So, while we’re waiting for Google to hand-pick and red-flag content farms, is there anything we can do to improve our search results until then? Well, I’m glad you asked. Google Chrome has released a Chrome extension for their Chrome browser that lets users hand-block certain sites from their search results.
Wait a minute. Might we be doing Google’s work for them? Are they going to wait and see what sites we don’t value, and further investigate whether or not they should red-flag them? That’s pretty smart. But here’s one problem. Do I block a site like ehow.com? Maybe. A lot of their content isn’t very good. But some of it is. Do I throw their “how to feed a baby” article out with the “how to prepare bathwater”? (If you got that, well done.)
Some people read every Tweet in their feed. You know when you log on and it says 565 new messages? Some people go back and catch up. I think I did my first week or so, when I was still only following a handful of people. But once you go over the 100 follower mark, you’re not going to have time for that. The downside? You might have missed out on something awesome.
Facebook has a solution to this problem. They offer the “Top News” and “Most Recent” feed. But where’s Twitter’s “Top News”? Well, My6Sense has developed that solution via Chrome extension. My6Sense monitors the links you click on, the tweets you retweet, who you follow and the keywords you seem to be interested in, all in order to provide you with a prioritized Twitter timeline.
For those looking for this, they’ll love it. But for me, Twitter’s big advantage is its real-time ability. And I’m ok with missing some things.
For those adventurous techies among us, with Google Chrome getting new beta features every 6 weeks, it’s hard to keep track of where the stable version lies. But recently, Chrome Instant, the Chrome Web Store and WebGL all moved on from the fun features the beta users have been using to the stable version the masses are using.
Yes, Chrome Instant. Not Google Instant. The same instantaneous omniscience of Google Instant, but using the first few keystrokes of your URL. As you the type, your frequently visited Web page that matches will begin loading.
While the Chrome Web Store offers Chrome-compatible Web applications. And WebGL means new compatibility with hardware-accelerated 3D graphics.
This browser just keeps getting better and better!
Android may have gotten out to a late start against the iPhone’s iOS, but they’re definitely making up for lost time now with releases of Nexus S and Android 2.3. (Codename Gingerbread). But the world is already looking toward what’s next – Android 3.0 Honeycomb, which was recently previewed at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas.
What’s the big difference with this version of the mobile platform? Well, it’s not exactly a mobile platform. Specifically, Honeycomb was designed for “mobile devices with larger screen sizes.” Yes, this means tablets. Honeycomb offers a virtual and holographic user interface, along with Android’s refined multi-tasking, notifications, access to the Android market and more.
Plus, upgrades to the Web browser include tabbed browsing, form auto-filling, Google Chrome bookmark syncing and updated privacy modes, including “incognito mode.”
At the end of 2010, Chrome had just shy of 10% market share, double from their less than 5% market share at the end of 2009. Great growth numbers from the fastest growing browser out there.
How are they doing it? Well, they utilized their own line of laptops, the Cr-48, that runs solely on the Chrome browser. And they also developed the “Chrome for a Cause” promotion that incentivized people’s use of the platform. Not to mention the fact that for all intents and purposes, it’s the best browser out there – in terms of speed, security, openness and more.
So, how did its competition do this year? Internet Explorer dropped from 63% to 57% last year, while Firefox shrank from 25% to 23%. So, even while the numbers look good, Chrome’s still only half of Mozilla. So, there’s still some work to do.
It’s official. Google has unveiled their new operating system – Chrome OS. And Google notebooks look to be the first way for you to be able to experience the new operating system for yourself.
Basically, with Chrome OS, the Chrome browser becomes the entire operating system. And everything lives in the cloud. The name of the game is speed. From quick start-up to instant-on from standby mode.
Samsung and Acer are the first manufacturers to produce this notebook, currently in pilot program, and will launch to consumer market sometime in 2011. While Google is pushing this OS for business customers because of the ability to work solely in the cloud, you wonder if long term, this will be a consumer solution as well?
There’s a new Web browser taking the tech world by storm. RockMelt, introduced this past weekend, promises to make it “easy for you do the things you do every single day on the Web.”
After watching a couple of demo videos (including the one embedded above), my take on Rockmelt was simply that it was Google Chrome with new Chrome extensions and a Facebook sidebar. And it turns out, I wasn’t far off.
Because the makers of RockMelt, who are backed by Netscape founder Marc Andreesen, utilized Chromium, Google’s open-source browser platform, to develop RockMelt.
So, I guess I don’t exactly know what to make of it. It’s cool. But are all the features that RockMelt has created simply going to be released as Chrome extensions in the very near future? And if so, why don’t I just stick with Chrome, which gets updated every 6 weeks by a massive builder team? But if your browser experience centers completely around social networking, and you’re simply unsatisfied with existing Chrome extensions for Facebook and Twitter, RockMelt may be the perfect browser for you.
A recent report from Pingdom shows that, on average, 71% of Internet users surf the Web using the latest version of their browser. That aggregate average includes Google Chrome leading the way at 91%, all the way down to Internet Explorer, with 60%.
But before you give Chrome too much credit and think you better start upgrading your browser every 6 weeks like they do, it is important to note that Chrome upgrades get handled automatically in the background.
Overall, when you see 71% and think, “that’s good”, we also have to note that Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox haven’t been officially updated in a long time. (Although you can be experiencing both right now through their beta releases.) And a month after Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla Firefox 4 officially release, it would be fascinating to see these stats again.
Is this just a prolonging of the inevitable? Maybe, but I’d probably try it, too.
ABC, CBS and NBC have officially blocked full episode video streaming from Websites to Google TV devices. These networks join Hulu as content holdouts, and might really be putting fear into manufacturers who have partnered with Google to include Google TV within the set itself and users who have already bought a Google TV device.
Now, NBC does offer a CNBC Google TV application for its news channel. So, it’s almost as if they’re hedging their bets. The real question is, will these content providers really be able to enforce the block? Because Google TV comes with the Google Chrome browser. And you have to think there will be a Web workaround for getting the content you’re looking for. So, do you fight the inevitable? Or embrace the new reality and figure out a way to compete within it?
Firefox 4, originally scheduled for a late 2010 release has now been delayed until early 2011. Not great news when the browser most eating into their market share, Chrome, is releasing new stable versions every 6 weeks.
Now, the reason for the delay is so that Firefox 4 can release major improvements, including an entire interface redesign, HTML5 support, multi-touch functionality and more. But, playing catch-up isn’t a great market position. And perhaps that’s why Mozilla is seeking to find their comparative advantage with their announcement of the “Chromeless” project.
This experimental project will allow Web developers to create their own browser interfaces, using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and more. Now, that’s the Mozilla we remember. The one that Web developers embrace, because it gives them more freedom than anyone else. And the ability to customize and create your very own Web browser is the very definition of freedom.
