Google Latitude badge

Activated! You can check it on the left (this makes no sense if you read it via RSS... go to my blog) ;-)

Google Reader and its revamped user interface

Google has improved the UI of one of their most popular service: Google Reader, their web-based RSS feed reader. Besides the slight changes in the look and feel, CPU load when accessing the service has decreased a lot.

In an Acer Aspire One, you can now really enjoy the site without your web browser becoming unresponsive once in a while. In an even less powerful device like the Nokia N810, your CPU stops being at the 100% all the time and, if you do not want the full view of the posts you can use the list mode. This mode allows you to view only the name of the origin web site for the post, and its subject and date, so you can avoid all the posts that are not attractive. This list view is an intermediate step between the traditional Google Reader "full web experience" and the simpler Google Reader Mobile.

The main difference is that Google Reader Mobile offers a list of links (one link for each post) and the selection of a post means loading a new page, while the new list view in the "full" Google Reader shows the content of the post using JavaScipt. Luckily, the use of Javascript all over the Google Reader site seems much lighter in terms of CPU consumption.

Great work!

Geolocation in urban areas using WiFi

Although there have been previous and successful experiences using WiFi signals from the different access points detected by a mobile device, as Fraunhofer showed in the last IADIS Wireless Applications and Computing in Amsterdam (to which I attended and presented some work that I will talk about someday), Google includes this in its My Location service in its Google Maps mobile app, as they announced in their blog.

The greatest thing is that they provide support for this technology in their Google Gears Geolocation API. Awesome!

I am wondering if Fraunhofer holds some IP and how it might affect the deployment of services based on this technology O:-)

By the one, the news is that someone offers WiFi geo-location, Google is not the only one exploiting this technology.

G1 looks good to me

There have been different and opposite opinions about the new Android phone, but this video makes me think that android phones will rock. I want one.

Google Chrome: First experiences

Everything is fine with Google Chrome and I am in love with it, but... how is it possible that it was born to enhance web user experience in what regards to web services and applications and it does not support an important service built in the Google Bar for IE and Firefox such as bookmarks?

I bookmark URIs in Google Chrome and it does not sync with the bookmarks in Google Bookmarks. Bad thing which I hope it is fixed soon.

And I also miss several Firefox extensions that I am in love with (ForecastFox or TwitterFox, for example). Maybe the open community of developers will port them soon. In the meantime, Google Chrome will not be my default browser.

Enough complaining. It is true that this is a beta (and a top-quality beta, I must add) so it is only a matter of waiting a little and it will be improved as Google always does with their inventions :)

Google Chrome

We have a new browser in town. If everything in the comic book is true, I think I'll change my default browser. Already waiting for it on Linux. And on maemo? :-) I wonder how a tab-model and plugin-model based on processes suits to a resource-limited machine. All my life in the university teaching me about how good multithreading is and in the end they sell that everything in its own process is better. Jokes asides, it is the same old story, more usage of resources for the sake of security and stability. I bet that a good multi-threading model would be able to do the same with no bugs is the best, but I guess we have all surrendered to the idea of making software without any bugs.

I'll test it in depth in the next days and then see whether I change the default to Chrome.

Ah, and it is great that it is based on open-source and it is open-source itself. Other browsers can take benefit of it, as Chrome has taken benefit from other open-source browsers. Will V8 become the "de-facto" standard in Javascript VMs?

Time will tell about all of this.

Google Search on the idle screen

Over one year ago, many said that there would be a hard fight among mobile applications developers in order to win their place in the idle screen of mobile devices. Google has made its slight (and somehow invisible) move to make their move on the S60 3rd Edition platform.

After installing their software (from your Webkit browser), everytime that the idle screen shows up (or the user unlocks the keyboard of your phone) a prompt is displayed with a remainder on the availability of the search interface by pressing the "Edit" key.


After pressing that key, you can type the terms of the search:


And then, an instance of the Webkit-based browser is launched offering the results:



I was going to show my own screenshots but why repeat what others have already made in a great way. I took these ones from All About Symbian, after a quick Google search (how not!).

Google Maps on S60 3rd Edition

Yes. S60 3rd Edition users will no longer have to use a Java client for Google Maps. A native Symbian client is available (go for it by pointing your Webkit or WAP mobile browser at http://www.google.com/gmm) and you'll be able to experience Google Maps thanks to a faster and less memory consuming software.

Yoigo should worry about support for certain applications and services

You already know that I am very happy with my mobile phone service provider, Yoigo. But as one starts trying to use his phone for more and more things, you realize that they still have a lot of work yet to do about the "small things". Sometimes, small things make the difference.

For example, Nokia PC Suite does not support Yoigo configuration to use your phone as a 3G modem when you need connection and no Ethernet or Wifi connectivity is available. You have to guess the configuration and set it yourself until you make it work. I think that the friends at Yoigo, knowing that Movistar, Orange and Vodafone are supported, should call Nokia quickly and ask them to support them (giving them the proper configuration settings).

It is not only a matter of better support to their clients, it is also a matter of good image for the company.

Another example: SMS messages relative to a Google Calendar event. Yoigo is not listed among supported companies. Yoigo should talk to Google and kindly ask them to be included (and prepare everything to support this service).

I could go on with the list, but it would take long to write. These two examples should clarify how Yoigo should make it to increase its commitment to allow their clients to access advanced data services at a low cost. Paying little is good, but being able to use these great services thanks to the agreement between your service provider and your web service/application provider is much much better.