Using the following key strokes makes me a search GOD..!

1. Double-click/highlight any word or phrase on a website
2. ^C
3. ^T
4. ^V
5. Enter

This also feels like the fastest browser I’ve ever used.

Update: Yes you may do this in Firefox by right click->”Search in Google” but it doesn’t bring you to the new tab automatically which kind of makes it feel more clunky. That and I find using the address bar for search is orders of magnitude more intuitive.

2. Each Tab is its own Process

Using Firefox:  I really hate it when I’m trying to watch the latest episode of Dexter at ninjavideo, then I  go do something else using FF and one of the tabs I’m viewing crashes. With Firefox I’m screwed b/c one tab brings them all down. With Chrome I simply close that tab and the others aren’t affected.

3. No bothersome updates on every other launch

By default FF checks for updates on itself and its installed plugins. I love all my FF plugins but sometimes you just want to check gmail and check it fast. I have them disabled on my machines but most people don’t. Just a minor annoyance.

4. The stay-out-of-your-way look

I really love the overall look and feel of Chrome. It looks like a web app instead of a traditional windows one. The UI just kind of gives it this light and airy feel that the other browsers don’t have. That in and of itself just makes it seem faster even if it isn’t…

5. Downloading…

I just like the way a download is integrated directly into the tab that you’ve downloaded from for easy access. Another nice little convenience.

Don’t get me wrong

Chrome still has a ways to go in terms of 3rd party tools and overall stability. It’s still a little quirky at times and for those times I immediately switch to FF which of course works flawlessly but after that I go back to Chrome for the reasons stated above. Also it may not be Firebug but the built in Inspector for html/css is really quite nifty.

Anyways, I’m curious as to what the rest of you think…

Background

I have spent a few months now with this device. I’ve taken it on long plane rides and cross country..
I even wrote a previous article about how much I love this thing after the first few weeks of ownership.

Why it isn’t perfect?

Well now it’s been a few months and here is my only real gripe with the Kindle explained with just one picture:

Thanks to Guy Kawasaki for this great pic and associated post

At any rate, that’s just what I miss the most about not having an actual physical book: the ability to flip through it and tag things with post-it notes.

I refuse to read a reference type O’Reilly book on it like ‘JavaScript: The Definitive Guide’ for example. However, for business books like ‘Founder At Work’ it’s acceptable even though I’d still prefer the physical copy so I could dress it up like Guy did.

Conclusion & Future Predictions

So that’s it. For books where you’re trying to learn/remember things the Kindle is less than ideal. The convenience is almost a fair trade off. For fiction and recreational reading it’s perfect.

Maybe when Apple does come out with its rumored tablet we can have this kind of flip-through-it interactivity that is missing from Kindle. It’s always a trade-off though. Do we trade battery life for an amazing UI..? Also, the one thing I really love about the Kindle’s screen is that your eyes don’t tire even after reading a book on it for several hours. It really is like reading through a real book minus the aforementioned flaw.

1. Good technology should be recursive!

From Python to Ruby, PHP and more, web apps are the future and we all know it. So I pose this question: Why aren’t we using the technology we spend so much time creating, to develop with?

Why am I using thick clients to develop thin ones? Is it really a stretch to assume that we’d have a gold standard browser based IDE by now..? The brilliant minds at Mozilla have made some headway in this direction as has the Ruby crowd with Heroku but there is nothing coming close to the functionality or slickness of an app like Textmate.

2. Context Switching

My day job requires me to work with a lot of PCs. It is the reason I own PCs at home in addition to a Mac and Linux boxes. Let’s face it: Visual Studio is for ASP.NET, Xcode/Textmate is for Mac, and Vi/Emacs is for Linux and remote logins and it seems nothing is for Javascript or CSS with the possible exception of Firebug. I don’t know about you but I’ve heard that males are particularly bad at context switching and I’m no exception. I develop web apps, why don’t I use one to develop with?

3. Google Chrome OS

There is no doubt that the 3 biggest household names in software/tech are Google, MSFT, and Apple. MSFT/Apple have an OS and a development platform specific to each one. Google has previously stated that people will be developing web apps for Chrome OS, so will there be a forthcoming slick web app IDE then?

4. Eclipse is not my cup of tea

Sure Eclipse tries to be an IDE for all things under the sun but we all know it’s a tool for people who like beans. I know the Java community will hate me for what I’m about to say but Eclipse is going nowhere and has been for years. I have no issues with Java, I prefer C# or Python myself but I just can’t stand Eclipse. I’m not quite sure why Google felt it had to go the Java/Eclipse route with Android. With the gazillion geniuses they have working in Mountain View you’d think they could’ve done better.

5. Google understands web devs better than any other company on the planet

With the exception of pushing the Eclipse/Java stuff on Android devs, Google really does understand what it takes to make an incredibly intuitive UI using standard browser based technologies. No doubt Google could make a killer app in this arena. Their IDE could have support for all the major web server languages like PHP, Python, Lisp, Ruby, etc.. and can hopefully even help us out client side with Javascript/CSS, my least favorite part of web development. Only Firebug has eased my pain in that department.

6. Play where you’re strong

Most of the world knows Google for search, gmail, and maps but devs know it for so much more. Google has an incredible reputation and built up goodwill in the development community so a Google IDE would be welcomed with open arms. Shouldn’t Google put all that goodwill to better use?

MSFT owns business VPs and CEOs but Google can own the hearts and minds of developers and IT worldwide. It’s been a strategy they seem to be embracing with Google Apps. Such a strategy could obviously be furthered by the introduction of an IDE.

7. Most of all

While progress has been made on the idea of browser based IDEs, there is nothing that stands out. In other words, there is no Textmate or Visual Studio of browser based IDEs. However, with a company like Google backing such a product, there just might be. It’s time for another Google killer app with the same magnitude as Gmail or Maps. So please Google get Paul Buchheit on it and let’s get us a friggin sweet IDE already!!

That’s a wrap.

I thought I’d list the most popular hosts from the posting here for everyone’s benefit:

Linode

Rackspacecloud

Slicehost

Prgmr

Softlayer

Webfaction

VPS Farm

Heroku

Kutoken

Google App Engine

Rails Playground

FDC Servers

Here is the link to the original posting:

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=836238

As a bit of a self proclaimed introvert (with a blog) I feel a lot like Wesley Crusher. Everyone wants me to be more social on Facebook, they want me to play the game. There’s just one thing: I don’t want to play the game!

Remember when someone posting your photos to the Internet without your consent used to be a bad thing..??

Yeah me too. Those days are long gone. Oh and wait it gets better: soon they’ll be able to tag you in videos too.

I sit here and ask myself: does Facebook make my life more meaningful? Shouldn’t I be reading some great novel? or going out and being social in the real world? Shouldn’t I decide when my social life shuts off?

Is Facebook more than an interactive popcorn reality TV show for the masses? Probably not. It’s a social phenomenon for sure.. but it’s one that won’t capture my higher brain functions. Why? It speaks to one’s vanity, insecurities, and pettiness and lures them in like a sirens’ call.

Right now my life is a 24-hour drive through. People can come and go as they please. More than half of them are just acquaintances or people I knew a hundred years ago. Our lives parting ways naturally but still there is this artificial connection.

Gossip and tagged photos abound.. Yup.. it’s US Weekly for the web, a glorified Hot or Not. Need to stay in touch: use Linked-in.  Need to communicate? Stop being so passive aggressive and make a damned phone call or worse, write someone an email instead of updating your status or writing on my wall..

I’m speaking to all you introverts out there. Some might even call you individuals and I know you exists so listen to me and listen to me good: you don’t have to play the game and when they ask you why you refuse: tell them you were out that night.

*success = anything greater than 10s of millions in valuation within 2-4 years

Definitions:
———————————————————————————————————–
startup = nil;
funding = rich guys who live within 1 hour of San Fran;
school = drop out of east coast ivy league school;
location = move to University Ave, Palo Alto or within San Fran city limits after dropping out of said universities;
gender = male;
num_cofounders = greater than or equal to 2;
laptops = textmate loaded macbooks;
news = HN/Techcrunch;
product = better mousetrap: should be pure software;
pricing = get eyeballs!! get lots of eyeballs!!
marketing=present at techcrunch 50

success_predictor function:
————————————————————————————————————-
success_predictor(startup)  {

if( funding && school && location && gender && num_cofounders && laptops && news && product&&pricing&&marketing)

startup = medium-high probability of success;

else

startup = medium-high probability of failure;

return startup;

}

————————————————————————————————————-

Accurate predictor..? I hope not.

I am curious and want to know whether or not the “see as the other person types” feature is actually useful or just creepy…

In my online chats I spend plenty of time going back over an IM before I actually send it..  It’s almost like thinking before you speak.. You have this kind of filter in your brain that says “should I say it like this or that..?”  Some people don’t have this fitler, i.e. House MD..  =)

So I can’t imagine wanting to see exactly what someone is typing out as they type it. I also can’t imagine wanting someone to see me typing something out as I type it and formulate my thought into an IM…

Some people might say that I think too much.. I probably do.. but I know there are others out there who have been accused of doing the same thing and you know who you are

So I ask: Do you like Google Wave’s “see as you type” feature? And if not, can it be shut off?

Here are my reasons for staying or moving to Boston to found a startup :

1. Harvard-MIT and a host of other top universities in the immediate area, a lot of them walkable to one another..  One could say that Boston is a ginormous campus. Can one walk from Stanford to Berkeley..?

2. Less crazy homeless people. Yes, let’s face it folks: there are A LOT of crazy homeless in San Francisco. We have them in Boston too but they are far less in your face and far less in general.

3. We are the Hub. Not only are we closer to Europe (for all you UK startup junkies) but we have huge immigrant populations coming from Asia/India to attend school, work, and live here.

4. We don’t have tunnel vision. We don’t just talk about the next Facebook or Twitter in every cafe, in every restaurant, and on every street corner like they do in the Valley.. Biotech and the  medical sciences are pretty big here as well for example.. If you want to imagine a software solution to somebody’s problem, wouldn’t you rather be sitting next to someone who has a real problem to solve..? or would you rather be over hearing a conversation about someone wanting to start another twitter clone..?

5. We aren’t a startup cult. Yes I know I know.. Fox news is criticized for being too conservative… Does anyone criticize Hacker News for having a slight left coast bias when it concerns startups..? Seriously though.. it all feels a little cult-ish..

6. More room to spread out & affordability. Why is it every time I’m in San Francisco I feel like I’m packed in like sardines in a crushed tin box..? It seems the city is much less accessible from the Valley than Boston is from its suburbs. The choice in SF: Either live in the city or deal with suburban hell in the valley.. No compromise. In Boston, one has much more room to spread out into places like Cambridge and Somerville etc.. We’re not on a peninsula surrounded by ocean on 3 sides. Oh and if you thought living in Boston was expensive.. Just try renting a place in San Fran proper.. Actually forget about renting a place in San Fran proper.. You can’t afford it.

7. San Fran is an adult playground and Boston really isn’t and you’re single and want to party right?? Well lucky for you Boston is a 3-4 hour bus ride to NYC via the $15 Fung Wah bus. If you really wanted to you could even live in NYC.. After all, there are hackers who live there and the startup scene, while not amazing, isn’t bad… Oh and New York City happens to be one of the coolest adult playgrounds in the world.. Much more to do and see than San Fran.

8. History. That’s right.. Remember the shot heard round the world or the Boston tea party..? Yeah that happened here. From Harvard, to the Kennedys, and to Edgar Allan Poe .. We’ve got history and we’ve got a lot of it..

9. Natives and culture. Yes we actually have people here who are from here. They’re called Bostonians. Kind of makes it feel like a real city… It always felt strange being in San Fran with all the people who weren’t from there. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever met an SF native.

10. We value knowledge and books more. Don’t believe me.. Just read this essay by Paul Graham: http://www.paulgraham.com/cities.html. Here’s a good quote from it:

“As of this writing, Cambridge seems to be the intellectual capital of the world. I realize that seems a preposterous claim. What makes it true is that it’s more preposterous to claim about anywhere else. American universities currently seem to be the best, judging from the flow of ambitious students. And what US city has a stronger claim? New York? A fair number of smart people, but diluted by a much larger number of neanderthals in suits. The Bay Area has a lot of smart people too, but again, diluted; there are two great universities, but they’re far apart. Harvard and MIT are practically adjacent by West Coast standards, and they’re surrounded by about 20 other colleges and universities.”

11. We have good sushi too! Ever here of Fugakyu in Brookline..?

12. Weather.. Ok so it sucks during the winter and it snows. It’s not Alaska so get over it..!

Well you’re not done yet. You see, Apple’s rumored to be coming out with this new slate thing, otherwise known as the Apple tablet, which could present you with one more way to display your site. There’s just one question you should be asking yourself: Is your website touchable?

This is pure conjecture of course but let’s assume for a moment that Apple’s tablet runs iPhone OS as is also widely rumored. Sure, browsing the web from your iPhone is cool but it isn’t by any means like browsing from your laptop/desktop.

It’s obvious the web was designed for point & click. You can click your way through simple websites with nothing but content and links using a touchscreen but try navigating to maps.google.com on your iPhone. You’ll quickly see why Apple has an app for that. Even simple content sites weren’t built for a real touch screen, like the kind you see in Star Trek and the kind that will take the world by storm when Apple releases the future next year.

My question is this: Will this new tablet somehow support gestures which would mimic a mouse? Or does Apple expect us all to make a touch screen version of our site or even worse a native app?

Maybe Apple’s devised a brilliant way around it.. but one thing’s for sure: it’s definitely something to consider.

If anyone has any information on this I’d love to hear it…

0. The media loves a showdown

“….with Apple working on a larger tablet form factor, running on the iPhone OS, we believe Jeff Bezos and team will face significant competition”

With articles like this one popping up everywhere it’s no wonder everyone is pronouncing the Kindle dead on the rumored Tablet’s arrival.

I say hogwash! There are a few reasons why Kindle will still be a contender. In fact there is more reason to believe they would coexist peacefully…

1. Kindle’s battery life is phenomenal

That’s what happens when you’re running an electronic-ink display with a slow refresh rate. Mine last for weeks without a single charge. Great for long plane rides!

2. No heavy lifting

Unless Apple is packing some Wall-E style tech in their rumored tablet then we can expect a significantly heavier device. When reading a book for hours on end – it would make a huge difference.

3. Marketing 101

An Apple tablet would be in an entirely different market than the Kindle. How many people seriously think the Tablet will compete with Kindle on price? I just can’t see how a spanking new Apple tablet would go for anything less than $600 and that’s being conservative. Let’s not forget we don’t have AT&T in the back room subsidizing the device costs on this one. Let’s not also forget that an unlocked iPhone goes for approx. $600.

4. Amazon

Can we all give Amazon just a little street cred? They have an already enormous and rapidly growing selection of books and publishers on board. Amazon’s back end protects Kindle in a way that iTunes protects the iPod and iPhone. It’s the calvary you can depend on and if it’s one thing Amazon knows: it’s books.

5. There’s a Kindle app for that

Yeah I said it. Who would of thunk it!? You mean Amazon could develop a Kindle app on the Apple Tablet as it did for the iPhone? Yes, it could, and it could also take advantage of all that fancy new hardware. That’s what I’m waiting for.

So there you have it. The Kindle, Bezos, and Amazon may stand a chance after all.