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Style & Design 2009: Grading Google

dscott — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 23:00:07 +0000

Besides Microsoft, no other company has changed the way we use technology more than Google. The company started by two Stanford grad students has revolutionized the way we search for and interact with information. But we don’t have you tell you that, besides the fact that the word Google is officially now a verb in the Merriam-Webster dictionary you probably just came from the actual Google site or one of their many web properties like YouTube or Picasa.

We know they’re the illest in the game, but how good are they really? In our 2009 Style and Design issue, we looked at six our favorite Google innovations and graded them. Here we added four more to make it an even ten. Read on to see how your favorite Google offerings got marked.

BLOGGER (2003)(Link)
HIT: After acquiring Blogger’s parent company Pyra Labs in 1999, Google turned simple blog publishing software into the go-to service for most new bloggers. Its intuitive design and interface made it a hit among those just getting into the blogging game. Even today, with a number of other blogging services out there, it’s still ranked among the most used.

MISS: As more and more blogging services came onto the market, they offered more sophisticated and customizable options than Google’s Blogger. However, Google being Google has improved the software with every version. Also, lately, many bloggers have complained that Google breached their terms of service by deleting their content without consent.

GRADE: A

GOOGLE AD SENSE (2003)(Link)
HIT: If you’re a company that influences millions of people’s online activity, why not bank off your efforts? That’s exactly what Google did with their advertising software that has changed the web revenue game. Depending on your location and keywords, Google will service you with unobtrusive ads they think will interest you. Even if you don’t click on any of ’em, best believe people make money using it.

MISS: You know those blogs you wander onto that are solely made to advertise a product? Yeah, you can thank Ad Sense for that. Assholes.

Grade:B-

GOOGLE MAPS API (2005) (Link)
HIT: Maps was already better than Google’s previous engine Mapquest (which also powered Yahoo! Maps) when it dropped, but Google’s proprietary baby quickly eclipsed its rival with next-level mapping tools such as Google Street View. And the real bombshell landed later that year, when the Maps API (application program interface) dropped, allowed programmers to tweak Google Maps to suit their needs.

MISS: Besides the borderline intrusiveness of Google’s Street View, it’s the best mapping software EVER.

GRADE: A+

GOOGLE EARTH (2005)(Link)
HIT:You know how everyone talks about the global community becoming closer as a result of the internet? This is what they were talking about. Google’s virtual globe, available in 37 languages, allows users to go anywhere in the world with the click of a mouse. Last summer, they even made it as a browser plug in so you can surf the globe from your iPhone.

MISS:Just like Google Maps, people complained that Google Earth could be used to invade the privacy of people due to its close proximity arial photography. They also came under fire for agreeing to blur out or omit property belonging to some special interest groups. Our main complaint would be the way the software taxes your system while running.

GRADE: B-

GOOGLE TALK (2005)(Link)
HIT: It may have been introduced in 2005, but Google Talk wasn’t really poppin’ until a year later when Google gave GMail chat functionality. And since almost everyone has a GMail account, we find it to be our alternate chat program after AOL’s Instant Messenger. The fact that you instant message someone who isn’t online and have them see it next time they check their mail or sign on, or leave them a MP3 voicemail that will be sent to their inbox is pretty dope.

MISS:When Google released their GTalk client, they, of course, neglected to create one for Mac OS X. Good thing iChat and Adium fully support it.

GRADE:B

GOOGLE DOCS (2006)(Link)
HIT: In Google’s quest to topple the mighty Microsoft, they acquired an online word processor and compiled it with their online spreadsheet program to create the best online office suite on the market. It’s real strength lies in the availability of documents anywhere in the world and the ability for them to be edited by people remotely. It’s so good, Microsoft announced that the next version of Office will incorporate a completely online version.

MISS:If it really wants to compete with Microsoft Office, it’s going to need to beef up its offerings. Its simplicity is much appreciated, but when it comes time for some heavy lifting, Excel and Word still reign supreme. But, hey, for a free office suite, there ain’t none higher.

GRADE: A-

GOOGLE ANDROID (2007) (Link)
HIT: Designed by T-Mobile Sidekick creator Andy Rubin, Google’s foray into the mobile handset market was one of the most full-featured, desktop-like experiences on the market. Add to that their willingness to keep it open-source so anyone could customize it and you get the Linux to the iPhone’s…Windows?

MISS: In the midst of all the geeking out, Google forgot to make the OS visually appealing to consumers. They also forgot that the software is only half the phone experience, and picked a handset that looks like it came out with the Motorola Razor.

GRADE:B-

GOOGLE GEARS (2007) (Link)
HIT: If and when you stop using Microsoft Office—and let’s be real, that will happen—Google wants you to use Google Docs and GMail. Google Gears is a software that runs will allow you to use both (and any other Google app) without being connected to the Internet, further blurring the line between web apps and traditional local applications.

MISS: While we all love GMail and Google Docs, the big G is going to have to really step their web apps up if they want to compete with Microsoft Office.

GRADE: B

GOOGLE HEALTH (2008) (Link)
HIT: You heard it from Obama: The medical industry needs a makeover, stat! The next step in updating the field will be to transfer medical records to electronic databases that users and doctors can easily and instantly access; Google’s personal health record service does just that. After a successful beta run in Cleveland, the service has boldfaced partners like CVS and Walgreen already lined up.

MISS: There have been concerns regarding the privacy of the medical records, but Google insists it’s as safe (or safer) than paper records. Call us when encryption is foolproof.

GRADE: B

GOOGLE CHROME: (2008)(Link)
HIT: In yet another attempt to topple Microsoft, Google dropped their own browser; with its insanely fast Java engine and self-contained tabs, it was designed to a less stressful browsing experience (fewer crashes FTW!). It also arguably looked better than any other browsers on the market

MISS: Google must have not been paying attention to the rise in Mac usage over the years, as they failed to release a Mac OS X version of Chrome. FAIL.

GRADE: B

Daily Style & Design News: May 22, 2009

Bradley — Fri, 22 May 2009 15:43:59 +0000

Goods (Seattle) takes collaborating to the next step. Ice cream, T-shirts, and skate decks. All in. [Goods]

Google knows if you’re going to quit or not. Which means we’re all fffd. [Wall Street Journal]

Palm Pre’s are going to be coming in at 4 strong per Best Buy. Wow. It’s a good thing no one has Sprint. [Crunch Gear]

Good things come to those who wait. ALIFE Rivington Club’s new website is live. Spend money! [Rivington Club]

Help Futura 2000 get up. Some more. Logo backpack. Or is this a font advert? [Mash Kulture]

For real, the new F.C.R.B. stuff is sick. [Hypebeast]

Louis Vuitton’s Hong Kong exhibit recap. Dope. [Vagant]

Triple Threat: 3 New Search Engines

dscott — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:26:18 +0000

Despite what you may think, Google and Yahoo! aren’t the only search engines in the game. We know a lot of our favorites (Lycos, RIP) fell by the wayside when Google came through and crushed the buildings, but now it seems a couple inventive companies are trying to lure surfers away from the ‘08 Mircosoft. We checked out three new ones, kgb_, Cuil and Viewzi to see what they were bringing to the game and why should think about leaving Google for them. Check out our findings below…

NAME: KGB_ [LINK]

HOW DOES IT WORK?: According to KGB_, they aren’t a search engine, they’re a knowledge engine. What’s knowledge? Well, in their words: “Knowledge is rich data combined with personal experience and sound judgment. Knowledge is data transformed into simple to find, relevant results that are easy for you to understand.” In order to provide you with more knowledge than Superhead, KGB_ offers both a search engine and a text answer service. Their web search engine uses meta-search technology to get results from the five major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Ask) and then they filter them so you only get the most relevant results. Their text messaging service lets you text them any questions you have, the more localized the better, and for $.30 they’ll hit you back with an answer.

OUR TAKE: The online searched worked well, giving us a good number of relevant search results. We would have liked a few more results, or an option to have them present more options for the 5 engines they use. With free services like Chacha, we can’t see ourselves forking over $.30 for the text message service.

NAME: Viewzi [LINK]

HOW DOES IT WORK?: In case you were getting bored with search engines that just gave you long lists of websites, Viewzi thinks they got what you need. When you enter a search term into Viewzi, it automatically tries to figure out what exactly it is you’re search for. Once it thinks it knows what it thinks it knows what you’re looking for, it presents the search results in number of different “views.” Search results are presented differently in each of the different views. For example, if you were to search for Lil’ Wayne, you can view the results (which come from a number of different engines including Google, Yahoo! and Amazon) in either the Album View which shows a bunch of his album covers, or Google Timeline View (one of our favorites) that shows Google search results in a linear, interactive timeline model. There over 15 views, some of which are more interesting and useful than others.

OUR TAKE Viewzi provided a completely different and enjoyable search experience when compared to Google and Yahoo!, but it proved a bit too much for simple searching. We like our search engines to be kind of simple and unobtrusive.

NAME: Cuil [LINK]

HOW DOES IT WORK?: Instead of giving more specialized and streamlined results like Viewzi and KGB_, Cuil boasts that they search more pages on the web than any other search engine, even Google (they claim 3x as many). Our tests showed they averages 2x as many results as Google. Pretty dope. They also claim to not rank results on popularity. Once you conduct your search, the results are presented with a short blurb underneath to further ensure you click on the right link. To the right, they have a panel called “Explore by Category” which gives you topics related to your search. Click a topic and more terms appear. Roll your mouse over one of the teams and a quick explanation of the term comes up. Our search for Barack Obama in South Carolina gave us a bunch more accurate links that Google.

OUR TAKE Their simple layout, link captions and diesel number of results, we think Cuil is a viable contender in the search game.

Google x T-Mobile Launch Android On The G1

Bradley — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:12:16 +0000

We Global!

Today, T-Mobile, HTC, and Google invited us to come check out the new ~~Sidekick 7~~ G1, which will be launched as the first phone powered by the Google Android operating system on October 22. The G1 has elements that mimic the iPhone-touch screen, ap store, and widgets, but as a bonus, it adds a full slide out QWERTY keyboard. Hello, awesome! Check what we really think, as well as some closeups of the phone and Google founders Sergey and Larry below…

The G1 has a slide out screen with similar functionality to the T-Mobile Sidekick. The guy who invented that thing, Andy Rubin, actually designed the Android operating system.

The touch screen isn’t multi-touch, like the iPhone. Instead HTC decided to work with zoom keys and long touch commands. Basically how that works is a touch does one thing, and then if you hold your finger on the screen, it brings up additional commands. A long touch will allow you to switch between applications. This works great with the phone’s ability to background processes information, meaning you can download a file, have an AIM conversation, and bang out an email all at once. Pretty cool, and a definite improvement over the competition.

It’s not particularly slim or fat, a solid looking phone. Clocking in at $175, though, you can’t beat a phone with 3G and full internet capabilities. It comes with 256k of memory with a micro SD slot that can hold up to an 8GB card.

The onboard camera is 3 megapixels, great. What cell phone companies haven’t figured out yet is that when you have a lens the size of a pin you can’t get a good photo. So you have a big file of a shitty photo. I guess that’s not a priority right now. Maybe the G2 brings Leica into the collab? (Fingers crossed)

These guys showed up as well. Kings. The big sell behind Google Android is that the platform is open source. So what does that mean? Basically open source gives developers the opportunity to create programs similar to the way that the Apple App store does. In time, as people program for the platform, you will be able to customize your phone to do exactly what you want. It can tell you stock updates, give you news RSS feeds, or f it, you can just turn the thing into a vibrator and give it to your girlfriend. The options are limitless.

Oh, and Larry and Sergey decided that they should wear their Rollerblades to what is probably the biggest day of these other guys’ lives. Nothing says, “My Internet dick is bigger than your Internet dick” like wearing Rollerblades to the press conference.

Yes, Google Does That Too

dscott — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 22:42:34 +0000

Just like Microsoft in the '80s, '90s and early '00s, Google is on a quest to take over the world. And they’re doing pretty damn good. They got the search game on lock, they’re email, despite still being in Beta, is used by everyone we know in the know. Their ad game runs the ‘Net. They have a mobile phone operating system on the horizon and they own YouTube. Granted, all of Google’s products are ways for them to power their advertising, but hey'they’re free.

Now, in attempts to further keep you locked into their world and services, they’ve released their long rumored browser, Chrome. The Firefox crew said they weren’t worried, and we’re sure Microsoft isn’t too bothered…yet. But those aren’t the only people Google is looking to take out the game. Check out a couple lesser-known services the big G offers to compete with their Silicon Valley rivals.

KNOL
COMPETING WITH: Wikipedia

No one uses encyclopedia’s anymore, do they? They just use the ‘Net, right? And the first place anyone goes for info these days (after Google) is Wikipedia. Of course Google wanted in, so they launched their own user generated open encyclopedia called Knol. Launched in July, Knol, which they say is a unit of knowledge, is made up of “authoritative articles on specific topics” written by users. Sounds a lot like Wikipedia. In addition to your normal entries there are really specific articles on stuff like, The 20 Most Important Popular Songs, and Photo Printing for the Modern Age, which is cool, but who’s really searching for that? Also, when we want to find something on Wiki, we just type what we’re searching for into Google. With their own service, will Knol results replace Wiki’s? We’ll see. [LINK]

GOOGLE HEALTH
COMPETING WITH: WedMD.

This is another service that almost no one knew Google had. Google Health is, duh, the company’s entrance into the online personal health records field. You fill out your profile with your doctors, known illnesses and medications or just import your medical records if your doctor/hospital is partnered with Google and Google Health will tell give you more info on your sickness, tell you the known treatments and let you know where you can go to get treated, among other things. They claim it’s safe, but do you really wanna give up your medical info to Google? [LINK]

ORKUT
COMPETING WITH: Facebook and Myspace.

Google’s Orkut social network isn’t new. It’s actually been around since 2004, the same year Facebook launched, but for some reason it never took off in America. Maybe it was the ugly user interface. Who knows. But we’re just one country. In Brazil, Orkut is the most popular social network, and it’s pretty heavy in India, too. As of this year, Orkut boasted 120 million users. We’re not saying Facebook should be on the look out or anything, but we’d hop on Orkut just for the women. [LINK]

GOOGLE DOCS
COMPETING WITH: Microsoft Office.

It’s no secret that the masses, for some reason, dislike Microsoft Office. Although the ‘08 version fixed a lot of bugs and introduced a lot of cool features, it’s still pretty bloated and hella expensive. Google has the remedy. An online office suite for $Free.99. It may not be as feature-filled or as robust as Microsoft Office, but… aight, it’s got a little ways to go before it takes the crown from the Redmond Roller, but you can’t beat a free office suite that you can use anywhere there’s a browser and online connection and allows you to easily collaborate with friends and co-workers on documents. [LINK]

ANDROID
COMPETING WITH: Apple iPhone, Windows Mobile and Symbian.

Having the default search application and being the default search engine for the iPhone just wasn’t enough for Google. They want you to be immerssed in the Googleverse at all times. Enter Google Android. Developed by Andy Rubin, the guy responsible for the T-Mobile Sidekick, Android is a powerful mobile phone operating system capable of running on a number of different handset models'full touchscreen, flip phone, etc. But the best part is that it’s completely open to every and any carrier that wants to run it and open to any developer that wants to make applications for it. We’ll see how the public likes it when T-Mobile releases the first phone running Android this fall. [LINK]

GOOGLE CHROME
COMPETING WITH: Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari.

C’mon, we all knew a Google browser was going to happen eventually. Regardless of what browser you currently use, we’d bet Darren McFadden’s rookie contract that you use Google in some form or fashion. Either you use GMail, browse YouTube (which they own) or you use Google for search like the majority of other web surfers. Well, now not only will you be using their services, you’ll now probably switch over to their lightweight, lightening quick, intuitive and somewhat intrusive new browser, Chrome. Using the webkit engine, they ~~stole~~ adapted a number of features from Apple’s Safari, Microsoft’s IE 8 and Mozilla’s Firefox and made a pretty promising product. [LINK]

Google Gets Artsy With Jeff Koons, Nigo & Marc Ecko

bfred — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:02:39 +0000

Manga master Osamu Tezuka’s iGoogle skins

Considering how much time we waste on Google, it would be nice to have something to look at other than a blank white screen. Recently, the company unveiled their new artist themes, which apply a variety of different looks to your personalized iGoogle homepage. Artists who contributed original skins for the project include Jeff Koons, Marc Ecko, The Beastie Boys, Os GÃªmeos and A Bathing Ape’s Nigo, plus over 60 others. Starting today, art from the series will also be on display on the streets of NYC’s Meatpacking District through the weekend. After the jump, watch Google’s video “trailer” hyping up the artist series.

[Google Blog]

Explore GTA IV’s Liberty City With Google Maps

bfred — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 22:09:27 +0000

Google Maps is basically the greatest thing to happen to navigation since the compass. Too bad we won’t have much use for it'since Grand Theft Auto IV dropped yesterday, we won’t be venturing outside the house for a few months.

In the meantime, IGN has created an amazing, fully-interactive Google Maps version of GTA’s new Liberty City. It works exactly like Google Maps, with a zoom function and dragable movement. Registered IGN users are continually updating points of interest throughout Liberty City as they discover them in the game, meaning you can select a box to view anything you want: mission locations, strip clubs, secret easter eggs, vehicles, etc. Once you display the general category, you can then click on the specific location to view the user-entered details. Now all they need to do is get a “Street View” function popping to catch those drug deals in action. Visit IGN to see the map, and check out the most recent GTA trailer after the jump.

[Google Maps Mania]

Google Plans Trip To Mars In April Fools Bonanza

bfred — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 15:41:37 +0000

Ever since Google released a mind-reading search engine in 2000, April Fool’s jokes have been an annual part of the company’s public persona. In what is surely their most ambitious hoax yet, they have teamed with Virgin to create “Project Virgle,” the first permanent human colony on Mars.

This elaborate joke has an entire page filled with information about the Mars expedition, including an application to become a Mars pioneer, a Mission Control community, a FAQ section about the trip and a full 100-Year Plan.

Only in a very small link within the FAQ section does it lead to an error page that displays the following message:

oh, all right. Fine. April Fool’s. Ha, ha, ha. It isn’t real. There. Are you happy? Does it please you to drag us out of our lovely little fantasy world, to crush all our hopes and dreams? Is that really what you need to hear? Fine, you’ve heard it. Virgle isn’t real.

Yet.

After the jump, watch videos of Google and Virgin founders explaining Virgle and read about Google’s other April Fool’s Day hoaxes.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin explain “Project Virgle”:

Virgin CEO Richard Branson explains “Project Virgle”:

MORE GOOGLE APRIL FOOL’S JOKES:

-In the Gmail service, users were treated to a new feature called “Custom Time,” which allows you to send emails into the past. Never miss a deadline again!

-On Google-owned YouTube, every “featured video” on the homepage links directly to Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up“.

-Google Calendar includes a new feature called the Wake-Up Kit that uses progressively more annoying methods to make sure you wake up for that appointment, including flipping your bed over and pouring a bucket of water on your head. Calendar also introduced a “Feeling Lucky” option when scheduling a new event, which automatically schedules in dates with celebrities.

-Google Books includes a new “Scratch & Sniff” feature that invites you to put your nose near the screen while it releases the odors.

[CNET]

Oakland’s Murder Map

bfred — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 22:24:57 +0000

Blue represents homicides committed in 2007, Red represents those committed in 2008.

On Tuesday, Oakland recorded its 34th murder (by contrast, New York'a city with nearly 20 times Oakland's population'has had only 99 killings this year). To map the out-of-control murder rate, the San Francisco Chronicle used Google Maps to show the distribution of every homicide from 2007 and 2008. Not surprisingly (least of all for the residents of East and West Oakland), the murders share some geographic characteristics. It seems like as long as you stay above the MacArthur Freeway, you’re going to live a long life.

Watch a video after the jump of Oakland residents reflecting on the historic murder rate and those they’ve lost…

Google Maps Catches Drug Deal In Action?

bfred — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:49:28 +0000

Photo: google maps.

Is Google Maps getting a little too close for comfort? After they released their “Street View” feature last year, which allows users to literally see people’s faces on almost any street, some said they had crossed the line into spying.

Well now, the above image has made its way around the internet, showing a man in Chicago exchanging a large wad of cash through a car window, in what appears to be some sort of shady transaction.

Apparently, Google has a van that drives around with a large camera mounted on the roof, taking pictures of the city streets to upload into their Maps website. Moral of the story: if you’re doing dirt, go inside and draw the shades. That is, until Google X-Ray comes out.

[Google Sightseeing]