Google Chrome For Linux August 16, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Browsers, Google, Linux.Tags: alpha, browser, Browsers, chrome, crunchbang, dillo, google chrome, Linux
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I’m rather looking forward to the time when Google finally releases its Chrome browser for Linux. I know it has been available on Windows for quite some time. But for us Linux types? Nada. Well not exactly nada but up to this point only an alpha version is available and it’s not all that easy to find either. You can go here to get a .deb file.
So, rather than wait who knows how long for the final product, I thought I’d download the alpha and give it a try. I have to say that I am impressed with it’s performance. I usually write my blogging nonsense on a second hand, 800mhz Pentium III, ram challenged (256K) IBM Thinkpad T21 running the slimline CrunchBang Linux. This is perfectly fine for text processing but can be pretty treacle like when browsing with Firefox. In fact, because the T21 is so underpowered I would sometimes revert to using the tiny but highly functional Dillo browser to get a decent response from the machine. But with Chrome I’m seeing a “mainstream” browser that loads fast, runs fast and seems fairly robust if not pushed.
As one would expect, the alpha version of Chrome for Linux is far from complete. There is no Flash support and the bookmark menuing, at least for deep menus, teeters agonisingly close to being unusable. It may be that, being so incomplete, Chrome only appears to be quick. Maybe when they have bolted on all the missing bits it will lose some of its pace. On the other hand perhaps there are optimisations still to be carried out. At any rate the remarkable speed characteristics of the browser hopefully will, for the most part, be carried through to a beta and final version.
If it does then it will be my preferred browser for any lower powered machines. I’ll reserve the light weight Dillo browser for the really hard cases. In any case even this feature incomplete alpha version works well enough right now for my needs on this computer. Not a bad outcome for what was just a speculative download born of impatience. Will I replace Firefox with Chrome on my main machines? Probably not. Not unless Chrome equivalents of the (currently) irreplaceable NoScript and FireBug plugins find their way into the Google browser.
Computing Off-Road Distances In Google Maps: RTFM May 9, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Google.Tags: create new map, Google, google maps, google maps api, my maps, off road distance calculator, rambling, walking
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In a previous post I wrote about using the Google Maps API to compute off-road distances. Being an avid walker (I don’t use the word ‘rambler’ as it implies a dedication I lack) I was interested in knowing how many miles I might have covered during one of my off-road treks. So I decided to write a little JavaScript to plot the route and do the calculation.
I should have perhaps looked a little deeper into the functionality Google already provided. If when using Google Maps you go to ‘My Maps’ and then click on ‘Create new map’ you will find an assortment of useful tools that will do exactly what I was looking for. Among them are “Add a placemark’ and line drawing tools for both on and off road. The distance computation is done and displayed automatically.
But my coding efforts were only partially in vain. Being a geek, and a Linux advocate as well, the goal of just getting the job done in the easiest way possible is not my top priority. The pleasure for me is in the problem solving and the implementation as much as in the end result. Having said that though, perhaps next time I will read the manual before re-inventing the wheel.
Google Maps: Computing Off Road Distances April 20, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Google.Tags: Google, google maps, google maps api, off road distance calculator
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Being someone who enjoys off road walking and cycling there’s nothing I like better than getting out into the countryside. Whether it’s the flattish landscapes in deepest, darkest Lincolnshire or the more physically challenging ups and downs of Derbyshire’s Peak District it’s a joy to get away from crowds, roads and traffic in general.
When previewing a walk I often use Google Maps to get a better feel for the route and the surrounding area. Switching to satellite mode in particular can often show up features that could have been missed at ground level and diversions can sometimes be made to include them.
One of the more invaluable features of Google Maps, at least for the driver, is the Directions feature. This will give you pretty good directions, distances and estimated journey times between any two points. However for the walker who’d like distances for a cross country walk, for example, this is less useful as Directions appears to only work for routes by road. Once you select an off road location the Directions feature simply advises you that there is no route available.
So being aware of the existence of the Google Maps API and having written a little basic Javascript in the past I wondered if I could harness the power of Google Maps to plot an off road route complete with distance information. In fact it turned out to be very straight forward to interface with the Maps API to do just that.
All that is required is to plot a series of points along your desired route using the GMarker call….
var newmarker = new GMarker(latlng);
….and then join each pair of points along the way to create an overall route line using the GPolyline call.
polyline = new GPolyline(lla_steps, “#000000″, 5);
You then add this to the map with the addOverlay call.
map.addOverlay(polyline);
The line is drawn and a distance property can be accessed to give the required information.
It must be borne in mind that only straight lines can be drawn between any two points and therefore it will often be necessary to “straighten out” bends with many short intermediate steps. I would also expect that distance accurancy would vary a little depending on the flatness of the terrain.
Overall I am impressed by the level of functionality and documentation provided by the Maps API. Obviously this is a fairly trivial application and has hardly scratched the surface of what is possible. I have to admit also that there is at least a small element of me wanting to re-acquaint myself with Javascript in this and I’d have been maybe slightly disappointed to have discovered a way of doing without having to resort to the use of code. However it was an enjoyable learning exercise and the result is functionally useful.
Surfing The Web: A Loss Of Innocence April 1, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Browsers, Google, Online Security.Tags: Browsers, browsing, Google, noscript, Online Security, world wide web, www
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Online security is something I am hopelessly obsessive about. I am, for example, quite prepared to restrict my internet banking to a Linux Live CD session, selected at random. For me NoScript is always setup to allow “whitelists” of safe sites that I trust even though that means putting up with some other non-functioning sites. For me the enhanced security I get more than outweighs the inconvenience.
However I have to admit that this defensive approach to surfing the net does very much go against the way it was used in the early days of the World Wide Web. In the beginning, as it were, we could browse freely from page to page, clicking on hyperlinks without needing to be concerned about picking up some form of malware. With each successive click of a hyperlink we’d be taken somewhere possibly exciting, somewhere hopefully illuminating but always somewhere different. It really was a voyage of discovery, a magical mystery mystery tour in fact.
Today however you’d be wise not just blindly clicking on any link on a page, or even in a Google search result list without giving at least some consideration as to where the link might take you. Luckily, in most cases, browsers will let you know the web address you are about to click on thus giving you an opportunity to make a judgement about whether to do so or not.
In using this defensive mode of browsing we have certainly lost something of the sense of discovery and exploration that was there before the bad guys got involved. And, of course, you can always resort to using sandboxed, throwaway, virtual machines and get back to what surfing used to be. An exciting, but safe, journey into the unknown.
So it is a shame that instead of being welcoming the web must now be considered as potentially hostile territory. The good old days are gone, and given the ongoing war that goes on continuously between the malware creators and the rest of us, they are not coming back soon.
Browsers: Blood In the Sand March 24, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Browsers, Google, Online Security.Tags: browser wars, Browsers, chrome, firefox, ie, noscript, pwn2own, safari
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For those of use who value our privacy and our security online there is interesting news from the annual Pwn2Own event held recently. (As an aside Pwn2Own is usually pronounced Pown to Own and the unlikely verb ‘pown’, at least in this context, refers to the process of compromising a computer system).
The object of the event was to pit, in controlled circumstances, fully patched versions of all of the major browsers (except Opera – not sure why) against a number of competing hackers. Any hacker who succeeded in breaking in to a browser receives a prize of money and/or hardware. On the face of it such an event may seem to some to be no more than an unhealthy gladiatorial circus designed to please crowds of onlookers who are hoping to see the spilling of browser blood.
In fact it is a useful way to stress test and subsequently highlight weaknesses in key software. In this very public way manufacturers will hopefully be alerted to whatever shortcomings may be exposed and, hopefully, actually do something to remove the exposure.
So what was the result? Very quickly Internet Explorer, Safari and Firefox were all taken down by crafted attacks from the contestants. At the end of the proceedings the last browser standing, uncompromised, was Chrome. It is understood that the sand boxed nature of Chrome made it much less vulnerable to attack than the other browsers.
As a Firefox user this result has given me some pause for thought. I would be very unwilling to move away from the Firefox and the NoScript plugin combination but if NoScript or an equivalent was available on Chrome and if Chrome ever makes it to a Linux version I’d be sorely tempted.
Google Street View: For Good Or Ill March 23, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Google.Tags: Google, google street view, privacy, street view
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So Google has finally got round to including UK coverage in it’s Street View application. This, predictably, has been greeted with much wailing and gnashing of teeth from various quarters including a comment from the Daily Telegraph to the effect that it is both a passing amusement and also a potential cause of divorce. Others have bitterly complained about it being an intrusion into our collective privacy.
There is a privacy issue although it is also true to say that Street View exposes little that is not already visible from the public highway. So I tried to think of something that I could have been caught doing on the street that would cause me to complain that my privacy had been violated. All I could come up with was the fact that I might be seen carrying an Asda bag when, perhaps, a Waitrose one would be a little more desirable.
It is also important to remember that the images shown are captured at a specific moment in time and not constantly updated. I can’t imagine that Google would want to repeat the data collection exercise very often so, over time, they will become stale and out of date.
For me it is just another tool from the Google stable to use as needs dictate. Certainly it is engaging, at least at first, to take a virtual stroll down streets and avenues to observe the local lie of the land. But as is frequently the case with innovative new technologies the effect of unintended consequences comes into play.
For example there was a case recently in which Google Earth was used by a thief to identify buildings that had lead roofs. Having used the technology to identify potential targets the thief was then able to turn up and remove the lead. Obviously Google did not design and build Google Earth for this purpose but once deployed to the world at large it could never be sure how the power of the technology would be exercised.
And so it will be with Street View. One suggested use is that house buyers could view it to a “drive by” through a postcode before deciding whether the area was to their liking. A useful, and legitimate, way to potentially save time and money. But no doubt there will be other, less desirable, uses for this technology and it will be interesting to see just how creative some viewers will be.
Google Data Privacy Failure: Nothing Is For Free March 9, 2009
Posted by granthamtech in Cloud Computing, Google.Tags: Cloud Computing, Google
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Being an old mainframe chap means that I was always going to be sympathetic to the notion of the “cloud”. Remote, centralised computing resources were meat and drink to me at one time and Google’s Documents and Spreadsheets services are excellent examples of where this has led to today. But seeing a story on TechCrunch about Google inadvertently sharing user data with other users not authorised to access it has given me some reason to pause and think.
Google’s Documents and Spreadsheets service are generally free but there is a price to pay. The fact is that as soon as you entrust management of your personal data to another party you are ceding some control of it to that party. In this case the issue is data security and there is also the major question of access failure, perhaps due to network issues, perhaps due to hosting problems.
In owning up to the problem Google has admitted that mistakes were made and, despite it’s assurances that it was an isolated event, it is in fact very likely to happen again. Data privacy failures are not uncommon and occur both in private and public sectors – witness the major losses of personal information by various government agencies in the UK.
For small businesses and organisations Google Apps are still an excellent option, lifting much of the burden of data management from the shoulders of managers. But, as with so much else in life and business, nothing is for free.
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