In the beginning they were all young an innocent, full of promise …
As time passed they became more powerful and more cynical …
And eventually, they turn to the dark-side …
Anything else to kill . GoogleWallet maybe … oh, no, already gone.
How about …
Aardvark (search engine)
Google Answers
Google Base
Google Buzz
Google Code Search
Google Dictionary
Google Fast Flip
Google Friend Connect
GOOG-411
Google Blog Search
Google Building Maker
Google Latitude
Google Offers
Google Questions and Answers
Google Schemer
Google Health
IGoogle
Google Image Labeler
Google Image Swirl
Knol
Google Labs
Google Lively
Google Mashup Editor
Google Notebook
Orkut
Google Page Creator
Picnik
Google Reader
Google Script Converter
Google SearchWiki
Google Sidewiki
Google Squared
Urchin (software)
Google Video Marketplace
Apache Wave
… did I miss any??
… Which one is due to go next ??
… Perhaps they could make Google search only work from Chrome …
I thought they did this some time ago … NPAPI plugins haven’t worked in the last few versions of Chrome (certainly since Aura)
People spent forever trying to get Java to work, but it just quietly fails, with no error at all … drove everyone nuts.
[EDIT]
I read somewhere that Mozilla/Firefox will also be dropping NPAPI (dunno if that means they’ll be going with PPAPI, but is there another viable option ?), and are considering not allowing Add-Ons/Plugins in the future AT ALL :
I’m not that bothered about NPAPI, the plugin authors had plenty of forewarning and should have caught up, and from what I read PPAPI plugins are all sandboxed, so the “idea” isn’t necessarily a bad one in and of itself, but “we’re removing your options/rights for your own security” Hmm now where have I heard that before :-\
Though I bet it’s nice to be the PPAPI tech owners … ulterior motive ? … probably, do Google do anything without one ? :o
Mmm, however, for people who have developed solutions around plugins where the plugin authors haven’t updated, it’s putting companies and entire business models at risk.
Take for example CCTV, I know of one or two installations that use VLC.
(run streaming server on camera, view in browser using VLC plugin)
So whereas I would agree a new / more secure / sandboxed model is great and the way to go … withdrawing legacy support and making people “buy” new stuff …
Where did we hear that before ??
Mmm, it’s a thought … although because Chrome is just a framework around other engines, what people seem to be doing is just writing their own framework and utilising the same engines as Chrome … or at least until recently.
“Everyone” seemed to be standardising on “WebKit” … but it seems that Google have forked webkit and now have a project called “blink”.
So Google and Opera are using Blink, while everyone else is on Webkit.
(and I’m guessing all google’s new stuff will be going into blink!)
So … even if you do fork google … or use the engines google uses … after a while you might find yourself horribly outdated.
(because google are redirecting all the work into their new fork …)
There is an issue with OpenSource software and it relates to project size.
Once a project passes “the threshhold”, the only way it survives is with commercial backing, and once you have commercial backing, it’s not “really” forkable.
(because in order for your project to compete, “you” would also need commercial backing)
(( the Linux kernel has lots of commercial backing and people who are paid to work on the Kernel by companies with an interest ))
I never felt comfortable in Chrome/Chromium … I tried to, but always ended up back in Firefox.
Chrome/Chromium always seems to suffer a new bug every release … they fix the one from the last version that’s driving people crazy, and introduce an entirely new one. At no point did I ever feel “hey this just works” like I did with Firefox.
And yeah “plugins” … no competition, not even in the same league.
I not to long ago read about Google doing away with NPAPI. I’m still trying to figure out when they’re going to ditch Flash completely so that we can have a DRM free option.
I’ve become so tired of flash, that I’ve started using YouTube apps that use HTML5. Of course I’m sure there will be a point at which HTML5 will become DRM.
Didn’t Google also unveil at one G I/O event that they were working on some file formats that were supposedly going to change the internet? I remember it was something to do with Webkit.
Either way, i just want to watch videos on the internet with a smooth experience, and crisp quality.
I’m really liking the new FF, but the scrolling still seems a bit junky. I’m sure smooth scrolling will come soon. :
Agreed, would be nice to have smooth scrolling before the page is fully loaded (particularly when searching), but I’ve never had a problem once the page is loaded.
The Linux Journal readers choice awards has Firefox significantly extending it’s lead over Chrome / Chromium lately … seems Chrome may be loosing favour with Linux users.
