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Chrome Web Store… Evil?

Google’s got something new planned… it’s the Chrome Web Store! There’s a nice description at Mashable with a well-produced video. (Google seems to be working hard at creating well-produced videos, filled with people you really want to trust… are they actors? Real Google employees? Real Actors Google has hired as employees?)

Evil-o-Meter

So this new Chrome Web Store, or “App Store” as it were, seems to be a way for people to “sell” applications to Chrome users. To be fair, you can also make your app available for free. As for the paid part, well gosh, they aren’t that evil because they take a smaller cut than Apple does with their app store. Make no mistake, Apple’s App Store is evil, so even if you’re less evil than the guy who is more evil… you’re still evil!

Apple’s App Store is evil. I won’t deny that… Steve basically says that if you don’t like it, you can build your app as a web site, and use Mobile Safari to access it on your iPhone. That idea may be less evil than the Chrome Web Store, because while Apple suggests you do this, it doesn’t do anything to get into the revenue stream of it, and leave that’s totally up to you to figure out. I also don’t think they suggest you make it work only in Mobile Safari…

So here are some questions about the Chrome Web Store…

  • Is it based on open standards?
  • Will it work in all browsers, not just Google Chrome?
  • Can anyone run a competitor to the Chrome Web Store?
  • Does it help keep the web free?
  • Does it help keep the web open?

There is a battle going on… it’s for control of the web. I’m on the side of keeping the web free and open. I can see this fracturing the web, and I don’t like it.

It looks like the Chrome Web Store will also allow for the selling of browser extensions for Chrome. An interesting idea. While Mozilla popularized the idea of Browser extensions, Google wants to come along an monetize it. But don’t worry, they’ll only take a small cut…

Ultimately this makes sense for Google and their Chrome OS, which means to take over everything, because all you’ll need is The (Google) Cloud™ and the Chrome Web Store so you can buy your Google Approved Apps to run in your Google Chrome Browser and OS. But it’s OK, because Google doesn’t believe in lock-in.

This is just one more reason I really don’t care for the Google Chrome web browser… I prefer to stick with a browser created by a non-profit organization that has a similar mission to mine, to promote openness on the web.

P.S. I think Google is a great search engine. They also do other things quite well, but that doesn’t mean I want them to do everything, and I definitely don’t want them to control everything.

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The Meowing

Here for your enjoyment (or not) is the sound of a lonely kitten meowing.

It was recorded with a Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder.

You are free to use the file under the Creative Commons Attribution License. You can find it at Ourmedia.org or Archive.org, or download it directly.

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iPhoney

iPhoney is an iPhone simulator for web designers and developers that runs on Mac OS X. You can grab a copy of it from Marketcircle’s iPhoney page. (iPhoney is open source, and you can also find it on Sourceforge, though as of this writing the version there is not the latest.)

iPhoney does an ok-but-not-great job of replicating the iPhone Mobile Safari browsing experience. There is an option for Zoom to Fit as well as Hide/Show Location Bar, and it does let you View Source. You can also rotate it. (You can’t pinch/zoom or change the magnification beyond the Zoom to Fit capabilities.)

Here are some screen shots comparing Mobile Safari running on an actual iPhone versus running in iPhoney. (This post was used for comparison.)

Fig. 1: Mobile Safari on iPhone (vertical)

Fig. 1: Mobile Safari on iPhone (vertical)

Fig. 2: Mobile Safari on iPhone (vertical)

Fig. 2: Mobile Safari on iPhone (horizontal)

Fig. 3: iPhoney (vertical)

Fig. 3: iPhoney (vertical)

Fig. 4: iPhoney (vertical)

Fig. 4: iPhoney (horizontal)

I’ve found iPhoney useful for basic testing. It obviously does not take the place of an actual iPhone for proper testing, but if you just want a quick overview of how a page might look, it’ll work just fine. Also, since it’s open source, you can feel free to use the code as you wish, and even improve it. (Under the terms of the GPL of course.)

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DrawCamp: Sketchnotes with Mike Rohde

DrawCamp was held June 12, 2010 at Bucketworks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Mike Rohde Expert Sketchnoter from the Sketchnote Army was on hand to demonstrate his skills, and I managed to point a camera at him and record the event.

(The video is also available at Vimeo and blip.tv.)

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Firefox 4 is Fast

I’ve been running the Firefox 4 betas, and I’ve been trying to keep an eye on speed, as that seems to be one of the main reasons cited for switching to Google Chrome by Firefox users I talked to.

Firefox

Now, don’t get me wrong, Chrome is fast, that much is true, but I think what a lot of people forget about is the cruft. For many users, it could be a few years since they’ve done a fresh install of Firefox. I mean fresh as in “starting with a new profile” so that all your old preferences, add-ons, plug-ins, bookmarks, and other bits weren’t there.

Right now if you download Google Chrome for the first time, and launch it, there is no cruft. It launches fast. If you’ve been upgrading Firefox over the years and not starting fresh with a new profile… well, there’s cruft.

Here’s what I did, and you can try it at home. Create a new user account (if you’re running Mac OS X, just log into the “Guest Account” that wipes itself after every logout) and launch the Firefox 4 beta. For fun launch Google Chome as well. Both will be cruft-free as they won’t have any previous preferences/profile to worry about, and will be starting fresh.

In my tests, Firefox 4 launched pretty damn fast. If Chrome launches faster, it’s probably by such a small amount that most people could never tell.

Now jump back and forth between Firefox and Chrome and load various pages. Again, don’t use any magical timers, just experience it, and see if you think they are pretty close. They look pretty close to me.

As I’ve mentioned, speed isn’t everything, but it’s nice to see the Mozilla folks stepping up their game and realizing that speed is important to a lot of people. I’ve also read some comments about finding ways to “cleanse” old profile data, to help the folks who have been using the same Firefox profile for years and years, hoping for a bit better performance.

Disclaimer: This is not scientific! I did not run any benchmarks, I didn’t test Javascript engines, or anything too crazy or stressful, I just compared the experience of launching/browsing using completely fresh installs of (the latest beta of) Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. I’d love to hear some comments from a Chrome convert willing to do the same tests.