Copyright © 2010 Technology 2010-03-12T00:24:53+0000 2010-03-12T00:24:53+0000 http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. http://www.i-com.net/blog/ http://i-com.net/images/icom-net.gif http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. I-COM International blogmaster at i-com dot net Technology Technology en SEO, SEM, Web Design, Web Development 1440 http://www.i-com.net/blog/google-chrome-os-microsoft-windows-killer-275/ So Google has finally showed us Chrome OS - Google's much anticipated operating system. So what's it like? Is it going to take over from Windows on your PC? Well the truth is no and it was never meant to do anyway.Chrome OS is Google's latest attempt to further its concept of "browser-based" computing, in which the traditional PC desktop is removed in favour of a completely web-based experience. So essentially it's not aiming for the traditional market of desktop PC's,   it's aiming for small mobile devices and netbooks and you will have to go and buy a Chrome OS device.When the first Chrome OS devices appear next year, they will be small computers in a familiar netbook form factor with a screen, a touchpad, and a full-size keyboard. They won't be phones or tablets and will support only solid-state drives.At the heart of the Chrome OS is the Chrome browser, which Google has been developing as an alternative to competitors such as Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Opera. Chrome OS applications will be Web-based and launch via the browser (see image below)Users will not need to install or maintain any software. Microsoft proprietary software MS Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc. will open easily. Sundar Pichai, Vice President of Product Management at Google explained that Google aims to deliver small, portable Internet devices that power on quickly and deliver users directly into the browser. "It takes about seven seconds for a Chrome OS machine to boot," Pichai said, "and we're working really, really hard to make this shorter."Chrome OS Director of Engineering Matt Papakipos emphasised that the most important goal of Chrome OS is to create devices that are fast, easy, and enjoyable for the average person to use. "We want to make it a very fast, delightful system to use. We want you to be able to push the on button, it immediately comes on, and you're on the Web as quickly as possible".The user interface of the operating system is effectively the Chrome browser. Applications are each given their own tab, and users can shift between different windows each with their own group of tabs. So, for example, you could have a "productivity apps" window with tabs for Gmail, Google Docs and Spreadsheet, and another window devoted to web browsing.All user data will be stored in "the cloud" - that is stored online (possibly with the option of using Google Gears to store data locally should you wish to), with Chrome OS only using local memory for caching data such as your settings. So If you lose your Chrome OS machine, you should be able to buy a new one, log in, and within a few seconds get all your applications back.Initial opinion here in the office is somewhat divided - for some it's it's simple, quick and easy to use but for others the idea of "cloud computing", no local drive to store informatiation to and inevitably your information held in Google's vast datacentres is off putting. Either way most believe that it will be a success  - Chrome OS is open source and can be "tweaked" to suit the user - so expect lots of new "flavours" to appear (maybe even an SEO version!) and is a  free OS for hardware manufacturers - allowing the introduction of cheaper netbooks - maybe even sub-100 netbooks.If you can't wait and want to try out Chrome OS before it's official release there's a workaround to allow you to use Chromium (the linux Beta version) on your Windows PC Technology 2009-11-20 00:00:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/google-chrome-os-microsoft-windows-killer-275/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/has-offline-advertising-moved-one-step-closer-to-online-advertising-231/ The BBC has reported that the first video-in-print adverts will appear in an American entertainment magazine. The adverts will be featured on slim-line screens about the size of a mobile phone screen and can display up to 40 minutes of video time. Of course this will pave the way for movie trailers, TV adverts, news reports and press video. But what impact could this new digital advertising medium have for online marketers, web designers and web developers? Perhaps if a client released a new site design that performed a unique, niche service to its users then a video advertisement of the site's features could be displayed in a newspaper on a page in a relevant section. Or, if a site wanted to show off its new online product range then a dynamic, moving screen shot of a user navigating the site could promote these ranges and prices effectively. The video could even finish with a flashy link to the site to remind all those businessmen and women commuting with their Blackberries, mobile internet and laptops that they can access it instantly there and then. Maybe in the not-so-distant future one of these screens could be touch and Wifi enabled to then allow the user a time-limited browse on the advertisers website to really get a feel for its products and services, opening up yet another medium for display ads. It may sound like something out of a Harry Potter book or Star Trek movie but E-ink is here to stay and pushes those 20th century advertising mediums further back. This could pave the way for online companies in increasingly competitive markets to create needed attention for their products, services or sites. When E-ink arrives on our news agents shelves I know I for one will be intrigued to see the genuine article (sorry I couldnt resist ending my first blog with a bad pun). Technology 2009-08-21 08:25:30 http://www.i-com.net/blog/has-offline-advertising-moved-one-step-closer-to-online-advertising-231/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-you-need-augmented-reality-230/ When I first got a sat nav in my car I was really happy. It seemed that the world was getting one step closer to being just like Grand Theft Auto: I had a display in the corner of the windscreen that told me exactly where I was and where I was going. What more could I want - other than a vast arsenal of semi-automatic weapons and a dubious moral compass? Well Layar have come up with the answer to this question. Their app superimposes details of the environment around the user on the image from the camera's phone. This type of system is being referred to as Augmented Reality (AR); a concept which Wikipedia currently describes as being "the combination of real-world and computer-generated data ... where computer graphics objects are blended into real footage in real time." Frankly, until you've seen it in action, this will probably mean nothing to you but having used an experimental app using this technology on the iPhone, I can say that I'm totally convinced by the idea. Layar's primary focus is real estate but obviously other developers have had an interest in taking advantage of the system. We can expect to see many different layers added showing everything from details of the next bus at the bus stop to which band are playing at the nearest venue. The practical applications are endless. The current Google algorithm focuses highly on location and tries to provide searchers with local services based on user account information and previous searches within the current browsing session as well as IP data. So more than ever, it's important that businesses target their local area so that users with all this information at their finger tips know when they are walking past your door! The importance of getting your business or service listed accurately is obvious. Just to leave you with a bit of eye candy, check out these videos showing uses of Augmented Reality then go knuckle down on your local listings! In the mean time I'll get back down the serious business of shooting virtual pigeons. Technology 2009-08-20 10:14:58 http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-you-need-augmented-reality-230/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/et-iphone-home-216/ I was in my local supermarket picking up the usual items last week, having a debate with myself over an apple or an orange? Then I looked beyond the cherries and saw a young chap holding his iphone. So I made up my mind, apple! I popped around being careful not to wheel my seemingly drunk trolley into innocent shoppers, and check what was so entertaining about his iphone. What I saw, I was not prepared for; the guy was trying to download an app to help him make decisions on what food would compliment what he had already chosen. "Ridiculous!" I thought. Struggling to come to terms with what my eyes had shamed my brain with, I then walked aimlessly through the frozen aisle not knowing what to do with myself. Should I download such an app? Is this the future of Tesco? Will they have this app available on a flat screen by the grapes in 2010? I shook off my troubles and cast doubt on the app that caused me so many sleepless nights recently, I asked myself the ultimate question... Where do we draw the line??? Now let us start from the beginning (a classic starting point), I love my phone, and I am not saying it as if I am at a mobile phone anonymous meeting and ashamed of my addiction. However, if we have reached the stage of allowing our phones to make our decisions for us then things have gone too far. We could calculate big sums before the calculator and we could read a map before sat nav, so why should we use technology simply so we do not have to move from the couch or use our brains for the smallest decision process. However, this blame cannot solely rest on the iPhone for getting the ball rolling, but it is where it starts, as more and more media mobiles are skipping gently to the ringtones. Are we safe from the HTC Hero or Nokias new N97? Is Google more bling than bing? Who is in control - man or machine? You may say that you have the upper hand and will be able to live without your phone or without the internet for one week, but you will find it hard if not impossible, because it has been driven into our culture now and we must use it wisely and not abuse our privileges. For the greater good The increased demand for speed and efficiency is why I believe this technology is becoming a necessity. If we are working but are on the train across country, we need to check our emails; if we are working in the new media industry we need to keep up to date with the trends; and if we are just texting we want the best kind of phone to txt - it could be Samsung's new delight, Nokias new gadget or even Motorolas new... actually forget that! Your brainbox However, lets not forget our internal itechnology, the brain. If we had our heads down pressing our mobile phone screens 24/7, think about the things we'd miss, and think how unsociable we'd become. Sure, you can access Facebook and Twitter using the bus shelter next year...probably, but the more social media sites you are signed up to does not make you a more sociable person. Personally, I am not a mobile phone addict but if I downloaded that app that 'Tesco's finest customer' had then surely that will only increase my reliance on my phone. It is the same with social media sites, we need to take a step back and use these tools for what they were originally meant to be used for and not abuse the natural reaction to reach into our pockets and browse the app store. This post is not simply about mobile phones, but an example of why we rely on what we once believed to be a luxury. I forgive that shopper for being blinded by the dream of a robotic future, and have moved on, I can now rest happy and download an app to download my stress. Technology 2009-07-24 13:08:14 http://www.i-com.net/blog/et-iphone-home-216/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/is-google-chrome-really-the-fastest-browser-88/ Let's (for a moment) put aside Google Chrome's privacy concerns and find out whether Chrome is really 10 times faster than any other browser as Google claimed. As pointed out by Adrian yesterday, Chrome's performance loading the Google Analytics pages were second to none, and seemed to load very quickly other process demanding pages like Gmail, Facebook, YouTube, NetVibes, etc... I have used 3 javascript performance testing tools which in effect push the browser's capabilities to their limits: SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - Measured in miliseconds (The lower the better) Dromaeo - Measured in miliseconds (The lower the better) V8 Benchmark Suite - This is Google's own tool and was tailored for Chrome. The higher the score the better Internet Explorer 7 I'm affraid that I have to use IE 7 for this test because I dare not upgrade to a beta version of IE 8. If anyone else can test IE 8's performance, let me know. SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - completed in 39614.4msLink to test results - http://tinyurl.com/66eqjn Dromaeo - Unfortunately IE couldn't cope with Dromaeo testing. It simply crashed the entire browser 3 times. Oh dear! V8 Benchmark Suite - score: 26 Opera 9.5 SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - completed in 8122.8msLink to test results - http://tinyurl.com/59fxu3 Dromaeo - completed in 3491.00msLink to test results - http://dromaeo.com/?id=34639 V8 Benchmark Suite - score: 231 Safari 3.1.2 SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - completed in 5603.0msLink to test results - http://tinyurl.com/648aek Dromaeo - completed in 2358.00msLink to test results - http://dromaeo.com/?id=34592 V8 Benchmark Suite - score: 89 Firefox 3.0.1 SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - completed in 4659.8msLink to test results - http://tinyurl.com/64qthc Dromaeo - completed in 1765.20msLink to test results - http://dromaeo.com/?id=34637 V8 Benchmark Suite - score: 130 Google Chrome 0.2 SunSpider JavaScript Benchmark - completed in 3078.8msLink to test results - http://tinyurl.com/653xe2 Dromaeo - completed in 462.00msLink to test results - http://dromaeo.com/?id=34587 V8 Benchmark Suite - score: 869 Google Chrome really seems to be the fastest browser for processing JavaScript. Firefox came behind in second place, followed by Safari in third and Opera in fourth, and unsurprisingly IE in the last place. Surely the other browsers will study Chrome's technology and adopt changes in their products. The race is on! Technology 2008-09-04 16:04:19 http://www.i-com.net/blog/is-google-chrome-really-the-fastest-browser-88/