What Can Google Do For You?

Hey! What about this article? Have you read it? If not, you may to. Read and enjoy!

Last Tuesday, Sept. 9, the Internet erupted with reports that Gmail had crashed completely. Users trying to access their mail over the Web were given a blank page, perpetually loading nothingness or one of several error messages.

Many Gmail users panicked, the twittering masses tweeted and retweeted their displeasure, the influential tech blogs tracked the story as it developed and the productivity of the Internet may have decreased slightly for the roughly 100 minutes of complete downtime. Although there were workarounds for savvy users (POP and IMAP access never fully crashed), even Google’s own engineers attempting to fix the problem were apparently stymied by the inaccessibility of their e-mail accounts.

Reactions were mixed. Many felt that Google was failing in its duty to provide the promised “efficient and useful” e-mail platform it advertises.
“This is a huge fail for Google,” wrote Nik Cubrilovic on the popular blog TechCrunch.

“Gmail being down momentarily is a pain … Gmail being down this long is downright unacceptable!” declared Twitter user thunderberry with a sentiment shared with thousands of other users.

So what responsibility does Google ­— and other free online services including Microsoft’s Windows Live mail, Yahoo mail, etc. — have to keep its service reliable to its users?

Users can’t expect perfection; it’s widely understood and accepted that software and hardware will never be flawless. Unanticipated problems can be planned for, but by their nature cannot be eliminated. Sometimes the fault lies in the technology itself, and sometimes the problems are external and unavoidable. Internet applications like Gmail are especially hard to maintain, as they include so many potential points of failure and so much variability in how users access the service and utilize it.

Businesses have accepted these facts and base their expectations on certain goals of availability. Gmail itself is used by many organizations and universities and in the contract for the service, Google promises its business users 99.9 percent uptime in a “service level agreement” — in other words, in any given 30-day month, Gmail will be unavailable for no more than 43.2 minutes total.

But regular Gmail users aren’t paying for Gmail, don’t have any agreements and have never been promised a certain amount of uptime. Regardless, by promoting Gmail as a reliable service, creating a relationship with the user and ultimately using Gmail to generate revenue, Google is morally if not legally required to keep its service highly available to its users.

In fact, Google acknowledged as much in July 2009 when Google officially removed the “beta” from Gmail’s name. In the world of software naming, certain conventions are used to describe the state of the software’s maturity. When initially conceived and not ready for regular use, the label “pre-alpha” or “alpha” is applied. Users know that “alpha” software is generally unreliable and under development.

When a product is in “beta,” it signifies that users can try the software, but should expect hiccups and bugs to crop up every so often. “Beta” was the level at which Gmail remained from its initial release on April 1, 2004 until July 7, 2009. Once the “beta” label is removed, the software should be ready for the masses and almost completely bug-free, and users should expect relatively smooth operation.

Essentially, Gmail is the United States Postal Service of the 21st century. With a few exceptions, the information conveyed through e-mail is equivalent to snail mail. Presumably, Americans would be outraged if the postal service experienced an outage and simply couldn’t deliver mail.

Luckily, Google appears to understand its charge. Todd Jackson, Gmail’s product manager, wrote on the Gmail blog, “We heard loud and clear today how much people care about their Gmail accounts. We followed all the e-mails to our support team and user group, we fielded phone calls from Google Apps customers and friends and we saw the many Twitter posts. … We’ve identified the source of this issue and fixed it. In addition, as with all issues that affect Gmail and our other services, we’re conducting a full review of what went wrong and moving quickly to update our internal systems and procedures accordingly.”

By volunteering itself as a carrier of crucial, time-sensitive information and using it to profit, Gmail must deliver its messages. While it may not be legally obligated to deliver mail, Google seems to understand that e-mail can’t be taken lightly. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night nor router problems can cause Google to allow its mail to stop being delivered. And the stakes are especially high for Google — if Google fails again, users can, unlike with the postal service, simply switch to the next company.

Opera 10: Worth deploying in schools?

And what about this? Are you agree with the text below? Please, leave your comments.

I’ve always been a Firefox sort of guy. It works well, it’s largely standards-compliant, it’s relatively secure, and all my bookmarks are there (a bit tongue-in-cheek, I know, but if there isn’t anything drastically better out there, why switch?).

One of my techs swears by the latest Safari, but that’s never held any allure for me and I’ve had better luck with Firefox handling the widest variety of content encountered by all of my users.

On Windows now, it’s Chrome all the way for me. Super-speedy, especially with Google Apps, where I spend most of my time, a bit more secure (if you drink the Google Kool-Aid and take a look at their sandbox strategy), and the interface is slick on both netbooks and larger computers. Chromium works well in Linux and OS X, but it’s still not at a point where I’d want to deploy it to hundreds of clients, nor do the performance gains on Windows feel as substantial on *nix operating systems (seat of the pants here only, folks).

Opera, on the other hand, has always felt like an almost-ran. It’s too bad, because Opera is (and has been for some time) a great, mature browser. It even works on a really wide variety of operating systems, including mobile devices. So why is it that as we all fire up the labs this fall, finish re-imaging, install new software, and upgrade machines for students and teachers, most of us won’t bother installing Opera?

I don’t actually have an answer for this. All of my Windows machines are running Internet Explorer 8, Firefox 3.5, and Chrome. All of my Macs are running Firefox 3.5 and Safari 4 (or at least my techs have almost finished updates and are heading quickly in this direction after a very short summer). The only machine in the district running Opera is my Mac since I just installed it today to give it a spin.

Needless to say, it’s impressive. It seems to do everything well.

So tell me why so few of us are using it…and if you are using it in your labs and on teacher machines (not just on your personal computers), why did you move to Opera?

Simplify Life with RingCentral’s Internet Fax

One more interesting topic about the RingCentral Company. Enjoy!

Traditional fax, quite simply, is no longer in style. It has been pointed out by many that the traditional way of faxing documents has restricted people from getting a true faxing experience. Why send a fax only to have a panic attack later because a confirmation number wasn’t given or page wasn’t printed out.

With Internet fax, send any document with confidence knowing that it will get to its assigned destination. One such company that can help with all Internet fax needs is San Mateo, Calif.-basedRingCentral. The company’s fax solution comes complete with e-mail fax capabilities, toll free and local numbers and advanced fax software.

Officials say that its RingCentral Fax over Internet service is easy to use. Simply compose and send a fax online to any fax machine in the U.S., Canada, or internationally, from RingCentral’s Internet fax software interface. Faxes can also be sent directly from any e-mail account,Microsoft Office program, or any Windows program. In addition, the toll-free or local RingCentral fax number is always available even if the line is in the process of receiving a fax.

There is no hardware to install or dedicated fax telephone line that needs to be put in place. RingCentral Internet fax takes care of receiving any fax, and forwarding it to any account as an e-mail attachment.

Company officials say that its Internet fax solution is priced at a low monthly fee and most packages included monthly inbound and outbound fax pages. A year of service is $49.99 per month with 2,500 free pages. Those interested will in this package will also receive free fax software for sending and receiving faxes to a computer, and free transfer of an existing 800 number.

Those interested can signup for a RingCentral Online Fax Service account free for one month in addition to downloading the fax software for free. For more information or to learn more about this product, visit RingCentral’s Web Site or check out their Fax channel here on TMCnet .

Phone, Internet problems slow jobless claims

Hey one more note to think of! Read and enjoy!

Unemployed people have been struggling to change their passwords on a new software program that handles their claims on the state Department of Employment Security Web site.

Call it piling on, but when they called DES’ toll-free phone line to complain, they got stuck in an automated limbo, unable to talk to an employee.

It was a coincidence, but DES is having a problem with its phone lines just as some people were having difficulty with the new computer program, according to the bureau’s deputy commissioner, Darryl Gates.

“It seems as if though we are having some sort of challenges today,” Gates said Thursday. “The telephone system seems to be going in an endless loop . . . It won’t let individuals in. It’s putting them into a menu loop.”

Gates said DES office managers told him they noticed the telephone problem Wednesday. CMB Technologies, the service provider for the Cisco phone system, has the problem identified and is correcting it, he said. DES hopes to have it resolved quickly, he said.A Lyndeborough resident – who asked not to be identified because she is unemployed and said she fears having her claim mishandled for talking publicly – fell victim to both the phone loop and an Internet password headache.

The woman has been unemployed since December, working part time occasionally. As with anyone who has an active unemployment claim or has filed recently, the woman received notification in the mail that the new DES computer system required her to change her password.

The DES Web site had shut down last week to convert to the new program. The woman tried entering her new password during that time, and kept seeing an error message until the system finally logged her out, she said. Calling DES to correct the problem, the woman has heard nothing but a busy signal, she said.

Gates said “a lot of people” have still been able to file claims on the new computer system, but “others” have had difficulty with the initial stage of changing their passwords.

For some users, the problem arises as they type the new password for the first time, Gates said. The box that displays the password as it is typed quickly turns each letter or number into an asterisk, he said.

Because the typed password converts into asterisks so quickly, some users aren’t recognizing that they have, for instance, typed a “g” when a “G” was required, Gates said. “This has been a major challenge for some individuals,” he said.

After three failed attempts to enter the system with what they believed was their password, users are kicked out of the system, but only for a day, Gates said. They can try again the next day, he said. People who want to change their password entirely have to go to a DES office, he said.

There are no other identified problems with the new computer program, Gates said. Once people have entered, they have had no difficulty processing claims, he said.

If anyone has had difficulty filing a claim because of the password, or got stuck in phone limbo, DES will not penalize them for not meeting deadlines, Gates said. “We’re trying to be completely flexible,” he said.

Also, last week unemployment claims only could have been filed by paper because of the computer system shutdown. If anyone couldn’t file a claim last week because of this limited option, DES will honor the request this week, Gates said.

Ironically, DES installed the new computer system to condense five systems into one, with the hope of reducing delays.

Opera 10 Beta 3 Now Available

Before Firefox, before Internet Explorer, there was Opera. Okay, it’s not the oldest graphical web client (Mosiac was before it), but it’s the oldest one that’s still around. It’s also one of the most prolific, with browsers on the Wii and Nintendo DS along with excellent versions for mobile phones. Now up to version 9.64, the Norwegians at Opera Software have been hard at work on Opera 10.

Now you can download and try out Opera 10 beta 3. According to the Opera site, there have been several major improvements in beta 3:

Tab tweaks
Multiple Opera users who tested the previous betas shared their preferences for more visual tab options. Opera has responded in beta 3 by offering options for tab placement. Now users can view their visual thumbnail tabs on the right or left side of the screen, in addition to placement options on the top or bottom. Visual Tabs are resizable and the thumbnail view is optional.

Eyes on the UI
Designer Jon Hicks continues his renovation of the user interface (UI) by implementing several new tweaks designed to make using Opera even more efficient.

Multilingual
With a whopping total of 38 languages, Opera’s beta 3 aims to make it easier for users around the world to feel more at home while online.

Crash prevention
Opera’s integrated crash logger has made beta 3 a rock-solid ride.

Even more Turbo
Opera Turbo has been further refined for increased speed when browsing over slow network connections.

Microsoft to hire 400 from Yahoo

Maybe some of you will be interested in the next article. Hope so. Read carefully.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Microsoft has agreed to hire at least 400 Yahoo employees as part of the companies’ new plan to share revenue on Internet search advertising, a regulatory filing showed Wednesday.

The software maker also agreed to pay the Internet search engine $150 million over three years to help implement the new partnership, Yahoo said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Under the deal, which was announced July 29, search results on Yahoo.com will be powered by Microsoft’s technology. Yahoo, in turn, will be responsible for attracting premium advertisers.

Microsoft will pay Yahoo 88% of the revenue it gains from searches on Yahoo’s sites. Microsoft will also have the rights to integrate Yahoo’s search technology into its own existing Web search platforms.

The partnership is seen as a bid to challenge Google’s dominance in the lucrative market for internet search advertising.

The deal, which is subject to approval by antitrust regulators, is expected to close in early 2010.

Colleges use software programs to catch cheaters

Hey! Another topic that can make us think a little and remember some times of our life.

With cheating on the rise at many college campuses, a technology war has broken out, as some Web sites vie to free students from paper-writing woes and others tout computer programs to battle the plagiarized papers.

Many college students have faced a similar dilemma: A professor’s deadline looms and the panic-stricken student must cobble together a 20-page term paper before morning. Some students plug away all night; others use a click of the computer mouse to find hundreds of ready-made papers.

“Our teams of expert writers all have an emphasis in writing and many have been writing for us since our launch over seven years ago,” proclaimed Irvine-based JunglePage.com, the self-described “premier online student research center” that sells pre-written essays focusing on astronomy to Shakespeare. “With an extensive writer network, JunglePage has helped students with tens of thousands of topics.”

JunglePage.com co-founder Alireza Alavian, who later sold the company, said the material on the Web site was only meant to be used as a research tool, not as a ready-made essay. “The same knife you use to cut food can be used to murder, it comes down to individual decision. We geared it more for research,” he said.

Another Internet search can lead instructors straight to the software used to catch the cheaters.

Five hundred miles north of JunglePage’s Orange County headquarters, downtown Oakland-based iParadigms has developed a program to scan students’ papers, asserting that it is “recognized as the worldwide standard for preventing Internet plagiarism.” The company’s Web-based program, TurnItIn.com, is designed to identify papers containing unoriginal material.

This battle over cheating and how to prevent it has been fought in classrooms, legislatures and courtrooms.

“There are new technologies that make it easier to cheat, but I don’t think technology is the driver,” said David Callahan, founder of the Washington, D.C.-based think tank Demos and author of “Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead.” “I think technology is facilitating cheating by people who are more focused on cheating or have more incentives to cheat.”

Third party software slows Internet Explorer

Found some info about IE8. As for me I use another browser, but maybe some of you are using IE? Answer, please, if there is any problem with the new version?
Redmond (WA) – Internet Explorer 8 might appear slower than other browsers because of the way it interacts with third party software, Microsoft has claimed. The company said that add-ons, pluggable transfer protocols and non-Microsoft security software are causing IE 8 to bog down. Redmond insists that there is nothing wrong with the browser and suggests users run its Process Monitor tool to isolate the problems. Writing in the IE blog, a Microsoft spokesman said that Process Monitor allows you to view all registry, file system, and process activity on your computer, and includes a set of filtering features to enable you to narrow down your view to just one process. Users can filter out the processes that slow the browser and then save the list of acceptable processes. Add-ons can be disabled using Internet Explorer’s “Manage Add-Ons” command under the Tools menu. The most troublesome add-ons typically are toolbars and browser helper objects, which will run with each new tab opened in the browser. One of the major culprits, according to Microsoft, is the Skype add-on which slows the browser significantly. Microsoft does not provide a work around for the Skype problem but describes how to manage other add-ons here. Pluggable transfer protocols, which are typically installed by download managers, can also affect the browser’s performance. Microsoft was not telling anyone how to deal with them either. Likewise it did not say how to fix problems with security software slowing down IE 8. Part of the problem is that some software scans content flowing through Internet Explorer, causing poor performance. Security software can strip out an HTTP header that tells servers to send back compressed content. Despite all of that, Microsoft still claims that IE 8 is the fastest Web browser.