A call to one source

Granted a universal app for a product that would allow a user to use just that app without updating 3 or more apps so many times a year may echo the word "socialism", or "end of competition", or whatever else. Perhaps though, there are a few items, apps out there that could be developed into a universal state for universal usage. Apple and Microsoft may both hate this blog entry, but so be it.

Between the number of sites that offer video watching, audio listening, etc, it becomes clear that there are more than one program for audio and video. I find for web surfing, accessing audio and video online my favorite set ups are that of Youtube, Vimeo, NPR, WRS (World Radio Switzerland). The worst... I would say Parliament TV, and anything else that requires that you have an up to date version of Microsoft Silverlight, or Quicktime. I get that probably these programs are useful for certain features, but for the use of complete cloud access sites such as Parliament TV should go the way of Youtube, Vimeo, etc. A video format that allows one to access the information without first having to download Silverlight, or keep updating it.

In this case a universal feature would be ideal, a universal video feature, a universal audio feature, even a universal photo feature, though that is not as pressing. It just would be nice to access some of this stuff, like Parliament TV on my smartphone that doesn't have Silverlight programmed into it. I'm not advocating however that these programs give up in existence, they serve a purpose for some. I feel even that these companies should compete each year for a better version to replace the universal version, thus if Apple wins the 2012 competition of a universal version, their version is the universal version used on the internet through that year. No one needs to download or update since the video programs would be similar to that of Youtube. Companies compete and make better universal versions and a better cloud accessing video format and audio format is developed.

On to other things that need perhaps not to go universal..but needs to have it's borders removed. Sites that allow users to ask questions and others to answer are fairly decent sites. I can ask a question in Google and more likely someone has asked that question or a similar version of it. Yahoo Answers and Wiki.Answers seem to be the most prominent of these sites. Yahoo Answers is really the only reason why I ever go to Yahoo these days. Another question asking site, Quora, fairly decent. Google had an Answer site too, till they closed the new entries down. It would be ideal if there was a site out there, that umbrella'd all of these sites. That had a program of sorts that found similar questions and was able to route out the best answers, with the most adequate citations for sources. Instead of getting 20 of the same questions with hundreds of different answers, you got 1 question that is the best asked, with the best answered with the best citation. The site would sift from Yahoo, Google, Quora, Wiki, Ask.com, and others out there to analyze and interpret the best selections. The user could then look at the back log and see all the other questions similar to the finding with such answers. The user would rate the umbrella's sites findings so the company who owns the site could make tweaks as it grows.

Along with answers and questions comes the need for an umbrella site to look at reviews of movies, music, and books. That sucks in the reviews of Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders, Powell, Allmusic/movie/games/books series of sites, blogs, news sites, and published reviews in media outlets, etc etc. That would deliver the most up to date published product with all it's previous published editions as back log, and reviews from written, audio, and video. All so the user can have the best, more well round set of reviews out there available to him or her. To see, hear, read, listen...smell (?) all reviews from all sides.

I guess all this leads up to my conclusion. Hopefully in 2011 we get closer to a better analytical system that can umbrella the results so one can compare and contrast what is all on the web in that topic. Hopefully universal software for audio and video become more widely used all over the internet so one can access....Parliament TV while commuting via train using their smartphone. I look forward to the tech things that are to come in 2011,  I'm not a computer scientist, but I have a vision that I believe we all share in the internet usage world. Some organization, less need to go from one web page to another, less need to update programs constantly. I hope Chrome OS grows to what Google hopes for it, I hope Chrome OS will become available on smartphones. I hope Chrome OS becomes available on laptops over netbooks with the ability to rip a CD or DVD in the cd-rom drive and have the ripped files go directly to the users cloud just as it goes to a user's hard drive, but instead to...the cloud.  Less updates, and less need to have 2 or more video and audio programs loaded onto my laptop. Have a good new years interwebs.

A few ideas I feel like sharing to Google

Typically when I get an idea to share with Google, I go to Google's front page, and go to the link that says "About Google", from there I go to Contact Us , and to Business Proposals. I fill out the form accordingly, however along with sharing these ideas in the traditional method I thought it would be interesting to post them in my blog as well.

The first idea is that of syncing. Chrome is great with this, you can sync all your bookmarks, apps, etc by signing onto your account onto another computer, and unsync them by signing out. Cool. But one thing that I've noticed lately is from my Android phone, I can't sync the bookmarks on my phone, along with the browser history. It would be sweet, cool, ideal if the user could eventually sync their bookmarks and history from the phone to their google account to Chrome. With that said, sync Chrome bookmarks, web browsing history to the phone. This is kind of done so far with the history, but not so much with the bookmarks.

Ideally along with the two way syncing, one would be able to sync their Chrome extensions, and Apps to their phone. While being able to sync their Android Apps to Chrome. Thus I would be able to use an app from Android market from my phone, through my Chrome browser on my laptop. I would also be able to go to the Chrome App page, and click on an app that I have for Chrome while on my phone. This would be sweet!

Second idea. Google, I give you the power of this idea, because I know you can do it. If not...screw it lets get someone else to do it. 1 website account that connects all websites that require accounts (Yahoo, Paypal, Ebay, Google, Amazon, Facebook, AIM, Home Depot, Best Buy, Youtube, Myspace, Last.FM, Twitter, Photobucket, NPR, NYTIMEs, etc) Not to get all information in one spot, no...that would fall victim to the selfish "ME" wars. But a site that connects the accounts to one site so you can change the password of all accounts from this site, without having to go to all of them. I go to the site, enter it, connect it to the sites I have accounts with. Update my information, my information is updated on all, all in sync, including passwords.

Third idea, which isn't my own, so I should just say..third request. To add onto the topic of a possible Chrome OS for smartphones. A smartphone with Chrome OS, it would compete with Android probably, but eh, you know you want to! Other than those, there are more ideas, but they are sort of off topic from these previous ones. I may share them sometime soon, but I want to let them develop into a clearer topic.

Chrome OS, and my new toy, the netbook

So earlier this week I received an email from Google Chrome OS..department (?) telling me that I am eligible for a Chrome netbook and to fill out a survey. I filled the survey out and really did not expect to receive the laptop at all, I figured this was a lottery picking of sorts. Who the hell wins the lottery?

Well on Friday Thursday I received the netbook with a bit of surprise. I've been playing with it since I got it out of the package. I'm not a huge IT guy, but I can say so far its running pretty well. The videos from other sites than youtube can get a bit shotty, but so far nothing really big is standing out. I plan on trying to watch some Stronge Bad and visit a few other heavy flashed sites to see if this baby can handle it.

Before ending this post, I can't go without thanking Google for sending one of the netbooks to me, super rad, thank you. I'll "kick the tires" the best I can. While on winterbreak I will work on blogging and using documents, creating powerpoints to try to use such utilities to the fullest to see what works and what doesn't.

Till next time, blogya later.