Google on Mars

After viewing the entire earth and moon (which I just know also :( ), Google has expanded his Google Maps to the red planet, Mars . Of course, you can't view driving direction or finding a business or restaurants, etc (maybe soon.. :)). Instead you can view mars from three different formats, which are Elevation (coloring by altitude), visible (surface in black and white) and infrared (coloring by temperature, cooler is dark, warmer is bright). You can see Google Mars at mars.google.com. Enjoy..

Google and Web 2.0

Recent news said that Google has already acquired one small company called Writely. Maybe it's usual thing that company like Google acquire small company. But this one can get the hype, because many thinks that Google will make products that will be an alternative to the well-known Microsoft Office. And another area that gets a lot of attention is the growing of what is called web 2.0. How do existing Big Company such Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, etc compete with other to get the next wave of dotcom? Let's see. (This is typed in writely and post to this blog :D ).

Origami is UMPC

Microsoft has already revealed what is Origami? It's UMPC, Ultra Mobile PC. As self-described from the name, it's a paperback-sized mobile device with powerful processors, big, bright displays, easy input options, and support for the latest connectivity standards [http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/umpc/hardware.mspx]. Some details like there won't be any feature keyboards, so must use another mini-keyboard via USB-port. "It’s not a pocketable device, but it’s certainly small enough to be kept close at hand, and the fact that it runs Windows means that it can do a variety of tasks, from productivity to games to media consumption." [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2077503,00.html].
Ok, so let's see whether this will be a successful product? A big question mark.

GDrive, GDS and Lighthouse

This is new rumour that already spread over the internet. Google has a new initiative to offer online storage service. At Forbes, one of Google chief executive has already confirmed the existence of GDrive, an initiative that allow users to store their personal file on Google servers and access them on the web.

Previously Google has published one PowerPoint Slide that was removed later. There's three terms was informed inside that Slide: GDrive, GDS and Lighthouse. Idea of GDrive is quite easy to understand, it's like huge storage accessible through internet. GDS maybe refer to Google Desktop that is currently already in version 2. So, what is Lighthouse? Not so much information about this, some predict that this will be a security function that control access to documents and folders (ZdNet). "For example: a user's Orkut profile has more value when it's accessible from Gmail (as addressbook), Lighthouse (as access list)"

Apple Releases 2 New Products

Apple releases two new products, one of them add more features to its popular iPod music player, Home Stereo System, which costs around $399. Another is new-generation of Mac Mini, that now will run on microprocessors made by Intel Corp, which costs $599 (Mac Mini Solo) and $799 (Mac Mini Duo). Most analysts said they are quite underwhelming for these two releases. But just wait, how Apple market this two new products.