Sunday, January 20, 2008
Upgrade your Google Analytics tracker
Google released a new version of its Google Analytics tracking code in December after a two-month limited beta. The new Google Analytics tracker is a complete rewrite of JavaScript inherited from the Urchin acquisition in 2005 and the first time the two products have been officially decoupled. The existing version of Google Analytics tracker, urchin.js, has been deprecated but should continue to function until the end of 2008. Google will only roll out new features on the new ga.js tracker. If you currently track website statistics using Google Analytics you should upgrade your templates to take advantage of the new libraries.
What changed?
The new Google Analytics tracker supports proper JavaScript namespacing and more intuitive configuration methods (e.g. _setDomainName instead of _udn). My tests show about a 100 ms faster execution even with a 24% increase (1514 bytes) in file size (ga.js is also minified).
The new tracking code makes advanced features a lot more accessible. You can now track a page on multiple Google Analytics accounts, which should help user generated content sites integrate their author's Google Analytics IDs alongside the company's own tracking account. The new event tracker lets you group a set of on-page related actions such as clicking a drop-down menu or typing a search query (very useful for widgets). Ecommerce tracking is now a lot more readable. You can read about all the tracker changes in the Google Analytics migration guide PDF.
Implementation
Switching your site tracker is pretty simple. Trackers are now created as objects and configured before the page is tracked.
That's it. You are now running the new Google Analytics tracker. You'll need to swap in your Analytics account and profile IDs, which should be pretty easy to spot in your existing code.
Summary
Google Analytics tracking code is completely rewritten for faster on-page behavior that plays well with others. The old tracker will be deprecated within a year, and new features are only available to users running the new code. Existing Google Analytics users should swap out their tracking code to take full advantage of this free stats tool.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Google gives better iPhone experience
Google's services will now be accessibly directly via the Safari Web Browser on Google's home page, instead of taking the older route of using special versions of Google Search, Gmail, Calendar and Reader among .........
Monday, November 12, 2007
Google's Android SDK Comes Alive
Google took several steps to goose interest in its yet-to-be-released Android platform for mobile phones today. The Open Handset Alliance, sponsored by Google and others, released a software development kit for Android. Google also hopes to stir up developer interest with a coding cook-off that will give out $10 million in awards.
Within hours of its release, the Android SDK had become "one of the most downloaded items ever" off Google's developer site, according to company spokesman Barry Schnitt. The toolkit, which included an emulator for software testing and a plugin for the Eclipse development tool, drew immediate reactions from developers ranging from "phenomenally cool" to "a bit disappointing".
The toolkit is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license, opening it up for wide repackaging with other developer tools. Google's Schnitt said that thus far there are no application tool partnerships to announce; however, the toolkit comes with an Eclipse plugin, so it is ready to integrate into many Java development environments.
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3710656
Within hours of its release, the Android SDK had become "one of the most downloaded items ever" off Google's developer site, according to company spokesman Barry Schnitt. The toolkit, which included an emulator for software testing and a plugin for the Eclipse development tool, drew immediate reactions from developers ranging from "phenomenally cool" to "a bit disappointing".
The toolkit is licensed under the Apache 2.0 license, opening it up for wide repackaging with other developer tools. Google's Schnitt said that thus far there are no application tool partnerships to announce; however, the toolkit comes with an Eclipse plugin, so it is ready to integrate into many Java development environments.
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3710656
Google Does it Right with Open Platforms
Google's vision of creating open platforms for both OpenSocial (using a single API) and Android (Open Handset Alliance) is absolutely genius. Not only does it help Google competitively but it also helps create a stronger user experience and a strong support community. Here are some of the major benefits to open platforms such as OpenSocial and Android:
User Experience: Allowing developers to design applications on top of your platform provides the ability for users to have unique experiences tailored specifically for them. From a mobile perspective there will now potentially be a thousand different versions of the same operating system each tweaked slightly so that it fits the owners needs. Furthermore it will allow people to share the coolest parts of their user experience across all networks.
Standardization: With numerous partners involved in both OpenSocial and Android, developers have a standardized way of creating applications for users without having to worry about platform. The standard platform also helps define documentation, procedures and application sharing.
Cost: Open platforms always tend to be far less expensive than mainstream/off the shelf products. With platforms such as Android in place, users will notice a cut in cost compared to hand helds operating systems like Windows Mobile and Palm OS.
Innovation: Giving developers the access to such powerful and flexible platforms will encourage increased innovation as they compete to develop the next killer application.
Support: Open Platforms (1 common base) equals Thousands of Developers which equals the amount of support available for applications and configuration that are built on top of the platform.
The one thing that might raise some concern is what will happen with the quality of products with the amount of applications that will likely be developed and the power completely in the hands of the users to install them. I would hate to see an uproar due to privacy or security concerns .
http://www.searchengineguide.com/manoj-jasra/google-does-it-right-with-open-platforms.php
User Experience: Allowing developers to design applications on top of your platform provides the ability for users to have unique experiences tailored specifically for them. From a mobile perspective there will now potentially be a thousand different versions of the same operating system each tweaked slightly so that it fits the owners needs. Furthermore it will allow people to share the coolest parts of their user experience across all networks.
Standardization: With numerous partners involved in both OpenSocial and Android, developers have a standardized way of creating applications for users without having to worry about platform. The standard platform also helps define documentation, procedures and application sharing.
Cost: Open platforms always tend to be far less expensive than mainstream/off the shelf products. With platforms such as Android in place, users will notice a cut in cost compared to hand helds operating systems like Windows Mobile and Palm OS.
Innovation: Giving developers the access to such powerful and flexible platforms will encourage increased innovation as they compete to develop the next killer application.
Support: Open Platforms (1 common base) equals Thousands of Developers which equals the amount of support available for applications and configuration that are built on top of the platform.
The one thing that might raise some concern is what will happen with the quality of products with the amount of applications that will likely be developed and the power completely in the hands of the users to install them. I would hate to see an uproar due to privacy or security concerns .
http://www.searchengineguide.com/manoj-jasra/google-does-it-right-with-open-platforms.php
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
10 Things That Sound Dirty On Halloween, But Aren't...
10 Things That Sound Dirty On Halloween, But Aren't...
1. So...What'd you get in the sack?
2. Once you get under the sheet, start moaning and groaning!!!
3. Just hop on that broomstick and ride it!
4. Those small suckers are gone in a few licks!
5. I got the best piece from that house.
6. Quit screwing around on the porch!!!
7. Stick your hand in and guess what you're feeling....
8. It was so filled and heavy, I had to use TWO hands!!
9. They'll suck you dry if they get their teeth in you.
10. I bobbed and bobbed, but couldn't get my mouth around it!
1. So...What'd you get in the sack?
2. Once you get under the sheet, start moaning and groaning!!!
3. Just hop on that broomstick and ride it!
4. Those small suckers are gone in a few licks!
5. I got the best piece from that house.
6. Quit screwing around on the porch!!!
7. Stick your hand in and guess what you're feeling....
8. It was so filled and heavy, I had to use TWO hands!!
9. They'll suck you dry if they get their teeth in you.
10. I bobbed and bobbed, but couldn't get my mouth around it!
Monday, October 29, 2007
When Gmail's spam filters are working perfectly
When Gmail's spam filters are working perfectly, no one talks to us anti-spam engineers. But as soon as something goes wrong, our users, our friends, and even our Google colleagues who use Gmail for their corporate mail are sure to tell us. That's just the way we like it. Spam is not something people should grow numb to and accept as a fact of life. We *want* people to complain. That's the only way things get better.
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/its-not-about-spam.html
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/its-not-about-spam.html
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