Warren sent me a link to this terrific new service.
… flight search service Hipmunk just updated its iPhone and iPad apps to show you which of the flights you’ve searched for have Wi-Fi on-board….
LifeHacker – Hipmunk Flight Search App Shows Which Flights Have Wi-Fi
Hipmunk has by far the best interface for seeing what flights are available. Sadly, however, I’m finding the actual results worse and worse over the past few months. The best deals are not showing up.
It’s new.
It’s somewhat similar to Facebook.
It’s by invitation only, so far. (I could send you an invite if you are interested.)
Click PLAY or watch a brief intro on YouTube.
It’s getting heaps of praise from experts.
Facebook is worried.
The little Google +1 symbol is similar to the Facebook LIKE button, but it’s more powerful. When you click that +1 it tells Google to recommend that page in Google search.
I’m just experimenting with the new social network now. So far I like it better than Facebook. In any case, it’s nice to have some real competition for Facebook for the first time.
read more on how it works – Google, takes on Facebook
… Tomorrow, the first one goes on sale: the Samsung Series 5 ($500 with cellular, $430 Wi-Fi only).
So what is the Chromebook concept? Assumption 1: These days, you can get online almost anywhere. Assumption 2: Google’s free online software can do almost everything regular software can do — e-mail (Gmail), Web browsing (Chrome), chat (Google Talk), photos (Picasa), word processing, spreadsheets, slide shows (Google Docs). …
I liked the concept when I first heard of it.
Unfortunately, after a week trying to use this thing as his primary computer, David Pogue was ready to toss it like a Frisbee.
BIG FAIL.
Ed Bott is a Microsoft fan boy extreme. I read his blog once-in-a-while just for laughs.
He can spin anything pro-MS.
Microsoft has been making money hand over fist in the current recession. That’s why I was so astonished to see Ed post this – As Microsoft’s monopoly crumbles, its mobile future is crucial
He’s right, of course.
Google and Apple just might crush all other competitors in mobile. Even Nokia is vulnerable.
Microsoft is gambling big on Windows 8.
… The company (Microsoft) can take some small encouragement in the fact that the overall share for mobile devices is still small. That means it’s possible to overcome the late start. Android proved that a newcomer can make a dent, going from zero (literally) to roughly a third of the share of iOS over the past two years. …
I finally saw one of the new Microsoft stores in California, by the way. Surprisingly well done. I was impressed.
Google has NEVER got a handle on social networking.
Here’s their latest effort to compete with Facebook, the updated Google profile.
It’s not yet got any of the function of Facebook. But, no doubt, they’ll be rolling that out over time.
The iPad 2 was announced on March 2, 2011. It will be in stores soon.
Click PLAY or watch the promo on YouTube.
It’s the little details that make Apple great.
Click PLAY or see the iPad Smart Cover on YouTube.
2010 was the year of the iPad.
Click PLAY or watch how people use them on YouTube.
Tech pundit Leo Laporte bet fading tech pundit John Dvorak it would sell 5 million units in 2010. It sold nearly 15 million, even more than Apple projected.
Steve Jobs says 2011 will be the Year of the iPad 2.
He’s right. But competitors will begin to catch up as they have in smart phones. Catching up to Apple in profits will take years longer.
Eventually Google Droid devices will surpass Apple in sales and popularity. The only question is, how long will that take?
related – The best take on the iPad 2 launch I’ve read was by the unofficial blogger for Apple, John Gruber – The Chair
Note: The Kindle sold about 10 million units in 2010. But it’s really not an iPad competitor. Many folks have both a tablet and Kindle.
Dave and I did a little comparison shopping after the launch of the iPad 2.
If you want to be cool, get the iPad 2.
If you like fit and finish, get the iPad 2.
But you kind of have to hold the iPad 2 to really get the redesign. It’s thinner by a third, plus its edges taper to a thin line of metal. It’s almost inconceivable that this thing you’re holding is a multicore tablet computer. The Xoom tablet is trim, light, and very pretty … but when you place it next to the iPad 2, it looks as though it was designed and built by angry Soviet prison labor instead of by Motorola.
If you’re an annoying Apple fanboy, get the iPad 2.
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I’m an annoying Apple fanboy and there are some things superior with the Xoom.
Click PLAY or watch the Xoom promo on YouTube.
OK it’s not as friendly as an Apple device:
… The Xoom is not a tablet you would hand to your mother; it is cold and complex and industrial and vaguely foreboding, the look and feel resembling a glossed up slice of Blade Runner. Everything is black, with glowing blue accents. …
The operating system (Android 3.0 Honeycomb) is arguably more powerful. And within a few months will be much more powerful.
The built in Chrome browser is as good as the Safari browser on the iPad, and getting better, faster.
The Xoom has an SD card slot (function coming soon), something I really miss in Apple devices.
Overall, for a brand new product … it’s amazingly ready to compete with the iPad 2.
By summer, as apps roll out, the software will be as good. Or better.
And far more customizable. I’d change the dark theme to a light one, ASAP.
I have faith in Google to throw millions into the operating system until it’s superior to the iPad. That might take a year. It might take 6 months.
Motorola Xoom Review: The Future Of Tablets (Whether You Like It Or Not)
Click PLAY or watch a comic comparison on YouTube.
eHow is an online how-to guide with more than 1 million articles and 170,000 videos offering step-by-step instructions on how to do things.
It’s much criticized as a “content mill” or “content farm“. Low quality crap written to get a high Google ranking, pushing Google ads deceptively.
Hows that working out for them?
My gymnastics site is the best on the web on the topic of “gymnastics coach” and “gymnastics coaching”.
eHow got the #1 rank for a Google search = “Gymnastics Coach”.
(I reset the Browser so there was nothing in the cache or history.)
The content on that eHow page is crap written by someone who doesn’t coach gymnastics.
Why doesn’t Google rank content farms lower?
… Maybe they like all that Google ad revenue.
Google has launched one counter attack. I doubt that’s going to work.
They lashed back at critics in a Jan. 21st post:
… January brought a spate of stories about Google’s search quality. Reading through some of these recent articles, you might ask whether our search quality has gotten worse. …
I’ll believe Google has fixed the problem when eHow is not on the first 100 pages of results.
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In a Bing search, eHow was #1, as well. (And Bing results are consistently worse for me on any specialized search term.)
The new Duck Duck Go browser filters out all eHow results. My site was #1 there.
related – TechCrunch – Search Still Sucks
Wikipedia has blacklisted all eHow articles.
… as for me, I’ve downloaded the free Chrome browser extension Personal Blocklist and BLOCKED all eHow sites from my personal search results. If enough people do that, that content farm will die.
I keep both open on my Mac at all times, switching frequently.
Lifehacker posted a reader’s poll where ‘power users‘ strongly liked those two best.
Since that poll, Firefox has closed the gap. A little.
The main rule, however, is do not use Internet Explorer … unless you have to. IE still sucks, though it’s not as ghastly as in the past.
If you want to know why click over to Lifehacker – How and Why Chrome Is Overtaking Firefox Among Power Users
UPDATE: … The next version of Internet Explorer (not available yet) was just reviewed. Some improvement. But it only works well on Windows 7 and Vista, not XP. And, as usual with Microsoft, it’s too little too late.
Second UPDATE: Dave Sykes links to a BBC Tech reporter who confirms IE 9 is available for download. Microsoft claims it’s now the fastest browser on Windows 7. … When I went to check, all I can find is the IE9 Release Candidate. That’s still something of a Beta.
Microsoft doesn’t care much about IE, in any case. The big problem at Microsoft is Windows Phone 7, too little too late.
Ad agency Hill Holliday recently conducted an experiment, asking five families to give up cable TV in favor of connected TV devices for a week.
The growing availability of online content and video subscription services, coupled with an exploding market for connected devices, has pushed the idea of cord cutting — or dropping a traditional cable TV subscription package in favor of online video sources — into the mainstream. But how viable is the concept, really?
For its experiment (which the agency stresses was not intended as a scientific research study), Hill Holliday provided each family with a different connected device: the Roku, Apple TV, Xbox 360, Boxee Box and Google TV.
An Experiment In Cord Cutting from Hill Holliday on Vimeo.
Traditional Cable TV is horrid. But the alternatives are still even worse.
When is Apple or Google going to get it right?
(via Mashable)
