Technology and You - Google

Make Better Charts On-the-Fly

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 12:24:47 +0100

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.

Google Profiting from IE Users' Ignorance

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 14:26:11 +0200

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.

Google Spreadsheets Showdown

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 02:25:41 +0200

It's still early days for a review for the Google Spreadsheet - Google's latest offering, but then again here's my showdown. The timing for this software-as-service could not be better. With so much of hype surrounding Microsoft Office 2007, people will definitely consider this as a free alternative to the arguably expensive Microsoft offering. Plus, the Spreadsheet fits right into Google's growing portfolio of online replacements to traditionally offline software. That said, there is quite some work to do before Spreadsheets can have a widespread appeal.

Pros:

The interface seems very familiar and intuitive. In fact most of it is a direct import from Microsoft Excel. It will be very easy for the average user to adapt.
Most (if not all) functions are supported. I was pleasantly surprised to see Vlookup working right out of the box. Data can be sorted and relative references work as well.
Most (if not all) keyword shortcuts work as well. Your familiar F2 (edit), Ctrl-C (copy), Ctrl-X (cut), Ctrl-V (paste), Ctrl-Arrow key (next empty/filled cell), etc. are already implemented. Remember, a keyboard is way faster then a mouse.
You can import and export spreadsheets in XLS (Microsoft Excel default), and CSV (Comma Separated Values). You can also export to HTML.
Files are saved online and can even be shared. Heck, you can also chat with a friend as you both update your spreadsheet (though I can't think of a possible use for this).
Multiple sheets are supported, and surprise, surprise, you can refer to cells across worksheets, just like in Excel.

Cons:

It's just another Google AJAX application (ho-hum).
There are somethings that are better left as they are. The formula bar is conspicuously absent. It is replaced with a small formula corner at the bottom right of the browser window. The corner is not sufficient to display long formulae. It should ideally be placed right next to the spreadsheet name at the top (backward compatibility please!)
WE WANT MACROS! Working on a spreadsheet just isn't the same without them.
The help mentions that you can anchor cells($) in formulae with F4 (as in Excel), but it does not seem to work as yet.
I would really appreciate formulae tooltips. The tooltips in Excel really help me figure out the syntax for most formulae. Anyone who has used Vlookup would know how I feel.
Any home user could *easily* surpass a 101x20 spreadsheet. I hope they increase the limit soon.
(Not that I'm really missing this but...) You can't merge cells vertically.

For obvious privacy concerns, people working in companies would not (and should not) use Google Spreadsheets. However, this free alternative should prove as a boon for people not dealing with confidential data - students, home users, small business, even the local retailer. The impact of the tool to Microsoft Office's revenues will make an interesting market estimation study.

Google Notebook - More Online Storage

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Thu, 18 May 2006 13:27:49 +0200

Google announced Google Notebook on May 15, 2006. Google Notebook allows anyone to make a note regarding something of interest on the internet, and store it in the seemingly infinite amount of storage that Google has. You can even make it public and searchable for the world. The Notebook web application is made from, guess what, AJAX. So be prepared for floating text, fast updates, and easy re-ordering.

There are two ways of working with Google Notebook.
The first way is by logging in with your Google account, clicking on 'Add Note', and typing/copy-pasting. The second, and might I say ingenious way, is an installable plugin that creates a small window (Mini Notebook) within your browser (currently, IE and Firefox only). You can drag-and-drop text and images into the Mini Notebook to create a new note. Alternately, you can select text, right-click, and select 'Note this' from the context menu.

This web application would be quite helpful for people who need to carry work across computers. For example, the computer center at my college did not have a seat allocation. So, I pretty much had to choose whichever terminal I got. A tool like this sure would have helped me store my research.

I have suggested some features for this tool to Google. Here's my wishlist:

Shared editing of notebooks - Currently, only one author is allowed. This feature would be great for people doing research in tandem, or across continents even.
Plugins for other applications - Along with the your browser, Google could develop plugins for other applications such as Adobe Acrobat and MS Word, Outlook that allow direct entry into a Notebook window.
Annotations for Notes - For notes created by right-clicking are created directly from the text and images selected. There is no direct way to add your own annotation or comment to capture why you thought that bit was important.

Apart from the privacy concerns, this tool appears to be quite helpful. One more tool in support of Google's shift towards home and student users.

Why Google will Acquire Goowy

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Wed, 10 May 2006 08:47:46 +0200

I feel pretty confident about this. If nothing else, Google will launch a service just like Goowy.

Goowy is a full-featured online desktop, and I'm *very* impressed with it. Goowy includes a cool interface, a desktop that holds links for all applications, a 'minis' page that holds widgets, an IM application (connects to Yahoo, MSN, AIM, and ICQ), an online file storage drive (2 GB), a mail application (2 GB) that uses Adobe Macromedia Flash and does everything that MS Outlook does (drag-and-drop, mail alerts included), an address book, a calendar, and a set of nice Flash games. All applications run in windows that share screen space in your browser window. It even has a small taskbar that can be used to switch between applications. What's more - the taskbar has a Google deskbar like search box that allows you to search directly (I would rather the results showed in a window within the same window, but currently, the results open in a separate window). Here's what the taskbar looks like:

Goowy and Google deserve each other. Firstly, the names are too phonetically similar for coincidence. Goowy would fit right into Google's tools. Even now, I can imagine a Writely icon on the Goowy taskbar. This could prove quite strategic. An entire operating system on the Internet. It goes wherever you go. No need for installing anything - all you need is a PC with a browser and an Internet connection. You can do *whatever* you want to without worries of security, configuration, updates, crashes, storage space etc., etc. Google sweeps the floor from right under MS's feet, without even entering the operating system market.

In the mean time, I give Goowy five stars for innovation and implementation. I can't wait to see how the cookie crumbles.

Google Calendar Rundown

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 14:57:28 +0200

The Google Calendar was (finally) announced on April 13, 2006. After a couple of days of experimenting, here's what I have to say about it:

Ups

Cool interface - The interface makes you feel as if you are running a local application - Changes are reflected immediately and stored in the background. You can continue to work.
'Quick Add' - This is easily the pick of the host of features. All you need to type in is 'Lunch with Max tomorrow at 5pm' and the correct entry is made.
Configurable views - A variety of views are offered to help you organize your schedule (surprisingly very similar to Outlook).
Reminders - Reminder emails will ensure that you don't miss your appointments - I am more often logged into GMail than I probably will be in Calendar.
Calendar sharing - I can see this harboring a host of business models based on shared announcements of events - music concerts, sports events - the list goes on.
Full API support - This opens the use of the calendar to innovative programmers everywhere.
GMail integration - Dates and times mentioned in your GMail can be converted into calender event with one click.

Downs

Ho-hum - just another Google experiment in Ajax. There's hardly anything that Google is offering that is not offered by Outlook or Zimbra. Frankly, I'm getting a bit bored!
A downside of making the interface cool - the initial page takes ages to load - 7-10 seconds on my 128 kbps broadband.
The 'Quick Add' feature has its share of bugs. 'Day after tomorrow' is not picked up. 'Lunch with Max day after tomorrow at 5pm' leads to an entry titled 'Lunch with Max day after'. The entry is placed for tomorrow at 5PM.
Managing multiple calendars and sharing your calendar is not intuitive and is best left to experts. I don't see many people using this feature.

Though I'm quite impressed with Google's version of an application that *everyone* has tried a hand in making, I still believe they could have done better.

What Do You Want to Search for Today?

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 00:53:35 +0200

Google's latest granted patent (US Patent No. 7,027,987) describes searching by voice. The basic methodology is as follows:

Voice input of a user is captured (say from a microphone or during a phone call).
Probable words are extracted from the voice input using speech recognition.
The probable words and variants are searched for in Google.
Probable results are presented to the user.

The speech recognition can be customized based on the locale and/or accents. The results can also be categorized based on the probable words.

I'm a little confused about how Google will implement voice searching. In the presence of a keyboard, entering information would be more precise (albeit a bit slower) as compared to voice input. The accuracy of the results would, of course, be much better. I have yet to use a speech recognition engine that can construct a sentence based on what I say.

The obvious implementation appears to be in mobile devices such as cellphones, PDAs and the recently launched Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), which still offer clumsy keypads. Further, this service would be most useful for single answer searches - such as flight tracking, FedEx package tracking, currency conversion, etc.

Maybe someday, Google will be able to tell you where your car keys are. All you will have to do is to ask the right question.

Point to be noted: Monica Henzinger, one of the inventors, looks surprisingly like one of my friends.
Further reading: US Patent No. 7,027,987

Searching for a Needle in a Haystack

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 16:26:36 +0200

The news is abuzz with Google's acquisition of a new searching algorithm 'Orion', named after its inventor Ori Allon, a student of the University of New South Wales, and an Isreali by birth. Bill Gates had apparently praised this very algorithm a little time back, and Google has edged out Yahoo! and Microsoft who were also in the fray to get their hands on the algorithm.

This news report takes a crack at describing the search algorithm:

Orion finds pages where the content is about a topic strongly related to a keyword. It then returns a section of the page, and lists other topics related to the keyword so the user can pick the most relevant.

As you can see the paragraph creates more questions than it answers. Ori Allon has filed two patent applications for the algorithm at the Australian Patent Office. Sadly, these applications have not been published and are not available to the public. I'd love to have a read. I spent quite some time trying to reach the text (hence the article's name) eventually gave up as patent applications are only published 18 months from the date of filing (these applications were filed in November 2005).

To wrap up this article, here are a couple of tricks for searching using existing search engines. They are probably a part of some Google hacking book or the other but here goes.

Stopwords - There are some words that all search engines block by default (such as 'a', 'an', 'the', and 'and'). However, there are some words that you should avoid even though they are available - words like 'free', 'download', 'latest'. These terms are liberally thrown into the metadata of most webpages, and so results that have nothing to do with what you're looking for appear.
The exact quote operator - This is a trick that I find to be quite handy when I am searching for definitions or facts or numbers. Search for a sentence construct that is followed by what you are looking for. For example, search for "the lord of the rings was filmed in" using Google, instead of keywords like 'lord', 'rings', 'location', 'filming'. You can quicly get your answer as part of the search result extract that Google provides.

Remember, the more specific/precise the query, the better the results. Happy searching!

Google's shift of focus?

nospam@example.com (Rohan Dayal) — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 01:51:35 +0200

Its about time that I dedicated an entire article to Google (people I know would say that its rather late). Google entered the search engine space quietly. Yahoo! was the de-facto search engine (well it was more a web directory anyway). Google promised productivity from the word 'Search' - the homepage was plain and loaded quickly, search results were served in a flash, snippets of text from search results helped flush out false positives. Advanced search options remained hidden away.

Google then shifted its focus towards power users and corporate users. It launched tools such as Search APIs, Groups, News, Scholar, Special searches, GMail (... the list goes on) for users that needed to do more than searching.

Lately, however, Google's target segment seems to be the everyman. Its latest tools are nothing to write home about. Particularly, I am talking about Blogger, Pages and Finance.

I tried hosting this blog on Blogger, but soon realized that Blogger did not offer much in terms of features. I could write my 20 odd lines, but that's about it. Granted, it let me customize my template, but this wasn't very easy (it took me some time to figure out the template code). All this just for appearance. I really doubt that many Blogger users play around with the template anyway.

My experience with Google Pages lasted all of 15 minutes. I haven't returned since. Google Pages is your basic web page hosting service. The tools offered let you resize and recolor text, add images, and some other forgettable operations. You can't create a page that would impress *anyone*. In fact, the whole service seems more to be just another Google experiment in AJAX. There is, of course, the 100 MB storage space that will attract users.

Google re-invented the wheel with Finance. The only feature worth mentioning is the draggable listings (which is quite cool, IMHO). All the information, however, is available at other websites.

According to a friend of mine, Google's strategy is quite clear. Power users may appraise and praise Google's products, but that's not where the money lies. Therefore, Google is now targeting us John and Jane Doe's that browse the Internet for information and entertainment. When we see a relevant advertisement alongside something we are reading, we invariably click on it. That is how Google makes money.

Does this mean that all future Google services will be for the common man? My guess is that Google does have a couple of aces up its sleeve. After all, Google is the company that gave us Google Earth.