DigitalOutbox Episode 71
In this episode the team discuss Google, Google, Google and that man Jeremy Hunt.
Playback
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Shownotes
3:21 – Google Ebooks
– Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore on 6th Dec. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale
– the Google eBook store there will be 2.8 million books available to download free of charge, since they are in the public domain, and the rest will have a “buy” button next to them that takes readers directly to the eBook store.
– Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud.
– In addition to a full-featured web reader, free apps for Android and Apple devices will make it possible to shop and read on the go. For many books you can select which font, font size, day/night reading mode and line spacing suits you—and pick up on the page where you left off when switching devices.
– Google lets consumers buy books either from its store or any other online vendor that sells books in EPUB and PDF formats. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them.
– So same as Kindle – software everywhere except they’ve provided a web front end as well
– UK launch not mentioned but eBook service is expected to launch in Europe in 2011.
7:13 – Google Nexus S and Gingerbread
– Nexus S is the lead device for the Gingerbread/Android 2.3 release; it’s the first Android device to ship with the new version of the Android platform. We co-developed this product with Samsung—ensuring tight integration of hardware and software to highlight the latest advancements of the Android platform. As part of the Nexus brand, Nexus S delivers what we call a “pure Google” experience: unlocked, unfiltered access to the best Google mobile services and the latest and greatest Android releases and updates.
– Nexus S is the first smartphone to feature a 4” Contour Display designed to fit comfortably in the palm of your hand and along the side of your face. It also features a 1GHz Hummingbird processor, front and rear facing cameras, 16GB of internal memory, and NFC (near field communication) hardware that lets you read information from NFC tags. NFC is a fast, versatile short-range wireless technology that can be embedded in all kinds of everyday objects like movie posters, stickers and t-shirts.
– The 4 inch Super AMOLED 480×800 touchscreen has very deep blacks and viewing angles and is, as we said above, second only to the slightly smaller but higher resolution iPhone 4 display.
– Techcrunch – The bottom line is this. If you are an iPhone user this isn’t going to make you switch. If you’re an Android user you will want this phone more than any other. If you’re currently neither, we recommend that you go with the Nexus S.
– Things Android has that iOS needs – http://brooksreview.net/2010/12/android-helping-ios/?isalt=0
– Mobile hotspot, home screen customisation, keyboard apps, notifications, multi tasking
– Gingerbread – Android 2.3 – support for NFC, refinements to GUI (but not a re-write which is Honeycomb), imporved keyboard and cut/copy/paste and gyroscope sensor support, improved power and task/app management,
– Will launch in December for £550 unlocked or £35 per month
– Carphone Warehouse is taking orders for the phone from today, but could not be definite about when it will be able to sell it – although it hopes to be able to begin deliveries before Christmas.
– The phone will be available unlocked for £550 (compared to £500 for Apple’s iPhone 4) or for free from £35 per month, according to Graham Stapleton, CPW’s chief commercial director, who says that the retailer is talking to networks in the UK to set up deals.
14:13 – Android Tablet Prototype
– On stage at D: Dive Into Mobile, Google’s Andy Rubin has brought with him a prototype Android tablet from Motorola.
– Video chat
– New version on Google Maps – vector based, infinite loading, offer offline caching, and use the compass to orient the map.
– no more tiles, building outlines, shadows and 3d via touch – very impressive – android only at the moment – other devices in the future
16:56 – Apache Wave
– Google Wave now Apache Wave
– Wave now handed to Apache, codebase to be migrated to Apache control
– Hope to kickstart development as there’s still some big active users
18:38 – Google Chrome Event
– Chrome Browser
– 70m active users (6 months ago) – now 120m active users (active means they use it often as primary browser)
– Adding Google Instant to omnibox
– Added PDF reader for speed
– Hardware acceleration via GPU
– Chrome Web Store
– Rich, visual and interactive
– Installed NPR
– Interactive app, different from web page, but viewed and ran within the browser
– Sports Illustrated
– Visual gallery running in tab
– Rich interactive app, not what your used to on web
– Games
– Purchase easily, hooked to google account, downloads in seconds
– Has monthly subscription options and also demo’s
– NYTimes for Chrome
– HTML5, CSS3 etc
– Skin your news, headlines, print view, photo view etc
– Works offline as well
– Nice
– EA
– Converted PoppIt to HTML5 in 48 hours
– Performance is great
– This game will be embedded in new Chrome 9
– Also available today on Google Chrome Web store
– Amazon
– WindowShop
– Now available on store
– Fluid interface to Amazon
– Needs Flash…fail
– Kindle
– Kindle for the web (early next year)
– HTML5
– Access books via browser
– Link to books from own site
– Web store – chrome.google.com/webstore
– 500 apps as they are partners
– Now open – expect a large growth in apps
– From q1 rolling out around world
– Chrome OS
– Nothing but the web
– Simpler, safer, secure experience
– Chrome OS looks like iOS
– Login, take a pic, check for updates, then desktop
– 0-60secs for above and all your apps and links are available
– Resume is very fast
– Laptop in standby
– Instant resume – milliseconds – very impressive
– Changes on OS propagate across machines in seconds – looks good
– Sharing – pick up notebook, and login with your credentials
– Sharing with friend – guest mode – full incognito session for friend
– Everything he does in this mode is private and removed on exit
– Google Docs bringing an offline mode
– Lots of apps will work offline – game cached locally
– If no wifi, enable cellular connectivity – every chrome netbook will have a cellular option
– Google cloud print – print on any device connected on network without drivers
– In beta, rolling out shortly
– Partnered with Verizon in US
– 100mb free data every month for 2 years
– No contracts – pay for what you need
– Plans for $9.99
– Security – auto updates, sandboxed, data encrypted, verified boot – most secure consumer O/S
– Citrix receiver demo’d
– Cloud print, USB support and speed need working on
– Acer, Samsung Chrome notebooks powered by Intel – mid 2011
– Other OEM’s will follow
– Chrome OS Pilot Program
– Beta
– Reference hardware – CR48 device – 12.1” display, Oversized touchpad + full keyboard, 3g built in, 8+ hours active use, 8+ days of standby, web cam
– No caps lock, no function keys, no hard drives, jailbreaking mode built in
– Businesses part of pilot program
– Consumers – new tab page of chrome – offer to users
– Quiz a few days ago for a sticker – sticker ships with notebook
– Youtube comp
– Everyone at demo
– google.com/chromenotebook – fill in the form
– Still not answered – why choose this over a netbook, ipad or laptop
– Think the pilot program is a really good move
38:22 – Google Earth 6
– Integrated street view
– 3D trees
– Easier to discover historical imagery in new version
39:23 – Watch That Twitter Name
– User @theashes went from 300 to 6100 followers in a couple of days
– She finally complained by tweeting that she was “not a freaking cricket match”.
– Ashley Kerekes, from Massachusetts, tweeted that “this is not the account of the cricket match. Check profiles before you send mentions, it’s incredibly annoying and rude”.
– In spite of her initial anger over the cricket tweets, she told the Brisbane Times that becoming an overnight Twitter celebrity was “amazing”.
– She has also started to sell T-shirts with the slogan: “I am not a freaking cricket match.”
– Same for users @justin and @gordon – lot of justin bieber tweets and gordon brown hate last year
41:59 – Wikileaks under attack
– Releases biggest leaks so far – American diplomatic papers
– Leaked by American soldier who also leaked the Apache helicopter attack
– Embarrassing for America and many of its allies
– As the site is being hammered they move to partial hosting with Amazon – a day later and Amazon removes them from their hosting due to the content they host
– EveryDNS, wikileaks DNS provider, cuts off it’s main domain, wikileaks.org – wikileaks.ch is still running
– Paypal blocks Wikileaks funding via it’s services – State department said wikileaks was illegal
– They have now moved away from any American infrastructure so that America cannot easily tamper with the service
– So, are the leaks correct? Is this freedom of speech? Future of journalism?
– Universities advising students not to link to Wikileaks articles – http://www.thetechherald.com/article.php/201048/6509/Talking-about-WikiLeaks-cablegate-can-hinder-job-placements – wow. Just wow. So much for freedom of speech.
– Swiss post office has now frozen Julian Assange accounts – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-11929034
– Extradition paper served and now in custody until Dec 14th in UK – refused bail
– Hackers linked to 4chan DOS Paypal, Postfinance and Mastercard
49:37 – UK to get super fast broadband everywhere by 2015
– Extra 50m to take total to £830 available for firms to help roll out ‘super fast’ network
– Some of that (£300 million) comes from BBC
– Ministers say they aim for the UK to have Europe’s best broadband network.
– Mr Hunt said the strategy would give the country Europe’s best broadband network by 2015 and will be central to economic growth and the delivery of future public services, dependent on quick, reliable access to the internet.
– Really.
– Really?
– What the heck is super fast? the government does not define the minimum speed it hopes super-fast services will achieve.
– If it was at the centre of those plans it would be afforded more money even in these times of austerity
– Every community is to get a digital hub – a green cabinet? WTF is a community?
– Of course, Jeremy Hunt was called something else on Radio 4 – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JpNravrwZc
54:52 – About that subsidised iPad
– Orange selling 16gb 3G ipad for £199 assuming you sign u for monthly contract for two years
– £27 a month for 1Gb of data – thats £848
– Buy an iPad for £529 and pay O2 or Vodafone £10 a month and you pay £769
– And you can get 3GB 90 day Three sims off ebay for £9, so bringing cost down even more
– Three offering same price and £25 a month
57:21 – Windows Phone 7 Not a hit
– Belfiore refused to talk sales numbers when interviewed by Walt Mossberg of the WSJ. And when asked if WP7 might be a ‘real’ rival to Google’s and Apple’s mobile platforms in a ‘couple of years,’ Belfiore reportedly answered ‘Maybe’.
59:28 – Lastpass acquires XMarks
– Xmarks has been acquired by LastPass, makers of a leading cross-platform password manager
– Free option remains
– Users can opt to purchase Xmarks Premium for $12 per year, which includes new enhanced features like Android and iPhone mobile phone apps, priority support, and more.
– The Xmarks and LastPass Premium offerings are also available bundled together at a reduced subscription rate of $20 per year.
Picks
Ian
Printopia
– App for your mac that enables AirPrinting
– Can also print to PDF…and send to Dropbox or Evernote