gOS - linux for Google!!!

Filed Under (Google, Technology) by master on 18-11-2007

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We all love Google for all the advanced web-apps like Gmail, Gtalk, Google Reader etc. Now, here’s a little tux here to whet your G-appetite. Its the gOS which is a linux distro which is made to be :

  1. Google-optimized.
  2. User-Friendly.
  3. Of course, free and open source.

So, how does it work ? Easy as pie is how it works !! Its easy to operate for the average user. Here’s what the gOS dev team has to say about it :

# An alternative operating system for the masses : “Our idea is to be a simple, user friendly, beautiful desktop for normal people”.

 # Out of the box, just works! : “We’re creating an OS ecosystem that is complete. We come with all the software you need to browse the web, email, instant message… Play movies, music, and connect to iPods… create and edit documents, spreadsheets, presentations, databases, images… out of the box. Plug and play! ”

# Bring on Google and other wonderful applications : ” We recommend Google for just about everything… Gmail, Gtalk, Calendar, Maps, Docs and Spreadsheets, and more. We’d like to welcome you to the idea that Google already is your “operating system.” “

The OS has an desktop integrated search box and everything Google can be accessed right from the desktop.  

Hmm…. I have a good feeling Google is going to acquire this project or something. Thats what Google does, right ? Buy companies. lol :)

Google taking publishers for a ride?

Filed Under (Google, Technology) by Rajan Zachariah on 14-11-2007

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Internet search giant, Google, seems to have grown over concerned about its customers. This was evident from the past set of updates that they have done to their algorithms. First it was the update on the PageRank algorithm, that affected a plethora of bloggers and similar publishers. A recent one being an update on the clickable region of the Google AdSense from the entire box.

Google believes that these steps would help erradicate false alrams or fruadulent clicks on the ad, thus taking only the really interested folks to the respective sites. Anyway, Google already has many algorithms to detect fraud and unintentional clicks, to do away with wrong statistics, then why the heck this sudden change?

Well, to get into a bit deeper let us divide the Internet Users into 4 categories:

  1. Google (yep, need to put the company separately).
  2. Advertisers (whose ads are stored in Google’s ad database).
  3. Publishers
  4. End User (Web surfers)

Now lets take it on a case-to-case basis.

For Google, the most important thing is that the general public is directed towards the right site and this is what Google is famous for. Buying and selling a large number(remeber a large number) of text links could misguide the PageRank algorithm, therby misleading the end user. It is also important that the customers (advertisers) gets the real clicks, for which they are paying google.

Advertisers, as said, needs really interested folks, to grab new customers. It doesn’t pay them off well, if the refferal site used unethical ways to increase popularity of their site etc., as the general public is much unaware of all this.

Publishers, well for quality contecnt writers this seems to be a good move(I’m not here in a mood to argue).  They will get the attention that is due on them. I dunno if most bloggers would agree with me or not, but isn’t it true???

End users, as mentioned, most would not have an idea about AdSense, and many would fall trap to clicking on the ads where the intension was to click on some link in the text.

Now keeping above points in mind we can conclude that for most part the changes done were much thought of and well planned. What are your feelings? Please do comment …  

gPhone on the roll !!!

Filed Under (Google, Technology) by Rajan Zachariah on 30-10-2007

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A few weeks back we mentioned about google’s plan of launching the ghone. But as we expected the gphone might not be a cellphone rather it would be an operating system that would run on several different models of cell phones.

Mock-up of Google's gPhone

Note: This is a mock-up only and is NOT officially published by Google.

Google is already in talks with handset manufacturers about the idea of building phones tailored to Google software, with Taiwan’s HTC Corp. and South Korea’s LG Electronics Inc. mentioned in the industry as potential contenders.

The gPhones are expected to bundle various Google applications like search engine, Google Maps, YouTube and yes, ofcourse, The Gmail email, which recently made their way onto some mobile devices through their support over IMAP.

According to sources, Google is planing to make the phone’s software “open” right down to the operating system, which means that independent software developers would get access to the tools they need to build additional phone features.

Although Microsoft also provides great set of tools for mobile development, it does not discloses the hardware level granularity to developers and even questions the great advantage that Google would have with an open OS.

But before all this is launched, Google would need to tout the loose ends. It is in constant touch with wireless carriers for the WiFi feature, on which stands Google’s plan. It would even have to check on the security front. An open mobile-OS could pose a great risk to the consumer in gernal.

Credits : [wsj  and foxnews