Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Google. Show all posts
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Reply to "All That Buzz"
D wrote in her blog about Google's new edition to Gmail - Buzz.
This is my reply:
I think that the jury is still out on Google Buzz. I share D's worries about privacy and Google accumulating too much data on me. I don't, however, think that Google are doing a good job at managing the privacy setting. It's still an "opt-out" settings, and still - if you are not careful enough, people may have too much information about you. Add the fact that when used from a cellphone Buzz adds location data to your entries (buzzingas?) just makes it even scarier.
In addition, I find the level of noise (or maybe clutter would be a better term) to be too distracting at times. Buzz is now another thing that you have to check, after email, Facebook, Reader (and Twitter if you joined it). The fact that it is constantly inundating you with more data makes it harder to concentrate on the important stuff. Just think how hard it is to read an academic paper on the computer when there are so many distractions just around the Start button.
Finally, I think that Google is trying to kill off the competition, and get people more hooked on their services. Some of the competition they are aiming at is obvious - Twitter being the first, and perhaps Facebook and MySpace coming closely after. However, I think that since Buzz requires you to actually load the Gmail page (something I haven't done in years except for marking things "read") and read it, Buzz is a way of thwarting the risk of email clients syncing with Gmail and saving people from getting the well directed ads D mentioned. So, in the bigger scheme, Google is aiming at Microsoft's Outlook / Live Mail, Apple's mail client, and the open source Mozilla Thunderbird. I can understand the first two, but I think Thunderbird is a casualty of indirect fire and too much collateral damage. Google is supposed to "do no evil".
This is my reply:
I think that the jury is still out on Google Buzz. I share D's worries about privacy and Google accumulating too much data on me. I don't, however, think that Google are doing a good job at managing the privacy setting. It's still an "opt-out" settings, and still - if you are not careful enough, people may have too much information about you. Add the fact that when used from a cellphone Buzz adds location data to your entries (buzzingas?) just makes it even scarier.
In addition, I find the level of noise (or maybe clutter would be a better term) to be too distracting at times. Buzz is now another thing that you have to check, after email, Facebook, Reader (and Twitter if you joined it). The fact that it is constantly inundating you with more data makes it harder to concentrate on the important stuff. Just think how hard it is to read an academic paper on the computer when there are so many distractions just around the Start button.
Finally, I think that Google is trying to kill off the competition, and get people more hooked on their services. Some of the competition they are aiming at is obvious - Twitter being the first, and perhaps Facebook and MySpace coming closely after. However, I think that since Buzz requires you to actually load the Gmail page (something I haven't done in years except for marking things "read") and read it, Buzz is a way of thwarting the risk of email clients syncing with Gmail and saving people from getting the well directed ads D mentioned. So, in the bigger scheme, Google is aiming at Microsoft's Outlook / Live Mail, Apple's mail client, and the open source Mozilla Thunderbird. I can understand the first two, but I think Thunderbird is a casualty of indirect fire and too much collateral damage. Google is supposed to "do no evil".
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
At last: Google Chrome got *useful* extensions
Google's Chrome is probably the fastest web browser around. But until now, it was almost impossible to use with popular Israeli websites because of their notoriously ad-packed noise. This required me to use the combination of Mozilla Firefox (a good browser by its own right) and Ad-Block Plus. While working with the Fox, I got accustomed to using various other add-ons. This is basically what I really liked about Firefox - the huge variety of add-ons and I longed for the day the Chrome gets extensions.
Well, the wait is almost over. I am now using a beta (I think) version of Chrome 4 (4.0.249.25), with extensions. Google finally allowed programmers to develop extensions for their browser, and started a website not too long ago. Now, there are already some useful extensions. Among which are the following that I have already installed:
AdThwart (there are other ad blockers, but this one seems to be able to block Ynet's clutter, see picture)
Search Preview for Chrome (similar to Google Preview for Firefox, and there are others like it)
Wave Notifier (not really useful, but still)
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