Bloggle

Bloggle has relaunched!

Just a note to say that Bloggle has now relaunched over at bloggle.org.uk with a new design and now in Wordpress!

This site will still be active (for the moment) but there won't be any new content here.

New Bloggle is far better than old Bloggle so head on over to bloggle.org.uk and check it out. If you subscribed to Bloggle in the past...you don't need to do anything! You'll still get the content delivered to you automatically.

Note: If you are still seeing this blog when you visit bloggle.org.uk...just try later. The internet takes a while to update its 'address book' apparently!

Apologies and explanation

Apologies for the lack of activity here...but do not worry! The reason is that Bloggle has been undergoing some significant changes not least moving from Typepad to Wordpress! Hurrah!

For you, the loyal reader, you need to do nothing except remember to visit bloggle.org.uk (its not working yet). If you are a subscriber, nothing will change. The downside is that any links I had got won't count for the bloggle.org.uk domain. Unfortunate. But i'm convinced the difference in usability will be worth it.

Anyway, soon you can make your own mind up. I'll let you know when everything is sorted!

Gmail more secure than ever (and better UI on iPhone)

Gmail now more secure than ever

The Official Gmail blog announced yesterday that it is now easier than ever to use https with your Gmail. Https is always used when you sign into Gmail in order to encrypt your username and password info. But once you are logged into Gmail https isn't used because it can slow your session down.

But now, it is possible to turn https on all the time when you are using Gmail...

Today, we're making it even easier for you to use https to protect your mail every time you access it. We've added an option to Settings to always use https. If you don't regularly log in via unencrypted wireless connections at coffee shops or airports or college dorms, then you might not need this additional layer of security. But if you want to always use https, then this setting makes it super easy. Whenever you forget to type https://mail.google.com, we'll add the https for you.

And in other news...Gmail for iPhone looks better than ever

Until yesterday only people viewing Gmail in US English on their iPhone got the *best* UI experience. Now that amazing experience comes to 17 other languages. Now when you view Gmail in these languages they will fully use the magic of AJAX to bring address autocomplete, mail pre-fetching (what?) and a smoother UI to your iPhone. The Google Mobile blog writes...

This version of Gmail for iPhone also includes performance and reliability enhancements including faster loading and better support for reading your email in both portrait and landscape modes. These improvements have also been rolled out in US English, as well as for Google Apps  email users.

To try it just visit Gmail.com in Safari and switch to your preferred language.

'Search Engine Purity' based on xkcd 435

Based on the original xkcd 435 (Purity). Remix by me. Please share this...you can download it here (png format).

Jim's daily roundup // Digg

Today, according to Jim:

Google Knol opens for business (Bloggle appears on Techmeme AGAIN); Facebook speculation is in the air as the social networking site holds its annual developers conference; Google to buy Digg rumours continue, people wonder what game google are playing.

Not much Bloggle news today, but watch out tomorrow for the first Bloggle comic 'Search Engine Purity' based upon the excellent xckd 435 (thanks to Randall Munroe at xckd for allowing me to post it). Some lucky subscribers may have got a sneak peak (you lucky people)...but for everyone else, tomorrow all will be revealed at about 16:00 GMT, 12:00 EDT, 9:00 PDT. The clock is ticking.

p.s don't get your hopes up too much

Google Knol launches. Woot.

Today after months of testing, Google Knol launched. Apparently we're to call it Knol though (not Google Knol). Interesting the page lacks a Google logo and even has the phrase 'Who needs a search engine? CTRL+F' on it.

Interesting line for Google to take don't you think?

Like Wikipedia, Knol allows anyone to create a page about any topic, however new pages are set to use 'moderated collaboration' meaning that any revisions and additions must be approved by the page author before they are published.

There can even be multiple pages about the same topic. The Official Google Blog says:

The key principle behind Knol is authorship. Every knol will have an author (or group of authors) who put their name behind their content. It's their knol, their voice, their opinion. We expect that there will be multiple knols on the same subject, and we think that is good.

I think that is probably bad.

For more on the ins and outs of how Knol works and what it means for Google, head over to Search Engine Land or TechCrunch.