Tagged: google

Firefox 4 finally arrived, and it replaced Chrome as my default

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Maybe I should disclose that I’m a hardcore Firefox user when 3.0 was released back in 2008. But after a year of using Chrome, I don’t think that matters anymore. I’m just as passionate about Google’s WebKit adaptation known as Chrome as I am about the best open source alternative.

Firefox 4 is as customizable as always. Adblock actually works. And having the most basic option of restricting the offline cache is definitely nice. It’s not like you didn’t know what was coming. It took Mozilla almost 3 years to go from Firefox 3 to Firefox 4 and there was like 12 betas and 2 release candidates. So I knew what I was getting into right off the bat.

Anyways, Firefox 4 is nothing revolutionary. It certainly isn’t faster than the latest Chrome. But it is stable and handles memory well, and its JavaScript performance is where a modern browser is anticipated to be. The fact that after 10 major versions of Chrome and Google still only allows cache-related changes by using a shortcut parameter hack is concerning (no way of doing this in Mac OS X). I hope it’s something they’ll address sooner or later.

Benchmarks:

I do wish Mozilla shipped Firefox 4 with some different default settings. But I have to fix the common annoyances of any browser I download so I guess that’s not too big of a deal.

There’s no reason not to use Internet Explorer 9 if you’re a Windows user or Safari 5 if you’re a Mac user. But if you’re a cross-platform guy like me and the ability to sync across the board (native, not some Xmarks BS) is important to you then it basically boils down to Chrome, Firefox and Opera.

More choices = good.

PS: Just check out this vertical space! I did it with Windows XP, similar results are possible with other OSs by just moving the buttons and awesome bar into the tabs bar and then unchecking “tabs on top”. Don’t need to modify userChrome.css or anything, since that stylesheet is only affecting Windows systems.

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PSS: I guess the hype wore off on me. 2 days later I’m back on Chrome. I guess I’m just addicted to the raw performance.

Summary of Facebook’s mobile event

  1. They’re trying to achieve mobile apps parity between different platforms
  2. They don’t have enough programmers, and Google bought the shop they wanted to outsource to
  3. Places and groups are going to have APIs and enhanced with more features soon
  4. Single sign-on is going to be available on mobile platforms too, it’ll also be easier to use
  5. iPad is not mobile, it is a computer

Seriously. Zuckerberg called iPad a computer.

Engadget isn’t so fond of the current state of Android openness either

Google needs to be more assertive toward the carriers and manufacturers to maintain the quality of the Android experience. Just like TechCrunch, the latest editorial from Engadget outlines the horrible experience of firmware updates for Motorola made Android devices. While HTC has been quite good with timely updates to their Android phones, the other popular manufacturers such as Motorola and Samsung are not doing so good.

And then, there is the carriers. I’m not sure which way it goes but the manufacturers and the carriers have some sort of agreement to conspire against the consumers. Almost purposely delaying firmware releases so consumers are forced to upgrade hardware in order to get the latest greatness from Google.

This shouldn’t be happening… Nobody wants to pay full price for a handset and nobody wants to signup for a contract only to get a neutered Android experience. The Nexus One was a step in the right direction, Nexus Two needs to be a worldwide carrier supported release with full Google support. I hope Google doesn’t abandon the Nexus releases. Because without hardware support and poor software support Android will end up like Windows Mobile before it and die a horrendous death.

Control the hardware, or control the software. Or better yet, do what Apple does and control both. It’s a fail otherwise because the carriers are just plain greedy.

engadget.com

Apple revises Terms of Service to allow AdMob, Flash

Google and Adobe can take a breath of fresh air today as Apple announces changes to its iOS development terms of service agreement that previously disallowed 3rd party development platforms, and clauses that prevented AdMob from entering iOS advertising market.

Apple is also going to publish the App Store review guidelines and make it available to all developers so they would know the restrictions and rejection criteria beforehand. This is a good change for Apple and consumers. But I have no doubt the recent US Department of Justice investigations is also causing Apple some unwanted headache that they want to sanitize their reputations a little bit.

Apple Announcement

Google Announcement

Have you tried Google today? Results are not(w) instant

Google Instant launches today and will be rolling out to everyone in the next few days. It is pretty awesome, instantaneous results as you type. So for those faster and accurate typers the time spent on Google will be less than before.

Faster Searches: By predicting your search and showing results before you finish typing, Google Instant can save 2-5 seconds per search.
Smarter Predictions: Even when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, predictions help guide your search. The top prediction is shown in grey text directly in the search box, so you can stop typing as soon as you see what you need.

Instant Results: Start typing and results appear right before your eyes. Until now, you had to type a full search term, hit return, and hope for the right results. Now results appear instantly as you type, helping you see where you’re headed, every step of the way. Faster Searches: By predicting your search and showing results before you finish typing, Google Instant can save 2-5 seconds per search.

Smarter Predictions: Even when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, predictions help guide your search. The top prediction is shown in grey text directly in the search box, so you can stop typing as soon as you see what you need.

Instant Results: Start typing and results appear right before your eyes. Until now, you had to type a full search term, hit return, and hope for the right results. Now results appear instantly as you type, helping you see where you’re headed, every step of the way.

Except Google Canada is always slower at adopting the coolest stuff. So I guess you’ll have to wait until your Google account is Instant enabled.

google.com