I Love Google Chrome!

After waiting many impatient hours, Google has finally launched their browser, Google Chrome!

While everyone has an opinion about the new browser, I am loving every moment of surfing the internet with Chrome.

While Firefox, Maxthon, Opera, etc. may have more features, its the simple fact that my entire browser will not crash because of the fact that one tab tried to open a faulty web page.

Chrome is now my default browser (although I wish there was a way to insert GreaseMonkey and Google Toolbar within it).

Update: Here is a video from Walter Mossberg highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of Google Chrome.

Google Launching Its Own Browser (Goodbye Firefox, IE And Opera)

Just when I was having even more problems with Firefox 3 (its hogging memory again like its predecessors), Google goes ahead and announces that they are releasing a browser to the world (aka the rumored "gBrowser").

(Official Google Blog) Because we spend so much time online, we began seriously thinking about what kind of browser could exist if we started from scratch and built on the best elements out there. We realized that the web had evolved from mainly simple text pages to rich, interactive applications and that we needed to completely rethink the browser. What we really needed was not just a browser, but also a modern platform for web pages and applications, and that's what we set out to build. [...]

Under the hood, we were able to build the foundation of a browser that runs today's complex web applications much better. By keeping each tab in an isolated "sandbox", we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers.

I currently use three different browsers (four if you count Safari on my iPhone). While Firefox is my main browser, I have been finding that the browser often crashes whenever I visit GoDaddy.com, forcing me to open up Internet Explorer 8 (aka IE8).

The situation gets even worse whenever I attempt to open up FeedBurner, in which both Firefox and IE8 are unable to display portions of the page, forcing me to open up Opera.

Hopefully Google Chrome (which is launching tomorrow) will help put an end to this chaos, as the last thing I want is to be juggling between several different browsers (with iTunes, Skype and a half of dozen programs on the side).

You can check out their "cartoon explanation" regarding the new browser over here.

(Hat Tip: TechCrunch)

Sometimes, I Just Feel Like "Googling Myself"

(Image Credit: Bloomberg News, via Business Week)

For those of you who are not into geek lingo, the phrase "Googleing oneself" basically means typing in your name (first and last) into Google in order to see what appears.



This is a good exercise, as many employers, potential clients and friends will do a quick Google search on you in order to see what appears.



Example: When I Google Darnell Clayton, a bunch of "relevent" links appear, most of which deal with me. Unfortunately, there are a few random ones that appear--ironically dealing with other people named Darnell Clayton.



Here are just a few "unrelated Darnell Clayton's" that appear when I Google my own name.

• Darnell Clayton on LinkedIn: This Darnell Clayton is located in Georgia (the US state, not the country) and is currently a Senior Information Architect.


• The Polish Darnell Clayton on Facebook: I think this page is the polish version of Facebook (since "pl" represents Poland online).


• The Male supermodel Darnell Clayton: This guy apparently was reviewed by a blogger, and I think this is also his Facebook profile too.

None of these guys are me, and if you were having a hard time telling the difference, here are a few clues for you:

• I no longer have a LinkedIn profile (note: I previously had one, but found other social networks to be better).


• I don't speak Polish--although I am trying to learn Hebrew.


• My body isn't sexy enough to be a male model--even with the six pack (note: not that I would ever consider becoming one anyways)

Ironically, one of the reasons I bought DarnellClayton.com was to help avoid this confusion (at least online) of who the real me was all about.



I would recommend other people doing the same thing, as the last thing you need is a future employer/client mistaking you for a high tech geek who poses in fashion magazines during "the night shift." ;-)

Never Touch A Black Geek's Radio!

I just received this email from Tim Westergren, a founder of Pandora.

What is Pandora you say? It's basically a Google version of internet radio, where the station gradually finds out what type of music you love, and then adjusts all of the songs to fit your style.

Anyways, here is the email I received:

(Pandora) I'm writing today to urgently ask for your help. Our future and that of all webcasters is being threatened by the actions of the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America). In an effort to cripple Internet radio they have defied Congressional direction to negotiate reasonable performance fees and are trying to shut us down.

In spite of overwhelming opposition, including from thousands of musicians, they have blatantly pursued a strategy of undermining the process, making outrageous demands, and trying to run out the clock, hoping we will just quietly fade away. There is only one way to stop this violation of the public trust, and that is by mobilizing the collective will of our listening audience. [...]

When you call, please tell them your home town, and ask them to support the Brownback Internet Radio Equality amendment that will be considered in the Judiciary Committee this Thursday.

This amendment sets webcasting royalties at the same level as those paid by satellite radio, which would compensate musicians fairly and allow web radio to survive. For more info on the bill, please visit: www.savenetradio.org

Even though I listen to most of my music through my iPhone, this bill could potentially affect another site that I use called FlyTunes which I use on my phone.

If the RIAA succeeds in demolishing these web radio stations, I could be forced with the reality of not having music on my iPhone as well as my PC to listen to, which would not make this geek very happy.

So, if your Senator is on the Judiciary Committee (I'm talking to you Americans here) feel free to call them up and tell them to support Brownback's bill, or face the wrath this November.

(Image Credit: RKNA)

Internet Explorer 6 Is Ghetto!

So after spending an entire day coding some of my sites for Firefox and IE7, I have just discovered that they look rather dorky in IE6.

Yeah, I'm back to using Firefox after testing out Maxthon (which started "freezing up," just like IE7).

Sigh...I guess there is no such thing as a perfect browser.

Google's YouTube Down?

It looks as if YouTube is down for the count (at least as of this moment).

Here is a screen shot of all that I get:

Just when I was about to save a really cool song from Sarah Mclachlan too. Sigh...

Update: It's back up! Thanks Google!

How You Know When Google Is Listening To You

So I have been testing out a new feature from Blogger in Draft called Video Upload, and I recently posted a suggestion to Google about adding a status bar so that people will know how much of their video has been uploaded (so they won't freak out).

Well, it looks as if Pete from Google (I'm assuming its Pete) took a few minuets out of his time to read my comment and to my surprise I discovered this today while uploading a video on blogger:



And people wonder why I prefer Google over the competition?

SkypeCasting: My New Hobby

Although I am still getting use to the idea of video chat (it seems weird looking at ugly faces) I am enjoying talking to European, Middle Eastern and American minds from around the world about the common topics that makes everyone...nervous.

I have just joined a skypecast regarding middle eastern topics regarding everything from Jihadism to Iran to whether the US is evil (or not) to nuclear weapons.

Despite the fact everyone walks away with the same opinions that they had, this exchange is refreshing as it gets all sides (even if they start to yell).

Maxthon Browser It Is!

So after experiencing even more problems with Firefox (see previous post for details) and testing out several different browsers, I have decided to go with Maxthon browser, with IE7 as a backup.

Maxthon seems to combine the best of the three most popular browsers online:

It has the the speed of Firefox
It has the security of Opera
And last, it displays the glory of the web like IE7

But the main reason for converting over was this:



Unlike the other browsers, Maxthon has a built in measure to prevent it from consuming too many resources.

I think IE7 has something similar (although not quite as effective) while Opera and Firefox both simply continue to grow, although the latter at an alarming rate.

Now if only I could convert my GreaseMonkey hacks and Firefox extensions over, then I would be perfect!

Note: Maxthon is a little weird in Blogger WYSIWYG, although I'll have to troubleshoot it some more.

PC World Is Full Of Surprises

Warning: You are about to enter the geek zone. You've been warned.

So PC World did a review of the top 100 best products in technology today, which includes everything from game consoles to software to music platforms to more geek toys!

Google Apps seems to have killed off all of their competitors, taking the top spot, something the Googlers seem to be really excited about.

There were also a few surprises along the way including:

• Yahoo! Mail Beta (27) beating Google's Gmail (31)
• Paint.net (19) beating Google's Picasa (36)
• Nintendo Wii (3) beating Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite (18)
• Pandora.com (17) beats Apples 80 GB Ipod (26)

This really has been a very interesting year in technology. I'm disappointed that OQO did not make the list, neither did several other applications as well. Oh well, better luck next time I suppose!

So What Exactly Is Web 2.0?

For those of you who are wondering, this video may help explain it all...

Still confused? You may need a translation.

Google Docs In My Gmail?

It looks like I am going to be putting more of my life on Google's servers, this time future business projects (as long as it is legal that is).

(Google Docs & Spreadsheets Blog) Whenever those of you who use Gmail receive a spreadsheet or a document in an email, you will see a new link next to the "Download" link that says "Open as a Google document." Click on that and the attachment will automatically be imported into Docs & Spreadsheets and added to your personal document list where you can make changes, invite collaborators and search for it later. We hope you like it.

If they continue doing cool things like this, Google will end up being a portal--that is if they are not one already.

Note: Is it me, or did Google finally open up comments on their blog?

No Honor Among Thieves?

Apparently their is a site stealing content from one of my weblogs, Inside Orkut.

I am not going to mention the site here (or the host) but I hope to resolve this issue privately in order to spare the hosting company bad media that can be picked up by the ever vigilant Google bots (aka Google spiders).

I've ran into this problem before, but thankfully the person in question last time apologized and complied (in essence, removed the offending posts as well as the site).

Hopefully a peaceful solution can be found as I have better things to do than dealing with content theft.

Update (1/11): Problem was resolved. Thanks Mr. [Host Company]!