New Gmail Feature

A new Gmail feature called Web Clips has just launched. This feature lets you display links from blogs, news sites, and RSS or Atom feeds at the top of your Gmail screen. "Each clip displays the source from which it was received, how long ago the clip was published, and a link to access the entire story or page containing the clip."

This is VERY cool.

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A new service is available that helps you to keep track of online information as it changes. It sends you an instant message whenever any RSS or Atom feed you want to monitor changes. The URL is http://immedi.at. Get it? Immedi.at? Immediate? Cool domain name, huh? (".at" is Austria’s country code extension). Great idea, I must say. The immedi.at website itself is a little boring. I expected something a little more web 2.0-ish, but that’s okay. I don’t need all that fancy AJAX stuff….

Anyway, back to the service itself. It’s really easy to use - all you have to do is add a "monitor this" button to your Firefox Bookmark Toolbar folder and click it when you are on a page that offers a feed you want to keep track of. (I’m sure there are instructions for IE, but…uh…who cares?). You click the button, pick an IM service and fill in your username. That’s it. Of course you can pause and disable the IMs as well. Oh, it works over Trillian, too. Just sign in to MSN or Windows Messenger first so you can add immedi.at to your contact list.

I’ll be testing this with a technorati vanity watchlist xml feed. Feel free to post about "Sarah In Tampa". *winks*

The Google Personalized homepage (you sign in to your Google account and customize your page) has been updated. It’s all AJAX-y now! You can add your own content via RSS feed or URL — the great thing is that you don’t even have to know what the exact RSS feed or URL is — you can just do a search for it in a mini search box on the left in the "add content" section. Now that is a nice feature!

I was just visiting the Google Groups page, and I noticed that not only were my groups and my recently visited groups listed, there was also a list of "Suggested Groups." How long has that been there? I never even noticed it before! That was really handy. Reminds me of Amazon’s suggestions — a feature I really like. Someone let me know how long I’ve been missing out on this!

I just Googled "Google Calendar" and the 2nd result is "calendar.google.com", but the link takes you to the Google homepage. Rumor has it that the calendar is supposed to be revealed today. Google, you’re late! Bring it on!

In case you haven’t figured it out already, here’s the Google strategy of late: more people online = more money for Google. First there was wi-fi in San Francisco, now there’s broadband over powerlines (BPL) in Cincinnati. Current Communications Group, a provider of BPL service, has received funding from Google, as well as Goldman, Sachs & Co. and The Hearst Corp. They’re not saying how much funding these companies have provided, just that "It’s a significant investment." I’m just waiting on Google to offer some free wi-fi for me here in Tampa. C’mon, Google!

Well…not exactly. Perhaps these devices are being marketed as "cell phones for dogs" just to get attention. (See? It worked.) However, calling this device a "cell phone" isn’t quite right considering its features. Yes, you can talk to your dog over the 2-way bone-shaped radio that hangs off the pup’s collar, but it’s the ability to track a lost pet that has dog lovers excited. The "PetCell" includes assisted GPS, aka A-GPS, which allows
dog owners to track their dog’s coordinates from any web-enabled device
or by dialing a voice-enabled call center. Also, the PetCell has a "call owner" button in case Fido strays and someone else finds him.

Another feature is an option called "GeoFence" that will alert owners whenever their dog wanders beyond preset parameters. Yet another feature will be a built-in temperature sensor to indicate if the dog is too hot or cold. Finally, the PetCell will support a small wireless camera, which could be useful in search-and-rescue or bomb-squad missions, but will also work just fine as the canine version of the "nanny cam." Assuming this "doggie cam" is viewable from any internet-connected PC, I suppose you could discipline your dog from anywhere. (No, Suzie! Put that down! Don’t eat that! Bad girl!)

The devices will ship at $350 to $400, so this is certainly a luxury item…for now. Maybe one day, all doggies will have cell phones!

More info…

Don’t get me wrong, I love Firefox. I can’t even surf the web without it anymore. However, I happen to agree with the sentiments expressed in this article. Basically, the problem is that Firefox 1.5 will block the use of any extensions it deems incompatible…and since extensions are updated at the mercy of freelance developers, it’s highly likely that you may have a favorite (or two, or three) that don’t work with Firefox 1.5. In addition to this, the article mentions that there does not appear to be a "master list" of supported Firefox 1.5 extensions. There isn’t! At the very least, you should be able to search the extensions website for 1.5 extensions, or filter your search results to show just 1.5 extensions. This is definitely an area where the Mozilla website could be improved. When it comes down to it, though, I’ll take Firefox over IE any day.

Speaking of extensions, there is a nifty RSS feed to get info on the latest extensions.

There is an interesting article over at CNET about censorship of blogs. The article discusses a survey by a web hosting company called Hostway, who polled 2,500 Americans on blogging. Some highlights:

• 80% did not believe that bloggers should be allowed to publish home addresses and other personal information about private citizens.
• 72% favored censorship of personal information about celebrities
• 68% favored censorship of information about elected or appointed government officials such as judges or mayors
• 52% percent of those surveyed said bloggers should have the same rights as traditional journalists

But what’s really funny about the survey is that more than one-third of respondents had never heard of blogs before participating in the survey. So, I would take these results with a grain of salt, so to speak. If the respondents don’t know what a blog is, how can they have an opinion?

Here it comes. The first lawsuit over the problems with the XBox 360 was announced Monday. A Chicago man who had bought a new Xbox 360 game console is alleging overheating and lockup issues. The lawsuit also accuses Microsoft of "rushing to market a flawed system to ensure it beat competitors Sony and Nintendo to the punch." The man is seeking damages and litigation related expenses, and a replacement or recall of Xbox 360 consoles….Oh, so it’s so bad that he has to sue, but he still wants another one, huh?