Tuesday - Jul 19, 2011
Firefox, the name reminds one of a slow, roughly worked-out browser that seemed to ‘think’ as my daughter loved to term it- at each and every click. In short it took its own time to open, to browse and the end result wasn’t as impressive as the time it took. The younger generation wants faster browsers, snappier options, clean and clear graphics that wouldn’t crowd the usage space.
Firefox with respect to its usage in India has had mixed reactions. It is evident that Internet Explorer/ Google Chrome do hold sway. But I was suprised to see the patriotic fervour attached to Firefox in this site.
A national browser is what the site termed the Epic browser. The browser has been modified and tweaked by Hidden Reflex an Indian start-up and it looks like the ‘Fox’ has certainly caught the nationalistic ‘fire’ of Indian yuppies.
A majority of Indian viewers still hold the IE as the only saving link to the web world but with the launching of the Epic browser Firefox, has played its crucial point, in trying to wean those that have been initiated into internet only through IE.
Epic, claims Alok Bharadwaj, the CEO of Hidden Reflex, has these revolutionizing features:
- A sidebar that has apps/widgets to provide quick access to various web/native system services
- Built-in word processors that is likely to support many Indian languages keeping in mind the Indian user.
- Firefox is determined to take its users to a complete browser based operating system that is likely to take things to the cloud.
Continuing in the same vein the open source browser has been trying to keep pace with speed and the demands of the new generation. It has been turning the Firefox crank faster with a ‘new version’ every six weeks!
The proverbial Firefox seems to be gearing up to show its speed and its mettle. Users can now expect a lot of improvement in its working! Cnet sources opine that there are plans to include 64-bit support on Windows and Firefox has plans on a war footing to reduce the browser’s memory usage. But the most dynamic of all its changes that Firefox has invented, is a process called ‘Electrolysis’ that splits Firefox into multiple independent processes.
The advantages of having the Electrolysis or multiple independent processes in Firefox is:
- It improves responsiveness- your browser responds faster to your inputs
- Smoother graphics- Better picture and video quality
- Enhanced usage of multicore processors- Quantity of data collected increases manifold
- Increased security- Lesser chances of viral attacks/spams
I am reminded of the passionate debate of my son who rallied that in near future it was Firefox that would bring out the best. And true to his prophecies it seems Firefox too has woken up to the challenge of providing faster, better and secure browsing to its users. This should have been done a long time ago say many of its devout users but Firefox has been in the process of gearing up by adding the Electrolysis element to its 3.6 version. But then it took its time testing out its new processes as a result users felt the changes were late and slow.
Now it has increased its pace and has finally realized that many of its ardent users would love to see its arch rival Internet Explorer turn tail. But with the entry of Google Chrome’s ‘Safari’ promising mobile-browsing charge, Firefox was left with no option but to respond with its rapid release development cycle!
The rapid release development cycle was a crucial process as it would separate the user-interface process from the part that handles its contents in the browser tabs. This would usher in a snappier browser. In other words the mouse click that took ages to recognize and respond would now pour out in a rush. The trick, Firefox officials say lies in its retrieval of data or reusage of data from its ‘garbage pile’. Garbage collection caused a larger application like Facebook or Gmail to pause, but with the reusage of its garbage pile, Firefox seems to have hit upon the idea of reuse and recycle for speedier browsing.
I am sure very soon my son would be proudly displaying a “competitively fast, sporting a sleek minimalist look with excellent features” of the proverbial orange fox with its tail wrapped around the globe on his window! Jai Ho Firefox!
Monday - Jul 11, 2011
I would say this is a paradox. (A tenet or proposition contrary to received opinion; an assertion or sentiment seemingly contradictory, or opposed to common sense; that which in appearance or terms is absurd, but yet may be true in fact.) Hmm..many of you would surely agree with me on the ‘kind of paradox’ that I am talking about. Well this is about the new social forum Google+ and its ubiquitous features!
Hmm..again! Newspapers in India have been guarded with the way they would like to view Google’s foray ‘again’ into the social networking scene. This isn’t surprising given the psyche of the Indian media. They dither, they drool, they hedge but are never firm on their views. Why is it so scary for them to call a spade a spade I am not sure. But then some say it’s too early to call a spade a spade! It’s been just two weeks that Google+ launched flamboyantly its new features, challenging the other social networking site Facebook! Facebook responded by hurriedly making changes to many of its features and applications overnight.
Now what can you say of a giant taking on the Goliath! Google has been on the IT map for over 16 years and has entrenched its roots deep into the psyche of every being associated with the internet. A giant that leaped into the social networking scene with hopes of cashing in on the vast number of people resources and their ideas that Facebook has. It did so in the past with the launching of ‘Picasa ultimatum’ that wasn’t as successful as it disappointed its users who didn’t want to share their photos, hence stopped them from signing up. Facebook has not put such stoppers at all. In fact it has agreed to play to the hilt offering its users to change their privacy settings anytime and every time they felt the need to do so.
Mark Zuckerberg’s strategy to outwit the giant the moment it made its intentions clear drew a sigh of admirable gasps from its users. I leapt with joy the moment I saw the posting on my wall that I could now view, chat and speak to my friends for free just as we do in Skype! This sent a clear signal to Google that Mark was inching closer to its arch rival Microsoft by settling for a Facebook Skype tie-up. Some say that Mark’s trying to play the role of king maker between the two, but as users what could be more exciting than be loaded with free gifts as a result of the fight.
Some say Facebook can never be what Microsoft or Google really is. I say does it matter? In this world of dog-eat-dog, big businesses need to depend on the smaller ones to reign supreme. We all know that Google gets its revenue through Adsense while Microsoft through its software and Google have reigned supreme as an advertising mogul but Facebook has shown its mettle by opening its pages for a far superior platform of advertising. Reason for this is the profiling of its users. Facebook has taken the masses by storm.
In reality it is Google that needs the services of Facebook or come up with an equally powerful social networking platform that can attract the advertisers through its own version of ‘profiling’. Can it do that? Will Google stand up to the pressures of the wily Facebook? Only time can tell. But Google is aware that Facebook lacks the enterprise appeal, as it has no software or utility value as such. It is now a wait, watch and reap time for us users while the giants battle it out.
Monday - Jul 4, 2011
The moment I logged in to check my mail I was surprised to find messages from one of my friends with the Google logo on it. Google+??? Huh…Pinged him to discover that Google has finally jumped onto the social network bandwagon called the Google+ project.
On Tuesday, Google launched its restricted access of its new social networking site called Google+ pronounced Google plus. But by Wednesday night Google turned off the new signing up as it could not handle the huge inflow of users, who realized they could send unlimited number of invitations to other people by email. Suddenly there seemed to be an insane demand of users who had bombarded their contacts on Twitter and Facebook to sign them up.
I guess Google couldn’t resist but take a share of the huge social network pie that has supposedly made Mark Zuckerberg, co-founder of Facebook a household name the world over. Mark has supposedly made a fortune that is estimated to be a whopping $13.5 billion!
Though the service is similar to that of Facebook, Google+ aims to make provisions to users who can share photos, links and updates to only a small section of friends and not an entire social network as in Facebook.
As I was updated about this service by my friend, my mind recoiled from the thought of, ‘another forum’? ‘Another round of checking status updates, notifications, messages?’ Oh no, not another one.
It is true we get to contact many of our friends and contacts through a site that allows us to post innumerable photos, links and other things that wouldn’t have been possible physically when people meet. But, where is the time for another social network? How do I make provisions in the limited time that I am left with on a daily basis to check into another social networking site? I started to reason that Google+ wouldn’t be able to catch on like its ally Facebook did. In fact I was wishing it wouldn’t.
I felt Google’s bitten more than it can chew. Can it hold the Facebook bull by its horns and steer it away and capture its place? Will it be able to carry it off with aplomb like Mark has done allowing people from everywhere to get in touch with anyone!
The difference between Facebook and Google+
Google+ is intended to be shared only with smaller, closely aligned sets of people unlike Facebook where anything and everything can be freely posted. The marked difference between the two being unlike Facebook where friendship rests on being two-way, in Google+ users create groups of other users or ‘Circles’ as it is termed in Google lingo.
The ‘Circle’ of friends in the group ares in no way connected to one another and one needn’t necessarily communicate with the other just because he/she is in that group and if needed a member in the group can also be ignored without his knowing. The ‘Circle’ is only for the convenience of the person who has initiated it so that he can share things with the rest of them or view their updates, as a group.
When sharing things on your wall, that resembles that of Facebook, Google+ initiates you to choose carefully the circle and groups that you would like to share the information with. This way one needn’t go through the arduous task of fine-tuning your customization settings, as it needs to be done in Facebook, in order to ensure who does or doesn’t view the postings.
In Facebook messages and notifications are generally reflected in the user’s mail box whereas in Google+ it uses the member’s email accounts that needn’t necessarily be the Gmail system. This ensures you aren’t saddled with another inbox. Also you can reply to those messages without having to log into Google+.
Besides these Google+ also has the following features:
- ‘Sparks’ a searchable news feed wherein one can share news within the circles or the groups.
- One can display ones personal interests without the same being visible to anyone in your Group or Circle.
- Hangouts are video chats that can happen between 10 people only.
- One can create ‘Huddle’ a group SMS chat within members whose mobile numbers are available.
As the forum is still in its beta stage, work is still in progress with loads of room for changes and improvement.
After all this my mind still reels with doubts and the foremost one being can I take to this forum as the hangover from the previous one persists?
For more information on Google+ and its features you can rely on this article from the New York Times.
