posted on 11. Nov, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

The cloud is going to be integral to Chrome OS and that may be a problem according to GigaOM’s Sam Dean.

Chrome OS competitor Jolicloud will be releasing their first netbook in the UK very soon.

Google’s second official hardware offering, the Nexus S, briefly made an appearance on Best Buy’s website.

The Beta Channel of Chrome browser has been updated on all platforms with stability and UI fixes.

TechCrunch’s Michael Arrington is reporting that a Google engineer was recently offered $3.5 million to not defect to Facebook.

thechromesource Daily: Links for 9/28/10

Posted on 28. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

Google has patented browser cloud syncing, should Firefox be concerned about not being able to use the technology?

The Dev channel has been updated for all platforms that resolves minor bugs and/or crashes.

Here is an infographic that depicts Google’s battle against Facebook.

Reports have emerged that Google is acquiring social calendar tool Plannr.

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt today, Eric Schmidt talked about being open when compared to Apple.

thechromesource Daily: Links for 9/17/10

Posted on 17. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

Google TV will be available September 29 from Logitech; it will be in Best Buy stores October 17.

The Stable and Beta channels of Chrome browser have been updated today with security fixes.

Google is looking for a Strategic Partnership Development Manager, Chrome OS Distribution.

WebProNews believes that Google has the offerings to go directly up against Facebook.

How will Internet Explorer 9 fit in with the upcoming webapp revolution?

Why Does Google Think Social Media is so Important?

Posted on 02. Sep, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

Google has been on a buying spree for social media companies. In 2010 alone, social companies Aardvark, Slide, Jambool, Like.com, Angstro and SocialDeck have been acquired by the search company. The past five companies they have bought are social-related.  This doesn’t include a $100 million investment in social media games maker Zygna, which makes the popular FarmVille, among others.

It’s clear that in the coming months Google plans to launch something big, notwithstanding other projects such as Chrome OS and Google Music. It’s possible that the company believes that any social networking strategy could be the “glue” so to speak that holds many of these services together.

It’s all a part of trying to keep users on Google’s services since they are starting to see a lot of eyeballs move from Google and sticking on Facebook, since people spend a lot of time on that site. Consider this recent graph released by Business Insider, and you’ll see what executives at Google see as a potential threat from Facebook.

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Google Real Time Search Now Has its Own Page

Posted on 26. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

Google has announced that they are giving real time search its own spotlight with a web address specifically for the purpose of instant results that are trending across the web. You can visit the site directly right here.

Social searching is much different than looking for web sites with information. That’s why there is some sense in giving real time its own page. Some feel that real time could be a bit of an annoyance; Google has tested this thoroughly and probably came to the same realization.

Could real time search work as a part the Google homepage? Maybe someday, but the feature is too different for the time being to be implemented when you are trying to Google something up. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Google Me social network will heavily implement real time search to make it viable. It could certainly give it some competitive advantage over Facebook.

What Will Google Do With Virtual Currency? Keep it Open

Posted on 10. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

Yesterday, a rumor from TechCrunch hit the web about Google purchasing another company that fits into their overall social networking strategy in Jambool, whose Social Gold currency can be used to buy and sell virtual goods. The currency is used in the popular social game Mafia Wars right now which is hosted on Facebook.

In fact, the CEO of Jambool recently was interviewed in a blog post about the possible problems with Facebook Credits. One is the idea that Credits is not really a currency but more of a stored value amount – you buy it from Facebook and you spend it on their applications alone. Another is that the company takes a thirty percent transaction fee for themselves.

Perhaps the role of Social Gold, should the rumored acquisition be true, is to provide an open standard on the web for virtual currency outside of Facebook Credits. In my mind while Social Gold could be used across several platforms as it is currently today, Facebook Credits is somewhat limited to, well, Facebook.

Google to Acquire Social Media Gaming Company Slide

Posted on 04. Aug, 2010 by Daniel Cawrey. 0 Comments

I’ve been made aware via Fortune’s Google 24/7 that TechCrunch is reporting Google will acquire Slide for $182 million. The company is a social gaming platform not unlike the Google-invested Zygna, and further fuels speculation on Google’s plan to create something that is like Facebook, but not quite.

Slide, purveyor of social media hosted titles such as “SuperPoke! Pets” and “Top Fish” surely is a competitor to Zygna. Perhaps Zygna refused being completely bought out by Google, and that this is the alternative purchase.

Regardless, there is no doubt that some sort of Google social network is coming. Hopefully it has a better name than Google Me. If I announced that out loud to someone that would sound like something you would do on their search service, not to mention incredibly vain to say.