It’s a great day when Internet giant Google open sources the programs it uses to build well-known favourites such as GMail, Docs and Google Maps. It announced on its blog that it will be making a lot of it’s own development software available to developers all over the world. This release comes as Google are undoubtedly upgrading their own tools especially with the upcoming launch of Google Wave.
The first of the three tools they released is called Closure Compiler which helps developers trim down code and optimize it for better performance. There is also a plug-in for Firefox released alongside this so they can view heir Java Script code in the browser.
The second one is called Library which is a tool to help build Java Script Apps. Here is what Google said on their official blog about the program:
The Closure Library is a JavaScript library that provides many features that are useful for building web applications across browsers. It helps to abstract browser differences and provides clean class and function interfaces for common tasks. Besides DOM interaction and UI tools, the library includes tools for arrays, objects, string manipulation and much more. The library also implements a name spacing and import standard, which helps keep scripts small and load fast when used with the Closure Compiler.
The third and final release until further notice was Templates. This is an app that is for creating HTML elements that can be used within Java Script.
Closure Templates simplify the task of dynamically creating HTML and have an easy-to-read syntax. They allow you to write templates for reusable HTML and UI elements that can be used within JavaScript or on the server side in Java. They also have excellent run-time performance because they are never parsed on the client side.
Over the next month or so there is undoubtedly going to be a big rush of new Java apps and programs onto the market thanks to the Google outsourcing. Be sure to stay in touch with Crenk to stay informed!
Heard of Twitter? Sure the whole world has by now. Lone tribes on far islands have heard about Twitter. This massively immersive and widely used micro-blogging network has become a staple for both our personal and professional lives. The world seems to still be feeling the “Twitter effect” as industries adapt their existing messages to fit the fast paced world of this social network.
But do you ever feel like you’re being left behind? Perhaps not enough time to get the right message in a timely fashion? Now there’s a solution to that.
Twuffer presents itself as the buffer between you and your timed messages. By using the web application, you are able to preset messages on a timed schedule to be released on your network at the times you think most important. The possibilities of this type of functionality are as endless as your creativity.
The web app is easy to use and can serve you to better time your announcements, set reminders for yourself or others, engage in timed online activities, or, as the site suggests, make it appear as if you never sleep. The practicality of this app seems pretty straightforward.
The application is currently in beta, but your able to explore what it has to offer pretty seamlessly. I suggest you give it a try to announce regular days when your podcast or blog post will go live, or perhaps some other similar campaign to see if Twuffer is right for you!
It has been amazing that Google have been able to pump out 4 releases of a browser that has only been in the market for a little over a year. Compare that to Firefox, which took over six years to reach 3.6.
We’ve improved performance scores on Google Chrome by 30% since our current stable release, as measured by Mozilla’s Dromeao DOM Core Tests, and by 400% since our first stable release.” – Idan Avraham and Anton Muhin
Expectedly, Google Chome 4 is currently only available for the Windows platform. Reports have come in that it works just fine with the latest release of Windows, despite the fact that it only specifies XP/Vista as being currently supported.
Google Wave has not been a big hit so far – everyone though it would be…but it hasn’t. The interface is complicated, buggy and unpractical. People aren’t staying long enough to build a community and worst of all – nobody is quite sure what exactly it’s for yet. However the development team are still making strides.
They have just opened up Wave to third party companies by releasing an API package. This allows companies to host their own Wave like services on their own servers and interact with other companies API Waves. This is currently only in sandbox testing and isn’t live on the internet as of yet.
One thing which concerns me is that this could mean the start of SPAM on Wave. Since its launch people have been confined to specific waves but now we’re seeing a growth in access. Although this growth isn’t enough to start a spamming campaign it could be the start of it. I’m pretty sure that soon the hackers and spammers will descend on Google Wave – then it’s up to Google to stop them on a platform which will supposedly be more open than e-mail.
Google has long wanted to make the internet faster and provide internet to everyone in the world. Google has now taken this to the next level as they are going to sponsor free wifi from November 15th to January 2010 for all Virgin Airline customers.
This wifi service normally costs $13 for computers over long haul flights and $8 for smartphones and handheld devices. Google has tried to state that they are just aiming to ease passenger stress during the busy holiday season, but im sure they will be focusing their sponsorship to get customers to use Google products while in flight.
Unfortunately Virgin Airlines only services major airport hubs in the U.S. although that service still means tens of thousands of passengers will have free access during that promotional period.
If you’ve been surfing the web (do people still say that?) for a while today you may have noticed that Google’s doodle today is odd, in fact it’s not really a doodle – but a barcode. Oh, and in spite of the recent debacle when Google announced that it would no longer be paying artists to create their doodles, rather the publicity alone would act as payment, this isn’t the beginning of a decline in Google’s doodles as a result.
They are simply celebrating the anniversary of that little invention we all take for granted at the supermarket; the barcode. By clicking on the doodle you get search results for ‘Barcode’. I can only imagine what the image results would be.
Before I sign off for today, a few facts about the barcode.
v It was originally circular so it could be scanned from all angles. Often called a bull’s-eye.
v The first product ever to be scanned in a real life situation was a packet of Wrigley’s chewing gum in a supermarket in Ohio in June of 1974.
v Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver (the inventors) never made much money from their invention as they sold the patent before it was commercialised. Silver never even lived to see its success as he died in a car crash before it was released to the public.
Google’s minimalistic homepage has been a cornerstone of the internet for the past decade or so. Now, they’re testing out a new homepage which will take the word count from thirty down to one; ‘Google’.
Basically, it will look like the screenshot above with everything but the Google logo and search function being removed. This includes their famous ‘I’m feeling lucky’ button
When you move the mouse however near any area where buttons used to be they will appear. The thinking is that this new method will have the best of both worlds: minimalism and functionality.
However, they are only bucket testing the new homepage to see how it goes down so only a certain percentage of users will actually get access to the new design. For those of you who can’t, see the video below.
Nearly exactly a month after launch Google has announced more cool themes for Chrome. This release is based upon prominent artists which include Jeff Koons, Jenny Holzer, Karim Rashid, Jonathan Adler, Oscar de la Renta, Anita Kunz, Tom Sachs, Kate Spade, Donna Karan, Kid Robot, Casey Reas, Dolce & Gabbana, Michael Graves, Todd Oldham, Yann Arthus-Bertrand and Mariah Carey (and that’s just to name a few!).
For a behind-the-scenes look at one illustrator’s unique creative process, check out the Google Chrome Blog. And for a preview of these themes, here’s a video flipbook we’ve compiled to showcase some of the artistry behind this project:
I guess when there’s a lot of anticipation on something, sometimes things might get faster. We’ve talked before about Google Chrome OS announcement, and we’ve also said that users might get hands on it in the second half of 2010. But now, a Chinese netbooks manufacturer seems that is planning to release netbooks with a previous version of Chrome later this month.
Shanzai is announcing that the devices with the Loongson-CPU will have Google Chrome OS installed, and released by Lemote hardware manufacturer. And even though these are only rumors, there have been some snapshots available in the web of what seems to be Google’s OS:
The anticipation is increasing significantly, since we don’t have much data around this operating system. We know that it will be focused on netbooks, open source with a Linux kernel and user interface based mainly in a web experience.
Sounds good to me if an Asian hardware manufacturer is taking a chance with this new OS. We are all waiting for the moment to install and use Chrome OS.
Google has announced a lot of new additions to its translation offering. Firstly they have announced a new website translator gadget which is available in 51 languages. Now, when people visit your page, if their language (as determined by their browser settings) is different than the language of your page, they’ll be prompted to automatically translate the page into their own language. If the visitor’s language is the same as the language of your page, no translation banner will appear.
Additionally, Google has announced that they have improved their Toolbar, which now also includes in-page translation.
Well, it’s time. A lot of people have been waiting for this for several months now: Google Wave is releasing 100,000 invitations in the next few days (expected for September 30th) for enlisted participants.
As we’ve discussed before, Google Wave will give users the chance to manipulate the same content at the same time, and displaying the information in real time for the rest of the users. This collaborative environment can be crucial in developers’ teams. Will be something like this:
I know what you are about to say: how do I get an invitation to Google Wave? Well, there’s no guarantee at this point that you may receive one of the 100k that Google’s releasing, but you might get a chance for a second Google Wave (mid-October maybe?):
Dev guys can click here and enlist to receive one of the invitations.
It’s a great day when Internet giant Google open sources the programs it uses to build well-known favourites such as GMail, Docs and Google Maps. It announced on its blog that it will be making a lot of it’s own development software available to developers all over the world. This release comes as Google are undoubtedly upgrading their own tools especially with the upcoming launch of Google Wave.
Heard of 
