Monday - Aug 30, 2010
Google likes to shake things up and now it’s done it again. It just rolled out a new service in tune with the lean economic times–it won’t cost you a penny.
If you have a Gmail account (and if you don’t, it’s free to sign up), you can now make free phone calls in the U.S and Canada. Calls can be placed from your computer to another computer or from your computer to a landline or mobile phone. Either way, you can’t beat the price, which will remain free at least through the end of the year.
You can also make international calls, but you’ll have to pay. For instance, calls to landlines in Australia and China cost $.02 a minute; calling India will set you back $.06 a minute. Here’s a list of international calling rates.
To get started, go to the Gmail home page and download the voice and video chat plug-in. After you restart your browser, click the “Call phone” link and type in the phone number or select it from the address book. To pay for international calls, use a credit card to add credit to your account. I used the built-in mic and speakers in my laptop in lieu of a headset and microphone. The quality was quite good.
At the moment, the service is only available using your computer’s web browser, not a mobile browser on a smartphone. Is that coming? I believe that it will. And when it does, imagine the havoc it will wreak on the telecommunications industry. A Google Calls app will usher in unlimited talk time–no more charges for extra minutes.
Wednesday - Aug 25, 2010
By now, millions of words have been written about net neutrality, including by me. If you’re a visual learner, this infographic offers a good overview of this controversial issue.
[Via: Online MBA Programs]
Monday - Aug 23, 2010
The cover of this month’s issue of Wired magazine declares that “The Web is Dead.” The gist of the article is that a web browser is no longer needed to access many online services. With the rise of smartphones and wireless devices like the iPad, apps–small, downloadable software programs designed for a specific task–are making the Web increasingly irrelevant, at least for content.
App stores stock hundreds of thousands of these handy programs that customize your smartphone to do virtually anything. Need to make a video call? Use a Skype app. Ready to read the latest bestseller? Launch your Kindle app. With apps, there’s no need to access a website, although data still travels over the Internet. Apps make your online experience richer because they’re not limited to the capabilities of your web browser.
What’s the downside? Many apps cost money, albeit just a few dollars, and there may also be a charge to access premium content, unlike on the Web, where almost all content is free. And that’s what’s driving the app revolution. The “free” model just don’t work for most content providers. Online advertising doesn’t generate enough revenue, so they’re looking for ways to offer paid, premium content via apps.
Will the the World Wide Web disappear? With an estimated 96 million active websites, it’s too soon to write off the Web, now just 18 years old and entering adulthood. Beyond the delivery of content, the Web is a global marketplace for products and services.. It has also become a personal publishing medium, allowing millions of people to express themselves. But the idea of the desktop being replaced by the webtop–all content and services accessed via a web browser–is certainly dead.
Although many of us now use text messaging–1.5 trillion were sent last year– e-mail remains alive and well; 90 trillion zipped crossed the Net in 2009. Apps and the Web will share the same fate, living together in peaceful and parallel coexistence.
