guillee: I met both Carl Page and Larry Page at a party hosted by a Stanford friend of mine in 1998. Carl gave me his card for eGroups and said “we’re hiring”. Larry gave me his card for Google — a flimsy bit of paper obviously printed by bubble jet — and said “we’re hiring”. I said, “Nah, who needs another search engine?” and went to graduate school. I still have the card. What’s the most expensive mistake you’ve made at work?, on Reddit.
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guillee:

I met both Carl Page and Larry Page at a party hosted by a Stanford friend of mine in 1998. Carl gave me his card for eGroups and said “we’re hiring”. Larry gave me his card for Google — a flimsy bit of paper obviously printed by bubble jet — and said “we’re hiring”.

I said, “Nah, who needs another search engine?” and went to graduate school.

I still have the card.

What’s the most expensive mistake you’ve made at work?, on Reddit.

Source: guillee

China Unveils State-Run Online Mapping Site

China’s State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) today unveiled a state-sanctioned and produced online world map, called simply “Map World” that an official predicted will, “In the near future, Map World will grow to be a famous Chinese brand for online map services with proven reliability.”

Comparing the satellite imagery between Map World, Google Maps and Bing, China’s new mapping site doesn’t allow you to zoom-in as close, but has much clearer imagery:

Map World:

Google Maps:

Bing:


Google Demo Slam.
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Google Demo Slam.

Source: demoslam.com

brit: I have to admit that I’ve never been to a Best Buy at 9am before. But I had to be first in line to check out the swanky new Google TV displays. Swing by your local store to see it in person and to try the demo for yourself! Awesome. Some hands-on time would be great.
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brit:

I have to admit that I’ve never been to a Best Buy at 9am before. But I had to be first in line to check out the swanky new Google TV displays. Swing by your local store to see it in person and to try the demo for yourself!

Awesome. Some hands-on time would be great.

Source: brit

Google TV Owners Find A Hulu Loophole

Gadgetwhore.org is reporting that it was able to stream videos from Hulu.com after changing the user agent of Google TV’s integrated Crome browser — a relatively minor settings adjustment that can be done even by average users (hat tip to SimplyGoogleTV).

I’ve done plenty of Google TV bashing over the past few weeks, so I thought I might pay it some compliments to show that I’m not a complete Apple nazi. Keeping options like this available to users is the biggest advantage that I see the Android OS having over iOS. (This still doesn’t even begin to make me consider purchasing a standalone Google TV device though.)

brit: Today, the world’s first Google TV-powered HDTV goes on sale (and by “sale” I mean pre-order, but you can pick up a real device in-store as soon as this weekend). Quite a milestone for the industry - the next few years of TV innovation is going to be fun :) As a combo product (TV with Google TV integrated), I’d definitely consider purchasing one of these TVs. Like with 3D these days, most people will want to get the technology just because it’s new and they don’t want to be behind-the-times. That’s not to say I’m with open arms about Google TV. I still have reservations about its current offering, and wouldn’t consider buying a stand alone Google TV product. So you better believe that if/when Apple comes out with their own branded television, I’ll be getting one of those.
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brit:

Today, the world’s first Google TV-powered HDTV goes on sale (and by “sale” I mean pre-order, but you can pick up a real device in-store as soon as this weekend).

Quite a milestone for the industry - the next few years of TV innovation is going to be fun :)

As a combo product (TV with Google TV integrated), I’d definitely consider purchasing one of these TVs. Like with 3D these days, most people will want to get the technology just because it’s new and they don’t want to be behind-the-times. That’s not to say I’m with open arms about Google TV. I still have reservations about its current offering, and wouldn’t consider buying a stand alone Google TV product. So you better believe that if/when Apple comes out with their own branded television, I’ll be getting one of those.

Source: brit

Google Car: It Drives Itself.

The resulting image from the rooftop laser scanner is pretty amazing. Check it out around the 1m10s mark.

Source: abcnews.go.com

Android Chief Likely Out Of Breath After Non-Stop Excuses For Carriers In Interview

Andy Rubin:

I’m not trying to be a wireless carrier, I’m not trying to assert authority over the wireless operators

It’s a shame. If anyone has the power to be a real wireless carrier contender, it’s Google. With the amount of brilliant engineers (and cash, really), Google would be the perfect candidate to buy up some wireless airwaves and really dominate the space with ad-based subsidized services. They wouldn’t have to submit to the demands of current carriers and instead could continue to focus their platform on the innovation that really sets Android apart.

The way things are going right now, Google has set Android (and Google TV) on the same track as Windows. The platform(s) will reach mass adoption and gobs of money will be made. But I think as companies continue to segment development into their own turf, the user experience will begin to suffer. Sure there’s a bunch of cool things being made on Android—many coming from Google itself. And I’ll even admit that I wish some of them showed up on my iPhone. But theres small subtle details, such as the rubber-banding effect, that have less than stellar performance on the Nexus One that Android was originally designed for. I can only expect those subtleties to splinter down and become not so subtle under the hands of 3rd party developers.

As often as Apple updates their product lines (usually about once a year), I can still feel confident that when I purchase a new iOS device, it will not only be supported but specifically developed for. I know that the developers that make the games that I purchase run tests using the same hardware and software that I will be using it on. In that way, I also trust that any bugs/errors I experience can be expressed right back at the developer without confusion. I can also feel safe that any further development will be continued on the same hardware/software roadmap that I plan on sticking to. I don’t get the same kind of feeling with Android phones.

That’s just my opinion.

Google Latitude

Today, you can now visit a dedicated site that makes it easier than ever to use Latitude when you’re already on your computer. From the Friends tab, you can:

  • See where your friends are on Google Maps
  • Add friends and accept sharing requests
  • Control your privacy settings

Mayorships and loyalty discounts are great, but I’m starting to get tired of badges and some of the other game mechanics that geolocation is so well known for these days. I just want a stable platform that can keep my location history with an always up-to-date database of locations. I’ve been hoping that Google Latitude would be the one to provide that. 

Source: google-latlong.blogspot.com

Google TV will revolutionize television once viewers understand it

Instead, just consider for a moment how Google TV will bridge the worlds of television and Web video and bring them together to alter your television-viewing experience.

The “full web” on TV just isn’t very compelling. I think the issue lies with the necessity of a keyboard, whether it’s hardware or software. A web experience on the TV has to distinguish itself far enough apart from using the desktop. Otherwise people simply won’t see the benefit of it. How many Wii/PS3/HTPC users do you know that browse the web on the TV more than their main computer? If Google TV relies on web video by means of their built-in web browser (which they have mentioned), then they’ve failed and the extra features will have no added benefit.

If Apple implements iOS apps on the TV quickly and markets it the right way (which they almost always do), I think they’ll win out with the lower price point and simpler user interface.

Logitech Revue Keyboard:

TV Remote: