Google Chrome Just Might Catch On

Could I Possibly be Wrong?

I’ve been reading all of the news about Google Chrome, the blogosphere’s newest darling. I downloaded Google Chrome and tested it on a few machines to see what all of the fuss was about.  Overall, I think it’s OK, but not as good as Firefox, Flock, or even Opera. I don’t really see it taking out Internet Explorer or Firefox any time soon. It lacks that extensions and customization of Firefox and it won’t be bundled with the Windows or Mac operating systems.

When ever I look at the possible adoption of new technologies like Linux, Firefox, or Google Docs I always ask, “Will my mom use this?”

A few tech news sites are reporting that Chrome is being used by as much as 8% of their readers and predicting when it will pass IE and Firefox. My initial thought was that these sites are read by tech geeks that installed and tested out Google’s new toy. I would be curious to see what Yahoo, AOL, or MySpace are seeing.  For the record, VitaminCM.com is seeing right around 1%, which is just behind Opera.

My “Wakeup Call” to Chrome’s Mainstream Potential

So I see my phone ring at 7:55 AM this morning and it’s my mom. I figure that something really bad must have happened down in Del Boca Vista, so I answer. No deaths, hurricanes, or tragedies, just this:

I was reading about this new browser, “Google Chrome” in the free local paper. Have you ever heard of it? I decided to try it out.

Well that cinches it, the “Will my Mom use it?” threshold has been met.

Maybe I was wrong, this thing might take off. I’m still taking a wait-and-see attitude about how much market share Chrome will actually gain.

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Great Tech and Gadget Sites for Women

Strong Enough for a Man, but Made for a Woman

I read a lot of Tech and Gadget sites (198 feeds and counting) and 95% of them are written by men, for men. That’s great, if you’re a guy (which I am). What about the ladies? Don’t they deserve some Gadget Love? Don’t they want to know what’s going on with Facebook, Google, or Apple? Sure they do!

It just so happens that there are a bunch of excellent Tech and Gadget blogs written by women, with women in mind. Here’s my little secret: They’re usually pretty cool for guys too. At least this guy.

If there’s a special lady in your life (or if you are one) that likes her tech without a side of testosterone, here are a few sites for her.

How to Geotag your Pictures Using Picasa and Google Earth

Put Your Photography on the Map (Literally)

Goal: Learn how to Geotags your photos and place them on a map quickly and easily using free software.

What is Geotagging?

Geotagging is the process of adding geographical identification metadata (information about a file) to photos (and other media). This allows applications and web pages to identify and display where an image was taken. You can use Flickr and other services to place your photos on a map that shows their locations.

Where does the Geotag Data Reside?

The longitude and latitude information is placed inside the Exif data (data that identifies date, time, and camera settings, among other things) of an image.

That’s great, but how do you find and add the GPS coordinates to the Exif data in an image? It sounds pretty complicated and technical. Well, actually you can do it yourself in just a few simple and fun steps. The best part is, you probably already have and use the software that you’ll need.

What tools do you need?

1. Your digital photos
2. Google’s Picasa (Get Picasa here.)
3. Google Earth (Get Google Earth here.)