GeeKs Blogging @ dotCOM » Google

Google offers “Google Offers”

Nitin Jain — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 03:28:49 +0000

So finally, Google-Groupon comes to town !!

After the desolate and failed bid to acquire Groupon, Google was widely rumored to be working on its own Groupon with the Google branding. Well, the cat is out of the bag now. Google has launched “Google Offers” as a straight, head-on competition to the daily coupons, and daily discount sites like Groupon, Livingsocial, sosasta, dailydeals, snapdeal, and many similar clones which most got going after the phenomenal success of Groupon.com.

Google Offers is a service that allows daily deals and special offers to be delivered right to your inbox. You can simply buy the coupon at a discounted price, and walk over the shop offering the deal of the day to redeem it.

Google, obviously, has a very big headway over the other vendors because of the tremendous customer base that it already enjoys. Moreover, Google Offers is said to be well integrated with the other Google services already like the Google Wallet, making it all the more easier to use.

Yes, the product is squarely aimed at Groupon (the biggest of all the clones), since Google does use the location information from your computer or your mobile phone to deliver the deals specific to your area. In the demonstration that google did, Google Wallet was used to make a purchase, and the Google Offers coupon that was available to be bought, was automatically applied to that item!

Check out how Google Offers for businesses works, in the video below

The service has already been rolled out in Portland, Ore. Read all about it on CNET.

Groupon is today valued at approximately $25 Billion after it announced its plans to come out with an IPO shortly. But, the industry analysts have also cautioned that this may be another Internet bubble since Groupon does not really have any assets, or a unique or non-replicable business model to justify these valuations. Just wondering, should Groupon have taken it up when Google offered upto $5 Billion for it ?!! How do I know it, *Rumours* I tell you !!

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Nitin Jain — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 12:00:20 +0000
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Google PAC-MAN

Nitin Jain — Sun, 23 May 2010 21:13:44 +0000

hi Guys..

Great news!! Google has always been at the forefront of technology. It has many a times defined the things to come. Now, Google has done it again.

Google homepage is probably the most important property on the Internet today. God, if they opened it up for external advertisements, I am just wondering what the winning bid in the auction would be!

Well, another thing that Google homepage has been famous for (except the retouch done to it recently), is the Google Doodle. On many special occassions, Google has been redesigning its logo to suite the occassion, to celebrate it, and to show regards to something that happened in history. This time around, however, I feel what Google did, was totally revolutionary.

Google celebrated 30 years of Pacman by creating a Doodle out of it. See the fantastic still screenshot below.

Google PAC-MAN

The difference between this one, and the previous Google doodles is, this was only the second time that the Doodle was animated. The first instance was an apple falling, and Sir Issac Newton observing it fall.

The revolutionary aspect of this doodle is that it was written in HTML5, the new paradigm on the Web. With this, I see a strong support from Google stable towards HTML5, and an indirect dig at Adobe. Boss, just wondering, does this spell the end of Flash as we know it?

Google has just substantiated what Apple’s Steve Jobs remarked a few weeks ago. Flash has done pretty good service over the years. But now, it’s time. HTML5 is the new way to go. The best part is, the new standard is just as much, if not more powerful than flash in its current form. Though it was taken off air after 22 May, a lot of people over the internet did public service by making it available offline on their websites. I am not sure on the legal aspects of such a move, to be honest.

Well, the good news is, Google has decided to make this game available to everybody, for some more time, albeit not on their homepage. Check out the link, www.google.com/pacman. Thanks Google!

I am getting a little nostalgic now, to be honest. I remember playing for hours and hours continuously on my XT/AT comps, way back when I was a kid. Really used to mess up my dad’s machines because of my love for PACKMAN !! With the advent of the Pentiums, the same game would just run too fast for me to handle, and it lost its charm when my old comps went out of order. Now, I am back at it again!! Thanks, Google..

Boy, would I like to work at Google for a couple of months?! Not because of the free lunches, or the colorful office attire, but J-L-T. You know, and I know, it’s not possible!!

hey.. what’s your best score at Google’s PAC-MAN?? Mine is 40,000+

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New Google Chrome Ads

Nitin Jain — Sat, 22 May 2010 19:12:20 +0000

Hi guyz…

All of you must have noticed up till now, as to how big a google fan I am. After all, there has been a fair amount of Google activity on this CRM blog!

But, hey, this is a Technical platform, open to ANY technology, not just CRM..

Following are some of the new advertisements released by Google, for its new Chrome browser. We all talk a lot about keeping it simple in Software Development. And, we also know that Google has produced some of the most complicated softwares in the world till date.

Well, simplicity is easier said than implemented. Google gives the best example of relating to the non-techies in the recently released ads below. I liked them, what’s your take?

In the first one, the music gives the old, rustic feeling. Rudimentary mechanical images at work to explain the new features.

In the second one, Google promotes its Universal Translation feature supported in multiple languages around the world. Google also takes a jab on the phrase, “Something that seems simple, isn’t always so simple”. Check out the one below..

PS. Normal CRM posts from me would revive in about 2 weeks. I have something urgent and critical lined up. In case you wish to write something, you are most welcome. Just drop me a note on admin@geeksbloggingat.com. Cheers!

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Google Advertising Chrome now?

Nitin Jain — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:01:21 +0000

Well, here it is. After Google advertising its Search, it’s the turn of its Web Browser, Google Chrome to be advertised now!!

Check out the video below:

As a matter of my personal choice, I liked the Search ones better.

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Google goes down??

Nitin Jain — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:30:30 +0000

whoa.. just couldn’t resist posting this…

just tried to log onto Google.com.. look what I found..

Google Down

Google is supposedly the most stable web address on the internet.. remember the secret sauce by Mr Page???

Just once in a while .. this happens too I guess..
Just thinking.. now that Google has loads of money in its bank.. doesn’t this call for a redesign?

Regular columns coming back soon.

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Google advertising its Search??

Nitin Jain — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 00:53:51 +0000

Is the Bing competition really heating up enough to give Google the jitters? That is the question that you may ask on the basis of Bing’s rising popularity, and Bing fast becoming the engine of choice for many.

Yet, this seems premature since at least one of the reports has shown Google Search still occupying the apex position with more than 72% of Search Market share. Search has been one of the biggest cash cows for Google, which it continues to milk. Whether it is happening today or not, Google probably cannot risk it.

Somebody has said, “The best mode of Defence, is Offence”.

Now, the question, how often do you use Google Search?
What all do you use it for? Which all sections of the society could potentially be using Google Search?

Check out some interesting Google Search Advertisements that I ran across on YouTube last night. They definitely make an interesting watch.

Who else?
Do you think Batman would have a use for Google Search somewhere? Think again..

Seems quite some use for Google in everybody’s life, eh?? As if we don’t know!!

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Google gives words a new meaning

Nitin Jain — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:21:33 +0000

Now that Internet is beginning to threaten so many Traditional Trades and territories, things just keep coming with a greater force. Twitter, TV Channels, and other social media have defined the doom of the Newspapers as we know them today. There have been several reports, where people prefer using some of the online media for getting information faster rather than waiting for the newspaper to arrive at the doors the next day.

Dictionary is another one of these domains where some of the traditional websites like the Free Online Dictionary and more traditionally Wikidepia (though more oriented towards Encyclopedia) have been taking more and more of the pie in comparison to the traditional ones in the Book Form Factor. Dictionary.com and Thesaurus.com have also been some of the more popular ones.

It seems Google has taken a plunge into this world too by launching the Google Dictionary.

I just tried a few words and the results seem to be pretty decent. It comes out with some clear advantages which could help making it the Dictionary of choice.

The design is simple and minimalistic. This makes the page load faster.

I noticed that ads are missing on the page. Forget about external advertising, Google Ads are missing too. But, then, I guess that is just a matter of time. However, for the time being, it gives the page a clean kind of look.

Seeing is believing! Take a look at the image below.

Google Dictionary

The page is easily segregated into Google Dictionary meaning towards the top, and the other results from other websites titled, “Web Definitions” in the last section. The middle section provides other words with semantically similar words, with the label, “Related Phrases”. More on that later.

The results returned in the Web Definitions section are from amongst some of the typical websites that we have been using up till now, like Princeton, Wikipedia, etc. etc.

One of the features I particularly liked was the ability to star the word I just searached. While preparing for my Management entrance examinations, I remember it being a feature I used to crave for! And, this seems to be only one of the several features borrowed from its more popular and the youthful cousin, the formidable Google Reader.

All the words that have recently been starred are shown in a list towards the right, for easy reference later. Just below the Starred Words appear the recent searches tab. I, personally, see this as yet another attempt by Google to invade on my privacy. This feature is obviously linked to my personal login id for Google to keep track. Yet, this is just one more instance in the list where Google collates yet more information about me as an individual.

Does Google Dashboards really help? Give me your take on this.

I searched for “dog”, and the Related Phrases section returned phrases like, hangdog, hearing dog, sea dog, guard dog, etc. So, probably you can make out what I am talking about.

Poof.. does this new section by google run out of features ever..?!!

Another interesting feature is returning a set of images, something like Google Images search, corresponding to the term just searched. A Visual Image definitely helps in better memory retention than just reading words, and their meanings. It is easier to teach a young kid the meaning of words this way.

The words I searched for, returned the meaning, plural, person, tenses, corresponding participles, usage in sentences, Synonym, Antonym, slang usage, and so much more!

Near the end of it, the most interesting feature – The language to language translation. Towards the top, where we enter the search term, google if offering one more choice, that of translation of the word into some other language. So much for Google’s investment on Google Translate feature which helps translate words and sentences into multiple languages. I am throwing out the English <> Hindi dictionary weighing nearly 10 lbs. out of the window ASAP.

Shortcut tip: when searching on the Google search page, use the syntax “define: search term“. For eg. “define:conundrum”

Also, we have reports arriving telling us about a Firefox Add-on which adds the option Define “
” as an option on the right click menu options. Reduces Google Dictionary to being just one click away, doesn’t it?!!

I have seen extensive reviews of it over the past few days on
Texhnixupdate ,
GSM Arena ,
NKJLive ,
TechCrunch and
The Next Web among others.

I see this as an example of my pizza with all the possible toppings on top ever invented in the world, on top of it. I guess this leaves the competition faaar behind with all the features. The new innovation by google gets thumbs up from me. What’s your take?

Aaaah.. don’t miss the official Google copyright and link towards the end of the page, when you check out Google Dictionary here.

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Nitin Jain — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:39:20 +0000

Hi all, it’s such a nice feeling to be back.

All of us must have observed the Advanced Query feature recently enabled on the Google Search Engine. Whenever you start typing in a query, Google automatically shows the top queries related to your search. There is an option to enable/disable this feature though, in the Google Preferences in case you don’t like it.

I ran a few searches today and came up with some interesting observations. Check them out below!

Google Advertising

Google Antichrist

And this is the best one.. hehe.. Google is for ____________ .

Google Idiot

Don’t believe me? Try it yourself!

In any case, no offences intended. This was only to add a humorous angle. My personal opinion is that Google is probably the best thing to have happened to WWW, and the way we know it today was made possible only by google.

I am sorry to disappoint the regular CRM readers on this blog for showing that some of you were possibly not expecting. Regular postings will resume soon.

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Google acquires On2

Nitin Jain — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 13:07:03 +0000

Every big company seems on be in an acquisition mode. Recession seems to have offered the best chance to the industry to consolidate.

Google and On2, today, jointly made the announcement of Google acquiring On2. On2′s product portfolio includes Advanced Video Compression, Video Encoding & Publishing and Embedded solutions for Chips and Devices. Please click here to view On2′s complete Product Portfolio.

The acquisition is expected to complete later this year, and has been valued at approximately 106 million. This is about 57% premium over On2′s last closing share prices.

The closing conditions like shareholder approval, regulatory approval and others still hold for the deal.

Strategically, I see this as a perfect fit for Google, coming at a time when Google is looking to move into new areas and technologies. It will fit in perfectly with Google’s aim of turning into a complete solutions provider. Video compression and transmission is definitely a hot and challenging technology at the moment. And, I am sure Google will do a jolly good job at capitalizing on it.

As of now, however, nothing will change on On2′s current and prospective customers.

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Nitin Jain — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 06:29:47 +0000

“Unfortunately, as Google enters more of Apple’s core businesses, with Android and now Chrome OS, Eric’s effectiveness as an Apple Board member will be significantly diminished, since he will have to recuse himself from even larger portions of our meetings due to potential conflicts of interest. Therefore, we have mutually decided that now is the right time for Eric to resign his position on Apple’s Board” said Apple’s Steve Jobs.

Apple officially announced on 3rd August that Dr. Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, is resigning from Apple’s Board of Directors, a position he has held since August 2006.

This was already very evident the way it was going. Things had gotten murky with FTC initiating investigations looking into the Google-Apple partnership. Chrome OS announcement was just the final nail in the coffin.

It was initially a game more of “An enemy’s enemy is my friend” concept. Google and Apple had come together to form a wall against the potential rival, Microsoft. They had done substantial bit together and tried promoting the offensive. As I say, “Offence is the BEST form of Defence”!

Things started going bad when Google introduced a straight competition to Apple’s iPhone, with the Android Mobile Operating System. Android was pitched in direct competition to the iPhone. As a result, Eric had to repeatedly excuse himself from the Apple Board meetings whenever the talks of iPhone came up.

Meanwhile, the FTC in the US initiated investigations looking into the Google-Apple partnerships working towards Monopolistic Trade Practices.

It got really complicated with the Google announcement of Chrome Operating System. This opened a new front in the battle, as it is now pitched directly against Apple’s OS/X as much as it is against Microsoft’s Windows. With the increasing difficulties for Eric Schmidt, the best way out was this announcement.

Though this may mean that Apple and Google are no longer friends, it also means that now it is a game of Google versus Microsoft versus Apple. All in all, a benefit for the end user from the increased competition. My prediction, “Expect more vendor locking issues from here on”. Let the game begin.

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Microsoft versus Google now??

Nitin Jain — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:40:22 +0000

We had reported yesterday that Google has announced its own Operating System, the Google Chrome OS. And, all of us wondered at the timing, especially considering that they don’t even have a prototype or a clear path on as to how they are going to build it! Well, we believe we just found the answer.

As per the reports reaching us at GeeksBlogging@dotCOM, it is said that Microsoft is about to announce something BIG this Monday. If the rounds over the Internet are to be believed, it seems Microsoft may be launching “Microsoft Office in the Cloud”. All of us believe that MS Office is Microsoft’s second best selling software after MS Windows.

With the advent of Internet, and everything being available on the cloud, MS is said to be moving forward to its plans of launching an OnDemand MS Office.

What does it have to do with the Google announcement, you may ask. Well, try comparing Google Apps, and MS Office Cloud. Do you see a semblance? Google Apps’s primary focus was to make an Office suite like stack available directly over the Internet (its contentious licesing issue is still a matter of debate). With MS Office cloud coming, why do we need Google Apps at all.

Some say it is Microsoft’s response to the Google Announcement. Others believe it is in fact Google, who made an advanced announcement to take some sheen away from the MS announcement on Monday! This also seems reasonable to an extent considering the circumstances of Google announcement, and the amount of speculation it generated.

It quite seems a case of Google versus Microsoft then. Who will win, is still an open ended question.

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Nitin Jain — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 08:27:09 +0000

Two brands, two giants. However, despite being so similar, are so different owing to the fields they work in.

Purely in the order of the companies’ registration date, Microsoft, revolutionary#1, the one which redefined Personal Computing with the Windows Operating System. Today, just one look at the Software Stack provided and supported by MS makes one gasp. Some of the most popular ones I can recall straight away being

MS Windows
MS Office
MS Internet Explorer
MS Windows Server OS
MS Exchange
MS Sharepoint
MS Dynamics
MS Live Search
MS Windows CE (for mobiles)

and what nott!!

Then comes Google, revolutionary#2. The one which I believe defined the Internet as we know it today! Half of our lives today are online. Yeah, we do need an operating system in the first place to go online. Some of the most popular offerings from Google include:
Google Search
Google Chrome Browser
Google Android (mobile OS)
Google Apps

and now, Google Chrome Operating System!!

Yes, you heard it correct. Google has announce that it is coming out with its own Operating system. It is touted Chrome Operating System from the house of Google.

Google has given the established players, in fact went way farther ahead with some of its offerings. It all started with Google Search. It was introduced at a time when nobody ever thought search would become a business this big, leave alone think about the offerings. Today, how Google Search compares with other online searches is History!

Then came Google Apps – the online Document Management solution, and so much more. Up till now, most of us had been living in the On Premise world. The www was only to do searches or play games uptill now.

Google Android compares well with Microsoft‘s Windows CE Operating System for Smartphones. Though a late entrant, it has already generated quite a buzz. MS Win CE is, however, here to stay for quite some time undoubtedly!

Google entered the real battle with Google Chrome. MS IE has always been the most popular Web Browser for us to access the Internet. However, there are a large number of references on the net already, calling it an age old browser, insecure, and one tht MS can do quite something with. Speed and simplicity are the hallmarks which however work in favour of Google Chrome. Mozilla’s Firefox has already been there for sometime. Google has also tried to be innovative with some of its sandboxing techniques, and support for the new scripting engine.

All said and done, here is Google, with the announcement of the new Google Chrome Operating System. Google claims that the hallmark of the new OS would be simplicity, speed and security. This pitches it directly against Microsoft, with its ever popular Windows OS.

The probable launch date has been announced as the second half of 2010. I personally believe Google could probably have spoken just a little bit too soon. 2010 end is still a long way away. With the rapid changes in our world today, I am sure it would not be the same around that time either. Well, all I can say is we, the consumers, are in for a bonanza.

Personally speaking, I believe developing a flawless OS is not all that easy a task to be all said and done. Compatibility of third party devices, and tonnes of driver integrations are issues in themselves. In any case, we really hope Google really brings about the change that all of us have been waiting for since so long.

I am just wondering who else could possibly jump into it. Oracle’s Fusion Operating System??

As for now, you can see the official Google release here (Opens in a new window). Hope you have enjoyed the talk.

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Google goats – go green!!

Nitin Jain — Mon, 04 May 2009 11:36:38 +0000

I just had to share this. I first heard about this on TechCrunch.

We all know about the sprawling Google campus in Mountain View, Carlifornina with lush green lawns around it. Now, how do you mow the grass down once it grows to much? you mow it! Google says, you graze it!!

Google has apparently hired a set of goats apparently from the company California Grazing to adopt the eco friendly approach to mow down the grass around its campus.

You can read the complete story on the official google blog, here.

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