Category Archives: Google

Goodbye our friend NPAPI

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We are starting to see changes in web browsers that will let us move forward, towards a future of the web that works for everyone on any device. Google has announced that it will stop supporting NPAPI in it’s Chrome browser and Mozilla has announced that it is changing how NPAPI works in the Firefox browser. This is a big change because mobile devices, tablets and locked down systems do not have plugins or can not have plugins installed.

With the advent of new web standards like HTML5, WebRTC, and others the operating system that runs your browser is less vulnerable to security holes, bugs or other attacks that can corrupt the operating system. The operating system should be silent and out of the way. What you want to do is use the tools and services provided, you should not be required to learn how to install a printer, find missing DLL’s, or patch the kernel.

Example of the command line

Example of the command line.

The natural progression of computers is to reduce the focus on the operating system in the same way we stopped using the command line. What is meant by this is that you can still use the command line if you really wish, but most people will never need to use it. The command line is not the focus of the operating system anymore and has been locked out or hidden. Over time the operating system will slowly fade in to be the background much like the command line, and we will only care about programs and services that are really part of the web and accessed through the browser regardless of what operating system you use.

Imagine a time when you do not need to be setup on the computer, you do not need to install your programs, you can toss your computer in a lake (DO NOT TOSS YOUR COMPUTER IN A LAKE) and all of your files, work, tools, and services are instantly on any system you sign on to. With the Web as the next layer of computing we can have this vision but it is only after we have abandoned our demand that all games, programs, and services are installed locally to one machine. We have many more reasons to do this and many companies are working hard at pushing hard for this vision of the future. 

References:
http://blog.chromium.org/2013/09/saying-goodbye-to-our-old-friend-npapi.html
https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2013/01/29/putting-users-in-control-of-plugins/

Revised with: Mitchel Holt

Google Eric Schmidt Cover

Governments should change tax laws

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“If the British system changes the tax laws, then we will comply,” Schmidt said. “If the taxes go up, we will pay more, if they go down, we will pay less. That is a political decision for the democracy that is the United Kingdom.”

This sums up my thoughts beautifully, at no point has this company paid less than it should, it paid exactly what the government permitted it to pay in taxes. If you want more taxes from companies and you want the companies to stop using loopholes in the tax code then close all of the loopholes and stop permitting new loopholes to be made. It might be time to fully review the tax code and find all the issues and loopholes that allow companies and people to avoid paying what they should.

I am interested in how they avoided paying  taxes that the governments are claiming they should be paying, but the issue is that the tax law let them avoid paying a large sum of money that the government believes they should be paying.

What Google is trying to do is force a change in the law so that they must pay the proper amount and can not use loopholes. This will have the effect of stopping all companies from using the loopholes not just Google. This will increase the tax flow from all companies and allow the government to provide the services that society needs to operate.

Source: BBC News

Stop Blocking Google Music Canada

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I have just finished watching the Google Keynotes and saw the new Google Music with the subscription service and I thought Hell Yes. So I again look for any details about when I can use this service, I refresh the page and I see the offer to try the new service for 30 days for free, I am so happy.

But that is not the end, I have to verify my request by submitting my credit card details and I am Canadian. I get a nice big message that basically says too bad for you so sad!

Canada Google Music Error

 

I do not know exactly who is stopping me from paying money to support artists that I like. I have heard that the CRTC is blocking Google from coming to Canada but who ever it is needs to stop now.

The search giant is expanding Google Play Music today to cover Australia, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Portugal.

They have expanded to Belgium but still not Canada, who do I need to talk to?