Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Google started off the new year by saying in a recent blog post that 2011 is going to be the biggest hiring year in company history. Last year was already a great year for Google, which grew as a company while also adding a plethora of new products to its arsenal.

Google said that it plans to exceed the company’s 2007 hiring record – when it added more than 6,000 new employees to the team. Last year, in 2010, Google added more than 4,500 employees, primarily in engineering and sales, which was the second largest hiring campaign in Google’s history.

“We’re looking for top talent — across the board and around the globe — and we’ll hire as many smart, creative people as we can to tackle some of the toughest challenges in computer science,” Alan Eustace, Google’s Vice President of engineering and research, said in the company’s blog.

With Google’s Android running over more than 100 devices and with over 300,000 activations each day, it’s no wonder they need to add some more “Googlers” to their team. Also, Google needs new employees for some of their toughest challenges, like building a web-based operating system from scratch or developing cars that drive themselves. No matter what they hire someone for, they claim to have something to do for everyone.

Before Google posted about hiring, Google gave all employees a raise of 10% or more plus a $1,000 cash holiday bonus in November. Google also posted a 20% jump in the last quarter of 2010 and a 26% sales growth, year over year.

As Google continues to grow, it seems that so does their popularity. But with Google always pushing to innovate new products, how could you slow their growth down? And who wouldn’t want to work for a company that collaborates in teams and treats their employees right?

At their Mountain View headquarters, Google held a press event on February 2nd to show off their new “Android Honeycomb,” (code name) or Android 3.0, which is the company’s tablet-optimized operating system.

The new OS was made to compete with Apple’s iPad, which has seen a lot of popularity in the early tablet market. The Motorola Xoom will be the first Honeycomb-based tablet to launch, which should be coming out later this month in order to get a head start over other rivals. Google has completely redesigned the Honeycomb’s user interface, giving it more interactive widgets and notifications, easier multi-tasking, and mobile services optimized for tablets.

Along with the launch of the new Android Honeycomb, Google made another huge announcement that there will be a new Android Market web store that will let users download applications through their browser – a move taken in order for Google to compete with Apple’s ever-so-popular App Store.

Previously, only mobile devices were able to reach Google’s Android Market, but now you can access an abundance of apps through any standard web browser. Furthermore, not only are you able to peruse and purchase apps via the browser, but it also gives you the ability to install applications directly to your device – no cords are necessary; All cloud. And, last but not least, Google will be upping the currency offerings and improving currency seller support, as well.

Recent data shows that Internet Explorer has been on the decline in the browser market. But can Internet Explorer 9 still help Microsoft get back to a strong market percentage? Since its release on September 15th, IE9 Beta has been downloaded over 20 million times, according to a Microsoft blog posting.

With the launch of IE9 Beta, we have seen over 900 sites that have been created using some of Windows 7′s capabilities, such as jump lists and notifications. Also, this new version of IE aimed to protect consumer privacy by introducing Tracking Protection, which allows users to have control over which sites can track their online activity.

That said, here are some up-to-date statistics noted in an Internet Explorer blog post: Internet Explorer 9 Beta will account for 0.46% of Internet users worldwide at the end of 2010. Over the past year, we have seen IE6 and IE7 drop over 40%, and now only account for 22.98% of users worldwide, with IE6 hitting a low point.

However, alongside the decline of IE6 and 7, the usage of IE8 actually increased almost 40%. In fact, according to Net Applications and in light of the recent success of both IE9 Beta and IE8, the latest Internet Explorer browsers now make up for 34.07% of users worldwide.

Could IE9 be the browser to help Internet Explorer return to the top in the browser war? What do you think?

While the hype continues to build for the release of the iPad 2, a case for the device has recently been leaked to the public – one that is supposed to be shown at the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. Engadget said the Chinese company, Dexim, will be showcasing a case for the device, complete with an aluminum mockup of the supposed iPad 2.

Dexim’s case design is very fascinating. It involves a Bluetooth keyboard that magnetically adheres to the front cover (as if you were closing a book), which enables you to create a laptop style, or make it a keyboard-free case when you don’t want that extra weight. Engadget said they attempted to put their first generation iPad into the case, but it wouldn’t fit. It appears the design for the new iPad is going to be a bit slimmer, with a taper leading to the edges just like the iPod touch.

The leaked case gives us answers to some of the rumors that we have been speculating about, such as the camera hole in the front and back, and the larger square for the speaker. As usual, the case also features cutouts for things like volume control and a headphone dock, but there are still no signs of what to expect in regard to a USB port that has been rumored for the iPad 2. Also, the home button seems to have moved further down to the bottom of the iPad.

It’s likely that these pictures of the case that have been leaked are pretty accurate; Why would these Chinese manufacturers go so far as to design a case without having any information on how the iPad 2 is supposed to look? Exactly my point: They wouldn’t spend the time to manufacture a product if it wasn’t going to make them a profit and gain some recognition. Check out some of these photos:

Since the iPad was first released last March, it has created nothing but expectations for the unveiling of the iPad 2. Apple has not yet released anything revealing on the iPad 2′s new features, but there are some rumors that iPad 2 is going to have some new traits that will make the new product even more desirable.

The iPad 2 is rumored to have not one but two cameras, allowing users to be able to use FaceTime video chat from the front or the rear of the iPad. This was one feature that was omitted on the first iPad, but this addition would make FaceTime available across all of Apple’s mobile products.

In addition to the new cameras, the iPad 2 will be thinner and lighter than the first. We can see this through all of Apple’s second and third generation products: gaining more technical specs and features while also slimming down.

Some features that were left out of the first that could have been used by many were the USB port and also a disc port. Many users need USB ports for many different things, and it’s plausible that users could have could have received a better value for their iPads with this feature. A USB port is usually a standard, and one Apple might have been taking a chance with on the first iPad, but now it looks like Apple will have to return to set standards.

The new iPad will come with a two-dock connector, unlike the single dock you currently get. This is key for those users who want to add a physical keyboard to the device. Since the first iPad came with only a one-dock connector at the bottom of the device, this meant that users could only attach a keyboard in the portrait position. With the new one, the second dock connector on the side would allow users to be able to use the keyboard in landscape position, which makes it more practical for users.

The last rumor that has been passed around is that the iPad 2 is going to come with a “large wide-ranged speaker unit covered with metal mesh.” This is supposed to sound better for those listening to music, viewing movies, and watching TV shows.

Be on the lookout in this next month for the announcement of the next generation iPad, the iPad 2. It should be able to ship to your house sometime in early April 2011.

This time last year Apple was releasing the first iPad and no one knew what to expect on how they would sell. Since their debut, iPad sales have been strong and haven’t shown any signs of slowing down. Now that the rest of the industry has seen Apple’s success, they’re all wanting to create their own versions of the tablet.

With the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) that kicked off in Las Vegas, you can guarantee that you will see many tablets that are expected to release this year. This is the largest trade show of its kind in the U.S, and you can bet that all the big name companies will be there, ready to show off their new tablets.

Well, all the big names will be there – except Apple. Apple doesn’t unveil new products at trade shows, and when Apple does have new products to exhibit, such as a new iPad or iPhone, it holds its own events. Interestingly enough, it sounds as though Apple will be getting set to release the iPad 2 around the same time they released the original, last year.

Companies like Toshiba, Samsung, HP, Blackberry, Dell, Acer and Motorola are all expected to reveal new tablets. What can we expect from all these different companies? What kinds of features are going to give a company an advantage? It’s going to be difficult to figure out which one suits you best without having time to mess around with each of the tablets to see what features are offered, what you like, and what operating system is right for you.

Those companies competing with Apple’s iPad are going to have a hard time catching up – at least this year – because of iPad’s success in the previous year. No one managed to catch up last year, even though manufacturers like Dell and Samsung released tablets like the Galaxy tab, which had moderate success but still didn’t come close to the iPad’s sales. Apple sold 7.4 million iPads during the first six months of sale, even outselling Apple’s Mac Computers.

So what do you think, is 2011 the year of the tablet?

In a recent event, Google announced the release of the highly anticipated Chrome OS. Chrome OS is an operating system that runs entirely on web apps, with the Chrome browser being the center of the whole experience. Chrome OS looks like great choice for those users who spend a good amount of time on the web browsing, sharing, working or playing games on the web.

Chrome OS has an easy setup, taking barely more than a minute, at maximum. There is a four step process to set up and create an account, which has access to Google Apps data and can even carry over themes, bookmarks and other settings that you created on your existing Chrome browser. Not only does it let users set up an account for themselves, but it also allows them to make additional accounts, such as for other members of their family. This allows each user to have privacy of their own browsing history, so no nosey family members can check out what or where you’ve been browsing.

Chrome OS has sync capability, allowing users to work on Chrome and sync anything they have done on other computers to their accounts. The user also has the ability to download and install apps or delete themes on their Mac or PC and then sync back to their Chrome OS netbook within a few seconds. Some users might be skeptical about the fact that it’s web-based, and are probably wondering: How are you ever going to get work done when your on the web all the time? Well, Chrome OS gives the user the power to work offline in Google apps; Then, once they’re done working and gain connection again, the changes sync automatically.

The netbook has printing capabilities, too, but one great feature is that the user is able to cloud print – a long-awaited attribute that makes it very simple to print. Unfortunately, however, on the market today there are no printers with cloud print already enabled, although hopefully we will see it sometime in the near future. So, if you want to use this feature, you’d have to install printers on a regular computer on a network, then install proxy software, and then connect to the software over the Internet using cloud print.

While the Chrome OS sounds amazing, there are some problems you may face when using the netbook. First off, it doesn’t have a USB storage drive (this may come when they release the product, but for now, there isn’t one), which makes it hard for those who use thumb drives to store their work. It also makes it difficult to transfer pictures and even sync your iPod to your iTunes library. However, the user does have the alternative to use Google Docs, which can eliminate the need for a thumb drive, and also, more frequently now people are using their smartphones to upload pictures to Facebook (etc.) and streaming music straight from Pandora. Thus, the move from thumb drives could prove to be less difficult than some might think. One more problem you might run into, though, is that there is no disk drive, so watching DVDs on your computer would be out. But there can be a simple fix to that, too, as these days the Internet gives you the ability to stream movies, TV shows, and much more of what you want.

The last feature, and one of the most important, is the security in Chrome OS – with cloud computing, you absolutely want your data protected. Google claims that the Chrome OS security features make it the most secure consumer operating system ever. The new Chrome OS uses the same auto-update and sandboxing features as the Chrome browser, which ends up saving the user time and effort in trying to keep the operating system up to date. It also encrypts all of the user’s data by default, making it harder for someone to take your data if your computer was stolen. The operating system will also use something called “verified boot” that can detect malicious changes to your firmware and let you recover from a verified backup.

Google will be teaming up with Samsung and Acer to bring Chrome OS to consumers sometime in early 2011. Along with these alliances, Google will also partner with Verizon to deliver data plans with your device. There are going to be no contracts or activation fees, and the plans are starting at $9.99 a month depending on which data plan you buy.

With recent concerns of site “history sniffing,” as it’s being called, the Federal Trade Commission has proposed a Do-Not-Track list in order to protect users’ information. With all that’s going on right now as far as privacy rights, Microsoft announced that, with the release of its Internet Explorer 9, a new tracking protection setting will be added to the features so that recent sites that have been tracking users’ browsing histories can no longer obtain such information.

With the imminent release of IE9, this new feature will give users the option of whether or not to share information with sites that are not known or trusted. This feature includes a tracking protection list of all websites that the browser will block from your information upon entering a specified URL into the address bar. Until the Federal Trade Commission decides whether or not to pass a law barring sites from being able to acquire this sort of information, the best way for a user to protect themselves is to add those sites to the tracking protection list. The concept of the list is best thought of as similar to the “Do Not Call” list for telephones, but instead for web browsers.

For the tracking protection list, Microsoft makes it easy for you to add different websites. They won’t add any in for you automatically, so if you want protection from a site you’ll need to add it, yourself. This list is the best way to provide users with a way to control the data being collected about them on sites they don’t visit directly. This feature doesn’t determine how the information being taken will be used, but it provides users a way to opt out of the release of their information in the first place.

Just as there is a tracking protection list, there is also a so-called “white-list,” meaning that these websites are trusted and are allowed to access users’ browser data. This feature grants the user ultimate control of their privacy and the information they wish to share, as it gives him/her the ability to trust or not trust websites simply by adding them to the lists.

This new feature added for the upcoming release of Internet Explorer 9 could be a smart business tactic for Microsoft in their hopes to gain back some of the market-share that Internet Explorer 6 has lost them. With IE9 beta version getting positive feedback on all of its new features, could the “No -Track” feature be the icing on the cake for Internet Explorer to return to the top in the browser war?

Twitter has started inviting a select group of users to test their new Twitter Analytics product. This product has been a rumor for quite some time, and a Twitter executive said earlier this year that Analytics would debut by the end of 2010.

With Twitter Analytics, users will be able to check out a plethora of data about their accounts. For example they can check information about which tweets get more views or are more successful than others, which tweets caused people to unfollow, and who the most influential users are that reply and retweet their messages.

The release of Twitter Analytics will also hurt some third-party vendors that are already providing similar tools. In addition, we heard that this product will be free and Twitter has no immediate plans to charge, which will come as a big blow to those third-party vendors who charge for their products.

Twitter Analytics will be very convenient to users, and it will allow the users to track the popularity of their tweets, their own popularity on the service, and the number of retweets, replies and faves each tweet received. This is going to be an advantage for businesses, such as Chico Web Design, to be able to see which tweets are popular with our followers and see what kind of tweets people are more interested in. This will permit businesses to focus more on what’s “in” with their followers, making their tweets more efficient.

Ge.tt is a brilliant, real-time file sharing service that doesn’t require you to install or make an account in order to utilize their service. There is no need to download a plugin or program before its use, making it very convenient and straightforward. Quite simply, Ge.tt is a browser-based file sharing system, no extra installs needed. (Additionally, you can sign up if you so choose, which can provide some extra benefits, too.)

Ge.tt makes it easy to file-share – all you have to do is click once on select files, then choose the files you want to upload, and Ge.tt will generate a unique URL. One of the best attributes of this file sharing is that you are able to share as soon as a URL has been generated; You don’t even have to wait for your documents to upload to share. Instead, the files will update on the download page in real-time, and, as they are uploaded, any users can start downloading a file. (Yes, even while you’re still uploading!) It further allows adding files even after you have shared a link, so that those files will show up on the link without having to reload the page.

Ge.tt also offers their real-time statistics based off of the files you are sharing. If you had shared something on Twitter or Facebook, you are able to check the popularity of your post. It gives you statistics of how many people have seen the post and who has chosen to download. So, if you’re a blogger or just concerned about how well-liked you are, this allows you keep track of your own popularity.

Currently, Ge.tt is working hard on making API available, since the demand for API is increasing.