The Google Snack by Bliss Technology

Verizon and Google and the Great Network

2010-08-10T06:49:00.000-07:00

Maps of the brain and internet.

Google and Verizon announced a proposal to the FCC for how they think the internet could work in the future and a there has been a lot of excited hype around it, mostly from people proclaiming it's the end of the internet as we know it.

Here's the proposal:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35599242/Verizon-Google-Legislative-Framework-Proposal

I believe that Google is, in fact, not evil. Also, I believe Verizon is not evil. I believe this because Google and Verizon offer the most incredible information technologies that have ever existed on planet Earth and it's hard to imagine a world without them.

What I also believe is that all the hype around the proposal is quite misguided, mostly because in fact most of the people responding to it don't seem to actually believe, as I do, that the Great Network is something that is an unstoppable force growing with increasing speed and power. It's actually kind of reaffirming to see such passion and such a concern for Rights and Freedom (kind of like our growing attachment to mobile devices as extension of personal liberties).

Here is the rundown of what I believe is important about this proposal:

It is a proposal. Nothing has happened yet because of it.
Google seems increasingly bad at managing its own PR. They might not be evil, but sometimes I wonder how they can be so dumb.
The nastiest part of it is how Google endorses the idea that Verizon (and others) can do whatever they wish on their wireless network.
It's a very American Corporate thing, wrapped in the very old concept that free markets will solve any problems with the proposal, revealing that Verizon and Google think they are not monopolies (and hope we don't either).
It's about Verizon and other "Broadband Service Providers (That Use Wires)." Does this mean Google is going to be a Broadband Service Provider in the future? Why else are they involved?

This was a dumb move for Google in my opinion. Let Verizon come out with these kinds of things. Does anyone really need to make a statement at this point that broadband internet access to the world wide web should be something available to everyone? No. But as the Great Network continues to evolve, it's a very good thing that we are all discussing what it really means.

At present, we are in a very strange world with apparently limitless possibilities for information to spread between us. For example, right now, millions of people have broadband internet at their home. Also, they have a computer connected to their TVs, usually referred to as a DVR. If everyone made their home DVR a web server, there is nothing stopping us from creating a massive distributed content network where any person can watch whatever is on another person's DVR.

In another example, there are millions of people with Android phones on the Verizon network and if every one of them were running in WiFi hotspot mode, there would be much less of a point in paying for wired broadband connections because on the 3g network, you can play HD video, download huge files quickly, etc.

When I had a 1200 baud modem, I was desperate for a faster connection. Now, 20 years later I have a HD satellite receiver and a 12 Gigabit connection at home and 3g pretty much everywhere else. Do we really need more bandwidth, more speed, more more more? This blog is one of thousands written on the original subject, being published among billions of websites. I have a hard time seeing the reason for much outcry at this point.

Google Docs will soon support multiple file types

2010-01-12T09:51:00.000-08:00

Today Google announced that in the next few weeks, they will be rolling out updates for Google Docs that will allow uses to upload and share files of any type. This is great new feature, and one we at Bliss Tech feel was a long time coming. We have heard many users voice a need to upload more than just docs and spreadsheets, and are looking forward to trying out the new functionality.

Click here to read the full post on the Google Docs blog to learn more.

Sharing Folders in Google Docs

2009-10-15T09:06:00.001-07:00

Google docs, a few days ago, began allowing folder shares. I applaud while asking what took so long under my breath. Since I have a handful of Apps accounts, I was regularly sharing files between them. The annoyance came when I had a few dozen files to move from point A to point B and no way to do so other than one by one.

Now I can bundle everything together and kick it off all at once. Unless you have ever tried to share multiple files, you'll never understand. For you non-share-ers, imagine having to send 54 emails, each with its own attachment, in lieu of being able to attach all 54 items to the same email. Ok, now your a bit closer to understanding.

Also new, and easily as useful as folder sharing, is multiple file upload. Useful for all the same reasons as the above, and potentially a real headache saver. Say you receive a few dozen text documents, presentations, spreadsheets, and the like. All really important and from someone you would never allow to know about your massive lava lamp collection. While your away one afternoon, a lava lamps gets frisky and decides to explode. A quart of semi-clear liquid and a few ounces of oil based red paint murder your computer and the photo of mom you keep on your desk. Sorry mom. If only you had those files in a cloud somewhere so you could just load them up on your kid's sticker festooned computer, get the work done, and never have to disclose your misfortune to the client.

Sure you were going to upload each of those things independently, but that was going to take so long, you decided to do it when you got back. Happily, this whole mess, and believe you me, exploding lava lamps make one heck of a mess, is avoided by multiple file upload. Your important files can float along in the cloud, safe from frisky lava lamps and eyes other than yours. Thanks Google.

In other Google news:
We'll see ebooks for sale through Google soon.
Wave is launching.
Android is starting to hop on web books. Woot.

Google Fast Flip

2009-09-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Google Fast Flip: A green move or the death of print media?

Google has unleashed their newest media, Google Fast Flip. Essentially, Fast Flip functions like a digital newspaper or magazine. Allowing you to, as the name suggests, flip through the "pages" of a given publication.

The idea was spurred in much the same way the idea for Chrome was. There was an obvious need to stream line certain features of certain online abilities. Chrome made browsing faster by cutting down on the clutter, Fast Flip is cutting down on the graphics and memory intensive elements of media websites to make the "digital experience" of reading a newspaper or magazine more enjoyable.

Where does this leave print media though? How can we Reduce, Reuse, Recycle old newspapers and magazines into mess prevention devices if they are always displayed on our monitors? How is the print media world going to make money if there is no revenue from the sale of a daily newspaper? How can you read The New York Times on the subway without busting out your new and exciting netbook?

Each of the above queries have already been answered it seems. Print media is going to be pulling revenue from ad sales driven by content and priced according to viewership. Think ad words for newspapers. As for the need to be attached at the hip to your PC while reading your daily news: well, duh, they made it work with android and iphones (think E-zine or E-paper).

Ok, so not all of the queries have been answered. Snacker, DO NOT line your ferrets cage with computer monitors. Bum some old newspapers from your non-google-savvy neighbor or something.

So, give it a look. See if this is some interesting and inspired Google genius or complete idiocy. fastflip

One thing is certain. Google has made a definitive move to back up print media. In today's world, the ultimate fate of print is uncertain. Solutions, at least for the titles that have lasted this long, may be on the horizon.

-Matt

Google Apps Security — L.A. County And Myth Of Cloud Risks

2009-07-20T11:35:00.001-07:00

I've been surprised to see such unanimously negative comments on a recent MSNBC article regarding the potential use of Google Apps by LA county California. I wouldn't be at all surprised to learn of Microsoft employing large scale commenting operations to push negative PR on the net.

This pretty much summarizes the sentiment:

"A decision to place confidential data into the hands of Google instead of simply upgrading the City's own IT infrastructure and retaining behind-the-firewall control of its data and digital resources would be one of the worst decisions it could ever make," said one poster.

There are some very disastrous misunderstandings about the decision being referenced here. Let's start with email. Do you think that the city of LA has a secure email system? Email definitely travels outside the office, where you can't control communication. People check their city email all the time from home or while on the road. I will wager any amount that the email component of Google Apps is much more secure than what they are currently using. Here's why:

1. Everything is 100% encrypted. At this point, there is no way the city of LA is emailing conversations to employees through an encrypted connection all of the time. That means they are at risk of being snooped on at any point along the chain, from their local ISP to the big communication providers.

2. The architecture at Google is far stronger and more reliable. I feel it would be wrong to assume that whatever method they are currently using to store backups of email and maintain uptime for email service is superior to Google. If you think that Microsoft Exchange, and lots of hard drives is your idea of security, then ok, move along. It simply costs taxpayers money if email is not working, and Google Apps email works. If anyone wants to argue against that point, show some evidence of comparative down times.

3. The filtering is superior. Google Apps email will prevent inefficiencies and, more importantly, viruses from spreading. If you think the city of LA has some kind of standardized, broad virus/spam filter that works better than Google currently, then, well, just move along. If you think they can implement a standardized broad system (like corporate Symantec) that will be less expensive and work just as well at filtering, then you are mistaken.

Now, that's just email. There is no argument here. Google can provide a more reliable, safer, and most of all more cost effective solution and taxpayers need to realize that. Google Docs is another issue altogether. The main question is, how is the city of LA currently sharing documents? There is a misconception that whatever they are doing now is secure because there is not currently some kind of scandal or break-in. I will again bet any amount of money they are:

a) Attaching sensitive documents to emails and sending them around, unencrypted, to co-workers.

b) Using some kind of VPN / web-based solution to log in to their office data through some kind of remote access setup.

Both a) and b) are huge security risks. People need to access some documents remotely. They are most likely doing it with Microsoft products currently, attaching documents to Outlook email and sending them along, unencrypted, and they are also using 3rd party software and Microsoft tools to get access to "behind-the-firewall" content. Does anyone have any clue about the history of the security of Microsoft products? It's terrible, sorry.

Finally, this really has nothing at all to do with anything about Google. The platform is entirely irrelevant, really. What matters is their internal security policies, period. If they are not equipped with a method to prevent "social hacking" for example, criminals are going to get access to "behind-the-firewall" content no matter what platform they use. If people choose stupid passwords or if IT administrators place terminals with access to sensitive documents where a criminal can physically get to them, then no amount of amazing "upgrading" you do will matter.

Fundamentally, the city of LA needs to decide what information can be accessed remotely. A smart security policy would be that, no, you can't get access to important data unless you gain access to a building with armed guards, an ID check and 3 methods of authentication on system that is physically disconnected from the internet. You don't use Google for that, sorry folks, that's something else entirely. The Google Apps product is just not the total solution, and it is a mistake to assume that stuff like "FBI investigations" are somehow magically accessible by they Chinese if they can just guess someone's password. If that's the case when they are using Google Apps, it was the case BEFORE they were using Google Apps.

IT decisions, especially in cases of large scale, are not based on all-one solutions and policy is more important than platform.

Twitter Google Apps Not Hacked, TechCrunch, Michael Arrington, and Online Security

2009-07-16T07:48:00.001-07:00

Today, there is drama surrounding the trendy social networking website Twitter. To summarize, someone managed to get into their corporate Google Apps account and then proceeded to email confidential documents to (at least) TechCrunch. TechCrunch is run by Michael Arrington, who has begun publishing those documents. It's important that everyone understand that this drama has absolutely nothing to do with Google Apps security. In fact, Mr. Arrington states incorrectly "the original security hole seems to be Google, via Google Apps for your Domain."

Update: This statement was later removed, but there is another statement "It's not our fault that Google has a ridiculously easy way to get access to accounts via their password recovery question." The word "Google" in that sentence really should be replaced with "Google's Gmail service."

Tell you what, how about you try and hack OUR Google Apps? Go to http://mail.blisstechnology.net/ and look down where it says "Can't access your account?" and click on it.

You will get nowhere.

And this is the DEFAULT setting for Google Apps across the board. There is no "security question" for Google Apps users, period.

Now, Gmail is a different story. So are a million other online services that offer security questions as a "password backup." What happened was someone at Twitter, Inc. had a gmail account (@gmail.com, not @twitter.com) which had a very poor security question that someone guessed. From inside the gmail account, they were able to find an email that provided access to Twitter's Google Apps. Oops.

So what lessons can we learn here? Google Apps is stronger than Gmail. Security questions are not something anyone should use ever and if a security question is required, then you make up something utterly ridiculous and unguessable as your answer and write it down in a secure place. Never use personal email for business. Think seriously about security in general in 2009 and beyond - it's way past time to be nonchalant about the subject. Oh, and don't read TechCrunch.

Now, Bliss Technology can't comprehend why Michael Arringon would sacrifice good sense for a quick rush of drama through publishing "secret" documents he obtained, but in our opinion, it's probably not a wise idea to annoy Twitter and their users. A quick search of http://search.twitter.com/ shows his "cool commodity" dropping like a lead stone into a bottomless pit, the social wildfire burning with hatred across the twittersphere, instant and raging.

As we take security seriously, we advise clients about these issues all the time. We also realize that Google Apps, cloud computing, and the online world in general have some PR challenges ahead, in spite of the extensive and shockingly awful history of true hacks and exploits (not just password-guessing) of software, usually Microsoft, that is not in the cloud. That is why I wrote this - to explain clearly the issues surroudning this drama and add our voice to reason, voices who loudly support Google and the cloud, who sing every day about the need to take security seriously, and who speak with distaste when reporters just get our industry flat wrong.

Change of password by administrator

2009-07-07T07:42:00.001-07:00

This guide is for administrators who are changing the password of a given email account.

1. Log into your administrator account.
(if you are the administrator, this will most likely be your normal email account)

2. In the top right portion of the screen there are a series of options, "Manage this domain, Settings, Older Version, Help, Sign out". Click, "Manage this domain".

3. The screen that appears is your, "dashboard" screen. Click the, "users" button next to the, "Create new users" button. There will be a number in front of the word, "users" that depicts the number of active accounts.

4. Select the user who needs their password changed by clicking their name.

5. Click, "Change password" and create the new password.

6. Click, "Save Changes" at the bottom of the screen.

Bing and Google; Bing vs Google

2009-07-06T10:39:00.001-07:00

Very few would argue that Google isn't on top of the pile when it comes to preferred search engines. Yet, Microsoft will never go unheard. Enter "Bing" Microsoft's bid in the world of search engines.

Being an avid follower of Google, I find Bing troublesome in the same way I find a new pair of boots that will never quite fit right troublesome. I suppose this could be chalked up to the normal friction that comes from using a new piece of technology.

I'm playing around with Bing, comparing my findings with Google's and so far things have stayed pretty interesting. As interesting as they can when your comparing search engines that is.

First thing I searched for, "write for me" Google shows twice as many results as Bing. Could this be better optimization? Or is this just a new search engine not getting the full picture just yet? Honestly, I have no idea. I'll probably never need 500 million results. I don't really need 250 million results either.

Next, I searched something with a slightly vague, but much more obvious goal in mind, "Dave Tate". It isn't like searching for Chuck Norris. Tate isn't Bubba Gump, but he has a substantial following, all be it a tightly nit group.

Google brought me nearly 1million results. Again, I didn't look at them all, duh, but the first result was the man's store, exactly what I was looking for. Under that were articles and whatnot written by Mr. Tate.

Bing's results went in a different direction. Apparently there is a singer/songwriter named Dave Tate. Regardless, Google was more spot on in this instance with less than half of the results of Bing. This could point to social quirks on my part, sure. But I was looking for gym advice, not soothing melodies.

I have no idea what these searches mean just yet. Or if they mean anything at all. In some cases Google returned more results, in some Bing had more. I think there is enough space in the open spans that is the internet for more than a handful of super interesting search engines.

Each search engine will have its own way of finding the query, sometimes they will fail utterly, other times they may bring you exactly what you want. If you are die hard Bing'er, give Google a shot when you're frustrated and can't find what your after. Same thing goes for us Google folks. There is no reason why Bing and Google can't play nice.

What is Google Voice? Personal Phone Number, Custom Fowarding, Voice Mails, & Text / Transcribing

2009-06-30T07:02:00.001-07:00

Google purchased a company called Grand Central and is turning it into something called Google Voice. It's a lot of things, but most of all, it's a revolutionary phone service for you that's free. First, you need to pick a phone number.

Once you have a number, you can do all kinds of cool things with it. For example, you can assign custom voice mail messages to individual callers or groups of callers. Like, "Thanks for Calling Bliss Technology" for business associates or "Hi, Honey, On the Airplane Until 5pm" for your wife. Also, you can get text transcriptions of voicemails sent to your phone or you can access them on the web. No, it's not perfect, but close enough!

Ultimate forwarding power. You can actually assign forwarding to specific groups. In other words, you could automatically route business accounts to specific representatives or unknown callers to the secretary.

Advanced tracking. Here at Bliss, we intend to combine Google Voice with online advertising so we have a simple way to track leads! Basically, we'll set up a custom phone number for each ad campaign and then route those calls in-house or to a designated client rep. Each call that comes in will be entered into a database (just the stats, not the content of the call). Now, THAT'S cool.

Unlocking Captcha in Google Apps

2009-06-29T08:44:00.001-07:00

We recently were having trouble with a Blackberry (on Verizon) and adding a Google Apps account. We were 100% we had the password right, but we kept getting a kickback on authentication. What was the problem? Captcha.

In order to unlock your Captcha authentication (triggered by failed login attempts), go to http://google.com/a/yourdomain.com/UnlockCaptcha. There, you will be able to enter a captcha code once and then your account will no longer require it. As soon as we unlocked it, our troublesome blackberry account installed with no issues!

Labs Spotlight: Attachment Reminder

2009-04-23T09:03:00.001-07:00

Google Labs is a breeding ground for new ideas that need to be put to the test. Google does a great job of testing new products they think will make our lives easier, more efficient, or just more fun. They make it a new toy, stick it in Labs, and let us play. If we like it, we send them feedback and tell them so. If we hate it, everybody lets them know. When Google decides that we simply cannot live without whatever tool they have cooked up, they make it official by moving it out of labs into the general population of gadgets.

Otherwise, nails are driven into the digital coffin, and the gadget is forever done away with.

Our first installment of Labs Product Highlights is going to look at the attachment reminder, or what Google calls the "Forgotten Attachment Detector".

This handy little gadget aims to prevent you from going on and on about how cool what the document you are getting ready to attach is, and then smacking the Send button without actually attaching the file. I can't convey how many times this happens to me, or how many times I've groused at people who aren't around to defend themselves when they forgot to attach a document.

Here's how it works:

As best I can tell, you mention the word "attachment" anywhere in your email. If you forget to actually do the attaching, poof! A pop-up window alerts you that you're about to send that email without the attachment. Some might think it's a little Big Brother-ish, but I don't mind as long as I don't look like a fool when I'm emailing a client.

The only problem I see is that it really needs to key in on other forms of the word "attach" (e.g., attached, attaching, etc.). Currently, it doesn't work if, for example, you type "I've attached some photos..." instead of something involving the word "attachment" specifically. It is still under development, however, so hopefully we'll see that feature implemented soon.

So what do you think? How many times have you forgotten to send an attachment? Was it important or did your frat brothers not get to see some epic shaming of the first to pass out? Did it result in a miscommunication? If you are the type who often forgets to send attachments, this might be just one more helpful tool from Google. I wouldn't be surprised if it sneaks into all Google mail systems once its beta testing is complete.

Twitter and Google

2009-04-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

Contrary to rumor, Google does not plan to buy Twitter. Well, at least not yet.

There may be a day when Google goes after Twitter's pink slip, but that isn't today. Today they are trying to capitalize on the massive and growing network that is Twitter.

Here is the skinny:
If you advertise on Twitter via Google, your Tweets will be pushed into the AdSense program. AdSense is the advertising program that allows website publishers to generate ad revenue by placing Google ads on their websites. The ads appear around content related to the subject of the ad. For example, if you visit a website that uses AdSense and read an article about shoes, you might see an ad for Zappos.com on the same page as the shoe article.

Google's plan for Twitter would publish advertisers' Twitter posts (or "tweets") as part of AdSense. This is not necessarily a way to increase direct sales. Rather, it works sort of like a blog.

When you write a blog entry for your website, there is of course the ever present goal of SEO (search engine optimization). However, a blog also allows readers to associate a friendly face with whatever is being promoted. Someone is out there talking to YOU!

Creating a Twitter account for your company is much the same idea. It will promote a very friendly atmosphere and give your followers (i.e., your customers and potential customers) a sense of fellowship with your company. It also offers the added advantage being on the "cutting edge" of what's going on with your business. It can ultimately be a very important news feed.

The best way to keep a person's attention is to stay in their line of sight. With Twitter, you essentially are tapping into a free means of contacting your customers FOR FREE all the time.

Let's say there is a corner gas station that has someone tech savvy enough to tweet about his day while at work. Said employee may actually have a fun story line going on his daily tweets about funny little things that go on when people win 1 dollar on their 15th $1 lotto ticket, etc.

This employee has no new material for his lunch break tweet so he decides tweet, "Free hot dog with a tank of case during lunch hours". Technically our employee isn't lying. Sure you can get a free hot dog during lunch hours if you fill up with gas. But the deal isn't new. They always offer that special. However, he is putting it in front of people again. He is stepping into people's line of sight. That day, sales are very likely to increase on gas during lunch hour. When people come in to get their free tube steak they are probably going to grab a ice cold diet coke to wash it down, maybe even a pack of gum to ward off the onion breath.

Not only that, but Twitter users like to share information with friends, often through "retweeting," i.e. republishing another user's post in order to share the information with others. Not only will the gas station gain business from their Twitter followers, they're also likely to be visited by the friends of their followers as well.

Although the delivery mechanism is new, the basic concept is Marketing 101: Stay in front of the customer. Even if you aren't directly promoting a sale or other incentive, just tweeting about your day-to-day business keeps you in your customers' minds. When they need what you have to offer, it's more likely that your company will be the first that springs to mind.

Twitter it. Stay in front of the customer, stay informed, and do it with Google.

All About Google - March 2009 Update

2009-03-06T11:12:00.000-08:00

Google's been up to quite a bit in the first quarter of 2009 and here's your rundown of some of the best updates:

Google Sync for Mobile — for a while now, it's been easy to synchronize Google Apps with your Blackberry. Now, there is a new (beta) feature to sync up with the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices! Click Here.

Goolge Calendar Offline — One of the most common questions about Google Apps is "Can I access it if I am offline?" With Google Gears, you have been able to access mail. Google continues to move forward with the plan to make everything available offline with Google Calendar offline. Get Gears to use this service.

Google Health update — you can now share your profile with trusted friends, family, healthcare provider by entering their email address. Click Here

@Google Talks — listen to many different types of people give seminars and talks at Google. Fascinating stuff! Click Here.

Google Power Meter — Energy efficiency is cost savings. Studies show that understanding energy usage is one of the most effective ways to improve energy efficiency. As technology improves to monitor this, Google is working to make that information easy to access and understand. Click Here.

EasyCGI mail problems and more. Moving domains, changing DNS, and email to Google

2009-01-16T07:33:00.000-08:00

We recently encountered a new client who is hosted by EasyCGI. Their email was completely down (again) and there was no specific time frame when it would be back up again. So, they asked us to help. That's when the trouble began... The control panel interface to their domain did not provide access to CNAME records, did not show any way to remove existing MX records, and worst of all, they were even unable to modify the nameservers of their domain so they could leave completely.

Finally we got through another tech support representative who informed us of an alternative method to access their domain, where we were able to unlock it. Although we could proceed with changing the nameservers (which usually means a significant 1-2 day delay), the new rep did find a method to add CNAME records so we could at least implement the Google Apps account.

If you are experiencing problems with EasyCGI, then we suggest considering moving your mail services to Google Apps!

Secure Google Apps

2008-12-17T08:38:00.000-08:00

Putting the "s" in "https" with Google Apps.

There is a surprisingly simple way to encrypt documents coming and going from your Google Apps account as well as your stand alone Gmail account.

If you feel more secure using SSL, or perhaps just want to feel like Jack Bower, then you can go about this in a few different ways.

First
You can encrypt individual pages as you are working on them by putting an "s" after the "http" in the browser address bar and hitting enter. This will work on any of the Apps.

Or
You can go into your settings under the "general" tab, scroll to the bottom, and select, "Always use https". This will encrypt everything for you automatically. To change it back just select the other option under the same heading.

What does this mean for you? Well, if you are someone who really likes your privacy, this puts it on lockdown using"High-grade Encryption" or 128 bit encryption. 128 bit encryption is essentialy the internet standard.

Anything that is to be viewed, for whatever reason, by only the creator and the intended recipiant, should be sent via this method.

Labs Comes to Apps!

2008-12-14T09:44:00.001-08:00

Google Apps is not fully integrated with Google Labs.

Google Labs, the proving ground for all of Google's neat little toys, contains many super useful tools. Granted, some of these tools are worthless, but some will make it to the main stream thanks to the dedicated people out there that review all of Lab's products.

Google Docs, Google Maps, Google Reader, and many more, are all "graduates of the Google Labs world". What will be next? You, oh devout user of Google Apps (all editions) shall decide. Now all the fun little gadgets you use in your stand alone Gmail account can make it to your apps interface as well.

Choose wisely, for together we decide the future fate of such things as Google Lively, and Google's Checklist.

-Matt

PDF viewing in Gmail

2008-12-13T09:21:00.000-08:00

As of today Gmail now allows the viewing, in lieu of downloading, of PDF files in you inbox.

Say, for example, you need to approve an add for your company, or perhaps look at a bill in order to make a credit card payment. If you have no need, and in truth, no desire, to download the file. Simply view it!

This can also be hugely helpful if you are at a hotel or resort and are using their less than wonderful computer lab. First, you wouldn't want to download the file for security reasons. Second, those computers are like rental cars, there is no telling what they have been through to give them that funny feel. They may very well not handle the PDF. Viewing is a safe and effective alternative.

Just another user friendly add for Gmail.

-Matt

What is Google Analytics?

2008-12-11T11:46:00.001-08:00

What is Google Analytics? That is a bit more tricky than explaining Gmail or Google Apps.

If you own a website, you then, of course, are doing your best to get it viewed. But how is it being viewed? Google Analytics answers that for you.

In a few clicks, Analytics will describe for you, in both numbers and visuals, just how people are making their way to your website. Basically, Analytics helps you understand how profound your presense on the internet is.

If your just your average Joe with a URL about your family, one that you may send other faimly and friends to, you probably dont care much about analytics. Yet, if you are selling something, getting a word out into the world wide web that you want to have heard, or your just really crave attention, analytics is your new best toy.

You can learn how people that landed on your site did so. This means, if 300 people come to your site searching for the same thing, then that phrase, the one they serached and those like it, may be a great way to get more peopled funneled into your page.

So, Analytics helps you utalize your website, whatever your purpose may be. You can use this tool to beef up sales, traffic, and readership. As captin planet would say, "knowing is half the battle". If you know your readership and what they are after, you can supply them with more efficiancy.

-Matt

What is Google Apps?

2008-12-11T11:22:00.000-08:00

What is Google Apps?

Google Apps is, in short, a productivity suite.

The long drawn out version is:

Google Apps exists, benevolently enough, to take care of productivity issues and store stuff you need in a, "cloud" our web based area. This allows users to access it from any location without utilizing Gotomypc.com or something of that nature.

First, it is important to note that there are 2 different versions of Google Apps. For our purposes there is the free one and the not free one.

With either version of Google apps you get:

Your own domain name. (your email will end in "@yourdomainname.com" in stead of "@yahoo" or "@gmail".
You get your very own home page. This can be decorated with an interesting array of gadgets and gizmos. Those are a different discussion however. Basically this interface allows you to navigate through the other Google and web services.
Gmail of course. Again, it will be your very own domain name.
A calendar system. You get this with Gmail as well.
Docs. Again, you get this with regular Gmail.
The ability to have multiple people with the same domain name. "bob@soandso.com", sally@soandso.com".
The ability to share and collaborate on any of the above tools.

What does the premium addition of Google Apps have that regular Google Apps Doesn't? Well, that could very well be another post to, but basically it is how many people you can bring with you, how secure your email is, and how much storage you get.

There it is, the little snack and the big snack.

What is Gmail?

2008-12-11T11:19:00.000-08:00

What is Gmail?

Gmail is, in short, Google Email.

Gmail as an email system brings all that Google has to offer as far as convenience and productivity are concerned. Packaged with it is an impressive array of other services: chat, video chat, sms text messaging, calander, documents, reader, ect.

Gmail, in and of itself, is a powerful tool. A built in spam blocker sets the standard for the internet; the dependibility of the search function is second to few; and the massive amount of archived space allows for all messages to be saved. Moreover, it is a snap to set up on a Blackberry.

All in all, Google does a good job on this project. More features are added constantly, and the intergration with the other google systems is nearly seemless. Try www.gmail.com if your curious.

Google Spam

2008-12-11T05:54:00.000-08:00

I got spam...once.

This morning started off simple, just like most mornings. Though, around the time I settled into my computer chair, things got a bit strange.

My normal routine goes something like this: Sit at computer desk, wipe cat hair off monitor, think poorly of cat, hit escape repeatedly to reserect my sleeping computer, curse wildly as it doesn't start and I realize I haven't turned on my monitor...you get the idea.

Once everything is up and running I start going through my three email accounts to make sure I am up to speed. First are my two business emails; both of which are Google Apps email accounts. Then I move to my private email, also a Gmail account, but a true Gmail account in that it ends in "@Gmail.com".

The usual items are at the top of the list, my daily agenda from my Google Calendar and a few others. Then I saw it. Hiding there so innocently in my email, settled right in between my Dad's invitation to dinner, and my mom's complaint that I never call anymore. It's spam. My heart sank. I looked to the heavens and screamed, "GOOGLE, WHY HAST THROUGH FORSAKEN ME". The cats scattered.

Once I mellowed out a bit (ironically the coffee helped), I did what any decent Google mail user should do. I reported the email for what it was and got on with my morning. The interesting thing was that the spam email I received was from another Gmail account. I guess if you can't beat them, join them...then beat them.

In any event. I am starting a running ticker today to see how many hours/days/weeks/months/years it takes for me to get another piece of spam. I'm guessing the Google Squad (effecianatly refered to as "The Goo Boys") has found the individual responsible, and is forcing him to open and close late 90's model computer cases while he slowly bleeds from dozens of cuts known to be brought on by such activities.

Google still has one of the best spam bomb shelters out there, free or not. I will forgive you Google, just this once.

Google Lively Virtually Fails

2008-11-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

The below post was written by Ben Collins in July of 2008. Ben definitely called it. Google Lively is dead; figure out your own pun. Enjoy his thoughts and stay posted for more Google snacks.

-Matt

Google just launched a new product called Lively and, well, it’s pretty deadly. Yes, we know it’s a beta. But I haven’t experienced a more frustrating interface since attempting to win a cupie doll at the carvinal with a barely functional squirt gun. There is a lot of grief in the blogosphere and a lot of really dumb hype (mostly about pr0n) from “official” news sources. However - underneath all this bad are some strikingly good ideas.

What is Google Lively and what’s so frustrating?
Google Lively emerged from one of the so-called “20%” projects that Google employees are allowed to work on during the day unrelated to their tasks at hand. It’s basically flash-driven 3-D world with chat rooms and furniture. Sound exciting? It isn’t. The primary problem is that the human-computer interface is like a step backwards. If you are controlling a little animated guy in a 3-D world, then it better at least stand up to SNES or even Doom III. Lets not forget that games like World of Warcraft and Grand Theft Auto IV are redefining our concept of what it “means” to navigate an avatar around a virtual world. No, this image is not Google Lively (it is a cute self-interacting image from the equally unlively Runescape), and no, I am not going to attempt to embed this barely-working 3D world on GeekSouth. Maybe later.

Every “waiting to load” or jerking movement or bug in the interface feels like pure torture. Commentary from curious bystanders essentially is about how lame things are and “Where is the pr0n?” Hey, they wanted to compete with Second Life (wink wink nudge nudge). But lets just move past this and pretend that at some point in the future, Google Lively will be very smooth and easy to use at least…

Why else does it fail besides the choppiness?
The art. The world to me looks like something derived from Cartoon Network of the nineties. Because the avatars have a lot of complicated hugging and dancing movements, you can’t really customize them very much. Basically, generic white dude, generic black dude, and a kitten. And pretty dumb looking furniture that you couldn’t even find at Target. There is also the “rooms” that you create. Yes, it’s not one “massive” world but in fact a bunch of rooms that each person has the freedom to create. Almost every room is miniscule compared to Google’s room, which is a large multi-floor building surrounded by a large grounds. No, don’t even try going in there.

Obviously, there are going to be way more rooms that are available, way more furniture, etc. Lets move past this point and imagine that in the future, rooms will be well designed and larger and there will be so much furniture and “stuff” that you can decorate your room exactly how you want at least…

What exactly is the point?
User accounts. Google has decided their primary focus in the near term is getting everyone on the planet to create a Google Account. What happens after that or the reason you actually did it is not quite as important as the fact that you actually have one. Don’t have an account? Chances are you will soon. They can figure out how to profit later through a million different ways, primarily though their Adwords. There is also something else… something perhaps very powerful.

Anything revolutionary going on here?
I’ve read Google’s explanation of why they created it. I’ve read the analysis of why people think they created it. So far, the gist of the hype is that they want to create a virtual world like Second Life that is distributed instead of centralized. No “land grabs” or anything. Everyone can create a room. Anyone can search for types of rooms. It’s free to play. And, you dont’ have to install a huge program to play it. Finally, you can embed the rooms on your websites! To convince people to sign up for a Google Account!

But there is definitely something interesting happening that the net has never seen. It’s not new to introduce the idea that players can adapt the game they play. Custom levels have been around forever. It’s not new to embed video or even games on other websites. What is new (at least to me) is the concept of combining the web with user-generated content in custom virtual worlds.

When I said “furniture” earlier, what I really meant was “dynamic net-enabled objects.” For example, one object in Google Lively is a “picture frame.” Hilariously, when I struggled to place the object into a room, it ended up on the floor. Try as I might, I could not move it to a wall. Anyway, it was pretty easy to add images from my flickr account to the picture frame. So I had this pretty animated gallery of images in a picture frame! On the floor! Laugh as you might, the idea is pretty powerful. Pictures, video, games, web pages, chat, voice, documents, downloads, Google Apps, Google Ads, Google Earth, where does it end? Sadly, it’s a clearly a bit early and also a bit silly to try to fit the capabilities of PCs and the internet inside a tiny, choppy, poorly animated object. But what I wonder is… what happens when you embed Google Lively inside Google Lively.

Whoa……….

New Google Calendar Toys

2008-11-25T16:04:00.000-08:00

Google has produced yet more tools for Google calendar.

First is the Google Maps integration for the calendar interface.
All you have to do: click on the event

and click on the map button.

If you plugged an address into your calendar event, the map page will display its location.

If you need directions just insert your departure address on the map interface and you are set.

Sure, it isn't too much trouble to just go to the Google Maps page. A few clicks, a bit of typing, and you would have everything you need to get to where you need to be. I think this particular gadget does what Google does best. It shortens the distance between what you are doing right now, and what you want to be doing in a second or two. Moreover, if you share a Google calendar event with someone less computer savvy and aren't interested in listening to them fumble through the longer process you can just just say something like, "Billy Bob, just click the little colored bar. Good boy Billy Bob. Now, click the little blue word that says 'map' and your done." Perhaps you don't know Billy Bob, but this is still a great touch by Google.