Google Blogoscoped

Friday, June 27, 2003

Google Hieroglyphs

Google in Hieroglyphs: Jar stand, lasso, lasso, jar stand, lion, forearm.

Yes, that’s “Google” in Hieroglyphs — created with the Hieroglyphs Translator. Link via Missy at Google Answers (with more interesting sites).

Google SVG Search

I wrote a little Google SVG Search tool in PHP. The tool utilizes the Google Web API, which means results are grabbed from Google in real-time.

The search requires the Adobe SVG Viewer plug-In.

SVG is short for Scalable Vector Graphics, sort of a standardized, open Flash (with many accessibility and meta-data features). With SVG, you can implement any vector-based effect you could think of (rotation, text-direction, size), as well as image-filter transitions. The fonts also look smoother than most regular browser fonts.

“SVG is a language for describing two-dimensional graphics in XML. SVG allows for three types of graphic objects: vector graphic shapes (e.g., paths consisting of straight lines and curves), images and text. Graphical objects can be grouped, styled, transformed and composited into previously rendered objects. Text can be in any XML namespace suitable to the appplication, which enhances searchability and accessibility of the SVG graphics. The feature set includes nested transformations, clipping paths, alpha masks, filter effects, template objects and extensibility.”
– W3C, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

For more samples, see my SVG demos section. More demos can be found at Adobe’s SVG Zone and Kevlindev’s SVG tutorial. For a good SVG drawing and animation tool, see WebDraw.

BlogThis Button Concerns

Google Blogs This

People are voicing criticism regarding the new Google Toolbar’sBlogThis” button, which is connected to Blogger.com (which was aquired by Google Inc. a while ago).

“Six Apart vice president of business development Anil Dash was also nervous about the signs coming from the Mountain View, Calif.-based Google. “When Google bought Blogger, they insisted the integration won’t exclude others and it would be neutral and that they would continue to index everything,” Dash told internetnews.com, warning that Google stands to tarnish its image as a hip, community-oriented firm if it used its market strength to promote Blogger and exclude rivals.”
– Ryan Naraine, Google Toolbar ’BlogThis’ Rankles Rivals, June 27, 2003

“Now, do not get me wrong, but I love BlogThis! One of the best tools on the Internet if you are a blogger. But I think BlogThis! should either not be on the Toolbar or it should be a service that enables me, in the options section, to input my Blog Type, Username and Password and allow me to blog to any blogging service including Blogger.com.”
– Elwyn Jenkins, Google Toolbar ’BlogThis!’ Disappoints Fans, 27 June 2003

Advertisement

 
Blog  |  Forum     more >> Archive | Feed | Google's blogs | About
Advertisement

 

This site unofficially covers Google™ and more with some rights reserved. Join our forum!