David Russell | Posts

Google Chrome OS

08 Jul 2009 14:18:16 +00:00

This morning, Google announced a new operating system named for their recently-released Web browser, Chrome. Google Chrome OS is a PC-architecture-based operating system that Google claims will be “open source, lightweight operating system that will initially be targeted at netbooks.” It will be built on the Linux kernel and feature “speed, simplicity and security.”

Personally, I am very excited about this. There are definitely many opportunities to expand our thinking when it comes to the operating systems we use every day. In fact, our mobile phones have already begun stretching our thinking about this. Think: iPhone OS, Google Android, yes, even Windows Mobile, et al. They all work much more simply than our desktop operating systems, reduce overhead and form factor and yet still allow us to get a few things done. No, we aren’t designing in Photoshop or having serious coding sessions on these devices, but that might not be as far off as we might think.

Generally, I am a proponent of the cloud. But there are reasonable concerns about the drawbacks, namely privacy and security. As soon as we relinquish control of our data to services like Flickr, Facebook, Google, even Twitter, there are certain risks that come into play. In a sense, this would be no different with a Google OS, which will merely create a specially-tuned environment to host the Chrome browser and allow the user to very quickly boot up and access the Web.

Applications on Chrome OS are Web applications. Developers building apps for Chrome OS won’t build them for Chrome OS, they’ll build them for the Web. It’s not exactly mind-boggling by today’s standards, but it’s obviously shrewd of Google to approach a competitor like Microsoft or Apple with something completely different and with less legacy than what those competitors offer consumers (much like Google did when they released the Chrome browser last year.)

This is the start of something very cool. When I first heard the news, I quickly wondered if the world really needed another operating system (even as much as I am in favor of choice and competition.) Upon hearing the general idea for the execution of the Chrome OS, I feel confident this will be a very usable product even though as it stands it will probably be somewhat niche for a time. Netbooks are an obvious first playground. But I’m sure there will be a natural tendency for some to migrate all of their use to an OS like this. If you live on the Web, why not have your OS get you there in a flash?

Google Chrome OS is the start of a new trend in operating systems. The Internet is the new OS.

Google Announces Chrome OS
Would You Miss Windows With A Google Operating System? - NYT Bits
Fascinating analysis of a 2004 prediction that Google was crafting an OS - Jason Kottke

davidrussell.net

12 May 2009 01:30:59 +00:00

A few months ago, I was making my rounds in domain-land and noticed a very high profile TLD had expired, davidrussell.net. Now, it’s not the most amazing domain in the world for most people, but it is the second most amazing domain in the world if your name is David Russell. And my name happens to be David Russell.

The previous owner, David Russell from New Zealand, must have let the registration lapse. After a few days monitoring whois, I noticed the domain move from the 30-day grace period and into the delete phase. Oh boy! I knew I might have a shot at this, so I read up on the subject at a four-year old article from Mike Davidson. The information still packs a punch today and I decided to take Mike’s advice and enlist the services of Pool.com to register the domain on my behalf as soon as the domain had been completely deleted from the registry and was available to the public.

On the delete day, I monitored whois like a hawk to see who would win the domain. (There could have been others interested and doing the same thing I was doing, so it was not a certainty that I would acquire the domain.) Domains usually delete starting around 2:00 pm ET and the actual drop can happen any time within a window of a few hours. So around 1:45 pm, I started querying whois in Terminal every 5 to 10 minutes. Around 2:45 ET I noticed the domain ownership had changed hands. I had checked only minutes earlier and the information hadn’t changed yet. So this new registrar snapped the name up fast! It was a domain registrar out of Canada called The Black Cow. I checked their home page and saw the Pool.com logo. I logged into my Pool.com account and saw the confirmation that the domain had been acquired on my behalf. Woo-hoo! Within about 20 minutes, the domain was actually resolving to my server at 1and1. Holy cow. That was blazing fast. (In order for this to happen, you’ll need to set up your DNS settings in your Pool.com account prior to acquiring a domain. They’ll automatically assign those settings to the domains they purchase on your behalf.)

So I’ve moved away from davidrussell.org. I still own it, of course, along with many other TLDs associated with my name. But davidrussell.net is my new official domain. The website migration is mostly complete. If you spot any dead or problematic links, let me know. Within a few days, I’ll have my email completely migrated as well.

If you are eyeing a deleting domain, I highly recommend Pool.com. I was absolutely impressed with the speed at which they acquired this domain for me.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times—if a top-level domain that matches your name is still available, you are not being wise leaving it unregistered. Snag it now! ...Now!

Pool.com

Red Dwarf

10 Apr 2009 19:00:36 +00:00

Red Dwarf, one of my all-time favorite television shows, returns tonight on UK channel Dave! The last episode aired over ten years ago. This amazing event has been brewing for some months. The first time I heard about was in August around the same time when Robert Llewellyn appeared on Leo Laporte’s TWiT Live channel discussing the news. During that show, a call I placed to the studio was received and about 59:30 into the interview and I was able to ask Robert a question and discuss my history with and love of the show. Amazing moment.

And now, Red Dwarf is actually back! Not just back, but here now!

I am amped up, to say the least, and have thoroughly enjoyed watching the news emerge about the show on Dave and see the endless chatter on threads at Twitter, YouTube, Red Dwarf fan forums and more. It’s been a trending topic on Twitter on and off for the day and I expect it to rise even further as the first show in the special series of three airs in about 60 minutes from right now.

There are also a number of people who had no idea that Red Dwarf was coming back until the news grew to such a roar today. I am glad I caught on early and could enjoy the hype going into this weekend. There is no option for viewing on traditional television here in the U.S., so I’ll rely on BitTorrent (hint to those outside the U.K.) to catch these specials for now. But they have announced that the DVD of the specials will be released in the U.K. and U.S. in the next few months. And, of course, I will own that!

Some of the footage that has leaked already looks very impressive from a technical standpoint. They shot with RED ONE cameras (4K HD!) and had top-notch effects editors. I think this will be Red Dwarf like we’ve never seen it before—better than ever!

Very few of my friends even know about Red Dwarf, and only a small number of acquaintances actually watch the show. For years, I’ve felt a bit alone in my love for this zany, sci-fi comedy. But today, I see hundreds of thousands of people are really into this moment. So it’s nice to know I have company in this craziness after all!

Brutal!

Red Dwarf | Wikipedia
On Dave (Loads of information and video.)

Gowalla

16 Mar 2009 11:00:42 +00:00

Gowalla is a new location-based game that was recently released for iPhone.

I’ve spent the weekend playing, and it’s quite fun! It tends toward geocaching at times, but is firmly planted in the virtual world with nothing physical involved except for you visiting and checking in at “Spots”. On the virtual side, once you reach a spot and check in, you are entitled to swap some Icons from your Pack with those that exist in the inventory of the Spot. If the icon is nifty (collectible), you can store it away in your Vault so it won’t be shared later on. All of this is managed in your Passport.

The game is finished enough to be very playable, but there is an active development team behind the game and app who are planning to continually improve things (including working out the few bugs that still exist.) The company crafting Gowalla, Alamofire, has a history of excellence, including the popular PackRat for Facebook. Their Washington Bureau Chief, Brian Bailey, is a particularly excellent Alamofirer.

Gowalla

Google Latitude

05 Feb 2009 01:50:56 +00:00

If you can’t find the answer in its name, Google just released a new geo-centric social product called Latitude. The idea is to find the status of your friends along with their geographic location. Of course, the service is highly focused on delivering a solution for mobile phones and several handsets already work, most notably (and not surprisingly) the Android-enabled G1. (An iPhone solution is being developed.) But you can also use Latitude from any Web-enabled PC using your Google account and iGoogle.

One principle question that emerged today is whether or not Latitude will quickly overtake other geo-centric services like Brightkite (my favorite) and Loopt. An article on ReadWriteWeb generated this idea and some interesting discussion ensued. It is striking that Facebook and MySpace have done so little to enter the geo space. But I think it’s important to note the relatively short timeframe in which geo-aware applications have emerged. The two largest social networks are behemoths, unlike smaller, more nimble startups like Brightkite. And geo hardware is also relatively new in mobile phones and other devices (other than GPS receivers which pioneered the whole space.)

So I think we are at an interesting turning point. To be sure, location-aware applications have real momentum. The cover story and a few articles inside the recent issue of Wired covered the GPS “revolution”. The attention Google brings to the table will no doubt push other developers to join the fray and push the boundaries of what’s possible. And it will challenge startups like Brightkite to keep their edge on ingenuity.

Google Latitude
ReadWriteWeb: Did Google Just Kill All the Other Mobile Social Networks?