Google News RULES

How about this?

Mike Dixon from Google took the time to contact me about my “problem” with Google News.

I had accidentally “personalized” the site to show the American feed, rather than the Canadian one.

Here’s Mike’s advice:

… it looks like you’re actually seeing
the U.S. edition of google news (rather than the canadian edition),
with one canadian section added (the world section, which of course
isn’t going to have much canadian news either).

my guess for how this happened: at some point you were viewing the
U.S. edition (either because you went to news.google.com or because
you were on news.google.ca and switched with the drop-down at the top
of the page). then you said “personalize this page” and made some
changes (judging from the section list on the left, you moved U.S.
national news to the bottom and added a world section from the
canadian edition). now that you’ve created a personalized edition
(based on the U.S. edition), that will get shown to you whenever you
return.

here’s how to fix it: on the front page, you should see an “edit this
personalized page” link. click it, and then the “reset page to
default” link. this will delete your personalization, and should
return you to the default canadian edition (if you’re on
news.google.ca; if you’re on .com, you’ll get the U.S. edition but can
switch with the drop down). confirm that the “google news” logo
includes the word “canada”, that there’s a canada section on the front
page, and the sports section includes an appropriate quantity of
hockey…

now you can redo any personalization you’d like.

THAT WORKED PERFECTLY.

Thanks Google.

=== my original post:

I logged into Google News Canada to check who won the Grey Cup, one of the biggest sports stories of the year.

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Yet I did not find out who won the big football game — (it wasn’t Edmonton) — because the story was not linked on the home page. Nor even on the Sports page.

Google News.

It’s still not improving as fast as I would like.

gmail adds voice and video chat

From the gmail blog:

… today we’re launching voice and video chat — right inside Gmail. We’ve tried to make this an easy-to-use, seamless experience, with high-quality audio and video — all for free.

Say hello to Gmail voice and video chat

You must download and install a small bit of software from mail.google.com/videochat

… This is obviously a big jab at Skype. With VoIP and video chat functionality in Gmail’s familiar surroundings, many users will feel less need to ever use Skype. Sure, Skype’s client has a ton more options than Gmail’s simple video chat, but many users will prefer Gmail for precisely that reason. …

The Anti-Skype Arrives – Mashable

following the Canadian election

Google just launched a page summarizing news sites read by the party leaders and political journalists.

At a glance you can confirm the “race” is still dull.

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Power Readers in Politics: Canada

The one article that caught my eye: PM pledges stiff fines for polluters

Political posturing? Or is he serious?

Meet Chrome, Google’s Windows Killer

Not much worries the gang at Microsoft. Their Windows Operating System monopoly seemed unassailable.

Until now.

The cartoon is a joke. … But, not really.

Chrome, the Webkit-based Google browser that launches tomorrow at Google.com/chrome, will give them a real foothold on the desktop and way more control over how web applications perform. While it seems that Chrome is aimed at IE and Firefox, the target is really Windows.

… Chrome is nothing less than a full on desktop operating system that will compete head on with Windows.

Expect to see millions of web devices, even desktop web devices, in the coming years that completely strip out the Windows layer and use the browser as the only operating system the user needs. That was going to happen anyway, but Chrome + Gears just made the decision a whole lot easier for hardware manufacturers to make.

Microsoft, meanwhile, is stuck with a bloated closed source browser that they don’t even tether to their search engine for fear of more antitrust woes. Google can push their search engine and other web services all day long on Chrome, with no government interference. So not only will Chrome drive lots of incremental revenue to Google, it also paves the way for a Microsoft-free computing experience.

I love Chrome already and I haven’t even tried it yet (nor will I be using it much soon, since it will only work on Windows for now). …

Michael Arrington – Tech Crunch

internet sludgy with entertainment apps

The internet is the last best hope for the human race — until we flee this planet because of the Cylons.

Information and communication are virtually free. You can join or quit any kind of community of like minded thinkers in seconds.

Any unknown genius can put up a blog.

Dave Adlard probably forgets that he was the first to open my eyes to the possibilities of “linked” bits of information. He was.

But here’s what most people are doing with the wondrous opportunity that is the WWW.

pointlessapps.jpeg
news.com

It was Rocco that first told me about the search engine Google. What a revolution! We could stop arguments by saying, “Let’s Google it.”

Now Google’s made it easy for you to check your horoscope several times a day. How many steps backward is that?

Click PLAY or watch it on YouTube.

(via Secret Diary of Steve Jobs)

Google wins in Microsoft vs Yahoo fight

… Unless Yahoo pulls a very large rabbit out of a hat prior to trading on Monday, expect their share price to decline significantly. Yahoo has put in place a number of very expensive anti-takeover provisions and employee retention programs. Also, their Q1 financial results, while above expectations, were not so materially positive as to offset the hit they are going to take. …

Google Wins

Google was the big winner in a Microsoft/Yahoo acquisition attempt, no matter what the outcome. But among the possible outcomes, a broken Yahoo and a frustrated Microsoft almost certainly result in increased market share for Google.

Don’t Count Microsoft Out Just Yet

There’s a reasonable chance that Yahoo tanks this week – really tanks. It’s not inconceivable that Microsoft could come right back to the table with a lower bid than the one they just pulled off the table. Don’t count Microsoft out yet – they may still get their win.

google-microsoft-yahoo.jpg
Techcrunch – Yahoo’s Tough Week Ahead – Michael Arrington

blog rants and raves

Blogging is ALL about ranting and raving. Taking an extreme or contrary point of view. Still … all those unique voices tend to march in lock step on certain topics.

Bloggers HATE:

Patents, Patent trolls, and the Patent office
Vista
ValleyWag
The MPAA and the RIAA
Comcast
Cellular carriers
Mainstream media
Facebook
Guy Kawasaki
CNET

Bloggers LOVE:

Apple
Google
Linux
TechCrunch
Engadget
Firefox

After reading The 10 things you may complain about (and five you may not) by the astute Rafe Needleman, I felt a bit sheepish.

firefox-ie.jpg
original – flickr – Lordcolus

Microsoft v Google

A good commentary on Computerworld does a much better job than can I on why Microsoft (with or without Yahoo!) will lose to Google in the long haul.

…. The point here is that Google provides the maximum service to its users with the minimum of intrusive monetization of the relationship. Microsoft provides the minimum of service with the maximum of intrusive monetization. Which one would any rational person choose?

Microsoft: save $44 billion, just make Hotmail free

I’m complaining about the same problems with MS Hotmail.

how long before Microsoft ruins Yahoo?

I’m not hearing much blog consensus on the possible acquisition by Microsoft of Yahoo!

yahoo-microsoft.jpg
original – flickr

Google is troubled by the Microsoft move.

Me too. But for completely different reasons. I like Yahoo! and use some of their online products. It will take some years, but I expect any kind of merger will be messy and ultimately damaging to leading Yahoo products like flickr.

On the other hand, this would spur Google to even greater innovation in the short term. Might be good for the consumer.

From Microsoft’s point of view, it’s probably a good move. They need to do something to get relevant online.

By the way, at Stanford University in California, Google and Facebook are battling to hire computer science undergrads before graduation. Starting salary $92-95K.

(via Google Operating System)

More: Is Microsoft a doomed dinosaur?