Presentation: (Technology) Innovation and Entrepreneurship

…And in the (new) Baginning there was Chrome.

Word on the e-street straight from the horse’s (Google’s) mouth is that the internet giant is building and releasing a browser for what the web has become today. Here’s the post as from the Official Google Blog:

At Google, we have a saying: “launch early and iterate.” While this approach is usually limited to our engineers, it apparently applies to our mailroom as well! As you may have read in the blogosphere, we hit “send” a bit early on a comic book introducing our new open source browser, Google Chrome. As we believe in access to information for everyone, we’ve now made the comic publicly available — you can find it here. We will be launching the beta version of Google Chrome tomorrow in more than 100 countries.

So why are we launching Google Chrome? Because we believe we can add value for users and, at the same time, help drive innovation on the web….

This is just the beginning — Google Chrome is far from done. We’re releasing this beta for Windows to start the broader discussion and hear from you as quickly as possible. We’re hard at work building versions for Mac and Linux too, and will continue to make it even faster and more robust…

The web gets better with more options and innovation. Google Chrome is another option, and we hope it contributes to making the web even better…

And the cherry on top is… a comic!

I’m definitely gonna love this.

Google Launches Africa Blog and Group

I got this on a mailing list i’m on:

Greetings,

I thought it might be worth while letting you know that we (Google) launched
our official blog for Sub Saharan Africa this week.

You can view it here: http://google-africa.blogspot.com

We have also launched a new discussion forum open to all, for discussing
topics related to Google and the Internet in Africa:
http://groups.google.com/group/google-africa-community

I hope you find these useful and interesting.

Divon Lan
Product Manager, Sub-Saharan Africa, Google

A little more interest in Africa shown by Google…

Up and Running on Android

Today I decided to quit making excuses and get going on the Android. I just set up the development environment and ran a few demo applications on it as well as explored the existing functionality. Here’s a screen capture of what my blog looks like from the emulator:

Personal Genetics Service 23andMe

Interesting:

Ever wondered what you’re great great great grandma had allergies to and whether that has a part to play with your current allergy to dogs, or cats… or some kind of flower??? This is a case of what probably genetic sciences can have clues to. Imagine being able to tell whether you have chances of getting some genetic disease before you get it? Sounds like a good thing, eh! I mean think of the kind of health problems that could be stopped before they happened. I once saw this Outer Limits episode where they could tell a babies life expectancy before they were born and parents could choose to keep their babies if they were going to be just, well, close to perfect! Take the same scenario in a case where some covert military project breeds a super perfect force, or a Hitler who can now take advantage of the same technology to build his ‘Pure Race’ by breeding the ‘right’ persons.

Anyway, all these are just speculations and probably just really good science fiction novels and movies and series. But then did you ever see a Surface-like gadget on an old star trek movie?

OK, I think I have scared you enough. On to reality! There’s a new service that’s soon to be launched, more precisely a personal genetics service. Yes, that’s right, a personal genetic service. It’s called 23andme (23 for the 23 chromosomes that are part of your DNA) and its founded by Sergey Brin’s (Yes, that! Sergey Brin) wife.

23andme to launch Monday by ZDNet’s Garett Rogers — Anne Wojcicki, the wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin, is to launch 23andme Monday — it appears they are already taking orders now though. The service, partially funded by Google, has set out to revolutionize how we look at ourselves in reference to the past, present and future. For $999 you will receive [...]

From the 23andme website:

23andMe’s mission is to be the world’s trusted source of personal genetic information.

23andMe, Inc. is a privately-held company dedicated to helping individuals understand their own genetic information using recent advances in DNA analysis technologies and web-based interactive tools. 23andMe enables individuals to gain deeper insights into personal ancestry, genealogy and inherited traits. 23andMe was founded in April 2006 by Linda Avey and Anne Wojcicki.

So now you have all your personal information online including your health records and business documents… hey, why not throw in your DNA there!

Anyone ever watch that Outer Limits episode ‘Stream of Consciouisness’?

It’s great innovation though. I wish 23andme the all the best but I also hope that they are worth trusting with the kind of information they would be handling and the potential ramifications it could have if someone somewhere breached the very thin chain of trust that holds the web together.

The Google Android

Recently Google acquired Android, and consequently taking a huge stride in their endeavors into the Mobile space. Android is a great platform from what I can tell after reading the online documentation and viewing a few videos. It’s built squarely on top of Linux and Java technology and has a solid architecture around it. Google is also publishing an SDK for devs to take a hack at Android as well as boosting interest by launching a competition with $10 million in prizes for the best apps built on the platform.

While Steve Ballmer of Microsoft thinks that Google so far have a lot of talk on paper and no clearly definitive way ahead for the new technology platform, it is clear that the Android has created a buzz already especially with the well known talk of Google’s suspected GPhone plans.

Taking in Android also brought in some key technologists and engineers into the Google fold. As explained in this BusinessWeek article:

Rubin isn’t the only well-known Silicon Valley veteran joining Google via Android. Others coming over include Andy McFadden, who worked with Rubin at WebTV before helping develop the all-in-one set-top box for Moxi Digital; Richard Miner, former vice-president of technology and innovation at telecom outfit Orange before joining Android; and Chris White, who spearheaded the design and interface for WebTV in the late 1990s, before helping to found Android.

Clearly, Google, in my opinion has taken a very wise decision in partnering with Rubin and the Android team. My speculation is that this acquisition will reap benefits for them in a very significant way in the future. 2008 will have a lot of buzz in regards to this.

One such foreseeable benefit would be the chance to put Google in literally everyone’s palm, after all they did it with search and the internet. Now they have a chance to get Google technology on your mobile device without having to access it over the internet. Somewhat like Microsoft’s OS, it’s just already there and you use it naturally. Plu, there are foreseeably more chances to partner with mobile and mobile content delivery companies.

You can find a good collection of videos on this topic here.