About two weeks ago, Google jumped into the browser war by launching a beta version of Chrome which created a buzz in the IT world. The big question is whether or not Chrome offers enough to attrach people to switch from other browsers, such as Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox. Fortunately Google’s streamlined and speedy browser offers an intriguing alternative to Firefox and Internet Explorer.

CrossOver Chromium

Google plans to expand its Chrome offerings to the Mac and Linux platforms.

If you’d like to try Google Chrome on a Mac, there is no need for Boot Camp etc. The guys over at CodeWeavers (producers of the awesome CrossOver for Mac program that lets you run some Windows apps on your Intel Mac) have ported Chrome for Mac as well as for Linux recently.

CrossOver Chromium is a Mac and Linux port of the open source Chromium web browser , the freely available source behind Chrome.

CrossOver Chromium requires OS X 10.4 or higher and an Intel CPU, PowerPC Macs are NOT supported. Additionally, CrossOver for Chrome is absolutely not suitable for using as day to day browser; CrossOver just produced it as a proof of concept of their capabilities.

Sooner or later Google will launch Chrome; CrossOver Chromium is just something to try out Chrome goodness. So if you feel like checking out Chrome before Google release Mac or Linux version CrossOver Chromium is your answer.

I’m not sure about you but i’ve been having real problems with the 3G reception on my iPhone. At home it is fine but as soon as i get into work I lose all reception. At first i thought it was just me but soon found out that it was all iPhone users in the office and then I realised that it was all 3G phone users….

But why? The internet was full of blogs claiming that the iPhone 3G reception issues were caused by hardware but that doesn’t explain why non-iPhone 3G users were also having problems. Then i came across this article which explained it all (kind of). Apparently, the iPhone is requesting a little too much power from the antenna. When this is multiplied by several hundred users it is causing interference with the antenna. Simple explanation right?

Mac have since released a couple of builds in an attempt to fix the problem, suggesting that the power request is software controlled. If this is true it is good news for iPhone owners. Of course, if the article is correct then it would require all iPhone owners to upgrade to the latest firmware in order for the problem to be fixed (or a good proportion of them).

My personal opinion is that this is also a 3G network issue. It simple can’t cope with the increased demand since the introducion of the 3G iphone and the REAL fix is to put up more cell towers (not that I advocate this).

NOTE: i work in central london in an office full of iPhone users

Yesterday, Paul Walsh (Segala CEO) was over in Yahoo! to present “How to enable trust/better search” armed with a can of beans.

The event was hosted by Yahoo! at Yahoo!’s Mission College Campus, Santa Clara, California.

The purpose of the event was to present the new technology with real world applications that begin to show what POWDER can do.

POWDER and us

POWDER (The Protocol for Web Description Resources) is a new technology from the W3C that bridges the gap between the traditional Web and the Semantic Web. It’s simple, easy to use and can fit into existing publishing work flows with minimal development effort.

To the end user POWDER delivers more of what you asked for and less of what you don’t want, allows you to judge the trustworthiness of information found on the Web and brings the best of the Web to your browser.

For Publisher’s, POWDER is an easy and inexpensive way to describe lots of things at once (such as everything on a Web site). Is open to authentication so that others know they can trust your data and opens up your data to the Semantic Web.

For Service Provider’s, POWDER supports real-time content personalization, makes discovering relevant & trustworthy content easier and identifies online resources that meet criteria that are not solely based on popularity.

The Agenda

• Welcome, Anne Toth, Yahoo!
• Introduction to POWDER. Phil Archer, Family Online Safety Institute, POWDER Working Group Chair
• The Semantic View, Jeremy Carroll, Top Quadrant
• The QUATRO Project — Authenticated, Machine Readable Trustmarks, Kostas Chandrinos, i-sieve Technologies
• POWDER in your Browser, Phillip Grønvold, Opera Software.
• A commercial view of POWDER, Paul Walsh, Segala
• Tying in with other standards, Matt Womer, W3C
• Comments and discussion from the floor

It’s still early hours in San Franciso so I’ve not had the opportunity to speak with Paul and find out how the event went. But, Paul did manage to drip feed the rest of us via Twitter.

Phil Archer, FOSI, CTO is up first. Talking about POWDER.

I’ve just presented technology that a 10 year old would get. Next guy up is talking about what’s under it – way too technical. But he’s good.

Matt Womer from W3C is up. I like matt.

Opera is now up. But I’m not permitted to tell you what they’re doing.