The world of technology is constantly changing. In fact, by the time you finish reading through this, chances are something new has been developed or released. However, here are some of the more recent advancements in technology, development and communication that you, as a business owner, might care about.
Google:
- Google announced the end of the Real Time
Collaboration protocol WAVE which was introduced in 2009. WAVE was
designed to replace e-mail and change online communication but was
ultimately too complicated and confusing. - IE9 Beta was released
Sept. 15. It has better graphic capabilities and allows you to pin
websites to the task bar. In addition, IE9 offers improvements to CSS3
selector support and a ledge for HTML canvas. For many, these changes
are seen as too little too late as IE has slipped to 50% of the market share recently – a position it used to dominate. - Google Instant search- Search at
the speed of type. Released Sept. 8, Google Instant Search takes what
you have already typed, determines a likely completion and streams Real
Time results based on these predictions. Google InstantI offers:
- Relevant results quicker, so you can get what you are looking for faster
- Results are listed before you finish typing; just stop typing, select and go
- You can scroll to search, then see results instantly
- Time
saving-tests show that the average search saves 2 to 5 seconds per
search, which translates into as much as 11 hours per second.
Microsoft:
- Bing Maps has a new interface with improved graphical tools for rich colors and better images.
- Microsoft employees had a funeral procession for the iphone.Windows-powered phone and tablets are rumored to be on the way…somehow I doubt these new products will be sending the iphone to the afterlife, but it is good to see Microsoft in the news again 🙂
Research in Motion
- Blackberry announced what appears to be the first serious competitor for the iPad, dubbed the "PlayBook."
Apple:
- Apple recently recanted on their stance on allowing Flash to run on their iOS device. Now we wait and see if Adobe cares.
- Apple
X Code IDE can manage all testing devices, packaging iPhone apps with
correct certificates, install apps on devices and has a remote debugger
which connects to the devices in Real Time to help developers manage
breakpoints as the app is controlled on the device. - Latest
version of XCode is XCode 4 which is bundled with Mac OSX V 10.6
allowing 7 new multi-tasking services which improve user experience. The
IAd displays interactive content without leaving the app and has 1,500
new APIs.
Adobe:
- Flash Player 10.1 for the
mobile has been re-designed and optimized to reduce memory needs by 50%
and has hand held features like accelerometer and smart zooming which
scales Flash to full screen. - Adobe Air improvements provide
better applications outside the mobile browser and across multiple
operating systems. The key improvement is better working Flash on mobile
devices which pleases both designers and consumers.
Software & Development:
- Magiq-This
marketing tool can be used on any system. It allows you to collect data
which can then be implemented into creating a site that is geared
toward specific guests. (e.g. Those who find your page by searching for
a keyword will get a different homepage-if you choose such an option.)
Or, you could base your homepages appearance on different text, images
or a different search variable. The program uses "gnomes" that perform
geolocation, image replacement and other tasks. Each time a gnome is
employed you are charged-its minimum monthly cost is only a measly $790. - Firebug1.5/Firebug Lite 1.3–
FREE! This can be used with Firefox, IE6+, Safari, Opera and Chrome.
The Firefox extension is simple to use and gives you an overview of the
page being considered. It has separate tabs for DOM, HTML and CSS so you
can find what you are looking for easily. Also, you can enable specific
panels to make checking JavaScript and others easier. On pages without
scrutinization needs, Firebug automatically removes itself.
WordPress:
- E-commerce functionality now includes:
- Ability to sell both tangible and digital products with licensed keys
- Ability to sell affiliate products with your or other affiliate products
- Multiple payment options (PayPal, WorldPay, Cash @ Store…)
- Custom shipping calculation
- Information capture at point of sale
Mobile Advances:
- SendFlow-
a web-based platform which allows users to design, broadcast and manage
interactive SMS text and voice messages. Two-way messages can be
answered in Real Time using land-lines, mobile phones and Internet
transports, like Google-talk. - Percent Mobile- A fully hosted mobile
analytics service that measures and analyzes mobile traffic to one’s
website. Percent Mobile is designed to help you understand your guests
so will better know how to serve them. - 2nd quarter
data from NPD Group shows Android as the top selling OS in American
smartphones. Google says that 200,000 Androids are being activated
daily.
Social Media:
- Recent studies
show that Twitter users are the most influential consumers on the web.
Daily Twitter users are, compared to non-Twitter users:
- 6x more likely to publish online articles
- 5x more likely to post blogs
- 7x more likely to post Wikis
- 3x more likely to post product reviews
- FaceBook advertising has increased 10-fold in the past year.
- FlowTown–
This web based tool allows clients to import and connect e-mail
addresses to real people on the social web. Flowtown provides profile
information such as location, age, and gender as well as any social
networks that current e-mail contacts are using. FlowTown clients can
use this information to better their marketing campaigns. MailChimp recently implemented a similar ability, called Social Pro. - Research by Nielsen Co. shows that Americans spend 22.7% of their time using social media sites.
Sources:
Website Magazine, October 2010; pages 6, 7, 42 & 43
www.Googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/09/search-now-faster-thatn-speed-of-type.html
Website Magazine, April 2010; pages 6-8, 16
Practical Web Design, Sept. 2010