All that Glitters is Chrome

I doff my hat to Google - at a time when I thought computer technology was stuck in the 1980s, they are really pushing the boundaries. This week, Google have released a plug-in for Internet Explorer that turns Microsoft's browser into Google Chrome! Google programmers figured it would be less work to implement Chrome (or more specifically the WebKit engine -- on which the Safari and Chrome browsers are based) into IE than to have to keep writing around the bugs in IE's implementation of HTML. Furthermore, the browser within a browser doesn't create a performance bottleneck: independent tests boast that Chrome Frame is ten times faster than IE ! Microsoft were not impressed.

So how does this look for Google's plans of world domination? In the short term it probably won't make much difference to corporate computers. It probably won't make much difference to millions of non-geeks. At least initially. But it makes a difference to Google, who are allegedly about to pull the plug on IE6 support in YouTube. Web developers of the world will bow down and worship the Chromeliness of Google when IE6 is terminated.

But Chrome Frame is not about terminating Internet Explorer 6, nor really about terminating Microsoft. It is about HTML5, which is poorly supported in IE8, but which Google sees as the Platform of the Future. This is where Google are really pushing the boundaries, using a well-developed standard to do things that nobody's ever done before. When Google Maps came out, it was miles better than the competition: it used Ajax for image loading, and you could move around the map easier. Every other map service followed. When they added route finding, and you could drag the small circle to change your journey, I was seriously impressed (there is a lot of Javascript in there).

Google's clever peeps have realised that HTML5 will let them (and you) do things that you never realised you needed to do ... but once you've seen them in action you won't be able to survive without them. HTML5 opens the door to some really impressive graphical applications (like these, and especially this!) Just as you can't survive without Google Search and Google Maps today, so you'll crave their next thing, which requires HTML5 in your browser and you'll do anything - even installing Chrome Frame in IE8 - to get it. The world will be a different place.

a dream ...

I had a dream, and in that dream, I was given a message:

This is a message for the people of Today in this Land. The young people today are killing themselves because they don't know how to survive. They have turned away from the advice and customs of their forefathers which have been proven over many generations, and are killing themselves and dying in their ignorance.

The people of today are lost. They have traded the robust and tested ways of their forefathers with ways that lead to destruction. Around us we see young people destroying their lives with things that satisfy for an instant but leave them devastated for years. They don’t know the difference between love and lust. They don’t understand why they are emotionally broken. The “prophets” of today on our TV screens promote a morality that has no foundation: “it’s only a sin if you get caught”, “I know better than anyone else”, and “it’s mine because I’m bigger than you”.

O children of the 21st century ––– re-discover the ways of your great-grandmother. Do not be satisfied with the ways of those around you but stand firm for what you know deep in your heart to be right. You do not need to follow the crowd blindly like sheep, nor continue along the path to destruction. But instead, find the crossroads - seek it and you will find it. Change to the path that leads to life, which your forefathers understood, but this generation has rejected.

The God Who Created You has planned a joyful and exciting life for each person. The young people have believed lies in the media, lies about themselves and God which will cut short this joyful and exciting life. Listen again to the advice of your grandparents and those before them because they knew how to survive.

What next from Apple

It's time for the 3rd generation of the iPhone. In a month's time, the Faithful will make pilgrimage to developers conference (WWDC) to hear from their gurus.

There are lots of rumours about Apple producing a "netbook" - one of those ultra-portable tiny laptoppy things that have suddenly become so trendy.  But it makes no sense that Apple should compete against stuff at the bottom end of the financial spectrum.

It helps to understand Apple's target market. People complain about Apple's expensive products, but there's a clever plan going on here. Apple have successfully cornered the rich "early adopter" market - the gizmo-gang who absolutely must have the latest stuff.  Remember how much the first iPhone cost? Price was no barrier to these loyal customers, who were happy to pay nearly US$1000 to be the first ones to have a fancy telephone! 

These rich early adopters include a lot of people at the top of businesses. It is these people that I think Apple will target with their new Thing next month.  An exec or sales manager who travels and does lots of presentations would pay good money for something like the iPhone that can also display PowerPoint on a projector. If it were just a bit bigger than the iPhone, they could do most of their emails on it (touch-screen typing works OK for short messages).  It would of course have a docking option for attaching keyboard, mouse and big screen.

I thought Apple would bring it out last year - but I guess the technology wasn't ready yet. I think it'll be a cross between a Tablet Computer, a Netbook and an iPhone, with some other really neat technology in it. The price is irrelevant, because the Faithful will queue up for three days so they can have one by Christmas, and business users will buy one anyway. 

The most difficult decision for Apple right now is not the technology but how Steve Jobs should transition out of the company.  The Guru of Apple is ill and isn't getting younger. For his own sake and the sake of his family, he should plan a grand and happy exit strategy whilst he is still on top, rather than trying to fight the relentless progress of time. Maybe he should spend more time with the fans too, going on walkabout and queueing with them on release day.  That'd be different.