Hashemian Blog
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Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Google web accelerator (GWA) – part II
In my last blog I wrote about Google Web Accelerator (GWA), but I also mentioned about some lesser known adverse effects. Here's a short summary.
GWA is in effect a proxy client drawing from the vast Google cache content. This means that when you visit a site, in addition to your ISP, Google will also know about it, even if it doesn't supply the content from its cache. If you already have the Google toolbar installed, chances are Google is already collecting the information. The difference however is that with a decent network analyzer you could see what information is sent back to Google via the toolbar. With GWA, you can never be sure what is being collected since data is being supplied through Google itself.
Web operators are already having a hard time collecting data on their visitors. With paranoid users blocking cookies, disabling scripts and images, and cloaking browsers, now their IP addresses will also be masked by those of Google's. For some users, being IP-anonymized is a boon, but if you are a Web operator who depends on visitor's IP addresses for Web analytics, banned and private lists, site troubleshooting, or culture detection, life just became a whole lot more complicated.
To see what I mean, visit the Whoami page on my personal site with GWA turned on and then turned off and note the differences in the information presented.
Finally, will Google ever use GWA as a censorship or subjugation tool, displaying content based on its discretion? Google already wields so much power that many sites fear being banned from its index. Just imagine how much more anxiety they would have, if their site won't even load because GWA might decide to dump them and provide a 404 page instead. This is an unlikely and alarmist scenario of course, but it is certainly not beyond the realm of possibility.
If GWA is ever released as a finished product, it has the potential of becoming as popular as Google's toolbar. Only time will tell whether its benefits outweigh the risks.
<Google web accelerator (GWA) – part II>
// posted by rh
Thursday, June 23, 2005
Google web accelerator – part I
Google has become a relentless machine pumping out new products and services at dizzying speed. I absolutely love how they go about it. First the stuff appears in Google labs. Then they go beta, and finally they're released. At every stage the Google geeks can test-drive the service, tweak it, optimize it, integrate it, or perhaps even discard it if they don't gain traction.
One of the newer products offered is Google Web Accelerator (GWA). It had been open for download for a while, but it was yanked offline citing too many users. the GWA home page is in some sort of a limbo now and sometimes it redirects to the Google toolbar's page, but GWA can still be downloaded from a number of other sites. Google it up if interested.
I recently downloaded it from one of these sites and gave it test run. It looks like a speedometer with a needle, sitting in the tray and the browser toolbar. The needle moves as the browser is used, indicating activity. A small text proclaims the amount of time saved using the tool. The idea behind GWA is simple, even though the implementation is a bit involved. Since Google has so many web pages cached in its distributed servers, it could rush content back to the browsers faster than the actual web sites can.
Making all of this work is a little proxy installed by GWA on the PC that attempts to pull content form the Google cache as the user browses to various sites. So far GWA claims to have saved me 15 minutes, but I don't have a sense of faster browsing yet.
I suppose GWA can be called a great innovation by a company that can leverage its massive cache content to facilitate browsing. But GWA also has some adverse effects. I'd discuss that in my next entry.
The GWA's home page is http://webaccelerator.Google.com/.
<Google web accelerator – part I>
// posted by rh
Sunday, June 19, 2005
Father's day
It's father's day. Another scam thrust upon us by capitalism to further pry our wallets open. Alright, that's about all the cynicism for now. Might as well enjoy the day. I got a couple of beautiful drawings from my kids this morning. You know, the sorts that have no street value, but they're priceless to a parent. That was a nice touch.
The rest of the day was pretty much a typical father's day, as in what fathers do on weekends. Contrary to some pervasive rumors, mostly propaganda by their other halves of course, most men end up spending their weekends taking care of house chores. For me, it was cutting the lawn, cleaning the gutters, and taking the kids and their friends to a movie.
The most relaxing part of the day was driving to a Borders bookstore while the kids were enjoying a teen flick, finding a nice chair and thumbing through a PHP book.
The day's coming to an end now. Tomorrow's the start of the week and the work and school routine. Father's day or otherwise, it was great spending time with family. I know tomorrow I'll be missing today.
<Father's day>
// posted by rh
Saturday, June 18, 2005
Coke Zero
It's official. The new fad is designer beverages and the beverage companies, in their relentless pursuit of market share, continue to chase after the consumers with new mixes, bottle designs and catchy names.
The one that recently caught my attention is Coke zero. Obviously a no-cal brew designed to appeal to the diet drinkers, while attempting authentic taste fidelity. I am a Coke fan myself, but diet Coke, in any form, was never meant to replace the regular Coke for me.
Give me the sugar (or the cheaper corn syrup) and dispense with the chemicals please. It's not so much the chemicals that turn me off. It's the taste. For me no amount of diet gimmick can ever replace the flavor of caloric Coke I've known and loved since childhood.
If it's carbonation I crave, then seltzer water does just fine. When I'm in the mood for Coke, I want the real deal. And if I wanted zero, there's a much more advanced zero-calories beverage out there with superior quenching power. It's called water. <Coke Zero>
// posted by rh
Thursday, June 16, 2005
Sex offender registry
I'm not sure what prompted me, but during lunch time at work, I googled sex offender registry and ended up on my state's official sex offender registry Web site. There were a number of towns in the list; a dubious distinction for sure.
My town had two of them registered. Now I'm not sure what the circumstances of their crimes were, but it was unnerving to discover people like that live in my town which is teeming with children.
I suppose there is more to fear from people not in the registry than those who've made the ranks. At least they know that their identities are open to the public and they might take precautions to stay out of trouble. Then again it is widely known that sex offenders strike out of habit, and given a chance, they would do it again.
If nothing, discovering this unsettling fact made me doubly determined to protect my children from these elements. Children are, after all, so naïve and trusting. Having been surrounded by loving people, they can never fathom that danger lurks at every corner and there are plenty of people out there who'd want to hurt them. A moment of neglect, and their innocence could be robbed forever.
<Sex offender registry>
// posted by rh
Sunday, June 12, 2005
Soup Jogging
The current weather in the northeast can be best described as soupy. It's oppressively hot and humid. Perfect condition for a jog outside. Not! But then again I'd jog outside when icicles form on my eyelashes.
I suppose I'm a glutton for punishment when it comes to jogging. The more painful, the more torturous, the better. When the radio advises against going out, that's apparently the optimum time for me to hit the pavement.
There are other reasons why it's best to jog outside in adverse conditions. One is the feeling of owning the surroundings. Jogging past the trees, the open fields, and the houses, you get a feeling that the road belongs to you. It's just you and the open road. Another is the challenge of it all. Can I beat the weather and prove a point? It's not exactly prudent to test the nature. I know if the nature wanted to kick my behind, I'd be toast in a split second. And yet, there is a feeling of accomplishment when I finish the route. Perhaps I've fooled the nature again, or the nature just simply let me win this time.
Some day, I might not be so lucky. We are, after all, but puny creatures operating within tiny margins. A small deviation from that margin can easily crush us.
But for today I returned home in one piece. Soaked in sweat and hot as a roaring furnace, I doused myself with the cool water gushing from the garden hose while mentally patting myself on the back. The nature let me win again.
<Soup Jogging>
// posted by rh
Saturday, June 04, 2005
Fire destruction in Ridgefield
Catastrophe comes in many different modes in life, and sometimes tragic events are caused by random chance. It doesn't make them any less painful to face, but they all lead to the feelings of anger, sadness, and the why-me syndrome.
Last week, driving through my hometown of Ridgefield, Connecticut, as I do every weekday for my morning commute to work, I smelled the pungent scent of fire in our Main street. Once the fire trucks and cruiser flash lights came to sight, it became evident that a horrific fire had burned down one of historic buildings in town. I love my hometown, and it hurt to see a landmark burned to a rubble, but the repercussions were far more devastating to those who occupied that building.
Imagine being ordered out of your home in the middle of the night with such urgency that you don't even have time to take your pets with you. In just a few hours your possessions, your memories, and even your pets go up in smoke. It's a nightmare that those unfortunate few living in that building have to come to grips with.
Thankfully no one was seriously harmed in the fire, but for those who lost all their possessions the pain and anguish of loss must be unbearable. early investigation indicates that the fire was just an unfortunate incident unrelated to human activity.
I gaze at that location with disbelief every time I jog past it. It's a poignant reminder that everything can change in just a moment's time. I wish the fire victims a speedy recovery from this tragedy and a quick return to normal life, as normal as it can be having experienced such calamity.
<Fire destruction in Ridgefield>
// posted by rh
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Illinois' tollway
Last weekend I was in the Chicago area with the family attending a wedding. We took advantage of the occasion and arrived a couple of days early to visit the city and do some sight seeing.
I'd been to Chicago before and hadn't thought much of it. Perhaps being there on business had something to do with it. This time, visiting the city with the family, I was impressed with the town and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Wish I could say the same about the road conditions (pavements were horrendous) and their silly toll system. Approaching the toll booths, one can clearly see sings for coin payments and transponder lanes, but where were the collectors? Coinless and befuddled, I just drove through them. Turns out theirs is a pay-as-you-go honor system, but now they have installed cameras to fine deadbeats by snapping photos of their license plates as they drive away.
This is either the dumbest way to collect toll fees, or the slickest scam to collect fines. How is a tourist to know that he is required to carry coins on him? At the least they should allow drivers to swipe a credit card. But no, making life more complicated is what they do best.
Luckily, on my last drive through one the toll lanes, I paused long enough to notice a sign with a phone number for violators to call. It now appears that I have a 5-day grace period to pay the back tolls. How much do I owe? I haven't a clue. <Illinois' tollway>
// posted by rh
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