The Construct

Google first. Ask later.

Someone else’s got the answers to your stupid questions. We can’t be bothered.

***

Yup. Maybe we should start offering this as a basic course in college. Better yet, teach Googling as early as basic education.

I remember that our teachers use to discuss the Dewey Decimal System to locate books in a library. Forget that. How about teaching effective use of keywords when using search engines.

“Not I!,” says the me. At least not until I get a new Windows powered rig sometime in the (far) future. I’ll be interested in seeing how that shapes out to be though.

I have to admit that I was a bit shocked when Google announced the coming of Chrome OS. I know that they’ve been positioning themselves to take on Microsoft but I didn’t expect them to try and penetrate Microsoft’s core business this soon.

I’m quite keen on seeing how Chrome OS will be addressing the needs of the common computer user. Its emphasis on speed and connectivity basically covers most of those needs. But so does currently-available Linux flavors. So what will differentiate Chrome OS?

For the past couple of week, I’ve found myself using the Google Chrome web browser, ditching good ol’ Firefox. I sometimes miss the add-ons but figured that, given my computing needs, speed trumps bells and whistles.

Can’t wait to get more details on this in the coming weeks/months.

UPDATE: And they fixed it in a matter of minutes. Read Google’s official statement on the matter. (Thanks, Tina!)

All of a sudden all search results are flagged as harmful, even Google’s own! Hah, run around and do a Chicken Little! The world is ending folks! The Interwebz is broken!

Click the photo above for the whole search results page screenshot.

This week is has been uber bad for me and technology. So PayPal finally gave me back what spare change there is in my PayPal account. But a few more things got screwed up, affecting my efficiency as a tech worker. Two more booboos for the week – 1) my Google Account got disabled and 2) my lappie’s screen hinges are shot.

Not even a week has passed, then it was my Google account that got blocked. Yup. It’s the one where I keep some crucial messages and is linked to some other important online accounts. I don’t know what happened but for some reason I end up getting that “Sorry, your account has been disabled” message. I tried what was written in the help center to no avail. Even after 24 hours of waiting as stated.

(more…)

Hard and fast rule, if you’re not doing anything wrong, there’s no need to fear.

Somehow, it’s not as hard and as fast as before given that our justice system sucks.

But sometimes, carelessness can get the better of us all. In today’s digital world, it’s really hard to get a sense of self. And even your “self” can be stolen by those damn identity thieves preying on some newbie to divulge too much information about him/herself online.

We all know that Google has (intentionally or unintentionally) been profiling us through our searches and our accounts. Hence some conspiracy theorist brought up the concern of using search engines for pre-crime a la Minority Report. Yeah, some sicko you might be putting “how to kill my professor” in your Google search.

Anyway, I just finished writing my takes on search engine security on Lifespy and it sure has raised my paranoia just a little bit more.

Then all the what-ifs race through your mind.