Google added some really nice touches to Plus Photos yesterday–pretty lightboxes, and better navigation for tagging and comments. But there are a couple of problems I still have… Photos and Picasa are basically the same thing now, but in order to manage my albums, I have to go over to Picasa and move/copy/delete. There isn’t any album management available in Plus anywhere. Kind of weird. I’d also love to have Read More ...
Apple to Make Remote Obsolete? – Because sitting on your ass staring at a screen just isn’t easy enough yet. For some people, the only exercise they get is lifting sofa cushions to look for the remote. How to Get a Personalized Financial Plan Without Spending a Fortune – Awesome idea, but not sure if I like the idea of giving up the personal attention. Then again, I don’t like Read More ...
Facebook Missteps and Shortcomings – Exhibit F. Heart Rate Training Zone Calculator – Will have to do until I write one. Which will be tomorrow plus infinity. Page Speed Online – Woot…super useful tool. Will the New Facebook Lead to Information Overload? – What he said. Google Financing Solar Installations – This looks interesting. If the cost is the same as your typical electric bill and you don’t have to Read More ...
I’ve shared plenty of photos from my phone on Google+, but in the last couple of days I’ve started uploading larger albums there. The display of photo albums within Plus is very nice (waaaaaaaay cleaner than Facebook), and if you upload through Plus instead of Picasa, your photos get auto-resized and don’t count towards your Picasa limits: If you’ve signed up for Google+ Free storage limits Photos up to 2048 Read More ...
Every day I read something about how lame Google Plus is because no one is using it. That’s not the impression I’m getting. I see it being used a lot, although mostly by people who presumably can’t stand Facebook. But that’s not an insignificant number of people. And yesterday Google announced that Plus is now publicly available (no invite needed) and unleashed a plethora of new features. Facebook has been Read More ...
Google released a +1 extension for Chrome last night. Big news? I guess, but maybe not that big.
I’m surprised at a couple of things. First of all, I can’t believe it took Google this long to push this extension out. It’s nice, but nothing that Facebook can’t do for “Like”. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an official “Like” extension out in the next 24 hours. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Facebook acts like this isn’t even happening.
*UPDATE*
Here’s Facebook’s extension, less than 24 hours after….I should do this for a living.
*END UPDATE*
What I really can’t believe is that the +1 button hasn’t made its way to the Chrome base install yet. That’s something Facebook can’t do unless they build a browser and capture market share like Google has. Extensions are great, but they still require people to install extensions, and I’m not convinced that’s something the average user is going to go out of their way to do.
Now…when is the API going to be exposed so that my blog posts can show up in Plus automatically? Twitter has it, Facebook has it.
Well Google?
Lot’s of “How Tos” were read around here in the last week or so, and I’ve linked to some of the best ones. I was pretty excited to get Spotify too. This one may be worth paying for! I’m also playing around with Post Formats in WordPress, which explains the drastic change in the way the blog looks. I switched to the Twenty Eleven theme and I’m going to be Read More ...
I’ve been noticing lots of the people I follow on Twitter have been connecting up with me on Google+ over the last few days. Some of these folks are using Google+ in the same way they use Twitter and putting out a steady stream of status updates. Of course, it’s kind of Twitter in reverse. Instead of “following” the way you do on Twitter, Google+ lets you choose who you Read More ...
How To Move Your Facebook Photos To Picasa – Get them over to Picasa/GooglePhotos/Plus. One step closer to ditching Facebook forever. Facebook blocks Google Chrome extension for exporting friends – It’s ON! HT @slashdot. Fast-food chains selling alcohol – HT @FrankStrovel. I will not rest until I can get a Cherry-Vodka-Limeade straight from the drive-up window. RunKeeper Building ‘The Facebook Of Fitness’ – I started using RunKeeper when it became Read More ...
I’ve been playing with Google Plus for a few days now, and I really like it a lot. One of my favorite features is the Buzz tab on the user profiles. This makes Buzz an almost usable product. I think Google could not only make Buzz more viable but also improve Plus a lot by making a simple change. Plus needs a Buzz gutter. I’m seeing lots of people making Read More ...
I was thinking about Google Plus a little last night as I continually refreshed my screen hoping it would magically appear. I think there are a few things that can really make or break Google’s latest attempt at social. 1. Nobody has groups right yet Twitter’s lists are great, but are basically read only. You can’t broadcast to them. This is in keeping with the way Twitter fundamentally works, so Read More ...
Make your secondary Google Voice number permanent – Perfect solution for a a reasonable price. I don’t want to give up my old number for old contacts, but only give out my Google Voice number for new contacts. The 5 Switches of Manliness: Challenge – Part II of this series. Dead on so far. Texas movie theater makes an example (and a PSA) of a texter – Awsum. This should Read More ...
Is bowling becoming too easy? – Yep. I just read an entire six page article on bowling. I didn’t know about 90% of the information here. Now I know. Self directed effort is the best kind Are you addicted to a taskmaster, to someone else’s to do list, to short term external rewards that sell your long-term plans short? If no one is watching, are you helpless, just a web Read More ...
Google’s cloud music service. Request an invite to the beta. 20k tracks stored for free isn’t a bad place to start! Shit My Students Write – Best new (to me) website I’ve run across in a while Apple Trumps Google as Most Valuable Brand – Shocked Coca-Cola doesn’t trump both. The carbonate sugar water industry is much more stable than technology. Do you think it’s even within the realm of Read More ...
Android as Google’s Moat – I like this take on Android as a defensive product for Google. I also like what that implies for us as consumers–costs keep decreasing while functionality keeps increasing. Can you believe someone wanted to charge for a web browser at one time? Now there are several free browsers, and they are still trying to out-do each other in features and speed! The Quintessentially Victorian Vision Read More ...
