Archive for the 'Tangential' Category
Alba Maria Villablanca †
May 9, 1926 - October 5, 2008
Rest in peace, Lola Abie.
No worries.
OK, so after using it for a couple of weeks I have to say I really really like Google’s take on the web browser.
- It’s fast - Meaning it’s… fast. It loads quickly and loads pages quickly. It does consume more memory at the start though, but luckily Google covered their asses with a technical answer which I think is sound anyway. See below.
- It’s stable - Tabs run as separate processes, unlike Firefox where the whole browser runs as one process. This means that when one tab crashes or misuses system resources, that tab and only that tab will crash. No more rewriting emails or reloading YouTube vids. Also, while plugins are a bit scarce for the browser right now I don’t think people should look forward much to them, as they are most often the cause of Firefox’s numerous crash times. They’ll do the same thing to Chrome, which is already very user-friendly.
- It’s spiffy - Chrome just looks sexy, don’t you think? Not much extra lines and icons cluttering the screen, leaving a lot of space for the user. You can skin it too.
- Easter eggs - Oh yes. No app would be complete without easter eggs.
There’s been a scare regarding the product’s EULA which then stated the following:
11.1 You retain copyright and any other rights you already hold in Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. By submitting, posting or displaying the content you give Google a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, and non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, modify, translate, publish, publicly perform, publicly display and distribute any Content which you submit, post or display on or through, the Services. This license is for the sole purpose of enabling Google to display, distribute and promote the Services and may be revoked for certain Services as defined in the Additional Terms of those Services.
but Google has fixed that already, saying that only the first part (the non-italicized part) applies. Ahh, carelessness.
There you go. A completely one-sided, two-week testimonial from a Chrome user.
Interested in learning more? Check out Google Chrome’s webcomic, created by none other than Scott McCloud (the dude who did Understanding Comics). It does a pretty bang up job of relating the browser’s story and technical details in a non-scary way.
Other places like Box.net offer the same service, that is, online storage. But they do it for a fee, which while relatively inexpensive is just too much for what some people are willing to pay (which is, in my case, nothing).
Dropbox gives users 2 gigs of space from the onset, which is quite enough. Enough for what most people would need for files that they’d willingly upload to the internet and share with people they know, like documents, pictures, some music and maybe a small program or two. This is very good for small teams of people working collaboratively on something.
You can share specific files and/or folders to your trusted contacts, and they’ll easily be able to easily access and modify them. Any changes made, and Dropbox syncs the files on your local folders and on your online account. Quick and easy, with no fuss and minimum worry.
You can’t upload just anything and have a URL provided for it, which you can then post everywhere to distribute your files, which is all good I guess. I’m sure they wouldn’t want to be unwitting distributors of porn videos, pirated music and cracked software (that’s RapidShare’s job).
Pictures, however, are a different matter. You can upload them in your account’s gallery, which you can share with non-members through a given link. Like this one.
If you’re interested in learning more, there’s the tour.
One of my friends, the manager of the Ateneo Rowing Team, showed this to me. It brought back a lot of good memories.
If you’re interested in signing up, feel free to contact the current captain through the details presented. The Ateneo Rowing Team takes anyone from any level, from beginner to experienced.
