December 06, 2006
Googles, Monopolies, and the Internet
It has been suggested that Google is abusing it's "silent monopoly" of ad-words . Ok, back up. All of these claims need to be substantiated and explained. So let's give it the old inductive reasoning workout (as all good conspiracies require) and see what we think. Does Google illegaly utilize it's high traffic search engine to give itself a competitive edge in other fields?
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November 28, 2006
Lonelygirl15: What's the big deal?
Recently in Wired magazine, I read a cover article entitled, Youtube Grows Up. A picture of an attractive brunette and the subtitle, Lonelygirl15, Web tv, & the end of tv advertising. So who is this Lonelygirl15 and why is she on the cover of Wired magazine?
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November 21, 2006
What makes Gmail great
The other day in class, a discussion cropped up regarding Gmail and why someone would bother switching to Gmail. Obviously, with the importance of email these days, it is about as easy to switch addresses as it is to switch phone numbers. You have to tell everyone, invariably, you'll forget a couple of people and hearts will be broken. Not only that, but you have to acquaint yourself with a new user interface as well as sorting out contacts lists, external clients, etc. So what makes Gmail so great? Although I brought up a few relevant points during the discussion, there are many more that have come to my attention and I would like to point these out.
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November 12, 2006
"Social Responsibility"
To preface this entry, I must add a disclaimer. I am neither hardened, nor arrogant. I give everyone fair consideration before I pass my judgment upon them. I do my best to avoid stereotypes and prejudices. So while many will disagree with what I have to say, I will be forging an argument based upon controversial, yet important social biases. These theories have been largely spelled out by an author by the name of Ayn Rand. Though I have not yet finished her (arguably) greatest work, Atlas Shrugged. These are the foundation for an opinion that, while more extreme than mine, give the best counterpoints to alturism in favor of rational self-interest and what she calls "the virtue of greed."
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November 04, 2006
Macs
I understand that there needs to be competition, but let me please say that Macintoshes are not the be-all, end-all solution that some people think they are. I will first cite their ad campaign. The idea that a Mac or a PC is "better" at some things is absurd, as it is really only the software that affects what a computer is used for. Next is the idea that Macs are somehow invulnerable to viruses. This is simply an absurd claim. The truth is, Macs hold such a small market, hackers do not care enough to spend time creating viruses for such a small user base, as their code will proliferate on a larger scale if they design it for a PC. As exemplified recently, Mac security flaws exist.
October 25, 2006
IE7 and Firefox 2
As Mozilla's user base grows, we can't help but step back and wonder what they are doing right. I will look at all the things that made me change over from Firefox to Internet Explorer and try to put these into a global context.
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October 10, 2006
More on buying YouTube?
It seems those clever guys and girls over at Google have decided to buy YouTube. I'm pretty surprised to hear that Google decided to do this, but this simply adds to their repertoire of quality, searchable databases and reduces the competition in the fast-growing media entertainment business. As I mentioned in my previous post, Google will now carry the burden of potential copyright infringement. YouTube's current policy of removing copyrighted material only when it has been flagged as such remains a sketchy solution at best, and we all know that Google has some fairly loose interpretations of copyrighted material. Additionally, Google is attempting to persuade some big companies to offer copyrighted material for free via Google Video. I am all for loosening these copyrights, as I love everything free, but I'm sure as I move into the computer software / digital rights arena my views will be subject to change. However, in this situation, I firmly believe that a low quality video available for free online will only generate more interest in these bands rather than serve as a replacement to purchased media. All of this is very exciting, but I suppose all we have to do now is sit back and ask ourselves, "What's in it for me?" Apart from rising stocks, we should see Google expanding its already versatile array of services to present to the public. Sit back and enjoy the Google life.