Google Wave

Not nearly as cool as they think it is, but still one of those "finally!" moments for the internet.

http://wave.google.com/help/wave/closed.html

The world is ending!

The world seems to be going completely crazy, as evidenced by the following:

Reason 1: GMail is experiencing a complete outage, including POP and IMAP servers. Fucking weak.

Reason 2: Alberto Gonzales agrees with the investigation into abuse of prisoners by US personnel.

Reason 3: I was accepted into The New School's MS in Economics program.

Gmail Autopilot: The best thing EVER

They said it best:

"As more and more everyday communication takes place over email, lots of people have complained about how hard it is to read and respond to every message. This is because they actually read and respond to all their messages."

Check it out! Gmail can now analyze your message and come up with predetermined responses! This should make checking my email much quicker ...

(For more info, see here)

I try to get out, but they just pull me back in.

GMail just introduced some pretty great new features. Not only does AIM now integrate with GChat, but now GMail supports Tasks. It really is upsetting how happy these features make me.

GoogleWatch continues!

Here's the latest information on trends in searches on Google. Nothing mind blowing, but the list did introduce me to a few things I had never heard of (e.g. Tuenti, a Spanish-language equivalent of Facebook).

Quick Links

Life is putting a whole bunch of pictures on Google. Some say these pictures are "important" or "historical."

Minnesota recount data. With 98.67% recounted, Franken leads Coleman 1,188,736 to 1,177,465. In my mind this is a lead of 11,271 votes, but since no media outlet is reporting it that way, I must be missing something.

Presidential portrait morph. Exactly what it sounds like.

Eisenhower's Wiki article. Random, I know, but I'm reading it. Did you know his grandson married Nixon's daughter? Because I didn't.

There's lots of cute animals on the internet, but this is the most endearing thing I've ever seen involving pets.

A different side of Google

This article (which I have only started, but find interesting) discusses the potentially embarrassing/illegal/scary/disappointing role of Google in defining modern free speech. I hope to see angry, swear-riddled rants (preferably in video form, as it is only fitting) discussing this to be posted soon.

Wal-Mart 2008

RealClearMarkets just posted a really interesting writeup of an updated Wal-Mart effect. In the same way that I am upset by my dependence on Google in the electronic world I am concerned by the increasing dominance of Wal-Mart in the retail sector. Possible discussion topics for people to use as rant starting points: dangers and advantages of a dominant chain in such an important market (remember how large a portion of income is spent on groceries, clothing, and relatively cheap entertainment goods); visceral reactions to Wal-Mart based on domestic and/or international labor issues; a comparison of Wal-Mart's and Google's strategies and popularity.

Another grammar check: If I am going to the house owned by Marcia and Dave am I going to "Marcia and Dave's house" or to "Marcia's and Dave's house"? I argue that the first is grammatically correct but that the second makes a whole hell of a lot more sense based on the fact that it demonstrates the possessive for each individual. Perhaps the entire sentence structure is flawed and should simply be rephrased to avoid confusion.

Google

I enjoyed reading this article. I followed a similar progression to using many of Google's features. And as for a large corporation kind of controlling my life, I believe Carr said it rather well: "If Google owns me, it’s probably because I am in favor of what works"

My 'Holy crap my life will be changed by this' moment of the week

Thanks to The Economist for informing me about how WiFi will be improved in the near future. The use of White Space frequencies between television channels may lead to "[...] unlimited access to WiFi hotspots that stretched for miles instead of a few hundred feet, provided unbroken connections even deep inside buildings, and offered broadband speeds ten times faster than today’s wimpy connections [...]"

I highly recommend you read through the end of the article because the last few paragraphs highlight Google's manipulation of the FCC to Google's own advantage. Yet another step toward Leviathan Google running the country using Internet polls, search trends (as mentioned by Carly in her post about tracking the flu), and wireless phone usage.

google, saving the world

I was very impressed with Google's developments in epidemiological tracking systems, given that people I talk to on a daily basis are frustrated with the difficulties in disseminating crucial and timely information. Google is ahead of the game- possibly 10 days ahead of the CDC! (That is an unbelievable number. Way to go, Google.)

I highly recommend checking out some of their other projects at google.org.