Skepticity | Renie Ravin | Founder of IndiBlogger.in – on Web Design, Photography, Advertising

Is Google making the same mistakes that Microsoft made with IE?

// September 10th, 2009 // 15 Comments » // Cribs, Google

For years now, users have been griping about Microsoft bundling their web browser with Windows. By doing so, users were never compelled to install a browser – why go about selecting the best one when my pc came with one installed? Microsoft was blamed for monopolizing the market, using the popularity of Windows to make Internet Explorer the dominant force.

Google does not have a product like Windows (yet!) but they do have their web properties which are used by millions of people. I was just surfing youtube, on the latest version of Opera and I saw this:

Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t they doing the same thing by nagging me when I surf one of their websites? Also, “new web browser”? Does that mean my browser is outdated?

The same message shows up in Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox.

Google makes typos too!

// October 5th, 2008 // 5 Comments » // Google, Popular

“Post failed: Too may posts on this channel in last 24 hrs”

Saw this typo while I was trying out Google’s new SMS Channels service. Looks like they may have openings in their QC department.

Yahoo hates Google

// December 7th, 2006 // No Comments » // Cribs, Google

Do a search for the term Google using Yahoo! Search and you’ll see a special search box on top of the results labelled “Search the Web with Yahoo!”. They’re singling out Google for this treatment, as a search for MSN or Altavista will show you.

Google hasn’t returned the favor, which I’m sure they won’t.

[ Edit - The special search box has been removed. Guess they're friends now. ]

Google steps into event management

// November 15th, 2006 // 7 Comments » // Google

Don’t these guys ever take a break? Now you can search through events that other people have made public on their calendars. Simply put, if I want to find out if there’s anything happening in town over the weekend, chances are I’ll find it one someone’s calendar.

Here’s Google’s explanation.

Google Earth has a new dimension – Time!

// November 15th, 2006 // No Comments » // Google

Google adds historical maps to Google Earth under featured content. Trust me, try this out only when you have a few hours to spare. It’s addictive!

Aishwarya Rai more popular in Pakistan

// November 9th, 2006 // 3 Comments » // Google

There’s no better survey than Google Trends. A search for Aishwarya Rai tells us this:

Uttar Pradesh has more people than Pakistan, and yet?

Oppressed, they are. Horny, they must be.

Orkut invites obsolete

// November 9th, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Google

Looks like Orkut (and Google accounts) no longer need an invitation. Wonder if that’s a good idea – I already get so much spam in my scrapbook I wish they would integrate Akismet with orkut.

More integration from Google – Orkut and Gtalk

// November 9th, 2006 // No Comments » // Google

Google has integrated Orkut and Google Talk.

At Google, we like it when people talk with each other. So we figured we should make life a little easier for our friends on orkut, where getting in touch and staying in touch is the name of the game. We noticed that a lot of orkut users have been using a separate instant messaging program to chat, which just seems like unnecessary work — clicking around, keeping separate buddy lists, etc. This is why we’ve built Google Talk into orkut, so you can see your friends’ availability and chat with them more easily. And, as a special Google Talk bonus, if you want to do more than text chat, you can make voice calls, leave voicemail, and transfer files.

We’ve put some orkut features into Google Talk too. In addition to chatting, calling, and sending files to your Google Talk buddies, you can also scrap them, receive instant notice when others scrap you, and quickly jump to any of their orkut profiles.

Gmail client for Motorazr V3

// November 3rd, 2006 // No Comments » // Apps, Google, Technology

Google just launched their gmail client for mobile devices. I’ve never been a fan of how Gmail looked on Opera Mini on my motorazr, so I downloaded it as soon as I saw the news. Didn’t find it here though, had to navigate to gmail/app from my mobile to find the link. Opera Mini had to exit to download the application (gmail.jar) and installation took no time at all on my crappy GPRS connection. Loaded pretty quick, here’s how a conversation looks like:

Decent. Interface is quicker with shortcut keys, layout is clean, and they’ve included a whole lot of features that make sense on a tiny mobile screen. If you use Gmail (which you should) and the client is compatible with your phone, this is a must have.

If you use Gmail hosted email, you may have a few problems – I repeatedly got Error 404 and 500 error messages.

Google goes the Wiki way

// October 31st, 2006 // 1 Comment » // Google

Google has acquired JotSpot. Official announcement here.

Personally I’ve not used JotSpot before, but now I can’t wait!