Productive Organizer

Om Malik mentioned this week how many of us are debating on the wrong area. Instead of thinking who would win out, Google? Amazon? Facebook? or Apple?

What is definite is which old tech industry is going to suffer. As an investor in shares it affects you to know that a company that performs really well with a iron cast business model may be ripped wide open by these new tech companies.

This could be classified as substitutes or blue ocean. Do read this.

Today’s Internet-centric communication device (for the lack of a better word) is in competition with the old way. Thanks to new chip technologies, cheap sensors and fast growing networks, the idea of what is a phone has changed. This is leading to behavior changes and new interactions. They are behaviors of a new connected life. These new behaviors will change many different parts of society and business.

At the launch of the iPhone 4S, Apple chief executive office Tim Cook

[Read full story here >>]

With iOS 5.0, Apple introduced iCloud, which enables the users to store the following in iCloud, Apple’s own cloud storage:

1. Email
2. Contacts
3. Calendars
4. Reminders/To-do
5. Browsing history
6. Notes
7. Photos
8. Documents / Storage
9. Backup

Now depending on whether you prefer to do that, there may be reasons why you would not want to do that.

For myself, I do not want to tie in to Apple’s Tech Network so much. The downside is that you may have to rely on many other cloud services and storage solution.

In time, average consumers might find this to be a huge switching cost. This is great for Apple. For folks who want to buy Apple’s stock, this is a great upside.

How I would prefer is to set up my cloud solutions this way:

As you can see, for me to get this to work, I would need to cloud sync to Google and Apple separately

1. Toggle those services you want to sync to “Off”
2. Toggle those services you want to sync to iCloud to “On”
3. For Notes, you would need to create a @me.com account.

But the real question which I dare not try is: Can we use Exchange Sync to Gmail and iCloud at the same time?

Have anyone tried that and whether it works?

I am pretty excited everytime Google IO comes around the corner and this year it doesn’t disappoint.

Build new apps that are richer in functionality and smartphone apps that have tablet functionality

Build hardware devices using an ADK to create hardware to talk to Android software

Assess music and video that is sync automatically online

here is another example of Android Market probably not up to standard compare to the iOS. If you want to earn the developers trust, you could really invest in making your platform more robust.

Now developers are demanding a refund of Google’s 30% cut:

It seemed that Google Checkout was randomly (and frequently) declining orders for a large number of developers (the majority of which appear to be outside of the US). Over the next few days/hours, more and more posts poured in showing the increasing frustration with the situation

As a developer, the quality of your app says a lot about your reputation. And Google is indirectly causing a hit on you as a developer.

Being a developer myself, I can assure you one thing we realllly hate is a problem/shortcoming outside of our control making us look bad. As someone who solves problems for a living, it’s infuriating to have a real problem stare you in the face.

The response was late and systematic, pissing off developers more:

@salgar: The whole episode was an utter disgrace. “Regretting the inconvenience” isn’t really an apology either, is it? There was no communication with the developers, it took over 2 days to even start addressing the problem and it has all left a very bitter taste. I really think you should consider arranging a refund of the 30% we pay to you over the time frame this all occurred … this would go a little way to helping us all feel like we weren’t paying for support that never existed.

And on the note – how difficult is it to employ a member of support staff over the weekend that can monitor the Market? All it takes is 1 person to sit there monitoring activity – can you not even provide that for the 30% fee you take from us?

Finally, the ‘cut and paste’ response you gave everyone to their support requests was perhaps the biggest insult of all. I provide attentive and personal support to all my customers/users and it pays dividends (hey, I even do it at the weekends!) – why can’t you do the same. Out of all the support requests I have made to the Android Market, not a single one of them actually answers any of my questions – it’s like you skim read it, get the gist, and then choose the appropriate standard response to send back. Thanks for that.

So go on, make a gesture to prove that you take us seriously and that you value our contributions towards Android’s success. At the very least, you should email Android Market users that were caught up in this debacle and explain to them the issues and that it was not the developers’ faults. Please do this for us – EDUCATE THE ANDROID USERS – it’s the absolute bare minimum that you owe to us. I’m fed up of providing support for Google/Android as opposed to my own applications.dooblouAndroid Market forum

[Full Aricle here>>]

One of the most annoying thing about Gmail compared to Yahoo mail and Hotmail is that after you finish reading a mail, it brings you straight to inbox.

To me it seems to indicate that through its myraid of features it still lags behind Yahoo mail and Hotmail in this aspect.

Well, not anymore, this new labs feature is really not bad:

Today, whenever you open an email in your Gmail inbox and then archive or delete it, you’re taken back to your inbox. Many of you have asked for the ability to instead go to the next conversation. Keyboard ninjas will already be familiar with the “]” and “[“ keyboard shortcuts for archiving and going to the next/previous conversation. For everyone else (and for people who frequently mute or delete conversations rather than archive them) we’re offering a new feature in Gmail Labs called “Auto-advance,” which automatically opens the next conversation after you archive/delete/mute the one you’re on.

To get started with “Auto-advance” go to the Labs tab in Settings, enable it, and click the “Save changes” button. By default, “Auto-advance” will advance to the previous (older) conversation in your inbox — perfect for people who read their newest mail first. If you usually read your oldest email first and would rather advance to the next (newer) conversation, you can change the direction from the General Settings tab.

I will be activating this with no doubt that this will make life much easier.

This really takes the cake in the daily WTF category. Oracle is suing Google in claiming that Google infringed upon seven of its patents through code used in the Android operating system.

Now for me, the main reason why Oracle will do that is probably because, the application development market for mobile smartphones and in particular Android is gonna be so much bigger that what it could be on Windows Desktop.

Sun have no lucrative to monetize Java and probably the best way to get a one time pay off is this.

Having said that there is many good insights from the blogging world regarding this issue.

Miguel de Icaza, a programmer instrumental in the creation of the GNOME desktop environment for Linux:

When it became clear that they would not be able to reach an agreement, Google started a project to replace Java Micro Edition and they used some clever engineering techniques that blended the best of both worlds. It is likely that during these negotiations, Google threatened to build their own Java runtime and Sun countered with a list of patents. This would explain why Google went through the trouble of making the Dalvik virtual machine explicitly incompatible with the existing Java virtual machine instructions. Although Dalvik uses a different set of instructions, Google created a translator that recompiled Java code into Dalvik code, and with this, they worked around whatever licensing technicalities they were aware at the time of the negotiations. Needless to say, Sun was not happy with Dalvik. Not only because Sun had lost a large licensing deal, but also because it had the potential of becoming the de-facto Java virtual machine that everyone on the embedded space would pick instead of Sun’s own Java Micro Edition.

David Vellante, founder of the Wikibon Project:

In the license there is a “Classpath Exception” which is a crucial provision (see last paragraph) that allows developers to link their code to Java without the need to fall under a GPL license—meaning developers can make their own licensing terms and not be bound by GPL. Here’s the rub – Sun only included the Classpath Exception for the core Java platform – it’s not included the mobile edition. So Sun brilliantly appeared to be playing open source benefactor while at the same time keeping control of the mobile side of the equation (i.e. the rights to the gold mine). Google, realizing what Sun had done, developed an end run strategy to Sun’s move, which resulted in Dalvik. Davlik (sic) is a virtual machine, similar to the VMs in Java or .Net. Google developed it from scratch (most likely with the team of Java engineers it hired in mid last decade). Google made Davlik (sic) open source skirting Sun’s GPL license (which doesn’t include the Classpath Exception for mobile). Because of Davlik (sic), Google doesn’t have to ship Java Virtual Machine with Android yet its Android developers can still use the core Java integrated development environment (IDE). Google gets to have its cake (leveraging the Java community) and eat it too (by shipping its own VM with Android thus skirting Sun’s licensing terms).

James Gosling, known as the “father of Java” for creating the original design of the language, almost expected such a situation:

Oracle finally filed a patent lawsuit against Google. Not a big surprise. During the integration meetings between Sun and Oracle where we were being grilled about the patent situation between Sun and Google, we could see the Oracle lawyer’s eyes sparkle. Filing patent suits was never in Sun’s genetic code. Alas….

Florian Mueller, a software developer and government affairs professional:

In the WebM context I have previously pointed out that Google must demonstrate its willingness and ability to protect those who adopt its open source technologies, such as Android and WebM. It would be very disappointing to see Google settle its dispute with Oracle on a basis that would take care only of Google but not of the wider Android ecosystem, including but not limited to the makers of Android-based phones.

This morning Google release their public DNS service and after testing it, for a small configuration it seems to be speeding up my browsing. We got to do more testing to find out.

The DNS Server IP addresses are 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4

Anyway, to configure this:

1. Go the Control Panel.
2. Click Network and Internet, then Network and Sharing Center, then Manage network connections.
3. Select the connection for which you want to configure Google Public DNS. For example:
   • To change the settings for an Ethernet connection, right-click Local Area Connection, and click Properties.
   • To change the settings for a wireless connection, right-click Wireless Network Connection, and click Properties.

   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

4. Select the Networking tab. Under This connection uses the following items, click Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4), and then click Properties.
5. Click Advanced and select the DNS tab. If there are any DNS server IP addresses listed there, write them down for future reference, and remove them from this window.
6. Click OK.
7. Select Use the following DNS server addresses. If there are any IP addresses listed in the Preferred DNS server or Alternate DNS server, write them down for future reference.
8. Replace those addresses with the IP addresses of the Google DNS servers: 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4.
9. Restart the connection you selected in step 3.
10. Test that your setup is working correctly; see Testing your new settings below.
11. Repeat the procedure for additional network connections you want to change.

Click to view large picture

[Using Google Public DNS >>]

I found this experimental Add-on for Firefox that is really good. I am sure you guys always have tabs that you always want to be open when you launch your browser. What App Tab is able to do is:

1. Keep tabs as a small thumbnail. You can have more estate space to put more tabs
2. Locked tabs as application tabs . This will prevent you from accidentally closing tabs

Here is a what i am using right now. Noticed that i have completely removed my Navigational bar and My Bookmark bar such that i only have 2 rows of bars.

I always go to my Google Reader, Productive Organizer and Hardwarezone Market place so i kept these tabs permanent. I can close them if i uncheck them as “App Tabs”. If i don’t i can’t close them so it works well for me.

This will be useful for folks that wanna keep Gmail, Calendar on permanent without taking up too much space.

I have added this Add-On to Productive Organizer Collection of Add-On. You can download the full Firefox Collection pack or standalone

[Productive Organizer Firefox Add-on Collection>>]

[Download App Tab for Firefox>>]

I’m pretty happy about this collaboration between google and LTA. I believe Google Navigation is going to be big on the mobile platform and this would make folks with 3G phones be able to plan their travelling route.

Like whether to take CTE or go by Lornie road. As a bus taker or MRT taker, can find fast what are the ways i can reach a certain destination. I can just find any place on google map and do that.

Singapore, November 19, 2009 – With a daily public transport ridership of 6 million travelling by buses, taxi and trains; and more than 870,000 other vehicles on the roads in Singapore, commuters and motorists can now better plan their trips on Google Maps through a unique collaboration between Google and Singapore’s Land Transport Authority (LTA). Mapping, directions and route planning for various forms of land transport modes – from buses to trains to cars to even by walking – are now all available for free on Google Maps. Transit and traffic information are also available on mobile devices with Google Maps for Mobile, so commuters and motorists can check the latest updates to make route changes on-the-go.

Singapore is the first country in the world to provide this comprehensive range and nation-wide coverage of land transport options on Google’s global online map platform. Today at the Dhoby Ghaut MRT station, LTA’s Chief Executive, Mr Yam Ah Mee, and Google’s Geospatial Technologist, Mr Ed Parsons, launched this new service at maps.google.com.sg/transport.

Under this collaborative effort, LTA provided key transit and traffic information such as live traffic feeds and public bus/MRT routes and schedules. Google combined the high quality of LTA’s transit data, and worked with Quantum Inventions, a Singapore company, to integrate traffic data, on the popular and familiar user interface of Google Maps. The integration of LTA’s information on Google Maps complements existing LTA and third-party travel planning tools for commuters.

Whether a private car owner switching to go by bus or MRT, or a public transit rider choosing to drive or take a taxi, or even one of 10 million international visitors each year finding their way around, the Singapore public can now check all of their land transport options to make an informed decision on the quickest, most convenient route and method to reach their destinations. For example, each time a Google Maps user requests driving directions, the user will be given the opportunity to plan the same trip using public transit – a useful option when the driving route is highlighted as red or experiencing heavy congestion.

“In line with LTA’s vision for a people-centred public transport system, we have launched several initiatives to help commuters better manage their travel time, transfers, and make more informed transport decisions. Recent initiatives include PublicTransport@SG which has received good responses of 679,000 average page views monthly,” said Mr Yam Ah Mee, Chief Executive, LTA. “The collaboration with Google is another step in this direction to make it even easier for the public to plan their trips with transit and traffic information on Google Maps, whether travelling to their nearest shopping mall or across the island to their favourite eating joint.”

“Google’s goal is to bring LTA’s accurate, comprehensive land transport information together on a global mapping platform for easy access, search and use on PCs and mobile phones by millions of Singaporeans and Google Maps users around the world,” said Mr Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist, Google. “Google Maps seeks to provide users with tools to help them explore the world around them and working with LTA to improve the daily lives of Singaporeans is an example of how Google can partner with government agencies to serve the public on a national scale.”

Mapplets increase usefulness of Google Maps

Mapplets are useful mini-applications developed by third parties that can be added directly on to Google Maps Singapore. With just a single click of the mouse, users can customize their Google Maps by adding useful tools created just for Singapore.

The three highlighted mapplets on the left navigation panel on maps.google.com.sg are incidents, ERP locations/rates, and cycle routes (from National Parks Board). The incidents mapplet is based on LTA data and displays real-time traffic incidents, constructions, and road closures island-wide. If the traffic looks sluggish, you can find out what is causing it by clicking on the pin to get additional details such as when and where the incident happened.

Other Singapore mapplets can be found in the My Maps directory including petrol station finder, carpark finder, highway cameras and more.

Some of you would prefer to have a To Do List as a desktop client but would like it to assess a task database on the web. There is a solution for Remember the Milk, now it seems there is one for Google Tasks.

Actually it does more than that.It actually displays google’s application on mobile on an Adobe Air client. Thus the requirement is that you need to install Adobe Air.

I seriously sometimes wonder the rational of this.Everyone knows that the mobile apps are more limited then the desktop web application. So in that case why would someone want one on the desktop? The only reason is if you want to put a small task list at the side of your dual screen  setup so that you can take a look at it. if not why not just alt tab to your browser?

[Download Google Tasks here>>]