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Google Docs Gets Gears
April 1, 2008
For all the benefits of cloud computing otherwise known as ASP-based service, on-demand, hosted and software as a service or SaaS there is a major drawback. Some applications are needed on the go... And the cloud doesn't follow you everywhere you go.To solve this problem, Google came up with a program called Google Gears some time back with the goal being to allow programs that are hosted to function when there is no Internet connection.
One of the applications to first take advantage of this software program was the Google Reader, a software package which downloads RSS feeds from various sources and presents them in a single, plain user interface.
It is obvious that the program that really needs Gears is Google Docs. After all, when you are on a plane and you want to see that document that is on the network, you are just out of luck.
So the good news is that today -- and this is no April Fool's Joke, Google Gears will work with Google Docs allowing you some of the functionality of Microsoft Office.
At the moment, spreadsheets and presentations are not accessible offline but Docs, Calendar and Gmail are.
Personally, I have not been a fan of Google Docs but many people are and those who were waiting for the service to have better offline functionality, will likely adopt this hosted service in exchange for their Microsoft licenses.
Is this a death blow to Microsoft Office? Not really, but as the software gets better, it is only a matter of time before Google Docs with Google Gears starts to take a bigger share of the market.
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Plantronics Discovery 925: is it Jewelry?
April 1, 2008
If you have a doubt that your bluetooth headset is becoming more and more like jewelry, take a look at the new Discovery 925 line by Plantronics. The new headset reminds more of an earing than a headset and one wonders if the company is targeting the female consumer more heavily with this product.
The answer to this question could be best summed up with the fact that the headset comes in numerous colors which have super-fancy names such as Onyx Black, Alchemy Gold and Cerise Pink.
The device is not short on function either... You get five hours of talk time and days of standby time.
So welcome to your new future... One in which you not only have to match your belt color to your shoe color (yes, my fellow engineers, this is a fashion rule :) ) but now your headset needs to match as well.
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Jabra BT 4010
April 1, 2008
Let's face it… Morse Code was great when there was no telephones around but why would anyone use this century-old communications mechanism today? The simple answer is that anyone with a bluetooth headset today generally has to interpret flashing lights which resemble Morse Code.How much battery do you have? Let's see… I have two red lights, a green and lavender… Is that 50% or 15%?
I must admit that I have never learned how to read the battery level on my various bluetooth headsets and I welcome the change that the Jabra 4010 brings to the table.
You see, for the first time I can look at my bluetooth headset and see the battery and signal strength and call status by looking at an LCD screen located in the center of the headset.
The headset comes with a mini USB connector for charging and if I had to give room for improvement it would be that I would like the headset to vibrate when a call comes in and display the phone number as well.
If these features are added, one wonders if anyone would even need to take their cell phones out of their pockets anymore.
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