Cuil: A New Search Engine

This week some ex-Google employees launched a new web search engine: Cuil. Pronounced: Cool.

Being the curious type I went to the Cuil web site and fired up a few searches. So far it appears as though they still have a bit of work to do.

Here are two screen shots of a search for "Pendragon Raven Rise Book Review" (without the quotes) I completed on both Cuil and Google.

Cuil (click on pic for a larger view)



Google



Notice the difference. The great Book Reviewer, TracyReaderDad, shows up on the Google search where the Cuil search resulted in an error message. It also included the quotes that I left out in my second attempt to get the search to work.

Cuil also pulls seemingly random pictures to place near the search result. I'm actually surprised that a search on "YeOldeTechy" did not pull up a picture of Brad Pitt...why is that? It did pull up a map of the Middle East region. Hmmmm, did we move? Actually you could hardly tell the difference in the weather between Tracy, CA and Saudia Arabia....both hot and dry (a little known fact: I love the desert)



YeOldeTechy says: Competition is a good thing, and as is nearly always the case a new technology or product needs time to mature. Cuil is no exception to this rule as you can see.

Cool Application: AT&T Video Share

I was poking around the Internet looking for 3G cell phone video conferencing applications (I did NOT find one, by the way) when I ran across the AT&T Video Share app.

This is interesting even though it is only one way video (it has two way audio).

With the right phone and the right service, 3G (see lists here) you can send live video to anyone (hmmmm, do they need the same phone or one on the list to view the video?).

For example, GrandMa wants to see the new baby, or you want to visit a relative in a nursing home, or at the University of Kansas, or anywhere that has 3G access. Imagine ambulance EMT's getting instant advice from a Doctor or a plumber getting help from his/her boss. The applications are endless.

There is a nice demo of a TV show (Tyra Banks) using Video Share here.

YeOldeTechy says: As 3G rolls out to more locations (in the U.S.) the ability to send and receive video, or to video-conference with colleagues while on the road, will become commonplace. There will no longer be a need to stay attached to a conference room or to a WiFi hotspot....the world is indeed changing.

FYI...I saw a demo of cell phone video conferencing maybe 10 years ago at the TeleCon conference. It was revolutionary, but very limited. Now it has the network to support it. Great ideas like that help push technology forward....

Check out this application of one way video sharing:

Cancer and the Cell Phone

I have posted warnings (here and here) about the possible dangers of using the cell phone too much.

Here is a video that just came out from a researcher at a world renowned cancer research center who is warning the same thing.

No one is yet sure what problems might occur (but I suspect in 20 years there will be a sharp increase in brain cancers), so the advice I give to everyone I have a chance to talk to is:

Use your cell phone (and silly looking bluetooth thing) sparingly.

UPDATE: If you need more convincing, here are some tips on what to do to reduce your cell phone risk.

Save the Environment

I am starting a new post "Label" called "Save the Environment".

Under this new label will go all the Telecommuting and some of the renewable energy articles I have posted recently.

It is time to become aware that the human race is harming the environment, endangering both animals and humans alike (we are animals....). The earth will survive. However, the earth may change drastically (possibly eliminating the culprit in the process) before the damage we are doing to this planet is mitigated.

I am starting to investigate / research ways (other than telecommuting which few people seem to take seriously) to help save the environment. I will also spotlight people who are doing their best to help.

This is not a new turn in this blog since VC / Collaboration and Telecommuting (and many technologies) can help reduce emissions, save gas, reduce traffic, etc, just a new look at how we need to change our thinking.

I've said this before....time to Telecommute....now I will show you why this is important.

Thanks for reading!

Lets see.....hmmmmm, electric cars are cool. I hear if you have enough $$ that the Tesla is available....I'll go investigate. Stay tuned....





By the way...the Altamont (Hills) between Tracy, CA (where I live) and Livermore, CA is dotted with thousands of windmills. The one at the front of this blog is one picture, here are two more.






Notice the new GREEN color of his Blog....

Switch to Renewable Energy

There has been some action in the news in the past week, or so, concerning the use, and switch to, renewable energy.

Although this is not an area I normally cover, I am VERY interested in the environment (and very concerned about global warming). I would like to see us change the way we use energy so we can reduce our dependence on non-renewable sources of energy (oil will go away, then what do we do?) and reduce carbon emissions.

One way to help is to Telecommute (of course, I would say that).....DUH.

Al Gore and T. Boone Pickens have other ideas. I grabbed a couple of video clips so you can see what they are proposing.

If I can quickly summarize (I hope I get this right):

T. Boone tells us that Natural Gas should be used for transportation to reduce our dependence on oil. To replace the energy supplied by natural gas, we should use wind power.

Al is telling us to switch to renewable sources of energy like wind and solar...period.

You can tell who the politician is. T. Boone tells us his plan in 4 minutes, while Al takes over 18. How funny.

BUT the bottom line is....these are folks we need to start listening to.

If you need convincing, Leonardo DiCaprio's "11th Hour" documentary will convince you that change is needed. This is the best documentary I have watched.....

"11th Hour" Video



Al Gore



T. Boone

Telecommuting and the Tracy Virtual Office

UPDATE 8/14/08: Well, after spending the money, I only had 3 people express an interest in the TVO...I have had to drop the idea for lack of interest. Either many people already telecommute (Yeah!) or they are content to spend money, gas, and time on the road.

++++++

Today, July 14, 2008, we (my wife and I) ushered in a new era.

Never before have we plunked down money (how funny that the most anti-environmental President ever is helping fund this) to advertise and to push a particular idea. But we think the times and circumstances have caught up with our ideas and that Telecommuting may now be something people will (or should!), finally, take a serious look at.

Due to my great graphic artist skills (I use Adobe Photoshop Elements) I developed what I think is a pretty cool advertisement to be placed on the web site of the Tracy Press (which as you may know, my daughter and I both write for on a volunteer basis). They get over 100,000 visitors per month (far greater than YeOldeTechy's web sites) and many of them, I'm sure, are commuters.

The Tracy Virtual Office is an old idea but in a modern form. The old idea of a Neighborhood Telecommute Center never took off. Traffic was not bad, gas was cheap, and no one was aware of global warming, terrorism, and to top it off.....connectivity was really kinda bad.

Times have changed.

Telecommuting from home, or from a Neighborhood Telecommute Center, like the TVO, is becoming more appealing now (I see an increase in searches for "telecommuting" and more people hitting the TVO web site and Telecommuting articles than ever before) that gas is approaching $5.00 per gallon, the freeways are clogged, global warming is already past a tipping point, and to top it off.......bandwidth and connectivity is plentiful and easy to get (and videoconferencing over the Internet is commonplace).

Time to change, time to telecommute!!! Spread the word.

Oh yeah....If you want to sponsor the TVO (I know many of the people reading this Blog are in the VC / Collaboration space)....call me! The more interest we get....the faster we can put it together.

Fun with oovoo

Who says you can't have fun collaborating?

ooVoo has a bunch of web cam effects that you can download to spice up your meetings.

These are a lot of fun to play with.

Unfortunately, my favorite does not work very well at all....that is the replacement of my background with a picture of a lake out by a beautiful mountain. When I come back in the picture, my normal bookcase re-appears. Darn. I would use that feature all the time!

Glance Review

Rating: 4 WaterTowers

In previous blog entries I have reviewed full-featured web conferencing applications. Initially, I had classified Glance in that class. What I found out is that Glance is different.

Glance is “easy-to-use screen sharing tool”. Pure and simple. It does not support: VoIP, audio conferencing bridge, or videoconferencing integration. It does not support scheduling, email, or many of the features I listed as needed in a modern fully-featured web conferencing application.

YeOldeTechy says: By paring down the focus the team at Glance has developed a lean mean collaboration application that does one thing…..and does it well. Glance is a high quality application that is super easy-to-use, reliable, and responsive.

Example of how YeOldeTechy expects to use Glance

In two years, my daughter will be at College (University of Kansas, I hope). Every now and then she may need help with a Math problem. We connect via ooVoo and then one of us fires up Glance to share our desktops. We see each other, hear each other, and we can collaboratively work thru a Math problem almost as if we were in the same room (this is what we envisioned for “Personal Telepresence” so many years ago)……a complete voice, video, and data collaboration experience.

Starting a Glance Session

Using Glance is a breeze. Fire it up, tell the remote people the Session ID, and get to work. That’s it.

To start Glance simply double click on the “G” in the Windows system tray (I don’t know where the Mac “G” would be) or the shortcut “G” on your desktop. You get this:





You can email the session key to your participants, or you can grab a copy of it and IM the session key to your participants, or you can just tell them.

They can then use their browser to go to your Glance web page (yeoldetechy.glance.net) and enter the Session ID and click on “Join Session”.




A few seconds later the browser completes its connection sequence and you are placed in the meeting.

NOTE: One interesting feature offered by Glance is the ability to add a Glance “button” on a web site or blog. I grabbed the code and embedded this button on this blog (see picture below). With this feature, my remote participants, instead of going to the yeoldetechy.glance.net web site, can visit this Blog to join the session. Verrrry cool.




That’s all it takes to start a session.

Below are some screen shots from an active session (taken by the remote participant).

As you can see, virtually any application can be shared or worked on collaboratively (the host simply allows remote control). If you are showing a slide presentation, Glance works very hard to catch the animation. The quality is extremely good. One possible use not mentioned on the Glance web site is remote troubleshooting or assistance. I can see and control a remote computer. NOTE: Before you allow remote control, make sure you can trust the person who has control!

Possible bug? When in remote control my left-hand mouse becomes a right hand mouse. I would prefer to keep my mouse operating in left hand mode.

To end a session all you need to do is click on the end session option in the “G”.





Features

1. Live screen sharing to up to 100 remote participants
2. Instant meetings, no scheduling needed
3. Remote control of your application or computer
4. Automatic resizing of the screens (participants see your whole screen)
5. Personalized URL’s
6. Web site, or Blog, integration
7. Account management via the web
8. Windows and Mac’s can host a session
9. IE, Firefox, Opera, Safari and more browsers are supported.

Cost

Individual: $49.95 per month
Corporate: $249.00 per month

Check with the Glance web site for more costing details.


Summary

If you need to give a presentation to up to 100 remote users, or if you just want to work on homework with a student or child, Glance is perfect. It is quick and easy and the quality is great.

You can use it with desktop videoconferencing applications such as PolyCom PVX, ooVoo, or Mirial Softphone. Just make sure you minimize the video window or Glance will be trying to refresh the video all the time and performance will suffer. Of course, using a telephone to connect to your remote participants also works as does a separate videoconferencing connection.

Here is a demo from Glance: