You Might See Facebook Browser & Dead Opera – Soon!

The rumor is spreading like fire, that Facebook is looking to buy Opera Software. If it turns out to be true then we will probably see a new web browser, Facebook brand.



Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Microsoft Internet Explorer just got a new competitor few days ago, namely Yahoo Axis, but it looks like they will have to make room for another one. If the said deal confirms, most probably we will see a brand new Facebook browser. If you don’t know about Yahoo Axis yet, it’s a web browser (of course) which has many new features, but the one it’s bragging about is – thumbnails. It has replaced the standard search results page and address bar suggestions with thumbnails, which shows a quick preview of the web page. Know more about Yahoo Axis.

We are saying this because, a few weeks ago the social networking giant bought Instagram and after a while launched a camera app very much similar to Instagram and apparently, Facebook is serious about developing its mobile services and make its own space in mobile sector – Acquisition of Opera Software is a very good move for this purpose. Also, it has plenty of money as it just went public, in figures its more than 16 billion dollars.




Opera claims to have 200 million users worldwide. Undoubtedly, the mobile browsers by the entity are very good and recommended by many people. Even I recommend it for mobile devices, but when it comes to desktop… I’d rather use Firefox or Chrome. Opera recently launched its very own browser for Android and Linus based TVs. We can only imagine what will happen when the growing and innovative company will get support of social networking giant and its huge public funds.

We can also expect some integration of the said browser with the social network to increase the engagement of its users and may be some exclusive features, similar to desktop notifications of Gmail which are only available in Chrome. To check the authenticity of the rumors, when Mashable contacted the PR team they replied, “Thanks for checking in, but Facebook isn’t commenting on this.” Well, what can we conclude out of that?

What do you say about this? Will you use Facebook browser instead of Chrome or Firefox?

10 Things Google Should do with Motorola

2. Do not hurt the other android venders:

 
Google came up with android and changed the market dynamic. Android devices have a huge market which keeps increasing day by day. The android platform is used by several vendors. The merger between Google and Motorola could send waves of fear in the market that Motorola would have undue advantage since it now officially belongs to the birth house of android.

 
The smart step here would be for Google to maintain a safe distance from Motorola to reassure the other vendors that there would be no undue advantage given to Motorola.


3. Use the patents wisely:

 
Google had to shell $12.5 billion for Motorola. They are now the proud owners of the 17000 Motorola patents. This is bound to come handy in this season for patent lawsuits. These patents will help Google against oracle, apple and other such companies. Google could also use these patents to improve the android platform and thus help the various android vendors.


4. Software expertise:

 
The Amazon Kindle story is known to all. They took android and gave it the Amazon touch and made kindle an instant success. Motorola also followed the same path. They took android and modified it to suit their own handsets.

 
Let us also keep in mind here that Motorola is a software genius. Their software expertise must be utilized by Google to come up with something extraordinary.

5. Utilize the talent:

 
Google acquired several valuable assets after it took over Motorola. Although the company is not doing very well at the time they were once a force to reckon with. Known for their innovative products they are home to some very talented developers.

 
Google can benefit largely if they recognize the talents in the company and shift them over.

6. Revive the Chromebook:

 
The chrome book is a personal computer running on Google Chrome OS. It is a cross between a cloud and a personal laptop. It runs on a Linux kernel and Google Chrome web browser with an integrated media player. The product received mixed reviews and it soon slipped from the consumer memory and also from Google’s priority list.

 
It is a promising product and hopefully Motorola can work to better the design and relaunch it. All they need is one successful launch and Chromebooks can be back in business.

7. Better the Motorola lineup:



Motorola was earlier known for its sleek phones and they pioneered the flip phones but made the mistake of coming up with too many handsets. The markets were flooded with too many choices for the consumers.



They must focus on fewer products to come up with better choices for the consumers. Apple follows this policy and is at the top position in the market. Hopefully Google will help Motorola make smarter choices and simplify their product list. Too much of anything is not good.




8. Avoid layoffs:

 
The market is filled with hushed rumors that layoffs are inevitable after the acquisition. When Google had taken over DoubleClick, 40 percent of their employees were laid off. Motorola employees may see the same fate. The company had recently fired 800 employees in the name of reconstruction.

 
Google does not know yet what it has taken over. They should take some time to consider the possibilities here. The search giants can utilize the talented workforce to come up with newer and better products. They certainly have the resources to do so.

9. Innovation is the key:



Motorola owned the market with its flip phones and then clam phones. Its set top box business is iconic in itself. Motorola’s legacy of being an innovator has been lost in the recent past. They could not keep up with the rapidly changing communications and electronic market.



We can expect Google to come to Motorola’s rescue and resurrect them. Google has the cash and Motorola’s investment budget can also be used to make breakthrough inventions. Google needs to bring back the innovation streak in Motorola to justify the high price they paid.




10. Stand up to Microsoft:
Motorola is currently caught in a nasty lawsuit with Microsoft over patents. Motorola has subsequently sued Microsoft in the US and European courts. Such cases usually end peacefully in patent cross-licensing deals. But this time the companies involved are not looking for settling. Motorola wants Xbox 360 and Windows 7 to be banned in US markets. Recently a judge commented in Motorola’s favor saying that 4 of their patents were being violated by Microsoft.
Google can try to be the bigger person here by letting the lawsuit go or they can take the bull at its horns. It is completely their choice.

"Go" Language Tutorial-2 (offline Go)

This tour is also available as a stand-alone program that you can use without access to the internet.

The stand-alone tour is faster, as it builds and runs the code samples on your own machine. It also includes additional exercises not available in this sandboxed version.

To run the tour locally first install Go, then use go get to install gotour:

    go get code.google.com/p/go-tour/gotour

and run the resultant gotour executable.

Otherwise, click the "next" button or type PageDown to continue.

(You may return to these instructions at any time by clicking the "index" button.)

How to Access Your Gmail Account When You're Not Connected to the Internet

Reader David is an avid Gmail user who recently spent five weeks in Brazil, where "any form of permanent [Internet] connection was far from possible." In other words, he quickly grew frustrated with Gmail because of his limited connectivity.

After all, Google's mail service lives in your Web browser, and when you can't get online, you can't access your messages (new or old). This is true of other Web-based mail services as well, like Hotmail and Yahoo, but Google recently unveiled a new option for offline mail access.

Known as Gmail Offline, this browser plug-in allows users to read, respond to, and search mail even when there's no Internet connection. It has a nice-looking, simplified interface that's similar to what you typically see in Gmail--but with fewer options.

Unfortunately, for the moment Gmail Offline is available only for Google Chrome. On the plus side, similar plug-ins are forthcoming for Google Calendar and Google Docs.

There is, of course, another option, one that can solve the offline problem for not just Gmail, but also Hotmail and Yahoo Mail Plus: an e-mail client like Windows Live Mail 2011 or Mozilla Thunderbird 6. Programs like these can be configured to download e-mail and store it locally, thus allowing you to read, respond, and search--just like with Gmail Offline. Just make sure you stick with a POP3 configuration rather than IMAP, as the latter requires a live Internet connection for many functions.