[via SingularityHub / only ~ 3,000 YouTube views at time of this post]

You might also enjoy:

--Motorola Droid X vs. HTC Droid Incredible [Verizon/Android] --Droid 2 Specs Confirmed [Android/Verizon] --Updates Coming to HTC Droid Incredible [Verizon/Android] --Android Showdown: HTC Incredible vs. Motorola Droid [Verizon] --Droid X Full Review [Hands On] vs. HTC Incredible — Verizon Android Showdown

I still believe that RIM needs to get on board with Android but I read an interesting piece in BetaNews suggesting RIM will stay competitive with enterprise customers much like Nextel has. Nonetheless, RIM plus Android would be a combination that would strike fear in other device manufacturers because, sans Storm 1 and Tour, RIM builds really good hardware. Toss in a proprietary email app and some method of using RIM’s email push patents, and RIM has a red hot product. Will this happen? Not anytime soon and probably never.

You might also enjoy:

--Blackberry 6.0 set to the Black Eyed Peas [Video] --Blackberry Stratus 9100 Sneak Peek [VIDEO] --Salomondrin Posts Pics and Video of Blackberry “Stratus” 9100 --Music (Video) Mondays on Google Buzz --The Web Gets a New Anthem [VIDEO]

You may have noticed that I have been blogging less often.  Before I was averaging around two posts a day and now I’m down to a few per week. (During this slow down, page views and unique visitors have held steady. Thank you, Google.) The topic I covered the most frequently was mobile devices (mostly smartphones) and that will continue. However, it is becoming increasingly difficult to cover mobile devices for a few reasons:

1. Information overload makes blogging phones difficult. It seems like a new phone is announced or leaked almost every few days. Virtually every major tech blog now covers mobile devices heavily. Bloggers who rely on reading other blogs for post ideas need to sift through thousands of posts a day to stay on top of the latest developments. If you have interests in other topics too, you can expect thousands of additional posts to show up in your RSS reader. Unless you blog full time, it is difficult to stay abreast of current topics.
2. The mobile device blogging space is becoming increasingly saturated; is it possible to have a unique view of the iPhone 4 reception problems? I suppose but it’s unlikely. Is it worthwhile to write the 1,001st post about the HTC Evo 4G’s battery life? Hell, there’s probably an entire blog or two dedicated to the HTC Evo 4G’s battery life.
3. Products are less differentiated because Android is spreading like wildfire. Let’s face it, comparing an Android 2.1 to an Android 2.1 isn’t the most exciting thing in the world. If they’re running the same OS, then the phones will produce a somewhat similar experience. Sure, processing power, camera quality and other factors matter but high-end mobile devices seem to have much more in common than in the past. Frankly, it is difficult to remain interested in comparing somewhat similar devices, e.g., a Droid 2 and a Samsung Galaxy S Pro. Maybe Blackberry OS 6.0 will shake things up a bit but I see it more of a copycat OS than something revolutionary.
4. The “leaked” photos scene is the modus operandi of the industry. Almost every major manufacturer and carrier seems to intentionally leak photos and specs far in advance of launch. (One notable exception is Apple.) This is becoming increasingly transparent and Jonathan Geller (a/k/a Boy Genius) estimated that 70% of leaks are planned. So, if you want to be in the inner circle of reporting phone leaks, then you need to cozy up to device manufacturers and carriers like Geller. Bottom line: you’re not going to get your hands on a Droid X before Engadget. Of course, you can go the remaining 30% route and hang out in German beer gardens located near Cupertino, CA hoping for the next Apple slip-up.

These are just some of the reasons why I’ve been blogging less. Other reasons include being busier with other activities and shifting my blogging to Buzz ratio in favor of Buzz.

I probably bit off more than I could chew when I launched this blog in November. The idea was to write about anything tech that interests me. By doing so, I have become interested in more and more tech topics. Going forward, I expect to continue at my current blogging pace but to try to come up with unique posts and share more personal opinions (instead of regurgitating a bunch of leaked photos and planted rumors). I’m my own editor and can shift the direction of the blog at any time without running the decision up a flagpole. That’s one of the things I like best about blogging.

You might also enjoy:

--Social Networking Phones — KIN 1 and KIN 2 [Verizon] --HTC Portofolio of Phones for 2010 Q1&Q2 Leaked --Top U.S. Mobile Phones: iPhone (4%), Blackberry Curve (3.7%), Mot. Razr (2.3%)… --Microsoft’s Secret Event on April 12th: Unveiling Project Pink Phones --Citrix Receiver Coming for Blackberry and Android Phones

You might also enjoy:

--LinkedIN for Blackberry… Finally! --Google Voice definitely going VOIP --Students: Register for Google Voice, Get it Within 24 Hours --Google Voice Asks Users to Donate Voicemails --Google Voice: “Lite” is a Myth — Pick Your Number

Try it out:

http://office.live.com/?docsf=1&wa=wsignin1.0

Discuss it on Buzz:

http://www.google.com/buzz/jonathan.mallin/bnN3Rwnjnn1/Anyone-with-opinions-on-the-new-Office-online

You might also enjoy:

--Alltop… The Online Magazine Rack --Blackberry Beta Zone Goes Live --Microsoft Bing’s Amazing Augmented Reality Maps --Microsoft to Acquire RIM? Nokia? --Microsoft to be Paid Royalties on Nexus One Sales

1. Pick your carrier first: Your mobile phone experience will be severely hampered if you cannot get a signal or talk on the phone without the call dropping. Sometimes I’m asked what carrier provides the best service. Answer: it really depends on your geographic area. Some cities have good coverage by one carrier and not another. Ask friends, neighbors, etc. Maybe borrow a phone from someone on the carrier you are considering to make sure it works in your home.
2. Choose your platform next: The primary choices are (alphabetical order): Android, Blackberry, iPhone and WinMo/Windows Phone 7 (coming soon). I say people should avoid any device that doesn’t run one of those OSs.  Google “Android vs. Blackberry” and “iPhone vs. Android” etc. I would avoid relying on any source that relies directly on manufacturers for advertising revenue like print publications. Also, carrier websites are not that helpful in choosing a platform because they tend to present all options they offer as near equals. Even Palm still gets promoted. Ask friends what they use and whether they would switch to another platform if given the choice. (There are also some surveys on this subject like this one.)
3. Visit Official Websites and Carrier Websites: Now, with the exception of the iPhone, you may find your options somewhat confusing. The Blackberry Curve or the Bold? The Ally or the Incredible? Visit your preferred carrier’s website to compare the specs of the phones. Here are some links:
   • Verizon: https://smartphones.verizonwireless.com/ is a terrific site. It’s easy to navigate and displays only smartphones. Click on “Shop Smartphones” and then select the OS you want on the left.
   • Sprint: http://shop.sprint.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/DisplayPhones?INTNAV=ATG:HE:Phones provides a way to filter Sprint’s offerings to only display smartphones but it doesn’t offer a way filter by OS like Verizon’s site does.
   • AT&T: http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phones/pda-phones-smartphones.jsp has a smartphone section but only allows sorting by manufacturer, not OS.
4. Visit a Brick and Mortar Store: Narrow your choices to two or three devices and go to a corporate owned store, not an “authorized retailer.” Don’t pester the employees who are willing to push just about anything on unsuspecting customers. Just spend a few minutes with each smartphone. Try the camera, see if you like the screen, push the buttons and poke around a bit. Formulate a final opinion.
5. Order Online: I’m not a big fan of waiting in line at a store and being pushed a bunch of accessories while I wait for the smartphone to boot up. Have the phone shipped to you. It will come with detailed instructions and if you need assistance activating your phone contact your carrier.
6. Mark Your Return Period on Your Calendar: Many carriers will allow you to swap out your phone for a different model once within your first 30 days of ownership. If you really made a huge mistake, pay up the $20-$30 and swap smartphones.

If all else fails, pester the person in your social circle who knows smartphones the best.

You might also enjoy:

--Smartphone Rube Goldberg [Video] --J.D. Power Smartphone Report 2010: Survey Says… --Dell Mini 3 Smartphone Featuring Android to Launch in China Later This Month --Google Buzz Tips for Newbies --Google Chrome Tabs — 10 Tips & Tricks

I switched to Ubuntu for a few reasons.  First, most of the software I use exists in Linux form and often runs better under Linux than Windows. Google Chrome is a great example. It is screaming fast in Linux and clearly performs better than it does in Windows. Second, the only products I couldn’t adequately replace were high end Adobe products. (Office 2007 runs in Ubuntu with some tweaking, if that’s your preferred office suite.) In order to run these products, I run a Linux version of VirtualBox with Windows 7 inside of Linux or I boot up the computer into my Windows 7 partition (which I preserved from before… better safe than sorry). Second, Ubuntu has a one click “update everything on this computer” service. Windows updates the OS only and each program must be updated individually. In my opinion, this is a huge advantage to Ubuntu. Third, Ubuntu is more secure and doesn’t require virus checkers and spyware software bogging down the system. Fourth, Ubuntu is much more configurable than Windows. It’s somewhat analogous to what I wrote about the whole iPhone vs. Android debate. Configurable systems are not inherently better than less configurable systems. It depends on whether you prefer to tweak a system to your liking or prefer simplicity. Fifth, I really believe that Linux is the future and Windows is the past. Android is Linux and Google’s Chrome OS is Linux. I expect widespread adoption of both. Sixth, Ubuntu comes bundled with good, powerful software like OpenOffice, Rythm Box and many more goodies but it doesn’t come bundled with commercial bloatware.  Seventh, Ubuntu and many other Linux distributions are absolutely free. You won’t have to pay for upgrades either.

There are some drawbacks to moving to Ubuntu. As I mentioned above, not all software is available in a Linux flavor. Linux isn’t backed by a single, unified entity like Microsoft. Documentation and discussion boards are scattered throughout the internet (hint: Google is your friend when you have an issue). Additionally, the kid down the street who solves all your computer problems might not be well versed in Linux.

If you’re interested in trying out Ubuntu without making a permanent decision to move to it, I recommend that you choose from the following options:

• Create a “Live CD” or USB stick which can boot up Ubuntu. By doing this, you can check your hardware for Ubuntu compatibility. You can download the ISO for Ubuntu from Ubuntu.com.
• Download wubi.exe from http://wubi-installer.org. This installer is interesting because it doesn’t even partition your hard drive. It basically creates one large file in Windows that serves as the hard drive. It creates a dual bootup option for loading Windows or Ubuntu upon powering up. If you decide you don’t like Ubuntu, run wubi.exe again and it will clean everything up for you.
• If you have a reasonably powerful computer (dual core or better with > 2  gigs of RAM), you can virtualize Ubuntu within Windows following these instructions.
• You can partition your drive and install Ubuntu into a partition by burning the ISO to a CD and booting from the CD. This is a somewhat more permanent install than the methods above and I discourage this method for computer beginners or people who don’t know whether Ubuntu will play nice with their hardware.

Check out this impressive video of Ubuntu. This shows off Compiz which is a set of eye candy visual effects that are possible in Ubuntu.  I also like this video because it shows Windows XP and Adobe software virtualized in Ubuntu.

You might also enjoy:

--What does Ubuntu Linux look like? [Videos] --Linux Netbook Showdown: Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Jolicloud Pre-Beta --Windows Phone 7 Series [Intriguing] --How to try out Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx without screwing up your computer --Google Chrome Browser for Linux and Mac [Betas] Now Available…

• Android 2.2 “FroYo” debuted at Google I/O. Many people have it up and running on rooted Nexus Ones. It supports the creation of mobile hotspots which basically turns a FroYo device into a wireless router.  IntoMobile has been providing good coverage. It recently reported that the “leaked” version is not the final version, according to Googler Romain Guy, but it is apparently very stable.
• Google I/O attendees found HTC Evo 4Gs in their goodie bags, Oprah style. I’ve written about the Evo 4G before (which should have stayed with the codename “Supersonic” but, anyhow…).  What happens when you give an hot Android phone to hundreds of developers? Well, someone figures out how to gain superuser access by rooting the device (video). Robert Scoble started a high traffic Buzz comparing the Evo to the iPhone platform. Many newly minted Android fans weighed in and dueled with Apple fanatics. The iPhone 4G (or HD or whatever they decide to call it) has a fierce competitor comprised of Google and virtually every major device manufacturer.
• Mark Zuckerberg conceded by email (which he agreed to make public): “I know we’ve made a bunch of mistakes….” Captain Obvious? I wonder, however, whether they did as big a land grab as possible with a slight retreat in mind from the onset. Don’t know.  In any event, it remains to be seen what Facebook intends to do about the mistakes. I suggest that they include a lockdown button in the privacy settings which basically toggles off all information sharing except with friends. In my opinion, that would be a step in the right direction for Facebook.
• Gizmodo found or stole another prototype, depending on your perspective. This one appears to be the Motorola Shadow which runs Android. The story goes that a gym employee found one laying around and Gizmodo got ahold of it (follow link for pics). This phone looks great and it’s almost certainly Verizon bound. It could be branded as the “Droid 2.”
• The Google Orkut experiment is still ongoing. A number of Google Buzz users are playing around with Orkut and enjoying it. If you’re at all interested, check out my post about it.
• Finally, this blog has been getting very heavy traffic lately compared to historical numbers. I attribute that primarily to my posts about the HTC Incredible which is still back ordered at Verizon. I’ve loaded up on apps and if you don’t know where to start, check out my AppBrain page. Also, I redid the TechBottle logo in the header of the blog. Do you like it? Be honest. I’m on the fence about it but I’d rather read and write to the blog than tinker with the logo more.

P.S. I have something brewing with a major carrier. Expect good but very honest hands-on cellphone reviews.  It’s also possible I’ll have some leaked info about upcoming phones soon. Stay tuned!

You might also enjoy:

--Mashup of Best Tech Stories of the Past Few Days --Apple’s Lesser News of the Day… VOIP on the iPhone --Bad News for Blackberry [Survey] --If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz. --Google Finance Updated… Real-Time News Streams

I don’t think we’ll see anything surprising with Chrome OS other than possible improvements in speed. Afterall, it’s just an OS that boots a browser. It doesn’t support software installation. Chome OS will appeal to enterprises and anyone looking for a really inexpensive netbook (think: WebTV replacement).

It’s been confirmed that Google’s tablet will run Android, not Chrome OS. This makes perfect sense because the gesture/multitouch support is already built into Android. Also, Android is all about widgets and customization. Chrome OS can barely be customized because, as I always repeat, it’s just boot up to a web browser. Sure, you can install a Chrome browser theme but it’s fairly plain vanilla.

Hexxeh’s build of Chrome OS continues to garner media attention, including an impressive mention by the New York Times — Not too bad for a 17 year old computer hobbyist. You can download it today and begin playing with it.

[via Chad Catacchio at The Next Web via VentureBeat]

You might also enjoy:

--Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Google Chrome OS [Netbooks] --Chrome OS Netbooks — Hell Yes, Google will give away computers. --OnLive Broadband Gaming coming June 17, 2010 --Civilization Beta Tests on Facebook in June --Chrome OS Flow by Hexxeh Review

A Pickpocketer’s Delight

Confirmation that the Droid is a Manly Phone

Let’s Cause a Traffic Accident

Practical Application

[IntoMobile]

You might also enjoy:

--Motorola Droid X vs. HTC Droid Incredible [Verizon/Android] --Add Multi-Touch to Your Motorola Droid! --Blackberry Tour vs. Motorola Droid — Brief Comparison --Android Showdown: HTC Incredible vs. Motorola Droid [Verizon] --That $2.0B Bing Advertising Campaign in the U.K. (I just Googled about it.)

Here’s a new trick that hasn’t been blogged yet! Google’s url shortener at goo.gl can generate QR codes (which are 2D barcodes) just by appending “.qr” after the goo.gl url. So the url http://goo.gl/727X does a redirect to http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ and the url http://goo.gl/727X.qr will generate a QR code that also goes to http://www.mattcutts.com/blog/ . Pretty cool, huh? Please share this trick widely. :)

If you are unfamiliar with QR Codes, you can read my primer entitled “Blackberry Messenger Code ‘Decoded’: QR Code Explained and Free Generator.”

The easiest way to use the goo.gl URL shortner is to install Chrome MUSE in Google’s Chrome browser.

This is an example of a QR Code, one that would take the scanning device to the @techbottle twitter page:

@techbottle on twitter

[via Google Buzz]

You might also enjoy:

--Google Favorite Places QR Codes Explained… --Paypal releases Blackberry App for Sending Money! When will panhandlers have QR Codes?

• Price. Ubuntu and many other Linux variants are free.
• Security. Linux tends to be more secure and requires fewer patches to remain secure.
• Personal Preference. Linux can be heavily customized, much moreso than I’ve ever seen Windows customized.

Some drawbacks to running Linux include:

• Compatibility with Older Hardware. You could run into problems finding the right drivers for your hardware, particularly if own old hardware. Almost all manufacturers now provide Linux drivers on their websites for newer hardware and Ubuntu and other Linux variants come bundled with many of them, much like Windows does.
• Compatibility with Software. With some trickery, Linux can run Microsoft Office 2007 properly using WINE, a free Windows emulator than runs seamlessly within Linux. WINE comes bundled with many Linux variants. Alternatively, one might consider running OpenOffice.Org’s free Windows replacement suite. Some other software packages are incompatible with Linux even with WINE, but generally free Linux alternatives exist for virtually any application. Most of the programs I use come in a Linux flavor, including Google’s Chrome browser and TweetDeck.

If you’re curious what Linux looks like, you should watch the videos below which show off the UI.

The first video shows off the latest features of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx:

The next video shows off a heavily customized install:

This video demos the Gnome Shell 3.0 interface which comes bundled with Ubuntu 10.04 (to activate for one session: load terminal and type “gnome-shell –replace”):

This is what the Ubuntu Netbook Remix UI looks like:

For more information about Ubuntu, visit http://www.ubuntu.com/

You might also enjoy:

--Ubuntu 10.04 instead of Windows 7? [Linux] --Linux Netbook Showdown: Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Jolicloud Pre-Beta --How Google Works [Videos] --How to try out Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx without screwing up your computer --Google Chrome Browser for Linux and Mac [Betas] Now Available…

You might also enjoy:

--RCA Airnergy — Charge Your Phone Wirelessly from Wifi Signals [Coming Summer 2010] --Android Gaming [Video] --Civilization Beta Tests on Facebook in June --Chrome OS Netbooks Arrive in June --HTC Portofolio of Phones for 2010 Q1&Q2 Leaked

Android-x86 Project is a website dedicated to running Android OS on a PC. There are a number of ways of installing Android OS on a computer but I prefer VirtualBox because you do not have to replace your current OS or partition your drive. If you decided you no longer want Android OS on your computer, you can simply delete the virtual Android machine.

Android-x86 Project’s Wiki contains instructions for installing Android 1.6 in VirtualBox. You also need to download the ISO. Sound and internet connectivity work fine if you follow the instructions. The system even comes pre-installed with a few apps.

Obviously, you don’t get a really good feel for Android on a computer screen but you can form a preliminary opinion. I also found the virtual Android helpful in testing this blog’s mobile version for Android, iPhone, Blackberry Storms and WebOS using the WP-Touch plugin.

Thanks to Bill and TopDNBass on Phandroid’s forums for responding to my post about virtualizing Android.

You might also enjoy:

--How to try out Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx without screwing up your computer --Blackberry vs. Android --HTC Incredible, first 10 things to do with Android… --iPhone 3GS vs. Android 2.1 — Five Advantages to Each --Android Developers Complain

1. Begin by downloading VirtualBox (~70mb) and an ISO of Ubuntu 10.04 Lucid Lynx (~680mb). I recommend choosing the 32-bit version of Lucid Lynx (lucid-desktop-i386.iso) because it plays nicer with Adobe software (flashplayer and AIR).
2. Install VirtualBox. This requires no instructions.
3. Optional: Enable hardware virtualization in your computer’s BIOS. While this isn’t absolutely essential, it will help with 3D graphics, among other things. HP computers come with hardware virtualization disabled from the factory. Other manufacturers may ship with hardware  virtualization enabled. In any event, VirtualBox will show you a pop-up box if you have hardware virtualization disabled and proceed to the next step.
4. Create a “virtual machine” in VirtualBox:  Run VirtualBox. New -> Next -> Name the Machine anything you want -> Select Linux and Ubuntu (or Ubuntu 64 bit if you decided to download the 64 bit ISO) -> go with a base memory of 384 mb (you can change this later and allocate more RAM to the machine) -> Boot Hard Disk -> Create New Hard Disk (don’t worry.. this is simply a large file in Windows, it doesn’t partition your drive) -> Dynamically Expanding Storage -> leave Location alone ->  choose 8gb for storage (it expands when needed) -> Voila, you’re done.
5. Start the machine -> Next -> CD/DVD -> Select ISO.  Boom.. your machine boots up as if it were a computer starting with an Ubuntu DVD in the drive.
6. Follow on-screen prompts for time, time zone, username, password, etc. Note: The window will “capture” your mouse pointer. To move about the “host” OS (the non-virtualized OS), hit the right Ctrl key. To return to the “guest” OS (the virtualized OS), simply click the VirtualBox machine window.
7. It’ll take about 10 minutes to install Ubuntu but you should have a virtual computer up and running. But, you’re not done yet!
8. Install the “Guest Additions” ISO in the VirtualMachine. This will fix the graphics so you can expand the window or make it full size, Right Ctrl+F).  To install Guest Additions, Right Ctrl+D. This will mount the Guest Additions ISO for VirtualBox. Next, open terminal by clicking Applications -> Accessories -> Terminal.  Then type “cd /etc/mediaVBOXADDITIONS_3.1.6_59338″. Next type “sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run” for 32 bit Ubuntu or “sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run” for 64 bit Ubuntu. Enter your password. After a few minutes you will be prompted to reboot.  You can reboot Ubuntu 10.04 by clicking the power button in the upper right corner.
9. You should be ready to go explore. If you want to install Google Chrome, simply point Firefox (which comes preinstalled) to http://google.com/chrome and select the DEB package for either 32 bit or 64 bit Linux.

Have fun. If you don’t like Ubuntu 10.04, just delete the virtual machine from within VirtualBox or uninstall VirtualBox.

You might also enjoy:

--Previewing Android OS on a Computer --Ubuntu 10.04 instead of Windows 7? [Linux] --What does Ubuntu Linux look like? [Videos] --Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Google Chrome OS [Netbooks] --Linux Netbook Showdown: Ubuntu Netbook Remix vs. Jolicloud Pre-Beta

David Drummond, Google’s Chief Legal Officer and SVP of Corporate, posted to Google’s official blog this afternoon. The post is entitled, “A new approach to China: an update.” It basically states, in an artfully drafted diplomatic fashion, exactly what I wrote in the first paragraph of this post.

Mike Elgan posted on ITWorld.Com at 4 pm reason why this is a total slap in the face to China. He writes:

It leaves the Chinese government with three options:

1. Block mainland access to Hong Kong, which exacerbates frustration with Hong Kong’s special status and creates resentment on the mainland

2. Shut down the Hong Kong site, which creates resentment among powerful elites in Hong Kong

3. Allow Chinese citizens access to an uncensored Internet

None of these options are acceptable to the Chinese government.

A couple of hours later, China responded to Google’s crafty redirect. Again, Mike Elgan was on the story. The quotes from Chinese officials are as follows:

Google’s move is “totally wrong,” said a government spokesman, described as the “official in charge of the Internet bureau under the State Council Information Office” through the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. Further, he said, “Google has violated its written promise it made when entering the Chinese market by stopping filtering its searching service and blaming China in insinuation for alleged hacker attacks.”

The spokesman said: “This is totally wrong. We’re uncompromisingly opposed to the politicization of commercial issues, and express our discontent and indignation to Google for its unreasonable accusations and conducts.”

This in a year where the Internet is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize! :)

You might also enjoy:

--Dell Mini 3 Smartphone Featuring Android to Launch in China Later This Month --Google Buzz: Effects on the Blogosphere and Digital Media --Google testing allowing some users to login to multiple Google accounts; Thank You! --Google to Launch Facebook Killer, “Google Me” [Rumor] --Where Google is heading… Google Translation for Android

Search is our core technology; ads are our central business proposition; and apps are the umbrella over our web-based software that you can access anywhere, any time. While each of these has a lot of technology under the hood, the basic tenets for Search, Ads and Apps are very simple.

Although the videos state the obvious, they are well produced and, quite simply, cute.

In the first video, Matt Cutts, a Google software engineer explains the basics of search. I recently became familiar with Matt through Google Buzz. He operates a blog entitled “Gadgets, Google and SEO.” If you want to know about SEO, his blog should be your starting point.

The next video is presented by Nudu Janakiram, a Google Product Manager, addresses search advertisements. It states that “Google search results are always ranked completely impartially by computer algorithm. Nobody can pay Google to improve their position on our results page.”  Perhaps this video will also serve as Exhibit A in Google’s response to the European Union’s informal inquiry into Google’s practices which was instituted, in part, based on complaints by a wholly-owned Microsoft subsidiary.

Completing the trio, in the next video Vivien Leung discusses Google Apps and cloud computing. This Google segment is fundamental to it diversifying its revenue stream.

[via How Google Works via Google Operating System Blog]

You might also enjoy:

--What does Ubuntu Linux look like? [Videos] --Apple First?: RFID “Swiper” iPhones in the Works --Google testing allowing some users to login to multiple Google accounts; Thank You! --Google to Launch Facebook Killer, “Google Me” [Rumor] --Where Google is heading… Google Translation for Android

Click to Enlarge

You might also enjoy:

--Upcoming Blackberry Slider to look like Palm Pre [rumor] --Blackberry Slider — “Mr. T” — Patent Design from RIM --New Palm Pixi vs. Palm Pre --Droid 2 Specs Confirmed [Android/Verizon] --Confirmed: Google Nexus One Phone Coming to Verizon in the Spring

I’m starting a buzz campaign to bring Music Mondays from Twitter to Google Buzz. For those who unfamiliar with Music Mondays, people simply tweet the music they’ve been listening to lately to generate some Twitter activity and to help spread the news about good recording artists.

Music Mondays make more sense on Buzz than Twitter because you can embed YouTube videos directly into a buzz. Simply put “Music Monday” in your buzzes (hashtags on Buzz are for losers) and share your favorites. Maybe include a brief bit about why you like the song or how you discovered it.

My campaign is, admittedly, off to a very warm reception but a slow start because I only have 260 followers on my personal account and 124 on my blog account. Please consider rebuzzing this post with the buzz this link below or just buzz “Music Mondays are now on Google Buzz. Please post a YouTube video like this one…” To embed a YouTube video, just click on the insert link button in your buzz box and paste a YouTube URL into it.

My buzz tomorrow will be a terrific Beck music video with cool robots in it that I discovered on YouTube earlier today. Follow me on Buzz to see and hear it tomorrow. Click here to follow me.

UPDATE: If you want to search buzz for all Music Monday posts with videos, do the following search: “music monday has:videos”

You might also enjoy:

--If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz. --Google Buzz: Effects on the Blogosphere and Digital Media --Google Buzz deserves a second chance --Google Buzz — Complaints and Suggestions --Why Google Buzz is targeted at Twitter… not Facebook yet.

Click to visit www.glideos.com

Transmedia Corporation’s “Glide OS 4.0″ is an advertising-free, cloud-based operating system. You can access it through any web browser (including mobile browsers) and through a proprietary desktop app (Windows/Linux and OS X flavors). It has all the bells and whistles of Google’s free cloud services (calendar, email, documents, spreadsheets, etc.) and some other services not offered by Google:

• 30 GB of free online storage in the “GDrive” and a desktop app to automatically sync directories on your computer and in the cloud.
• The best web-based image editor I have seen. While it’s not exactly PhotoShop or GIMP quality, it will do the trick for basic use.
• An online version of PowerPoint called “Presenter.”
• It’s very customizable, e.g. you can set wallpaper and other custom options.

Frankly, I’m not doing justice to the scope of offerings available in Glide OS 4.0.  It’s truly a complete operating system that is remotely hosted. Glide OS 4.0 has been favorably reviewed by InformationWeek, PC World, CNET, eWeek and PC Magazine. Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal and David Pogue of the New York Times both wrote rave reviews about it.

A cloud-based  solution like Glide might be particularly appealing to those running Chrome OS on their netbooks (including the Flow variety I wrote about). Currently, there is nothing comparable though Office 2010 is supposed to have a cloud based version. As noted in many of the reviews of Glide, Microsoft is playing catch up with Transmedia’s free offerings. Glide OS 4.0 is completely free for up to 30 GB of storage. This would be more than sufficient for most and I intend to use it for my online backups. A 250 GB account runs $50 per year.

Check it out at http://glideos.com/.

[Thanks Brian]

You might also enjoy:

--Mini Review: Nimbuzz [Free] for Blackberry… IM/VOIP Client with Facebook Support --Mini Review: Blackberry MiniPaint Beta (Free) --Mini Review: Blackberry Ubertwitter Beta v0.932 “Leaked” --Mini Review: Seesmic Twitter App for Blackberry & Download Code --Review of BOLT Browser 1.5 for Blackberry (Free) with Download Code

If Microsoft acquired RIM, it would have tremendous penetration into the business consumer market for smartphones. Also, a takeover could make sense for RIM which is struggling to make its Blackberry operating system competitive. Specifically, the web browser needs work, although RIM is working on a WebKit web browser. Microsoft knows how to build a browser and I’ve read rumors that Windows Mobile 7 Series will have the be-all-end-all of mobile browsers. (Which may or may not be a great boost to WinMo… it’s, by all accounts, a little late to the party.)  I’ve read on other blogs that Microsoft has tried courting RIM unsuccessfully several times (often citing unnamed sources).

Nokia has struggled in the smartphone market and even though it has killer hardware (like the Nokia N900), it has also struggled on the software side. I’ve heard great things about Maemo 5 but bugs in the OS lead to substantial delays and a miserable launch for the N900. Nokia would be a more expensive acquisition than RIM based on market caps, $49B vs. $38B. It also doesn’t have a strong presence in the U.S. market.

Another potential target is Palm which once dominated the pocket organizer wars but has slipped considerably in recent years. It’s unclear what tricks Palm management might have to resurrect the company because it did not attend the Mobile World Congress or unveil any new products in recent months (other than the spruced up Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, if you count those).

So, it’s not entirely clear who Microsoft wants to take to the prom but, at least according to some of the sources cited by Reuters, it’s planning on going. The Reuters article is available at: http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61I54A20100219

You might also enjoy:

--Microsoft Office Online… Now Live [Free] --Microsoft Bing’s Amazing Augmented Reality Maps --Microsoft to be Paid Royalties on Nexus One Sales --With N900 to be released soon, why hasn’t Nokia (NYSE:NOK) seen a run-up? --Nokia N900 Walk-Through Video from YouTube (a re-run for some and an eye opener for others)

I was a Google Analytics fan until I was introduced to Clicky. I use the free version on this blog and my professional blog and I’ve found it to be valuable in analyzing web traffic. The setup is easy. The interface is intuitive. Additionally, it offers many advantages over Google Analytics, including:

• Twitter analytics
• Dedicated iPhone and mobile version
• Alerts
• “Juicy details” about every single user, including reports about every click
• Visitor organizations, hostnames, IP addresses — the works.

A full chart comparing Get Clicky to the competition is available at: http://getclicky.com/ It’s roster of clients include the Boy Genius Report, Mashable and Smashing Magazine. And, it’s worth noting that you don’t have to forfeit Google Analytics to use Clicky. One site can run both tracking codes.

Check it out if you want to know more about your website or blog traffic. http://getclicky.com/

You might also enjoy:

--Google Reader Improves: Monitor any Website… and Blackberry Tip --Reasons to write a blog… --Motorola Motoblur/Cliq Interactive Website Rocks --TechBottle Blog Milestone: 25,000 Visits --2009 Blog Stats for Tech Bottle & 2010 Goals

Last night Wired.Com posted up a good article that lays out a strategy Google could follow to dethrone iTunes as the leader in music distribution. Many of the suggestions involve leveraging the cloud and allowing users to stream their music purchases to their devices.

I have been thinking along similar lines. Google Chrome OS is just a browser and nothing more. It can play music stored up in the cloud but nothing locally stored. Although it is only intended for netbooks for the immediate future, if Chrome OS is to make the leap to the desktop, users need a way to manage and play their precious MP3s. If we could upload our music to Google and stream it back down to Android phones and computers running Chrome OS, Google would make inroads on the traditional buy-and-download model.

Music service LaLa offered a cloud-based solution for music but Google lost the bidding war to acquire LaLa to… Apple, of course.  The Wired.Com article is a good read if you find any of this interesting…

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/02/google’s-music-strategy-past-present-and-future/

You might also enjoy:

--Problems with the Google “Revenue Equation” and Solutions --Google testing allowing some users to login to multiple Google accounts; Thank You! --Google to Launch Facebook Killer, “Google Me” [Rumor] --Where Google is heading… Google Translation for Android --How Google Works [Videos]

What do I mean by “succeed”?  I mean that Google Buzz becomes a useful repository for information sharing that is frequented by many for news, opinions and sometimes everyday chatter.

Google Buzz Differs from Existing Social Networks

If Google Buzz succeeds, then a relentless flow of information will come into Google Buzz making it very sticky. This is very unlike Twitter, which I contend is not a very sticky site at all. Almost all tweets, other than casual banter, have outbound links. This has created a cottage industry in URL shortening. Tweets are essentially headlines that direct people away from Twitter into a different realm, often the blogosphere. While Google Buzz could be used to drive traffic into a different realm, it is much more sticky for a few reasons. First, there’s no character limit on Buzzes. Google Buzz could be a substitute for blogs, particularly simple ones like the Posterous blogs. (This is a topic I mused about before: “Google Buzz could become a Substitute for Blogs if…”). Second, there’s absolutely no start-up cost and it is easy to begin buzzing. You can login and can begin almost immediately. You don’t have to mess with customizing WordPress. Third, unlike Twitter (and Facebook to some extent), Google Buzz has very good support for images and video. Rich content buzzes are quite common. With Twitter, you needed an outbound link to see any rich content at all with the exception of user avatars. Fourth, Google Buzz has a good commenting system (which is likely to be improved) and discussions are easy to follow, unlike Twitter. With Twitter, even if you read a post on a blog and decide to comment, most likely you would do so on the blog and not via Twitter. Google Buzz, on the other hand, is self-contained and comprehensive.

Google Buzz is designed to draw people away from other sites and into Buzz. It’s baked into Gmail which many millions of people use daily. Google’s popular RSS reader also draws people into Google Buzz through prominent links in Reader. Google made apps for phones and cooked in a location sharing sharing feature via Google Maps (a la FourSquare). Picasa is wired into Google Buzz. Every buzz has an email link at the bottom for sharing it. This draws people into Google Buzz, not away from it. In other words, Google Buzz is well integrated with other properties in the Google ecosystem.

If Google Buzz Succeeds and it’s as “Sticky” as I say, then…

First, traffic to blogs will go down as Google Buzz becomes a substitute for blogging. As long as people can locate people with similar interests (and I’m sure there are third party sites mimicking “WeFollow” as I type and Google may roll something out too), affinity groups can stick with Google Buzz. Second, with rebuzzing, sharing via Google Reader and upcoming integration with Google News, sites that simply aggregate news will be irrelevant and unprofitable. Third, if aggregators are “buzzed out,” then what about the fate of publications like Mashable/TechCrunch or old media like the local newspaper? I predict that they will publish more original content  and less “mash-ups” or aggregated content. Further, they will be leery of  publishing their content to Google Buzz. Instead, they will try to stick to the Twitter model and drive people with outbound links to their websites to generate advertising revenue. Already, we’re seeing Mashable which boasts 2.3 million followers post outbound links as opposed to publishing directly into Google Buzz. This model could succeed if the original content is attractive enough to draw people away from Google Buzz to read it and the person chooses the outbound link over Google Reader.

How does Facebook fit into the picture? Surprise: Facebook wants to become what Google Buzz already is.

If Google Buzz does succeed and the blogosphere contracts, particularly the amateur blogosphere, it will do so where Twitter and Facebook have failed. As I already discussed, Twitter’s model was to aggregate headlines but it has not produced a sticky site. Facebook is a very sticky site but not for the same reasons Google Buzz will become a very sticky site.  Facebook is sticky because people want to share their life’s experience with people they know and/or read about friends and family.  Major media outlets and significant blogs have not yet gotten much traction on Facebook. People don’t want to pollute their stream of friends’ news with other content (like the backlash against Zynga’s games publishing into streams). Accordingly, I believe Google Buzz is very unlike Facebook… and in a useful sort of way. While theoretically Google Buzz could be used like Facebook, it is better suited as a sticky news and opinion social network of sorts. This is one of Facebook’s goals but Google actually has a significant head start because of its integration with other Google properties. This runs absolutely counter to what you read elsewhere that Google Buzz is a startup challenging a 400 million strong Facebook. I contend that Google is today buzzing with what Facebook wants to become. (Perhaps I just answered the question of whether Facebook and Google Buzz can coexist. Yes, Facebook for friends and family and Google Buzz for news-worthy content and opinions.)

You might also enjoy:

--If you missed Buzz this week… all the buzz is about… Buzz. --Google Nexus One being reviewed in the blogosphere… --Why Google Buzz is targeted at Twitter… not Facebook yet. --Google Buzz deserves a second chance --Google Buzz — Complaints and Suggestions

[via Alden Torres on Google Buzz]

You might also enjoy:

--Augmented Reality Baseball Cards by TOPPS [VIDEO] --Augmented Reality — Explained and Free Examples (Layar, GE, Papervision & BMW) --That $2.0B Bing Advertising Campaign in the U.K. (I just Googled about it.) --Microsoft Office Online… Now Live [Free] --Microsoft to Acquire RIM? Nokia?