google – Tales from the bits

Alternative to Google Search – Get you privacy back!

George Bagropoulos — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 07:13:02 +0000

DuckDuckGo is an alternative to Google Search that does not track or store your searches. DuckDuckGo does not store any personal information, e.g. IP addresses or user agents. This means that NSA or other government agencies around the globe won’t track your searches. Most important you will not get profiled by advertising agencies. You can find out how you are tracked here. As an added bonus, it has less clutter, less spam, less ads and an overall cleaner design.

DuckDuckGo was founded by Gabriel Weinberg in February 2008 in Valley Forge, PA (USA).

By May 2012, the search engine was attracting 1.5 million searches a day. The search engine currently gets over 120 million direct queries per month and this number is rising.

I want to keep my searches private so I am switching from Google to DuckDuckGo. What are you going to do?

Google drops price 88% for using Google Maps API

George Bagropoulos — Sat, 23 Jun 2012 14:58:52 +0000

Google lowered the online price from US $4 per 1,000 map loads to 50¢ per 1,000 map loads. This is a 88% price drop.

This move from Google happened two weeks after Apple announced that will use it’s own map technology in iOS 6.

Thor Mitchell, Product Manager of Google Maps API announced the move. He also added that “We’re beginning to monitor Maps API usage starting today, and, based on current usage, fees will only apply to the top 0.35% of sites regularly exceeding the published limits of 25,000 map loads every day for 90 consecutive days. We aren’t automating the application of these limits, so if your site consistently uses more than the free maps allowance we’ll contact you to discuss your options. Please rest assured that your map will not stop working due to a sudden surge in popularity. ”

Many sites might want to use OpenStreetMap project instead of Google maps.

Who said that competition is bad?

iOS 6: The battle begins?

George Bagropoulos — Mon, 18 Jun 2012 12:23:00 +0000

Apple posted the new iOs 6 preview. Among the new features is the new Maps application. This is a new Apple application designed from the bottom up. The new Maps will offer turn-by-turn spoken directions, interactive 3D views, and the stunning Flyover feature where available. By creating a new Maps application it means that Apple will stop using Google maps. As The New York Times reports Apple decision to enter the digital mapping world is not a surprise. If Apple fails then a lot of customers will run to Android or other mobile operating systems but if Apple succeeds then Google will be under pressure. At the end of its last fiscal quarter Apple had $110 billion in cash and securities, so it can afford the battle.

Other exciting features are:

Siri. You can ask Siri about sports scores and stats, where to eat, what movies to see — even ask to make Facebook posts. Siri understands more languages and works in more countries. Siri will also work with the new iPad.

facebook. Is now integrated thought iOS. A totally new user experience.

FaceTime. FaceTime now works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, so you can make and receive FaceTime calls wherever you happen to be.

There are also other new and exciting features such as an improved Safari, Mail, Passbook, new capabilities for the iPhone and many more.

I am looking forward to start using the new iOS.

Google Bypassing User Privacy Settings

George Bagropoulos — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 08:00:02 +0000

According to Julia Angwin and Jennifer Valentino-Devries, reporters of The Wall Street Journal, Google bypassed user privacy settings for the Safari web browser. In simple words, Google was able to drop tracking cookies even when the user has set Safari to block cookies. Microsoft confirmed that Google was using similar techniques to bypass privacy settings for IE. Google has released a statement for this issue stating that the cookies were not collecting private information. Google also stated that has stopped using the bypass.

Vulnerability in Internet Explorer

George Bagropoulos — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 09:32:20 +0000

The recent attack to Google, Adobe and other companies revealed a vulnerability that exists in many versions of Internet Explorer. According to Wired the attack was ultra sophisticated and targeted source code from Google, Adobe and dozens of other high-profile companies. The level of sophistication was equal to the attacks seen in defense industry. Microsoft has released a Security Advisory (979352). The products that are vulnerable are Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 8 on supported editions of Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 R2. The Advisory explains the vulnerability:
“The vulnerability exists as an invalid pointer reference within Internet Explorer. It is possible under certain conditions for the invalid pointer to be accessed after an object is deleted. In a specially-crafted attack, in attempting to access a freed object, Internet Explorer can be caused to allow remote code execution.”
George Stathakopoulos, of the Microsoft Security Response Center stated that “Based on a rigorous analysis of multiple sources, we are not aware of any successful attacks against IE7 and IE8 at this time……we have teams working around the clock worldwide to develop a security update of appropriate quality for broad distribution to address this vulnerability.”

This security vulnerability is serious for big corporations and governments that use Internet Explorer. The German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (known as BSI) recommends that all Internet Explorer users switch to an alternative browser.

Personally I doubt that home users will be affected from that vulnerability. Mainly the threat for the time being is for corporate and government users. In any case you should immediately upgrade to Internet Explorer 8. You may also choose to use another web browser until Microsoft releases a fix for this vulnerability.

7 Free Online Collaboration Tools

George Bagropoulos — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 19:34:17 +0000

Every day I collaborate online with team members that are in another country. There are several online collaboration tools that make online meetings easier. I have selected seven free (7) tools to present.

1. Skype

Skype is a great application for free Skype-to-Skype calls. It has also the subscription option that lets you call to landlines and sometimes mobile phone for a monthly fee. I heavily use Skype everyday. It has the option to share your desktop and you can send files easily by dragging and dropping them into the message area. With Skype you can keep a log with all your text messages and conversations. I have used Skype customer support and my experience was not a very positive one. I hope in the future to fix that.

2. Microsoft Live

With Microsoft Office Live you can share the documents you want with your peers. It is a free service from Microsoft. It comes with 5GB of space. Each individual file can be up to 25MB. You can give access to the users you want with right to view or edit the files. You can organize your files into folders, create lists and add notes. If you are on the move it is a convenient place to store your files.

3. Google Docs

Google Docs is a free service offered by Google. With Google Docs you can create documents, spreadsheets and presentations online. Google Docs accepts most popular file formats, including DOC, XLS, ODT, ODS, RTF, CSV, PPT, etc. You can share and edit simultaneously the files with other users that you invite.

4. Dimdim

Dimdim is a browser-based web conferencing service. It has both free and paid options. You can show presentations, collaborate via whiteboards, chat, talk and broadcast via web cam with absolutely no download required to host. I have used the free edition of Dimdim to host an online meeting. The results were satisfactory but you must know that in the free version you cannot save what you write on the whiteboard. The good thing is that with the free option you can have up to 20 participants to the meeting. Dimdim has also an open source edition.

5. Vyew

Vyew is a free web conferencing tool. It has also paid options that adds new features. The good thing is that you can save your online collaborations. You can host unlimited meetings and the free option allows for 10 concurrent users. It has voip, video and chat options. You can upload files or your desktop image. If you have an online business they have also an affiliate program (commission based). I signed to their affiliate program after evaluating their service.

6. Twiddla

Twiddla is a web conference tool with a grate whiteboard. They offer voice chat for the free edition. All feature are free for educational purposes. I have used Twiddla and I found it very easy to use, no downloads and works with all browsers.

7. Dabbleboard

Dabbleboard is an online collaboration application that’s centered around the whiteboard. It has both free and paid plans. It is a fantastic whiteboard tool, ideal for sharing your ideas with your team or explaining concepts to remote team members.

There are a lot more very good collaboration tools. I added only those that I have used.Most of the tools I mentioned here I have used in conjunction with Skype. If you know any real good collaboration tool that I have not tried yet please leave a comment.

Nexus One Phone

George Bagropoulos — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:48:34 +0000

Google presented today its new super phone Nexus One. It looks great and it sure will be a success.

The operating system is Android Mobile Technology Platform 2.1 (Eclair).The display is 3.7-inch (diagonal) wide-screen WVGA AMOLED touchscreen with resolution 800 x 480 pixels, 100,000:1 typical contrast ratio, 1ms typical response rate.

You can get all specifications here.

The tag line on Google store is: Web meets phone. In my opinion, the decision that Google took to sale directly the phone is strategic. The phone comes with impressive software and will redefine the phone market.