tola - google

Installable Web Apps

tola — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:47:27 +0100

When I first heard about Google's and then Mozilla's concepts of "installable web apps" I was a little dubious. Surely the whole benefit of web applications is that they don't need to be installed!

But if you think of installable web apps as a convergence of the "app store" and "cloud computing" models (arguably the two most significant trends in the software industry today) it actually makes quite a lot of sense.

The diversity of different software platforms available for smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and PCs is great for encouraging competition and driving innovation - but it also causes problems for both app developers and consumers. An app written for Apple's iOS for example will not run on Android, Blackberry OS, WebOS, Meego, Bada, Symbian or any other competing platform. For consumers this is confusing and frustrating because unless they allow themselves to be locked in to a single vendor they may have to re-purchase different apps for different devices. For app developers it's even more frustrating because they're faced with a bewildering array of platforms to target their software at.

Web applications have different problems with limited discoverability and access to hardware. To a web browser web applications are no different to any other web site which means that the apps can easily get lost in the ocean of content on the web. Web apps also traditionally have very limited default access to client-side hardware for security reasons which limits their capabilities when compared to native applications.

Installable web apps can combine the best parts of web applications (the benefits of cloud computing and accessiblity from any device) with the best parts of the app store model (easy distribution and discovery of software which has full access to the device's hardware). This new breed of apps could leverage web technologies to reach the whole range of competing platforms with a single application which can be distributed via a range of competing app stores. By "installing" a web application the user can pre-approve access to local hardware like offline storage, accelerated graphics and geolocation to allow the app to make the most of the hardware it's running on and the user can keep a local repository of all the applications they use.

Both developers and consumers only have to worry about one kind of application running on one open platform (the web), but still have a choice of hardware and app stores. In this model the only people who lose out are the corporations who seek to lock consumers into their own products and services.

It could take a long time for installable web apps to become the predominant model of software distribution, but the idea of converging cloud computing with the app store model makes the idea very appealing and might go some way to explaining why Google currently has both the Android and Chrome OS operating systems in development. Each OS is approaching the convergence from a different direction whilst maximising on the market potential of what can already be done today.

I hope that standards for "installable web apps" can be agreed upon sooner rather than later so that if this model does become a growing trend, the new breed of apps will not suffer from the same fragmentation as other platforms do today.

Google TV

tola — Tue, 25 May 2010 15:05:45 +0100

At their annual I/O developers event last week, Google announced "Google TV", an open platform for TV-related devices based on their Android mobile OS and Chrome browser.

Many people have tried in the past to combine the web and TV experiences, but none have been hugely successful. Google claims that the reason Google TV will succeed is that unlike previous efforts, they are not trying to re-create the web for the TV, they want to bring the existing web to the TV. They're also working with an impressive array of partners including Sony, Intel, Logitech and Bestbuy.

Google TV consists of a hardware specification and a software platform. The hardware specification includes Wifi & Ethernet for broadband Internet access, HDMI to connect to an existing set-top box and an Infra-red transceiver for remote control. Also included is an Intel Atom processor, a dedicated DSP for high definition audio & surround sound and a GPU which can handle advanced 2D & 3D graphics. Input devices will all include a keyboard and pointing device to enable web page navigation and can use an IP-based remote control protocol to communicate with the Google TV device. Also mentioned was an IP protocol to communicate with cable/satellite/terrestrial set-top boxes for integrations such as retrieving TV listings and setting a recording schedule.

The first Google TV devices will include a TV from Sony and a set-top box from Logitech and will be available in the Autumn.

The software platform is based on Google's Android mobile OS with their Chrome web browser and Adobe Flash. Existing android apps should already run on Google TV as long as they don't rely on any missing hardware or software and a full SDK will be available in early 2011. As well as Android apps, the device will run HTML5 apps over the web. Any web application should work but guidelines have already been issued for optimising web apps for the TV form factor. Web APIs will be issued along with the Android SDK early next year and will probably include standard ways to control web apps from the Google TV input devices. You will be able to control the first Google TV devices from Android phones and install apps from another web-connected device.

Google hopes to open source all of the software through the Android and Chrome projects by summer 2011.

My initial impressions of Google TV are that on its own it isn't anything hugely innovative, similar things have been done before. But with a powerful hardware stack, a proven open software platform and some big brands behind it, Google TV could finally be the platform which successfully merges the web and TV and enables a new generation of innovative services. If HTML5 lives up to its promise then native Android apps one day be redundant as HTML5 matures and provides an equivalent user experience in a more open way.

With HTML5 support building on netbooks, smartphones, tablets and now TVs & set-top boxes I'm excited about the potential of future web applications on this new range of form factors. I think that in a couple of years time the web is going to be even more graphical, even more interactive and even more ubiquitous than ever before and the desktop PC will no longer be the primary means of accessing online content.

Are you ready for the web on your TV?

O3D - Google's 3D JavaScript API

tola — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 08:58:00 +0100

I've been dying to talk about this since last summer when I joined the trusted testers programme, but the public release has finally arrived. Google has released an Open Source JavaScript API for creating interactive 3D graphics in the browser called O3D. It is currently a browser plugin for Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Chrome that works on Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux - but Google would ultimately like to see native support in browsers.

Although Google have been working on this project for two years, they're billing this as an early release as "part of a conversation with the broader developer community about establishing an open web standard for 3D graphics". With reference to Khronos' Initiative to Create Open Royalty Free Standard for Accelerated 3D on the Web, Matt Papakipos (Engineering Director at Google) has previously said "with more and more content moving to the web and JavaScript getting faster every day, the time is right to create an open, general purpose API for accelerated 3D graphics on the web. Google looks forward to offering its expertise in graphics and web development to this discussion".

A CNET article on O3D also quotes Papakipos. 'Google believes that it's possible that multiple 3D interfaces will be supported in browsers of the future. "Ultimately, there's going to be at least two," Papakipos said, pointing out that 2D graphics in the browser has two technologies at present, SVG and Canvas'. Having personally discussed X3D with Matt Papakipos, I have high hopes that he may be referring to X3D here, or perhaps a derivative of X3D. When I discussed X3D with members of the O3D team (known internally by a different name) last summer, they said they didn't know a great deal about X3D at the time, but they seemed to have some reservations about parts of the standard - apparently enough to warrant taking their own approach to the problem.

I am encouraging Web3D Consortium members to engage in this discussion. As Google has recently become a browser vendor and a member of the Khronos group, I would also be interested to hear the consortium's views on Google's recent release. Their new API is yet another example of an imperative approach in contrast with X3D's declarative approach.

Please note that I am not currently an employee of Google, I was only an intern there last summer, any opinions expressed are my own.

First Week at Google

tola — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 11:45:03 +0100

It's the end of my first week as a "Technical Solutions Engineer" intern at Google in London.

I'm living a 6 minute walk away from work (which everyone is very jealous of) in a studio flat in Westminster. The flat is about the size of a postage stamp, is in an ex-convent, is currently still full of the previous tenant's belongings, still has no Internet connection and is costing me more than most people's mortgages - but it's home, for the next 12 weeks at least. I can just see the top of Westminster Cathedral from my window and it's quite a weird feeling being around the corner from Buckingham Palace.

So far, working at Google has more than lived up to my expectations. It isn't just the three free meals a day, the permenant supply of snacks and drinks (healthy and not so healthy), the lava lamps, games room, bean bags, hammocks and massage chair. It's the whole atmosphere - the flexible hours, the incredibly friendly and intelligent people and the open-ness. Google might be secretive to the outside world, but internally they're incredibly open - even as an intern the amount of information (and code!) I have access to is astounding.

This week has been quite unusual because there have been a lot of social events - a leaving do, an afternoon of paintballing followed by pubs into the wee hours, and TGIF with free beer and pizza. This is good because the social events involved the gathering of a lot of members of the Partner Solutions Organisation (in which I work) from all over EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) so I really got to know the people behind the organisation in a social context.

The only uncomfortable thing for me is that I am living under my first NDA - for the first time in my life I am learning things that I can't necessarily pass on to other people. I had to do a lot of soul searching before I signed that document. If it wasn't for Google's commitment to Open Source (in their own special way) and particularly Open Standards I think the decision would have been much harder. I can tell you that people here really do take the statement "Do No Evil" very seriously - even if it does cause them lots of problems in the media.

At TGIF (thank goodness it's Friday) yesterday afternoon I had to introduce myself to everyone at the London office, accompanied by many other "Nooglers". All the Nooglers had to create a slide about themselves including a photo (I had pigtails in my photo) and when asked to reveal a "random life lesson" I told a story about the time I found out you shouldn't wear shorts in the Vatican (ask me for the full story). I was also asked who would win in a fight between Spiderman and Batman and controversially answered Spiderman (Batman doesn't even have any superpowers!) .

Google isn't just about fun and games though. I have a very challenging project to work on and it's going to take me at least the first two weeks to get up to scratch on Google's development tools, build system and production infrastructure. There's a steep learning curve to get started, but I think I've hit the ground running so far.

I'll be back soon with further updates.

Google Docs Offline

tola — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 15:45:04 +0100

I was able to try Google Docs Offline for the first time today and it's extremely cool.

The offline function uses the Google Gears web browser plugin which I talked about last June to keep an offline copy of all your documents. If you find yourself outside "the cloud" with no Internet access you simply point your web browser at the docs.google.com domain and your browser reverts to the offline version. You can view documents and spreadhseets and even edit your documents offline and it automatically syncs your changes when your conection is re-established.

It was a tiny bit buggy for me when I first used it, but I think this is a significant step forward for web applications. I really hope that open standards emerge so that this kind of thing becomes commonplace, there are certainly efforts to make this happen.

Google Internship, Flat wanted in London

tola — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 12:33:12 +0100

Internship

After two years of trying and five interviews, I've finally got an internship with Google this summer. I'll be working as a Technical Solutions Engineer in the Partner Solutions Organisation at Google London and the work I do will hopefully ultimately improve the results you get when you carry out a local search on Google Maps. I've been to visit the team I'll be working with and had lunch at Google, with a tour of the building. All I'm going to say is, I can't wait to start!

Flat

I'm currently looking for short term accommodation in London over the summer. I'm looking for a 3 month let of a studio flat (or potentially a flat share) from mid-June to mid-September. I need somewhere in the range of £100-200 per week which is in easy reach of London Victoria station, somewhere on the District, Circle or Victoria tube lines would probably be ideal. My basic requirements are a double bed, a shower, an Internet connection and basic kitchen facilities.

If anyone has or knows of something suitable, I'd be extremely grateful if you could contact me by email (ben at tola.me.uk). So far I've been looking on rightmove.co.uk and gumtree.com and I'm not having a huge amount of success. There's lots out there, but I keep coming across problems.

Google Gears @ Google Developer Day 2007

tola — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 14:29:55 +0100

London Google Developer Day

I spent yesterday at the London Google Developer day, one of 10 simultaneous events in cities around the world. This international event was the first of its kind and Google took the opportunity to launch some new products relevant to developers. By far the most interesting project for me was "Google Gears", a web browser extension that allows web applications to work offline. I seriously believe this web browser advancement is as significant as the APIs which put the "A" in "AJAX".

Google Gears

Google gears is interesting not only because of what it does (there are plenty of projects tackling the "offline problem"), but because of the way Google are going about it. Google are collaborating with important industry partners like Mozilla and even Adobe to try to create a standard API for offline applications that they hope all web clients will use. All major browsers are already supported, with Opera support in the works. Adoption of the standard by projects like Adobe's Apollo platform and discussion with projects like the Dojo Toolkit greatly increase the chances of proliferation of the standard.

Google Gears consists of three main parts - LocalServer, Database and WorkerPool.

LocalServer acts as a local HTTP server inside the web browser and caches and serves resources locally.

The Database part uses SQLite as a local store, a kind of giant cookie implemented as a relational database that web applications can access both online and offline.

WorkerPool creates a kind of multi-threading in JavaScript so that processor-intensive operations can run asynchronously, with a particular focus on preventing user interface lock-ups. This is useful not only for offline operation but also to increase the responsiveness of the user interfaces of online applications. The idea of Google Gears is that web applications will be usable offline when network connectivity is intermittent or non-existant and changes made by the user will be passed to the server opportunistically when a network connection returns.

The missing component

However, Google Gears is missing a key part of the solution required to make web applications work offline. Currently, if you write a web application which modifies data in the local SQLite database there is no provided method for synchronising those changes with the server. This is left for the developer to figure out on a per-application basis.

After the event I had a chat with Chris Prince over a pint (paid for by Google of course). Chris is one of the main engineers who has been working on Google Gears in Mountain View. He said that three separate teams were given the task of figuring out a standard method for synchronisation and all three came up with completely different answers. It turned out that they couldn't figure out a standard synchronisation method that worked well in most cases so they just left that bit out, for now.

I asked Chris whether he thought a dominant standard would emerge or whether things were always likely to be this way. He said that he expected a standard to emerge which worked well 80% of the time, with different methods for special cases, financial transactions being an example. He thinks that once Google Gears capability has been added to around three major applications (I suggested GMail, Google Calendar and Google Docs!), a useful standard method may emerge.

Other Happenings at GDD07

I attended a talk by Chris DiBona, Google's Open Source Programmes Manager, about Open Source in Google. I grilled him about how Google decides whether a project be open source or not (with particular reference to hosted services like GMail and software bundled with Google Appliances) and asked him about GPLv3. I then sheepishly asked him to sign my copy of "Open Sources" which he co-edited.

I also attended talks on Google Gadgets and GData APIs and asked whether Google plans on supporting authentication mechanisms other than Google Accounts in their APIs, but was basically told to make a feature request.

I met up with Darren from PHPWM and talked with a Cambridge PhD student about his work on AI in virtual learning environments. I explained my business idea to him and had an interesting conversation about intellectual property in universities.

Sergey Brin gave an international live webcast to all the event attendees and gave an amusing and bizarre talk about how the Internet is now fuelling its own growith through relationships formed on dating websites which lead to offspring who go off to work on making the Internet better. He was referring to the fact that a child born as the result of the first dating sites would now be around 12 years old, and presumably old enough to use Google's web based IDEs for developing mashups and Google gadgets!

The food at the Google event was characteristically fantastic and the "Blogger Lounge" was full of lava lamps and floor cushions, with free WiFi and coffee. A goody bag was provided including a Google branded T-shirt, mouse mat, USB stick, yo-yo, notepad, pen, sweets and silly putty! All in all it was great to rub shoulders with Googlers and I had some extremely interesting conversations with lots of smart people. The food, coffee and beer was all provided by Google and was brilliant. The train journey and mianderings around the London Underground weren't even that troublesome.