Yarrabase News

Google Enterprise Voice and Video chat

2008-11-12T10:07:00.001+11:00

Hi all. It is getting close to Christmas and a busy time for many businesses, so just a quick update to clients using the Google Apps or Gmail service for their email.

On top of a number of improvements to Doc's, gmail and various other services, Google has just released a voice and video service on their email webclient. I know that many clients wanted this feature and you can read about the release here and how to use it here.

Now you can have video chats with staff and customers who use this service from your email window. Maybe with Christmas approaching you can put on your Santa hat and wish a few people Merry Christmas using video! :)

There are also some Gmail Labs features on your account. In the email webclient, go to "Settings" then the "Labs" tab. I really like the following gadgets, and suggest giving them a go;

Google Docs gadget
Google Calendar gadget
Right-side labels
Right-side chat
Pictures in chat

Drag 'n Drop works for Gmail & Google apps on Chrome Browser

2008-09-12T13:27:00.003+10:00

One really nice feature I noticed for my clients who are running Google Apps (and Gmail) is that, when using Google's new Chrome browser, Drag 'n Drop works for attachments in emails using the online client (an often requested feature). I suspect there will be many more such improvements over time.

Browser Wars, Operating Systems and Industrial Design...a Beginners Guide

2008-09-12T11:38:00.010+10:00

If you haven't heard about Google's new browser called Chrome, you probably soon will. Michael Arrington from Techcrunch has a good analysis of how Chrome could impact the IT industry. In addition, here is a video from Google regarding their new browser.

Some industry observers discuss the term "Browser Wars", claiming the real battle is not between Operating Systems, but the battle is in the browser (Explorer / Safari / Chrome / Firefox / Opera). The suggestion is that the browser is becoming similar to an operating system, as it can act as a window or intermediary between a variety of abstracted software and operating systems that reside on the internet, intranet or your local PC (or all of them at once!). The browser ties it all together into a cohesive experience.

Many of these new browsers now run on a variety of operating systems such as Linux, Windows and OSX, giving end users an almost seemless transition between the underlying OS. Developers can now write software for the browser instead of the operating system, providing them a potentially larger user base from the start.

Right now, Google's Chrome is in Beta stage...like many great Google products ;). It is currently the first public release of the product, so whilst it may not be ready for primetime, I have already made the transition to Chrome and very much appreciate the benefits and features it offers. Just as Google and others claim, I suspect Chrome will spur innovation in competing browsers...and from this, end users are likely to re-evaluate the way they use computers and applications. "Cloud computing" and "Software as a Service" should accelerate in their growth from such developments.

It is also possible that, as end users change their idea's of what computers mean to them and how they are used, the aesthetics and industrial design of the personal computer will become a more dominant consumer need. Apple have been on this bandwagon since the Mac, and a recent perusal of the notebook supplier offerings show their product positioning is becoming more substantially based on industrial design.

And behind door number 3.0?

2007-04-11T08:19:00.002+10:00

I'm pretty neutral when it comes to Operating Systems. As long as it has a pulse and runs the applications or enviroment I want, my mind quickly drifts to more important things...like lunch.

Sometimes though, Desktop OS evangelists can sure provide entertainment to the more pragmatic user...now even more so with these three great commercials from Novell!

Hehehe, this is on the heals of reports like these, that show most OS's have ongoing security issues, suggesting the high ground some vendors take isn't so high. Novell's advertising team sure gets these Ad's right on more than one level though...nice work!

OK,OK, Maybe I do have a preference after all...lunch anyone?