Internet

Its no big secret that I have been a big fan of Firefox. I have been using Firefox 3.0 beta 5 ever since it got included as the default browser with Ubuntu 8.04 (Hardy Heron). Needless to say, I was quite impressed with the new avatar. Ars has a great series of articles that cover the new features introduced in Firefox betas. However, the Linux interface had not changed much from Firefox 2.0.

Today, I was forced into trying the beta in Windows (yes, it's been that long since I've had to use a Windows maching on a regular basis). On one side, I'm disappointed by why a major interface overhaul was not included in the Linux release. On the other hand, I'm practically smiling with joy looking at the pure aesthetics of this release in Windows. The Forward/Backward button integration, the enhanced address bar, the default navigation buttons, the screen preview of text/graphics selected and dragged - wow! (Read this article for a summary of the changes)

The browser is said to be using significantly lower memory than previously releases, and is really fast. And the browser has not crashed on me even once (though, I have to admit, I have not exactly stress tested it yet).

You can download the beta here. As always, the normal warning of beta releases apply - don't use it for anything critical (like share trading, bank transactions, etc.), and don't blame me if anything goes wrong.

So my prediction does come true, albeit, not entirely. Almost two years back I had written about why Google should acquire Goowy. According to TechCrunch, AOL acquired Goowy on Monday, February 4, 2007. It seems that Microsoft's bid to takeover Yahoo has caused some stirring in the market, as a lagging AOL seeks to add some bling to its suite of services.

Goowy is a flash-based "online operating system" if you will - giving you access to basic apps (like email, messaging, online storage, etc.) with a personalized interface wherever and however you login. This basically meant that as long as you had a Flash player installed, you could login from whatever browser and platform, and you'd always get a familiar interface. The webmail is not a pushover either. Goowy's email app provides features that were similar to Yahoo's beta interface (drag-and-drop, etc.) and was launched much before the latter.

Back then when I reviewed it, I was quite impressed with Goowy. Will Goowy die a slow death just like Netscape, which was acquired by AOL and subsequently axed? Or will Goowy bring AOL back into the limelight? Only time will tell. What do you think?

EDIT: Thanks to David for pointing out that Winamp is alive and kicking. It went through a slump in 2003-2004 (as reported in these articles), but since the release of version 5 has regained its share in the limelight. I'm happy - Winamp was my first music player too :)

Finally, something to be excited about. One of the essential requirements in any analysts job is to create charts. However, I find manipulating Excel charts a bit too tedious (most options are hidden inside too many menus). Here's a simple solution: Google Charts API. All you need to do is create an image url that includes the chart options and your data, paste it into the address bar of your browser, and your chart is ready. This means that you can embed charts that are created on the fly directly into a webpage/document/presentation. Here are some examples of the charts that you can generate and the corresponding URLs in green(note that these are not static images, they are created along with this webpage):

http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?
chs=170x100&cht=p3&chtt=Sample Chart&chd=s:CDDEFH,Wps679&
chdl=sales|visits&chxl=0:|jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|&chxt=x


http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?chs=180x100&
cht=bhs&chtt=Sample%20Chart&chd=s:CDDEFH,Wps679&
chco=ff0000,0000ff&chdl=sales|visits&
chxl=0:|jan|feb|mar|apr|may|jun|&chxt=x



http://chart.apis.google.com/chart?cht=v&
chs=150x100&chd=t:100,80,60,30,30,30,10&chtt=Sample Chart


Of course, numerous tools for creating charts using this API have already sprung up. Amongst the official list, I found the Visual Google Chart URL Generator to be the most intuitive (though it does not support Venn diagrams). Another good interface is provided by the Online Chart Builder. You can plot basic mathematical functions using Plot Function Google. For the security junkies, the FAQ states all data used for generating the chart is purged within two weeks.

The icing on the cake: The default color pallette is pleasing to the eyes. So you can worry about getting the data right and leaving the aesthetics to the API.

Another freeware solution to creating charts on the fly is JFreeChart, an open-source Java based library. A good paid and very flexible alternative I have used is Tableau (thanks to Pratik for pointing that out).

Is it time to say goodbye to Excel charts? What do you think - leave a comment.

Have some time to waste? Want to contribute to a good cause, and have some fun at the same time? Head on over to Phetch!

This is a wonderful game where you get to describe an image in words for others to search using your description - all in real-time with the clock ticking down. Of course, you get to search for images based on descriptions given by other's too. Think it's easy? Try describing an image of a mountain, a family, or a gear assembly, when there are ten images showing the same thing. With time, you'll start describing the characteristics that define an image symbolically - for example, the lady in the purple hat, or the tree with red flowers next to the river, or the mole on the right cheek of the old man.

Observant readers would be thinking - "What's the good cause?" Here's a quote from the website:

The Web is not built for the blind. Only a small fraction of major corporate websites are fully accessible to the disabled, let alone those of smaller organizations or individuals. However, millions of blind people surf the Web every day, and Internet use by those with disabilities grows at twice the rate of the non-disabled.

Phetch is a game which, as a side effect, generates explanatory sentences for randomly chosen images from the Web. If our game is played as much as some other popular online games, we can assign captions to all images on the Web in a matter of months. Using the output of the game, we are building a system to improve the accessibility of the Web.

You'll find it hard to tear yourself away! Look for me in the top scorers list as MANICLAUGHTER.

Let's face it - Orkut is slowly becoming passe. I took one look at Facebook and I admit, I'm hooked. Not because of the visual interface (frankly, Orkut's light blue color and link arrangement is better). Nor by the ease of use (both are pretty much the same). Not even by the wall-to-wall feature (takes the fun of piecing information together away).

But by the applications or widgets that you, me or anybody can make and add to our profile. I show the cities and places I have visited (log in to Facebook before clicking), send free gifts (digital, of course), show-off the books I have read, display a new LOLcat everyday (you don't know what a LOLcat is? Shame) and invite people to play games. I even proudly display a reason for which I will drink today :)

The difference - Facebook took the meaning of Web 2.0 different from Orkut. It's not only about letting the community interact with each other, it's about letting the community define the whole platform. Facebook's base site is painfully featureless (even fewer features than Orkut). However, giving programmers the tools and APIs to interact with the base database opened a world of innovation far beyond what even the maker could have imagined.

Are you on Facebook yet? If you are, do not, repeat do not install Jetman. Now that I've warned you, do not blame me later. If you still go ahead and do it, do let me know your Jetman score :)

Who likes advertisements? "Not me", I hear you say? Well that's why I installed Firefox and then installed Adblock Plus (and recommended that you should too in a previous post). A recent article brought this little known plugin into the limelight. The predominant business model in the internet world depends on revenue generated from advertisements. This means that companies earn when someone clicks on an advertisement shown on their website (you must have seen the 'Ads by Google' box on many websites). Most search engines earn by showing targeted advertisements alongside your search results in the hope that you will find the advertisement interesting enough to click on it (look for the 'Sponsored links' bar to the right of your search results). In both cases, the advertisement provider charges the company whose advertisement is shown, and when the advertisement is shown on a website, passes a part of the cost to the owner of the website. You can read more about Google Adsense and Adwords here. Google raked up USD 10.4 billion in FY 2006 and has earned USD 7.4 in Q1+Q2 2007 only from advertising (source).

With so much at stake, Adblock poses a potential problem and though people are not shouting from the tops of Manhattan buildings about it, it gets popular by the day. Some cheeky person started a website 'WhyFirefoxisBlocked.com' to encourage people to block Firefox users from visiting their site and even provided a script to automate this. The online community got back by creating a parody site 'WhyisFirefoxBlocked.com'.

Getting back to the point, Google (and many other companies for that matter) stands to lose a lot if Adblock Plus gets popular. But, lets face it - the average Joe internet user does not even know that Firefox exists, let alone Adblock Plus. Heck, there are numerous tools for blocking advertisements directly in Internet Explorer. But, no one seems to be interested in using them. Like television, people are dulled into believing that advertisements are a part of the Internet and nothing can be done about it.

Personally, I don't mind Google's style of advertisements and even if Adblock Plus would let these through, I'll view them gladly, even click on some if the text is appealing. But it's those flashing banners that declare that I've won 10000 bucks and the laughing monkey that I have to punch to claim my bonus prize that drive me nuts - and no I will never use the next generation of smileys - I don't even chat. While I'm at it, I'd also like to tell Yahoo Mail to take a crash course in subtlety - the huge banners really annoy me (of course, I haven't seen them since a long time ;).

What do you think? Should ad-blocking tools be allowed? Leave a comment to let us know.

I know it has been quite a while since I last posted, but ever since I changed jobs, life has become a lot more busy.

Anyway, I found these interesting Flash animations that can be used in webpages (I am designing a few these days and so my eyes pricked up when I saw them, even when I know I cannot use them).

The first uses an interesting timeline:



The second one is pure genius:



Let me know if you find them interesting.

I had promised myself that my next post would be about the Nokia E61, that too when I owned one. As can be guessed, the sparkling new E61 (you can see an actual size picture here) lies right beside me. I tried writing this post directly from the E61, but unfortunately, the interface to my blog editor does not support the E61 browser (any listeners amongst the developers of the Serendipity platform - this is actual feedback!).

The E61 boasts the most connectivity options I have ever seen or heard of. GSM, GPRS, WiFi, UMTS, Bluetooth, Infrared, Pop-Port (USB connection) - there is no way that you can find yourself disconnected. Even the new thin charger has an attachment by which you can charge your phone through the older (and thicker) Nokia chargers. Till now, the only option I have not used is UMTS - and that too because no network in India supports this.

My quest for the Nokia E61 began when I searched for a Nokia phone (obviously - I have known very few people who have moved away after owning a Nokia) that has the series 60 operating system (I like to install and try new applications) and does not sport a camera (cameras are slowly being banned from offices, they increase prices and are rarely used anyway). The only phone shortlisted was the E61. The more I read about it, the more I was convinced that this was going to be my next phone. Now that I have owned it for quite some time and have experimented extensively, I think it is about time that I set the record straight.

Pros:

• The QWERTY keyboard is VERY convenient to use and not at all cumbersome. I see no advantage of styluses and touch screens.
• Contrary to common belief, the size is not dificult to handle, considering all the other advantages the phone offers.
• There is a lot that you can uncover in terms of features, options, tricks, and shorcuts. Not a day goes by when I don't learn something new about the phone.
• Nokia has ensured that the user experience picks up from earlier series 60 phones, and delivers much more. The active display is a case in point. The standby active display shows upcoming meeting/appointments, new messages (email/SMS/MMS), and the current playing song (if any).
• The inbuilt browser is very intuitive. The joystick doubles up as the mouse and you can control an intelligent cursor that tries to identify links which it automatically points to, and also scrolls the screen.
• The organizer is a boon - and is very easy to update given the fact that you have a QWERTY keyboard.
• The light sensor makes a comeback (reappearing after the Nokia 7650) and saves battery life by dimming/switching off the display and keypad light based on ambient lighting.
• You can view and edit MS Word, MS PowerPoint and MS Excel documents with the built in office tools. Believe it or not, you can draw charts in the spreadsheet application. You can also export your view to a projector/PC monitor.
• The large portrait screen and stereo sound will give you a wonderful experience while watching movies and serials.
• Finally, and most importantly, you can install a host of applications that make life simpler. Try Gmail Mobile to read your mail with the familiar Gmail interface that includes preloading of data, viewing attachments, and grouping of conversations. Chat with your Gtalk friends through GoTalkMobile. Browse the web (especially long textual pages) with Opera Mini, or relax with a wonderful round of golf in Golf Pro 2. You an even watch a movie compressed using the DivX codec using Divx mobile.

Cons:

• The phone ships with a mono headset even though stereo playback is supported. I had no problem as I had a stereo headset from a previous Nokia phone.
• The built-in browser is a bit too simplistic. I would love to have the ability to see the URL (pay attention to the status bar - there is a lot that you learn about what you are going to view on a page from the URL itself), and scroll/select text.
• Though easy to use, the joystick sometimes becomes a pain in the thumb after extensive use. The rumored Nokia E61i may be a welcome change.
• The settings might be a pain for those not comfortable with the Nokia interface.
• Series 60 v3 requires all applications to be recompiled and digitally signed by Nokia. Therefore, as of today there is a paucity of applications out there. Hopefully, this will change soon.
• The change from RS-MMC to Mini SD memory cards has rendered my 256 MB RS MMC card useless.

All in all, the advantages way outweigh the disavantages. With this phone, Nokia will take a big leap ahead from other phones in the market.

Ever been in any of the following situations:

• You download a rar file but do not have Winrar installed
• You finally find that elusive song but it is only available in Real Media, while you really hate Real Player
• The movie you have refuses to play, and Windows Media Player says you do not have the required codecs
• You desperately want to convert a Word document to a PDF, but do not have a converter

Everyone's been there. The solution - http://media-convert.com/. The one-stop-shop - and it's all online - so you do not need to download or install anything.

Note: The site got digged (read more about the Digg Effect here) today (October 7, 2006 - Happy Birthday Bro). So, it might not work for a couple of days. Definitely a site you would want to keep in your bookmarks for a long time though.

The next time you manage to save enough money, this is what you should aim to own. The Asus WL-300gE router is a treat to those who like WiFi networks at home.

Apart from your standard WiFi router functionality (WLAN, Encryption, Security), the WL-300gE boasts of a 160 GB hard drive on board. Not only does the WL-300gE appear on your network as external storage, it has an in-built BitTorrent client (downloads upto 7 torrents while your computer can be switched off), and an iTunes server (iTunes can connect and download songs). You can also download other files from the internet without keeping your PC/laptop on. For good measure, there's also an FTP server though which you can access files stored on the router from anywhere. Heck, you can host your website on the router too.

The router also has USB 2.0 ports through which you can increase storage capacity (attach an external HDD) or copy data (just plug in your thumb drive).

If I wasn't elated with my Netgear DG834G, this is what I would have sprung for.