Daily Bits

New Google UK Doodle – What’s Up?

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Have you paid Google UK a visit today?  I suppose that if you’re not from that part of the world, there is no real reason for you to visit Google UK.  Indeed, if it weren’t for a “tip” from a friend, I wouldn’t have given Google UK a look today.

Anyhow, the Google Doodle, as you can see, is made of lots of little balls, which scatter all over the place when you hover your mouse over it.

That’s me trying to capture the dispersed balls before they go back to forming the word “Google” again.  Unfortunately, the balls keep beating me over and over again. So what is the reason behind this Doodle?

We know how Google periodically applies changes to the homepage logo to celebrate special events.  During the Olympics, the logo changed to reflect the various sports.  Occasionally, the Doodle is interactive – just like the Pac-Man Doodle released in May, which I think was the first interactive Google Doodle.  The rationale behind that Doodle was easily understood – Pac-Man’s 30th birthday.  The balls on Google UK today, though, no one seems to know what inspired them.

I am sure that we will hear something from Google pretty soon.  For now, we have to settle for conjectures and guesses that are floating around online.  If you’re interested, you can also watch the video below for more of the “balls show.”  I suggest just go to the Google UK web site and play with the balls yourself.  It gets old after a while. :-s

Happy 2nd Birthday, Google Chrome!

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Time does fly, doesn’t it?  Not that we spend our days counting just how “old” web browsers are, but one cannot help but notice the hoopla surrounding Google’s celebration of the second anniversary of Google Chrome.  I cannot remember the exact date that I heard about Chrome, but I clearly remember my excitement.  Two years later, I have to say that Chrome has lived up to my expectations. (Although I have to admit that I still use Firefox more.  Chrome is always ready, though, in case Firefox crashes.)

So anyway, if you happened to check the Google Chrome Blog yesterday, you’d know all about the new stuff they’ve done to Google Chrome – manifested in the latest version.  The new version is much faster and even more streamlined.  You thought that Chrome was the simplest of all browsers out there?  Think again!  The guys at Google worked extra hard to make this new Chrome simpler than ever!

Some of the changes are:

  • Two menus have been combined into one.
  • Buttons have been moved.
  • The URL box and Omnibox have been cleaned up.
  • JavaScript performance is three times faster than it was two years ago.

Well, I’ll stop rattling on about it – why don’t you download the newest Google Chrome (2nd birthday edition, if you will) yourself?

By the way, that image up there is by Mike Lemanski and was used in the official announcement in the Google Chrome Blog.  Isn’t it awesome?

Playboy Apple iPad App Doesn’t Cut It

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The Apple iPad is perhaps the coolest e-book reader-other-gadgets combined you can ever have. It is not a surprise that many vendors and publishers are jumping into the iPad app bandwagon – they can reach so many more people by doing so. And, even the most conservative sectors cannot deny or stop the fact that providers of adult content are going to be part of this boom.

When it comes to adult content, perhaps there is no other better known brand than Playboy. If you didn’t know already, though, the brand has been encountering problems due to its being outmaneuvered by competitors. Struggling it may be, it is not giving up.

It recently launched an app for the iPad, but to the disappointment of users, it didn’t deliver. It may not be all Playboy’s fault – Apple has a strict policy when it comes to content for its apps. Indeed, content which Apple considers “obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory” is banned from the App Store. By definition, Playboy already gets x marks.

The result is predictable: users are frustrated about the whole set up. They have to pay $4.99 for the iPad app, and they want more than “articles.” (Yeah, for those countless individuals who have repeatedly said that they buy Playboy for the articles, where are you now?) I suppose that if the app were free, or at least priced more reasonably, the complaints would not be as bad.

Bottom line: it does not look like Apple will change its policy anytime soon. Maybe Playboy ought to take a look at its strategy – that is, if it wants to stay afloat.

Guys: would you pay $5 for this app?

Worried About Online Security? Go Online in Sierra Leone.

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How worried are you about your security when you go online?  AVG, one of the most recognized names in anti-virus protection and Internet security in general, recently conducted a study on the state of online security in various countries.  Involved in the study were 144 countries and 127 million systems.  AVG collected data relating to virus and malware attacks on these computers and collated their findings.

The results?

African countries did very well in the survey – seven of the 10 safest countries hail from the continent. Sierra Leone tops this list with an average of one attack per 692 users who surf the Web.  Next in line is Niger, with one attack per 442 users who surf the Web.  Other countries in the top 10 are Togo and Japan.  Here are the details for each continent (attack per number of users)

  • North America: 1  in 51
  • Europe: 1 in 72
  • Asia: 1 in 102
  • Africa: 1 in 108
  • South America: 1 in 164.

Basically, South America is the safest while North America is the most dangerous.

However, if the stats are broken down per country, the most dangerous countries are (first one being the most dangerous):

  1. Turkey (1 in 10)
  2. Russia (1 in 15)
  3. Armenia (1 in 24)
  4. Azerbaijan (1 in 39)
  5. Bangaladesh ( 1 in 41)

Roger Thompson from AVG is quick to point out, however, that this data does not exactly pinpoint which regions are completely safe from virus and malware attacks due to their nature – they are not really hindered by geographic boundaries.  He also notes that the results of the study may not be applicable in the near future as viruses and attacks do change over time.

One interesting thing that Thompson mentioned is how this data can be of use to travelers:

However, our research should also serve as a warning to all travelling abroad and using the internet. If you are travelling without your computer and use a public machine or borrow a friend or colleagues, ensure that when accessing web -based services like email, that you log out and close the browser when you have finished your session and that you don’t agree to store any passwords or log-in information on that machine.

If you are taking your laptop with you ensure you have backed up your data and removed any sensitive information from your machine.

If you don’t want the hassle of worrying about security, just take a vacation in Sierra Leone. 😉

Photo credit: highwaycharlie

Sort Out “Spam,” “Bologna,” and “Real Meat” with Gmail’s Priority Inbox

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How does your Inbox look right now? If you’re using Gmail, you’re probably already using labels and filters. These features have helped many a user sort out their Inboxes. There are still some who are having problems dealing with the daily influx of e-mails. It is not surprising to see a cluttered Inbox every now and then.

With the announcement at the Gmail Blog yesterday, things might just get much easier for Gmail users. They have released the Priority Inbox Beta, which promises to help users deal with e-mail overload. How is the new feature going to do this?

Well, we all hate spam – message that are totally useless – but we also get loads of message that are not really spam – bologna or bacn. What Priority Inbox does is to sort out this second class. It doesn’t mark the messages as outright spam, but it will also make sure that the bologna doesn’t flood your Inbox and bury the truly important messages.

With the new feature, you’re going to see three sections in your Inbox:

  • Important and unread
  • Starred
  • Everything else

The system will identify which message belongs to which group via an assortment of “signals.” For example, if a certain person e-mails you a lot and you reply to his/her messages often, e-mails originating from that address will be marked important. As you may surmise, the system will deliver better results the more that you use Gmail, as it will “learn” from your behavior. There are also considerations for manual labeling – you can mark a message as important or unimportant yourself. Here’s the video demo.

I just checked my Gmail and I don’t have the feature yet, but the blog says that they will be rolling it out in the next weeks. Look out for the red notice in the upper right of your Inbox that says “New! Priority Inbox.” I’m sure we won’t miss it when it does come out.