Apple's iPad Might Have Some Competition Talk About A Google Tablet

Apple's iPad might have some competition in the coming months with the recent talk about a Google Tablet. Google just released the Nexus One which was their version of the iPhone in the US. It looks like Google now wants to curb the iPad (release date March 2010) sales with their own spin. Glen Murphy, Google's user interface designer, presented what the Google Tablet might look like and created a video of how one will use the device. If I had to guess, the Google Tablet will possess many things that the iPad lacks.

In 2009 Google announced that they would be releasing an Operating System, Chrome OS, which would work and be based around a web browser. This would be mainly for small netbooks, which would have fast boot up times and give the user ease of access to the sleuth of Google applications. Along with releasing a Chrome Netbook this year, Google is considering applying the same platform to a tablet, desktops, and flat screen T.V.s. It will be very interesting to see how we will apply Chromium to our lives.

"Chrome OS is still in development and we are constantly experimenting with various user interfaces to determine what designs would produce the best user experience". Now Apple and Google are in a feud! This is a good thing, because it will force them to one up each other which is great for the consumer. Without competition Apple could take its sweet time making the iPad the way that the users want it. Now Apple has to cater to the needs and demands of the consumer which is the way it should be. Apple will still be the powerhouse in this field of devices; they are ahead of the game in many ways. "It's easy to do hardware, it's really hard to create an ecosystem and Apple's got a head-start on everybody because they've been doing this for four to five years, based around iTunes", said Gartner analyst Robin Simpson.

Facebook and Internet Explorer 8

Surprised you. Didn't I. Here it is Saturday morning and the title of my blog is almost technical. Facebook and Internet Explorer 8! I am going to try to make this post short and sweet. Here is what I experienced this week from a technical standpoint.

1. For the past few weeks every time that I have opened IE 7 I have seen an invitation to download IE 8. Finally, I thought why not? So I did. It seemed to download efficiently and there were many new features to see and use.
2. As a "member" of Facebook, I log on to Facebook about once or twice per day. I don't really have time to be on Facebook all day long taking surveys, tests, etc. But on the day that I downloaded IE 8 I went to Facebook and what do you know...there was a message at the top of my Facebook home page that said: ALERT! You are trying to view FACEBOOK using IE 6, please update your browser to IE 7!
3. Are you kidding me? I would have understood if this alert message had said "You are trying to view FACEBOOK with IE 8, but Facebook is not compatible with IE 8. Until we have updated FACEBOOK to be compatible with IE 8, please view in Firefox."
4. I let a few days go by and when I wanted to sign into FACEBOOK I did go to Firefox. But this became annoying.
5. This morning I once again went to FACEBOOK on IE 8 and the strange warning message was gone, BUT the view was still screwed up (my technical term).
6. Once again, on FACEBOOK I clicked on HELP and searched the phrase "Internet Explorer 8." What do you know, someone actually posted the solution to my problem: "While you are on Facebook: Click on "Tools" then click on "Compatibility View Settings". Facebook's web site will appear in the "Add this Website" box. Click the "add" button and you will be all set. Facebook will now be viewable with all of its features in IE 8!"
7. Now I ask you: According to Facebook's Press Room, FACEBOOK has 200 million active users, don't you think that with 200 million active users that FACEBOOK could make sure their software is compatible with IE 8 or at least they could post a message that made sense and gave IE 8 users instructions of how to correct the view?

What I have just described to you is one of the new features of IE 8. That is a Compatibility View. The first time you visit a web site using IE 8 you will see a little box to the left of the "refresh button". Hover over this box and it says: "Compatibility View: Websites designed for older browsers will often look better, and problems such as out-of-place menus, images, or text will be corrected." GREAT!!!! This makes IE 8 worth it to me. There are other new features like, "re-open closed tabs", "InPrivate" and "Use an Accelerator."

I am sure many of you are saying to yourself, why does Judy use Internet Explorer when she could use Firefox, Chrome, etc? Habit...yes, I happen to feel comfortable with IE, as do many other people. And the bottom line is this: Webconsuls is responsible for designing and upgrading our clients' sites. As such, we are required to test new and upgraded sites in all browser types and versions.

Let me know what you think.

Beta label removed from Google Chrome

Today was the 15th release by Google and within 100 days of its initial launch. Google announced this morning the first release of Google Chrome without the beta label attached to it.

We've been talking about Google Chrome since September and most of you already know what an amazingly fast browser it is. With the first release without the beta label, Google has improved the stability and performance of plug-ins (video performance in specific) which had issues in the beta version. When doing a benchmark test on V8 JavaScript engine, it runs 1.5 times faster on V8 benchmark. Google claims this will get even faster.

Google Chrome's bookmark feature is now even friendlier. Some users had problems in the beta release which have now been resolved. Now you can organize your bookmarks and import/export from different browsers.

Most users that use Mozilla Firefox also utilize the plug-ins feature. Hopefully in the next few days, Google will come out with extensions to integrate with Google Chrome.

What are your thoughts? Which browser would you say has the most potential?

Google will Release Third Beta of Chrome

Google's user friendly browser appropriately titled Google Chrome is the "Cat's Meow" of browsers. Your ability to navigate easily coupled with advanced applications makes Google Chrome worth its weight in Chrome. As with every beta project there will always be kinks to work out, and with every subsequent release Chrome can and will only get better. Google fixed scrolling with laptop touchpads and better reliability for those users who access the web through a proxy server. The new version of Chrome has improved performance and stability with a number of Plugins like Flash and Quicktime; they have also worked out a lot of security problems as well. Chrome added the ability to add words to the built-in spell checker.

If you already are working with Chrome then it will automatically update itself with the Third Beta within the next few days. I believe at a certain point in the near future Chrome will be the only browser you need to work with. In my life and work I use Chrome for 98% of my Internet activity, Chrome is by far the best browser I have worked with.