Gmail down for the count. YahooMail might pick up new users?… Nah

 

Gmail is down for the moment so says the InterWebs. I am not having issues but that seems to not to be the norm.  Temporary Error 500 errors are all over Twitter and Facebook. They are just now popping up on blog sites.  This is not the first time that Gmail has gone down. There have been numerous outages over the years of Google’s email service crashing.  Google said that it is “investigating reports of an issue with Google Mail.” In the meantime F5 is  your friend.  Side note: The mobile apps are working just fine.

Project Glass: Another cool Google dream that will never be used.

This looks very cool but will it work as an everyday type of device? Now if we take this a step further and have the technology inserted into contacts like the Six Million Dollar Man, that would be very cool and practical at the same time. Check out the concept video.

 

Google states on their blog “We think technology should work for you—to be there when you need it and get out of your way when you don’t. We’re sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input. So we took a few design photos to show what this technology could look like and created a video to demonstrate what it might enable you to do.”

Google says your wallet is now safe

A security firm found vulnerabilities  for Google Wallet. One lets hackers bypass PIN protection if you have a rooted phone. The other one does the same thing but on a non rooted device.  Those exploits let anyone let an unauthorized user will be able to access a user’s prepaid funds without needing to know the Google Wallet pin.  Google said The  Wallet is safe and “offers advantages over the plastic cards and folded wallets in use today.” Google went on to say “rooting your phone will cause your Google Wallet data to be automatically wiped from the device,” “We strongly encourage anyone who loses or wants to sell their phone to call Google Wallet support toll-free at 855-492-5538 to disable the prepaid card,” Google said in a statement. “We are currently working on an automated fix as well that will be available soon. We also advise all Wallet users to set up a screen lock as an additional layer of protection for their phone.”

Google+ now open to the public: Let’s see what kind of number it puts up

Google+ social network is now available to anyone who wants to join. They have also added 91 changes during the social network’s beta trial. The trail was only 90 days but it got a lot of good Buzz. The most notable additions are that the Hangouts video chat feature is now available for Android smartphones running Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) or newer.

 

The  list of key changes:

• A new “Hangouts on Air” option allows users to live broadcast to up to nine different people.
• Hangouts can now be named.
• A screen sharing function has been added to Hangouts.
• Users can now share and view a sketchpad directly inside Hangouts
• Google Docs can be viewed and shared inside Hangouts.
• Google+ members can now search for other users from the social network directly and Google+ will return results from around the web.
• The Google+ Hangouts API is now available for developers.

Google is not playing this year with it’s money; Buys Zagat

Motorola and patents were not enough for Google this year. Google has now acquired Zagat. Zagat has established a trusted and well-loved brand. They are in more than a 100 cities. Their surveys a blueprint for how to best use UGC (user-generated content).  Zagat provides people with a democratized, authentic and comprehensive view of where to eat, drink, stay, shop and play worldwide based on millions of reviews and ratings.

Zagat with Google means it is only a matter of time before it is incorporated into all things search and Google Maps. Zagat’s trusted reputation and Google speed of search there will be a lot of well fed people out there.

YouTube adds Google + Hangout: Watch videos along with friends. Could Netflix be next?

It seems that you can now watch a video with your friends on Google Plus’ Hangout. It works very similar to Xbox Live’s Movie Party. I was able to get 3 people to Hangout and watch a short clip. It worked very well without any issues.

Once Google + adds business to the to the mix. I see this feature becoming very useful for marking. You could debut a trailer to only very loyal fans or contest winners. Think how this might work for Superbowl ads. You could all do Hangout instead of flooding my inbox with links.  I mean other people’s inboxes with links.
So far I have not been able to find a video that Hangout does not work on. From Tech New Today with Tom to even the very limited movie selection that YouTube has. This is a feature I would love to see come to Netflix. Unlike the Facebook  Like button. The Google + Hangout only goes to who you invite to participate. Thus circumventing the whole its illegal to share the entertainment you rent law that is stopping Netflix from using Facebook.

Can Google+ give Facebook a challenge?

Google shows off  it’s new social network. They are calling it Google+. We all hope it is better than Buzz. While Google has launched social products in the past but all have been ill received compared to their other products such as search and email. Google+ is the best thing they have come up with thus far. I for one am looking forward to a competition to Facebook. Good luck to you Google.

Android Market hits the web

 

Google has extended the market to the web. You can now just buy and install apps right from the web. Once you have brought an app. It right away starts to download into your phone. You can also share the apps you like with other people via a twitter link.  Hey, iOS go do this too. There is more to come since the show is still going on. You can watch Google’s Honeycomb Android 3.0 presentation live right now here. 

The market is live now at http://market.android.com/