How to Sync Multiple Calendars to your iPad with Google Sync
Works with iPhone as well. If you’re already syncing a calendar you can skip the desktop Safari part and try http://m.google.com/sync directly from your device.
Archived entries for
Fake Steve on why Google really left China
Fake Steve at it again with the conspiracy theories! This one doesn’t sound that far-fetched to me.
As for Google suddenly growing a conscience, come on. You know why Sergey freaked?
It’s because he found out that his own employees in China were actually working for the Chinese government, and were using their access to Google’s internal systems to steal information about Google’s precious little search algorithm. How can you do business in China if everyone you hire is going to steal from you? That’s why Google is backing out.
Google Public DNS Servers
Made the switch. They’ve done this for speed. I also consider them more secure than Comcast’s. Check out the link for how to set up.
Add Google Documents to Spotlight in Mac OS
Been using this for a long time and it comes in handy from time to time. It’s a System Preference pane that allows Spotlight to index your Google Documents and Picasa Web Albums. Works in Tiger, Leopard and Snow Leopard.
droid doesn’t
Well, that was quick. After making the following pro/con list I returned the Droid. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Android though and hopefully 3.0 matched with a white knight device will be much more compelling. At the same time I’m sure Apple will improve iPhone, though as of yet we haven’t really heard anything about what’s coming in 2010!
Motorola Droid vs. Apple iPhone
Pros:
Google Voice integration in dialer
Screen is beautiful and has a ton of pixels
Navigation works well, especially with voice car mode
Wifi/Bt/GPS toggles built-in via home screen widget, no need to jailbreak
App multitasking built-in and somewhat effective
Notification system is better, shows more than just the most recent notification
Better integration with G services, Gmail app is great, calendar and talk
More reliable network and better call quality
You can see the entire screen while typing with the physical keyboard and it has useful arrow keys
Universal click and hold sub-menu access is nice
Quick access to recently used applications by holding home button
Universal back button is useful
Widgets are helpful
Can potentially modify lock screen
Cons:
Big, heavy and brick-like in appearance
Physical keyboard is not very good and doesn’t offer word correction
Cut and paste is cumbersome
Can’t use mobile data during a call
Camera app is slow and camera itself isn’t up to snuff
Limited to 3 home screens
No syncing of music, pictures, videos or bookmarks!
YouTube low quality option is too low quality and high quality option is too slow on 3G
Not enough granularity in media volume settings
No Yelp app and very basic Facebook app
Also, no ability to receive notifications from Facebook
App store is quite a ways behind in quality and selection
Built-in media player is weak
UI frequently seems slow
No pinch zooming in built-in apps like web browser and photo gallery
droid does?
Note: I wrote this last Wednesday.
I’ve been in a place for several months now where in order to be happy with my 3G iPhone I’ve had to jailbreak. The two primary reasons are SBSettings and MusicControls but I also use GV Mobile for Google Voice, the tethering hacks and Backgrounder. There are many other potential benefits but beyond those the device pretty much slows to a crawl. Technically, a 3GS would solve my problems because of the more powerful hardware. But not only is the upgrade prohibitively expensive, it would also likely require a 2-year extension of my AT&T contract. Not to mention that they can be tougher/riskier to jailbreak.. and that jailbreaking in and of itself may not be around forever.
For these reasons I felt compelled to try out the new Motorola Droid. I’ve always liked Android and have been attracted to the platform because I rely on so many of Google’s services.
Some of the potential benefits:
- Verizon over AT&T
- Better notification system
- Google Voice integration and more
- Multitasking
A few of the biggest complaints against the Droid don’t really affect me. Regarding the 256MB app storage limit; I hardly ever play games. The weakness of the built-in media player app; I don’t use my iPhone for video and music much in lieu of Pandora. The weakness of the Android Market may be an issue though. I rely quite heavily on apps like Touchpad, Prowl and Yelp. In any case, it won’t hurt to give it a try!
Google browser sync
Firefox plugin to sync your bookmarks etc to your google account. This sounds very promising, it might put this blog out of business!
Google Facts
Some interesting history and facts about Google from a lecture by Product Manager Marissa Mayer.
