Posts Tagged Android
AlwaysOnPc- a virtual computer tailored just for you
Posted by Paul McSweeney in Aside, Thoughts & Opinions, Web Development on August 3rd, 2010
We all have our own desktop (or laptop) computers set up exactly how we like them. We’ve got all the software we need and all the programs we want and use on a daily basis.
The only problem comes when we are using another computer for some reason. For example if you don’t have your laptop set up in exactly the same way as your desktop, you will end up getting frustrated. This is simply because you don’t have the programs you need on the computer you are using at that moment.
The answer to this is to use AlwaysOnPC. This site calls itself “your virtual computer”. Instead of having your desktop on your desktop (quite literally) you can have it online instead. It is all secure of course, and the beauty of this is that you can access it from any device you want to use.
The system currently supports desktop and laptop computers of the Mac and PC kind, as well as operating for iPads, iPhones and much more besides. As you can see it is a very useful thing to have and it practically eliminates the frustration you get from having different desktops and systems for every device you have.
The system is available to try free of charge for five days on your computer. From then on you will have to pay for it, but you might find it is worth doing so if you constantly switch computers for some reason.
The service is easy to use. Take a look at this link,where you can walk through it step-by-step.
Google TV is coming.
Posted by Paul McSweeney in Facebook, Thoughts & Opinions, Web Development on May 21st, 2010
If there’s one entertainment device that people know and love, it’s the television. In fact, 4 billion people across the world watch TV and the average American spends five hours per day in front of one*. Recently, however, an increasing amount of our entertainment experience is coming from our phones and computers. One reason is that these devices have something that the TV lacks: the web. With the web, finding and accessing interesting content is fast and often as easy as a search. But the web still lacks many of the great features and the high-quality viewing experience that the TV offers.
So that got Google thinking…what if they helped people experience the best of TV and the best of the web in one seamless experience? Imagine turning on the TV and getting all the channels and shows you normally watch and all of the websites you browse all day — including your favorite video, music and photo sites. Google have just announced that they have done just that.
Google TV is a new experience for television that combines the TV that you already know with the freedom and power of the Internet. With Google Chrome built in, you can access all of your favorite websites and easily move between television and the web. This opens up your TV from a few hundred channels to millions of channels of entertainment across TV and the web. Your television is also no longer confined to showing just video. With the entire Internet in your living room, your TV becomes more than a TV — it can be a photo slideshow viewer, a gaming console, a music player and much more.
Google TV uses search to give you an easy and fast way to navigate to television channels, websites, apps, shows and movies. For example, already know the channel or program you want to watch? Just type in the name and you’re there. Want to check out that funny YouTube video on your 48” flat screen? It’s just a quick search away. If you know what you want to watch, but you’re not sure where to find it, just type in what you’re looking for and Google TV will help you find it on the web or on one of your many TV channels. If you’d rather browse than search, you can use your standard program guide, your DVR or the Google TV home screen, which provides quick access to all of your favorite entertainment so you’re always within reach of the content you love most.
Because Google TV is built on open platforms like Android and Google Chrome, these features are just a fraction of what Google TV can do. In their announcement yesterday at Google I/O, Google challenged web developers to start coming up with the next great web and Android apps designed specifically for the TV experience. Developers can start optimizing their websites for Google TV today. Soon after launch, Google will release the Google TV SDK and web APIs for TV so that developers can build even richer applications and distribute them through Android Market. They have already started building strategic alliances with a number of companies — like Jinni.com and Rovi — at the leading edge of innovation in TV technology. Jinni.com is a next-generation TV application working to provide semantic search, personalized recommendation and social features for Google TV across all sources of premium content available to the user. Rovi is one of the world’s leading guide applications. It will be interesting to observe all the ways developers will use this new platform.
Google are also working together with Sony and Logitech to put Google TV inside of televisions, Blu-ray players and companion boxes. These devices will go on sale this Autumn in the USA, and will be available at Best Buy stores nationwide. You can sign up here to get updates on Google TV availability.
This is an incredibly exciting time — for TV watchers, for developers and for the entire TV ecosystem. By giving people the power to experience what they love on TV and on the web on a single screen, Google TV turns the living room into a new platform for innovation.
We’re excited about what’s coming.
Introducing Google TV – A short video
Social Networking via your Smart TV…the future is closer than you think:
Posted by Paul McSweeney in E-Commerce, Facebook, Online Marketing, Social Media, Social Networking, Thoughts & Opinions, Traditional Marketing, Web Development, World News on May 18th, 2010
A year from now, according to Intel, television will have been reinvented by a concept it calls, Smart TV. Google and Intel are widely expected to announce a significant breakthrough into consumer electronics and the broadcast industry with the announcement of the launch of a “Smart TV” platform.
Intel says it’s chips and software will enable not just internet video streaming but could also allow operators to turn set-top boxes into video game consoles with games served over their connection.
Grid-style TV guides will be replaced by interfaces blending broadcast TV with internet content.
Samsung, Sony, LG, Vizio, Sharp and Panasonic are all releasing internet-enabled TVs this year with features such as Skype video calls, Netflix movie streaming and on-screen widgets that offer news, weather, financial quotes, social networking and internet radio.
With TV’s, Blu-ray players and set-top boxes rapidly adding wired or wireless internet connectivity to their features, a host of companies are tailoring and integrating web-based content for living room entertainment.
Apple has yet to mount a serious challenge to. It’s Apple TV box allow users to buy and rent movies from its iTunes Store to play on their TVs. But apart from YouTube videos and Flickr photos, it’s access to the wider web is limited.
Intel Chief Executive, Paul Otellini, told analysts last week that “The revolution we’re about to go through is the biggest single change in television since it went colour”. It already has a backlog of 1m units for its latest Atom Chip; which offers better audio and video performance, wider and open software support and is cheaper than the competition.
For it’s part, Google is expected to call on its Android developer community this week to create applications for TVs and its software could prove popular if it also promises advertising revenue for TV manufacturers.
