Tag Archives: Google

Nerd Reaction To Google I/O 2013

Google I/O 2013 is over and there has been a deluge of new updates about services and tools for developers. Unlike previous years there wasn’t a fancy new device or jaw-dropping new technology debut. From a developer’s perspective, that’s just fine because what was announced was a strong foundation for future work on Google’s various platforms. Let’s review the announcements and their meaning by going through the platforms one-by-one. Read more

Google+ Platform Applications

On Feb 26th, Google revealed a series of new APIs that help mobile and web developers integrate their applications into the social network.

The way they’re engaging applications is interesting because it comes in three layers:

1. Almost every language, Almost every platform:
They’ve released code samples for just about every programming language and have made it clear that they have iOS, Android, and web development as primary targets for this API. Google has repeatedly stated that Google+ is Google. Meaning that it isn’t a product, but rather it’s involved in everything that they do. To me, nothing makes that clearer than attempting to drive all of this activity information into their social network. Read more

How a Wired Reporter was hacked using his Apple & Amazon accounts

We all have our weaknesses. Some people can’t resist the pull of bad reality television. Some are weak in the face of a Lifetime TV movie. Me? I am incapable of skipping past a devastating account of hacking. The kind of hacking that strikes fear in the hearts of people and involves losing precious, sentimental digital ephemera — photos, notes, etc.

This is exactly what happened to Wired writer, Mat Honan, who was hacked and lost everything. Honan recounts how the hackers got into all his accounts using his Apple ID, Gmail, and information from Amazon. It’s a great, horrifying read that will either put fear in your heart or make you feel super smug for being so savvy with all your accounts.

“I’m angry that Amazon makes it so remarkably easy to allow someone into your account, which has obvious financial consequences. And then there’s Apple. I bought into the Apple account system originally to buy songs at 99 cents a pop, and over the years that same ID has evolved into a single point of entry that controls my phones, tablets, computers and data-driven life. With this AppleID, someone can make thousands of dollars of purchases in an instant, or do damage at a cost that you can’t put a price on.”

Watch out boys, she’ll chew you up

Have you seen Google’s latest ad for Google docs? It features Hall & Oates and is hilarious.

Friday Links: Google Zeitgeist 2011

• Today’s the last day to Give Toys for Tots and remember the Bucklin Boys.
• Google Zeitgeist 2011 (aka The Year of Rebecca Black).
• 10 documentaries tailor-made for nerds.
• What A List Apart readers learned about the web in 2011.
• You know you want it, StarWars Nutcracker.
• Gifts for your Design Snob Best Friend.
• The messy art of UX sketching.
• Anatomy of an advertising emergency.
• An open letter to writers of open letters.
• The woman behind the iconic “Let’s get Mikey” ad for Life cereal has died. So has the co-creator of Captain America. Also, Christopher Hitchens.
• Okay, now that you’re sufficiently bummed out, here’s a penguin fetching a newspaper.

Friday Links: AT-ATs, nerdy vacations, and deadly sins

• 9 nerdy movie locations you should visit, just in time to make vacation plans for 2012.
• Edible gingerbread AT-AT.
• Stop Motion + Minecraft + Super Mario Bros = This video.
• Perfect secret santa gift for the chocolate-loving nerd in your life, handmade Space Invader chocolate bar.
• The most iconic weapons in video game history.
• Wired’s Geek Dad presents the 5 best toys of all time. It’s hard to find fault in this list.
• FTC and Facebook reach a settlement regarding user privacy abuse.
• Taxidermy Deer LEGO Kit a.k.a. $12 of awesome.
• Books for the geeky creative in your life.
• This isn’t so nerdy so much as the best thing I found on the Internet this week, The Rap Board. It’s super fun and will steal entirely more time out of your day than you anticipated.
• The seven deadly sins of StarWars.
• Swanky doodle, a nice story about Google’s doodles.
• Don’t forget you can give Toys for Tots to remember the Bucklin Boys.

Friday Links: The pros & cons of the Internet circa 1996

• If you’re looking to waste a large chunk of time, go on over to Supercut.org and get clicking. There’s a lot of good ones, but I really liked this the one featuring all the Holy. . . by Robin from the 60s Batman series. “Holy one-track bat computer mind!”
• Also, you should read The Video Remix ‘Supercut’ Comes of Age over on Wired.
• Apple’s 1983 holiday catalog.
• The pros and cons of the Internet (circa 1996).
• 60 years of Chevrolet speedometer design is much cooler to look at than it sounds.
• The 8 worst fonts in the world (and Comic Sans isn’t one of them).
• This was all over the Internet this week, and rightfully so. If you haven’t read novelist Mona Simpson’s A Sister’s Eulogy for Steve Jobs, you should. It’s beautiful.
• We’re pretty honored to be included in the Best HTML5 gallery.
• 10 nifty Google Easter eggs, for those of you who loved do a barrel roll.

Are you happy to be a product?

People’s opinons on Google and the goodness or evilness of the tech monolith seem to be as deeply ingrained and as passionately espoused as views on religion, politics, or which flavor of M&M is the best (pretzel, of course). A long time ago, I accepted the fact that I divvied my e-soul into three parts and gave those parts to Apple, Amazon, and Google. I’m okay with that.

Even so, reading Google doesn’t get people, it sells them was kind of unsettling and a little thrilling (like reading 1984). The GigaOm post covers a talk Don Norman, the author of The Design of Everyday Things gave at a conference last week where he discussed Google quite a bit, including this piece about the controversy surrounding the use of real names on Google+:

“Real names, they say, turn out to be the names on your driver’s license and your passport and your credit cards so that they can track you. Are you happy to be a product?”

While I don’t agree with everything Norman has to say, it’s thought-provoking and it’s good to have your thoughts provoked every once in awhile. It keeps you sharp, and as marketing grows ever more individualized one has to be sharp.

Friday Links: Short & Sweet Holiday-weekend Edition

• Mark Zuckerberg says something awesome is coming from Facebook next week.
• Speaking of, 9 reasons to switch from Facebook to Google+.
• The eternal shame of your first online handle.
• It’s more likely you will survive a plane crash or win the lottery than click a banner ad.
• Yahoo! and Yippie! Design differences 30 years apart.
• New stamps honor noteworthy American industrial designers.

Ridiculously hard Google doodle quiz

You deserve a break. Head on over to Boing Boing to take this difficult Google doodle quiz. It’s 12 questions and will test not only your memory, but also your powers of deduction. I took it twice and somehow managed a 58.3% both times.