Google has recently come out and declared that it has plans to bring fiber to homes across several cities in America over the coming year. Many of these cities have begun crazy campaigns to attract the eyes of Google in hopes to perhaps stimulate their ailing monopolistic (duopolistic) local Internet providers (or perhaps just get rid of them). My old Alma Mater is located in Greensboro North Carolina where a group of people are attempting to win over Google’s heart.

Greensboro is located in the heart of North Carolina and with 5 incredible universities within the cities limits, there needs to be an telecom option over that of the claustrophobic Time Warner. In addition, the town already has an array of amazing people but there needs to be an even healthier amount of jobs in order to persuade those people to stay beyond their years in college. This group of folks truly believe that this opportunity will lead to an amazing amount of good for the city and I do as well. So I implore you, if your town isn’t going after Google, or if you just want to help out, head over to Google Greensboro or click on this link to learn more: http://bit.ly/ci3K2W

Today (frankly this week) has been a complete "wash" of tablet and iPhone rumors due to the upcoming Apple announcement on the 27th.  One of the larger rumors being the idea that Bing will weasel itself into the iPhone as mobile Safari's default search engine.  This, as anyone can see from the picture above, has been seen as a negative move and as the night wanes on is seeming more and more true (source: Tech Check).  Here is a (short) list why Bing should remain an app rather than a default on the upcoming iPhone OS.

Their have been some scathing issues surrounding the release of Google's first flagship phone, the Nexus One.  Granted, and mind your comments I have worked in the IT "help" industry before, most of these connectivity issues are user error and nothing actually wrong with the hardware.  The document above was leaked via Engadget and appears to be a cheat sheet for T-mobile reps when answering questions from nasally Nexus owners.  The best bit seems to be what you can barely see at the end of the image: "Do not schedule a follow up with customers."  Who's head do you think these issues fall on (HTC / Google / T-mobile)?  Since I am such a blind telecom hater, my moolah is on T-mobile.

This sentence does not work: "A T-Mobile representative said the company does not comment on rumors or speculation." 

To be quite frank, it looks like a phrase strait out of the AT$T playbook.  We see Apple creating a tremendous amount of buzz (especially for their tablet) and when their rumors "leak," the result is a tremendous amount of sales when the product actually ships.  Google has begun doing this with their Nexus One phone and the web is in hysterics over it.  People are "chomping at the bit" for a chance to bounce 200 dollars off of Google's face and run away with an unlocked gPhones.  The result?  Wake up everyone, this is a rumor, buzz driven economy and don't make me use the word "stupid" because you know I will.

Check your pockets, find that wallet, pull it out and open it up.  Is there a card in there that says that you use Gmail?  If there isn't make sure to put everything down and proceed to fall asleep because you sir (mam?) are behind the times.  Gmail and Google apps are some of the best email clients on the market right now.  Google even offers a sweet solution to that disgusting Microsoft Exchange you have chugging in the back room.  That means you can have Google sync contacts, calendar and mail between any of your precious devices.  This post is aimed at people who actually use Google Apps / Gmail (sorry noobs, you can still stick around though) because we are going to talk about how to control Gmail specifically like a Vi / Vim pro.  Without further ado, here are some exceptionally important shortcuts for controling Gmail strait from the keyboard:

First, look at the picture provided and navigate to settings in Google Mail and make sure the radial button for keyboard shortcuts is initiated.  No need to reboot for things to work all you nervous Microsoft fans.

c (shift + c for a new window) - Opens up the compose window...you know, to write emails.
j or k - cycles through conversations.  Very reminiscent of Vi.
u - Brings you back to the "Inbox" view.
s - Stars a message (who uses this function anyway?)
r (shift + r for a new window) - reply to a message.
esc - removes your cursor from the field of view (a reset of sorts).  Another heavily Vi inspired keystroke.
y - archive message.

If you want something more permenant...like to decorate your cubicle with, here is a Google mail cheat sheet.  Peace!

Gina Trapani happens to be one of those rare coding gems that finds themselves on the forefront of everything "Google cool" (or Gool for short).  She also has a splendid blog called Smarterware where she shares her wealth of knowledge with the rest of the known world.  Gina recently released a book tailored to the small amount of folks who seem ______(insert word here: scared, befuddled, lost, anxious, "wetting themselves") over the whole Google Wave thing. 

The book is called The Complete Guide to Google Wave and should be a staple for anyone who has been lucky enough to get an invite.  The kicker is the website is built on Media Wiki which is what Wikipedia is built on allowing you to help Gina and Adam on sections that you feel passionate about.  Go, read, collaborate and be merry.