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Posts from the ‘google’ Category

16
Dec

Sign into Google Friend Connect with Twitter ID

Google’s universal sign-in system, Friend Connect, which just opened to all Websites two weeks ago, now accepts Twitter IDs as a sign-in option. That means when you visit a participating Website that accepts Friend Connect as a log-in option, you can sign in using your Twitter account. If any of the people you follow on Twitter are also members of the third-party site, they will automatically be added as your friends.

Friend Connect also supports IDs from Google, Yahoo, AIM, and OpenID. For instance, I tried this on the Go2Web2.0 blog, which has implemented Friend Connect, and it gave me the option to use my Gmail or Twitter accounts (I could also use Orkut or Plaxo). I used my Twitter sign-in without a hitch. (Update: Actually, this is a little confusing, but it signs you in first using one of the four credentials above and then asks you if you want to add Twitter).

The race is on between Friend Connect, Facebook Connect, and MySpaceID to sign up the most third party sites. Adding Twitter as an issuing party is a big win for Friend Connect because sites are going to choose the sign-in system that gives their visitors the most options and broadest reach.

There is nothing stopping sites from implementing more than one sign-in system, but at some point presenting visitors with too many options becomes confusing. For instance, we use Facebook Connect, in addition to our own sign-in system. Should we add Friend Connect? Probably. MySpaceID?

It’s only been a couple weeks since these have become widely available, and already universal sign-in is anything but. Here is a list of sites that are live with Facebook Connect, and some example Friend Connect sites can be found here (if anyone has a more comprehensive list of sites live with Friend Connect, please add to comments).

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10
Dec

Google takes Chrome out of Beta

Google vice president Marissa Mayer announced Google Chrome is coming out of beta in an interview with Michael Arrington at LeWeb 08. The Google’s open source browser has a number of eager customers, including OEMs who can’t offer the browser until it is in full release. Chrome’s Windows client has been in beta since its roll out 3 months ago, and with the new move will likely spur bundling with Google Toolbar and Google Apps
Chrome’s official release comes at a time when Google is accelerating efforts to redefine the browser around open Web standards while adding rich media and secure code extensions. Google’s open source Native Client project is just one possible future for the Chrome platform, where applications can run in a browser but incorporate native code modules. For example, this would allow developers to perform image processing on the local client without requiring round trips to the server.
In recent weeks, Google has released a number of enhancements via the Gmail Labs project. A GTalk video chat client requires a 2MB plugin that appears to incorporate proprietary Flash technology as well as other early versions of open Web standards. Another Lab offering creates a Tasks tool that can automatically add emails as items with a keyboard shortcut from within the email item. Other Labs tools include gadgets to view and create Google Calendar items and Google Documents from within the Gmail window. A Google gadget allows third party developers to add their own Labs code.

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9
Dec

Open Handset Alliance signs up 14 more Android-lovers, including Sony Ericsson, ASUS and Garmin

The Open Handset Alliance just made a major score with 14 more members: AKM Semiconductor Inc., ARM, ASUSTek Computer Inc. (previously rumored), Atheros Communications, Borqs, Ericsson, Garmin International Inc., Huawei Technologies, Omron Software Co. Ltd, Softbank Mobile Corporation, Sony Ericsson, Teleca AB, Toshiba Corporation and Vodafone. That’s not quite everyone that matters, but pretty darn close. Were we to climb not-very-far onto the limb of conjecture, we might posit that Garmin might be looking at Andoid for its much-delayed nuviföne, or some sort of followup, while the emergence of an ASUS “Eee Phone” or a XPERIA X1 running Android (Sony Ericsson may very well be the biggest win here, consumer-wise) would be welcome moves from those manufacturers. We’d say at this point the holdouts are starting to stick out more than the actually OHA members, which spells good things for the industry no matter what specific hardware is the fruit of this relationship… but seriously guys, build us some more Android phones. Read

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8
Dec

Is stripped user agent data pointing to a Google OS?

Here we go again. It seems like just yesterday we heard the first whispers of a Google desktop OS, and products like Chrome stoke suspicions that the Mountain View-based company is setting itself up to invade the PC. Although Google insists that it’s focusing on the cloud, since Android was announced, the feasibility of a Google-branded desktop OS has certainly increased. Now, market research firm Net Applications is reporting that it has seen a third of the traffic from Google’s employees with intentionally blocked identification strings. This could be a real indicator that the big G is hard at work on a desktop OS — or just a sign that folks at Google don’t care to share their OS of choice. Hopefully, we’ll be hearing more sooner rather than later, but feel free to chime in with your Google global domination theories and rabid speculation in the comments. Read 



Josh’s Verdict: Hmm, we already know Google uses a modified Linux version internally, so this isn’t new.. or is it? We’ll see. But then, who thought Google would create a browser? They were rumors. Google denied it. But Google Chrome was true. So we’ll see. Patience, my friend, is a virtue. 


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6
Dec

SIM unlocked Android Dev Phone 1 surfaces for $399

Oh, snap! Out of seemingly nowhere, Google has revealed the Android Dev Phone 1, a SIM- and hardware-unlocked G1 designed to be sold exclusively to hard working developers. The handset ships with a system image that’s fully compatible with Android 1.0, and obviously, it complies with any SIM card and can “flash custom Android builds that will work with the unlocked bootloader.” In other words, the mobile should seriously appeal to devs who live far, far away from areas blanketed with T-Mobile coverage. In order to get one, you must first register as an Android developer on the Android Market site (which involves a one-time $25 setup fee); once you’re in, you simply surf over and nail the “Purchase” link. For $399 (including free shipping in the US of A), this swanky G1 — custom back and all — can be yours, and it’s scheduled to ship in 18 international markets soon. Would it be too much to yell “snap!” again?

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4
Dec

World’s 2nd Android phone: Agora / Agora Pro



We’ll be totally honest — we pretty much blew Ruslan Kogan off when he proclaimed that he was about to push out a $199 Android phone by the year’s end. And truthfully, the guy still hasn’t totally delivered, but you won’t find us kvetching about more Googlephones, regardless of MSRP. The Agora (AU$299; US$192) and Agora Pro (AU$399; US$256) are available for pre-order as we speak, though neither one is scheduled to ship out until the end of January. For those unfamiliar with Kogan, it’s an online-only enterprise that has wares built specifically to its dimensions in China, and so far as we can tell, it’s as legit as they come. As for specs, the Agora packs a 2.5-inch touchscreen (320 x 240), 3G networking, a backlit QWERTY keyboard, Bluetooth 2.0 and a microSD card slot; the Pro adds in GPS, 2-megapixel camera and WiFi. So, with unsubsidized prices this low, are you willing to take a chance?


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3
Dec

Google Chrome and Safari: Facebook is a Phishing Site


Conspiracy theory lovers are going to have a field day with this one: when you try to accessFacebook using the Google Chrome browser today, you’ll get a warning that the social network may in fact be a phishing site.
You can still use the site if you click the button to continue, but you can also go ‘back to safety’. It worked fine for me until earlier this morning.
Is everyone seeing this?

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26
Nov

Confirmed: Google broke App Store rules with iPhone app

Okay, any talk that consistency in Apple’s approval process for the App Store has improved definitely has to be put on hold at this point; first we had that BdEmailer situation that duplicates functionality (albeit shoddily) of the iPhone’s own email capabilities, and now we have official confirmation that Google did a no-no when it slipped its voice-powered search through the checkpoint. The problem is that enabling the automatic voice detection requires use of an undocumented API call for the proximity sensor that Apple neither guarantees nor approves use of, meaning firmware updates can break it at will. In and of itself, that’s not a huge indiscretion on Google’s part since they’re probably committed to keeping it up-to-date, but the real issue is that this violates an explicit rule of the App Store that bans the use of undocumented calls. Apple, guys, seriously: if you want to be jerks about what gets through and what doesn’t, fine — but at least do it consistently so it doesn’t look like you’re favoring companies run by members of your own executive board (or in the case of BdEmailer, companies that are doing a bang-up job of making your own products look better). Read

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