Category Archives: google

Making Gmail even better

Posted on April 21, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I’ve been using Gmail for about two years now. For my needs (read: search and wireless), it’s the best email product out there. Paul K. pointed at Better Gmail, a Firefox extension that makes it even better, solving a few … Continue reading →

Posted in email, google | 1 Comment

Google’s first pre-announcement?

Posted on April 18, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced at his Web 2.0 keynote that Google will be releasing a presentations application. (TechCrunch coverage here.) There are lots of interesting aspects to this, especially for Microsoft fans/foes. But I found one thing especially interesting: … Continue reading →

Posted in google, microsoft | Comments Off

Attack of the wireless patent trolls

Posted on April 9, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

I did a vanity search last night on the patent office’s published application database looking for some patents I’ve submitted. I came across a lot of patents submitted by Strategic Patents, P.C. The name itself screams patent troll. Trolls are … Continue reading →

Posted in aol, google, intellectual property, yahoo | Comments Off

Newspapers vs. search engines

Posted on April 7, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

The Tribune company’s soon-to-be owner, Sam Zell doesn’t like search engines. From the Washington Post: In conversations before and after a speech Zell delivered Thursday night at Stanford Law School in Palo Alto, Calif., the billionaire said newspapers could not … Continue reading →

Posted in google, media, newspapers, publishing, web 2, web 2.0 | 7 Comments

Snow on the cherry blossoms

Posted on April 7, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

We got a rare April snow today, leaving a dusting on the cherry blossoms for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. See all my pictures from around the Tidal Basin. Zoom in three levels for optimal effect. Boo to Canon for … Continue reading →

Posted in flickr, google, gps, maps, yahoo | 1 Comment

Google launches free 411 (beta)

Posted on April 6, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Om Malik reports on Google’s beta free 411 service. Call 800-GOOG-411 to get free business listings. The service uses voice recognition technology to let you search business listings. Unlike Jingle’s 800-FREE-411, you can choose to be connected to the business … Continue reading →

Posted in google, local search, mobile, mobile search | 1 Comment

Map your world with Google Maps

Posted on April 5, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Google today released a feature I’ve been wanting for a long time — the ability to make your own maps. You can add placemarkers and draw lines and shapes on the map. You can also add pictures to a map, … Continue reading →

Posted in flickr, google, local search, maps, personalization, web 2, web 2.0 | 7 Comments

Google’s revamped mobile site simplifies search

Posted on March 27, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Google revamped its mobile search offering, simplifying the search process. Before, you had to enter a search term and then select which index they wanted to search: Web, mobile, local or images. Now you can type in a search term … Continue reading →

Posted in google, local search, mobile, mobile search, wireless, wireless data | Comments Off

Google SMS – a way out of voice recognition hell

Posted on March 27, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

Google is offering flight status information via SMS. Just send your flight number (e.g. UA 484) to GOOGLE (466453) and you get a return message with flight departure and arrival times, gate information and the airline’s phone number. (With most … Continue reading →

Posted in airlines, google, mobile, travel, wireless, wireless data | 3 Comments

NewsCorpNBCYahooMSNMySpaceAOLTube vs. GooTube

Posted on March 23, 2007 by Rakesh Agrawal

NBC and News Corp announced a broad-reaching partnership this week that will feature shows from NBC and Fox on AOL, MSN, MySpace and Yahoo! — all the major Internet players except Google, the owner of YouTube. The major television networks … Continue reading →