Some Google I/O Highlights

Author: Riley Alexander, MD, MBA

Google I/O has been in full-swing for the past 2 days and a lot has been let loose. I already mentioned yesterday that one of the big announcements was that of Android's next iteration--Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 3.1). This update has been rolled out to 3G Xooms today and initial reports state that most won't notice much of a difference, but it does seem to increase performance. More importantly, Google plans for this release to be released to phones as well--a distinct difference from Honeycomb. Google made a point that this release would address some of the fragmentation that has plagued Android from the start. In addition, Google is mandating that all handset manufacturers shipping Android maintain software updatability for at least 18 months (which just so happens to be 6 months shorter than most people's cell phone contracts).

Google's other big announcement yesterday was their Google Music service. This is the second big cloud-based music service after Amazon's and promises tight integration with Android. Considering iOS won't have a proper app for either service, let's hope for us iPhone users out there that all the rumors are true about iCloud next month...otherwise, Apple stands to fall behind in the "march to the cloud."

Google's Cr-48, the first Chrome OS laptop for cloud computing

The Cr-48 is the first laptop coming out with Google's Chrome OS. Google will distribute the laptop through its Chrome OS Pilot Program, so get ready for mobile cloud computing on your chrome OS laptop. It sounds like other laptop manufacturers will be distributing Chrome OS laptops later in 2011.

I like using Google Docs and these Chrome OS devices will allow you to edit and save Google Doc documents offline. Then, when you get connected to the "cloud," you can save and sync those changes when you're back online.

It also sounds like Google is teaming up with Verizon to offer free online connectivity for their Chrome OS laptops. Sounds like a great bargain!

Google Chrome vs. Google Android

It appears like Google Chrome will be an operating system (OS) optimized for mobile devices that have built-in keyboards. Google Android is optimized for touch-input, so that's why you'll find this OS on smartphones and slate tablets.

So what if you have a convertible netbook/tablet that includes both a keyboard plus a touch screen? I think I'd prefer Android. I predict that we'll find more apps built for Android and eventually Chrome will get replaced by Android. Then again, Chrome could evolve to be the "desktop" version of Android.

Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP

It's time to get ready to say goodbye to that Windows XP machine. If you can upgrade to Windows 7, do it. The new Internet Explorer 9 will not support Windows XP. This means that you'll be stuck with IE 8, or you could use Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera, or something else.

I still have a few older PCs that are running XP and I don't plan to upgrade the OS just so that I can run Internet Explorer 9. Also, if you have an inexpensive netbook that's running XP, it may not be worth upgrading to Windows 7.

The funny thing is that I rarely use IE. I spend much more time using Firefox or Chrome. I still occasionally use IE, but I could be using Safari or Opera instead.

Care to preview IE 9? Visit: www.IETestDrive.com.

Google Chromium OS coming in 2010

I'm excited to test the Google Chromium OS in the New Year. I'm not a developer, so I'm not currently testing Google Chrome OS on any netbooks, but I think we'll see this OS appearing on more computers as a "quick boot" option. So, we'll see laptops and netbooks loaded with Microsoft Windows 7, but they'll also come with Google Chrome OS for users who wish to have an "instant on" option where they can quickly boot up, check their e-mail, browse the web, and turn it off.

Google Chrome OS launching soon

The Google Chrome Operating System (OS) is launching quite soon. I'm excited to see this new, lean operating system that should work quite well on ultra-mobile PCs (UMPCs) and netbooks. I plan to try Chrome OS on my Samsung Q1 Ultra (mini tablet) to see how it compares with Ubuntu, XP, and Windows 7.

If Chrome OS improves speed, efficiency, and battery life on my UMPC, then it will be a winning OS for me. After all, the Q1 Ultra has a slow processor and this device isn't meant to be used for any type of heavy computing.

Benefits of using different web browsers simultaneously

There are many reasons why you may want to simultaneously use different web browsers. Here's one key benefit:

• You can log in to different sites simultaneously using different user names. For instance, I can be logged in to Yahoo mail on Firefox as user1, and also logged in to Yahoo mail on Internet Explorer as user2. This is great if you have multiple accounts to various websites and you want to check things simultaneously. (talk about some serious multi-tasking!)
• Group your icons in your Taskbar. Assuming that you're using Windows XP, Vista, or 7, your taskbar may automatically group similar taskbar buttons. You can change this setting, but you may like it this way. If you have a tendency to open multiple web pages in separate windows, then it often helps to use different browsers to group them. For instance, all your news pages might be open on Chrome. Client-related sites may be on Firefox. etc. This way, you can quickly glance down and find your "group" very efficiently.

So which web browsers do I currently use? Mainly Firefox, Chrome, and Internet Explorer. I also have Safari and Opera, but I don't use them very often to browse the Internet. Speaking of Chrome, did you notice the upgrade to version 3?

What's your favorite web browser?

There are so many web browsers to choose from these days. On my computers, I have the following installed:

• Internet Explorer
• Firefox
• Chrome
  
• Safari
• Opera

I mainly use Firefox and Chrome. Firefox continues to be my favorite browser because I'm so dependent on the Add-ons that are not readily available for the others. Chrome is a great backup browser that's quick and efficient. There are times when I'll open IE, but I rarely use Safari or Opera (even though I have them installed). Remember the old days of Netscape and the AOL browser? I wonder if anyone still uses those.

Most people still use IE, but the others are quickly gaining popularity (especially as more people move to Mac OS X from Windows). What about you? Do you have a favorite?

Google is creating an operating system for netbooks

Well, it's about time, isn't it? Google is developing a simple but functional operating system for netbooks. Google Chrome OS will be an open-source OS that will be sleek, light, and (hopefully) very fast. The Chrome web browser has been surprisingly useful and I'm hoping that Chrome OS will mirror that. Many people thought that Google was going to take Android and modify that for netbooks. Maybe Chrome OS will be very similar to Android. We know that we'll be living in the world of Cloud Computing.

So, how will such an OS get used? Will it replace Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, or 7? Or, will people use Chrome OS as a dual-boot option? That's how I use Ubuntu. To be honest, with the quick boot time of Windows 7, I'm not sure that I'll need Ubuntu in the future. I'll have to see how Chrome OS fits into the mix.

Computing tips: Ctrl + W and Ctrl + D

If you're like me, you like to open many different tabs on your favorite web browser. Whether you're using Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome, Safari, or Opera, this shortcut should work to help you quickly close tabs (or web pages) without moving your mouse. It's a simple tip: Ctrl + W

• Using Ctrl + W may save you some mousing movement and spare your hands/wrists from repetitive motion injuries.

Before you try the Ctrl + W tip, make sure you hit Ctrl + D. This shortcut adds a bookmark/favorite to your web browser. Make sure to bookmark my site (or subscribe to my RSS feed). I hope you'll be back for some more very simple computing tips.

Browser Wars

On my other site MedicalSmartphones.com, I wrote a short blurb about "Smartphone Wars." I'm continuing that theme to discuss a few of my thoughts regarding web browsers. Which web browser do you use? All of them? Let me list the ones that I use in descending order:

• Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Chrome
• Safari
• Opera

Firefox has been my browser of choice, but I've recently started having some problems with Xmarks (a bookmark synchronizing utility). Is it time to switch to a different browser for a while?

Have You Tried Safari 4?

I really like Safari 4 so far. It's sleek and fast. In many ways, it reminds me of Google Chrome. Unfortunately, the F11 shortcut does nothing in Safari 4.

Will Safari 4 become my main browser and replace Firefox? No. I rely too much on Xmarks (formerly Foxmarks) to synchronize my bookmarks/favorites among multiple machines. Although Xmarks is available for Safari 3 running on Mac OS X, it isn't available for Safari running on Windows.

F11 Works on Chrome 2.0

I don't believe that the F11 (full-screen) key worked on the earlier version of Chrome. However, if you've updated to Chrome 2.0, then you'll be pleased to know that this ultra-sleek browser now goes into full-screen mode when you press the F11 key.

Tip of the Day: F11

In most web browsers (like Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer, but not Chrome - unless you have Chrome 2.0 - or Safari), if you hit the "F11" key, you'll enter a nice "full-screen" mode. Away goes the navigation controls and the Google and Yahoo toolbars. You can view webpages in your entire monitor. Nice! To exit "full-screen" mode, just hit that F11 key again.

So, how do you remember F11? When I was in medical school, I was utterly dependent on mnemonics to remember everything. So, here's my mnemonic to help you remember F11.

The "11" almost looks like a box (it just doesn't have a top or bottom, but it has both sides of the box). Now, your monitor is a box, right? So, the F11= full-screen monitor

See? Now you'll never forget what that F11 key does when you're browsing the web.