The major software and computer companies always seem to be going at it, in some way or another. Maybe its just me, someone who’s been become fairly apathetic about the political process; in some way, I think I’ve become fairly apathetic about politics in the digital realm. Windows asserts smug dominance whilst its foundation is eroding. Mac blasts PC with baseless claims and smug elitism. Slashdot condemns everything but Linux and FOSS. Google continues to dominante, slips in certain places, gains in others.
Oh, why can’t we all just get along?
In any case, there are a few things that have been on my mind.
Google Chrome
Despite its initial success, Chrome is starting to lose some of its shine. The way I see the problem is that Google really isn’t trying to promote Chrome in any way. Being a beta product, it’s been noted there are still quite a few things that it can work on. Yes, they fixed some bug. Yes, they changed their EULA. And that’s about it.
Unfortunately for Google, not even commenting much on its new browser offering, let alone releasing more beta builds, is pretty much sentencing the software to obscurity. The browser market is very cutthroat; IE still dominates the market, Firefox is determined to keep its hard-earned user base, Safari… is just Safari, and Opera still struggles with desktop significance (though apparently it does well in the mobile market, and I guess the Wii as well).
My pitiful recommendation to Google? Keep it a hot topic. Have a blog where you keep us updated on what you’re working on, or highlighting upcoming features. Give us more builds of Chrome (it’s a beta, of course it’ll still have bugs and crashes).
In other words, don’t leave your user base hanging.
And fix things up so that I can view streaming video on Flash-heavy sites without it wanting my computer to explode. Venturing into Nico Nico Douga is always a trial with Chrome, even with such a simple action as scrolling the webpage whilst the video is loading.
Search – Google Desktop Search vs. Windows Desktop Search
Back in the day, I was a very avid fan of Google Desktop Search. The ability to harness the power of Google to search your own information was just incredible. Incredible enough that even Microsoft decided to release its own desktop engine, and have it embedded into Windows Vista (as simply Windows Search).
Unfortunately, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with GDS. The key to it for me was the quick aggregation of information whilst not utterly destroying my modest computer (a 2.00 GHz Intel P4 Northwood, 512MB DDR, Windows XP, 80GB HDD at 5400 RPM). While it doesn’t quite destroy it, GDS does interfere with normal day-to-day operations.
One of my greatest complaints about it was the fact that I couldn’t control the times when to index, and when not to. I’m all for automation, because the vast majority of users could benefit from it. I am most definitely a power user, though, so I have the know-how and drive to tweak my settings to best suit my needs. Microsoft is easily able to have a “Index Now” button ALONGSIDE the normal automated approach. Why can’t Google? A little more user empowerment for those who want to tinker, and nothing else changes for the non-technical users.
The other great complaint I had about it is the general slowing of performance that GDS had. For me, first and foremost, GDS is a digital search appliance. It must fulfill that function, and it must do it well. Performance is key to search. Yet, Google has this mind-boggling philosophy that GDS should be Widget Central. Oh, my, Lord. Aside from aggregation of multiple data sources, why should resource-using widgets become such a huge focus by Google? Not to be presumptuous, but let developers develop for it, while you (Google) work on improving the information platform itself.
For the time being, I’ve been using Windows Desktop Search, as the performance and indexing issues for GDS were just too aggravating. WDS does what it does: it searches and indexes, it tells me about its progress without trying to open a whole browser window, and it lets me retrieve information fast and easily. In some ways, I find it better (right-click context is better, better indexing controls, less intusiveness and lag). In some ways, not as good (no CTRL, CTRL combination to start a search like GDS, searches take a little longer), but it gets the job done without messing with my computer much. Which is exactly what I’m looking for.
Of course, after I say all this, I realize there’s a relatively new GDS version that focuses on performance.
I hate my timing.
Terramaria Woes
My Mac likes and doesn’t like me. Well, I guess it’s mainly Safari. And iPhoto. iTunes is a bit tsundere to me. But whatever.
I’m inclined to think that the horrid crashes I’ve been getting on the Mac has to do with the graphics card, which is this old 32MB AGP artifact. I do have a 64MB nVidia GeForce4 MX440 sitting in a closet that I’ve been meaning to swap in.
The thing that bothers me is that the crashes only happen whenever I’m using Safari. Not only am I using the most updated version of it, but I’m also exclusively reading text when I’m using it: Wikipedia, some simple webpages of mine, and some PBwikis that I add content to. I would be reading several blocks of text on the screen only to find I can’t scroll the page or move the mouse cursor. Bleh.
I’d love to install Firefox or Opera as a replacement, but that defeats the purpose of learning tips and tricks with Safari. Moo.
Also, according to arai, he owns the patent on saying “moo.” I guess I owe him ten bucks now… damn.
Victoria Comeback
I’ve been itching to reinstall Windows Vista again, because I’m at least open-minded enough to actually use it effectively. With more and more people forced to use it, though, it’s been kinda’ lonely. Yet, I’m still apprehensive about putting it back on my machine.
It’s not so much that I hate Vista or hate using it (I don’t). It’s just going to be a real pain in the rear creating a quad-boot rig. XP Professional, Server 2003, Solaris 10, and Vista.
Not fun, for completely different reasons.
