Google+ may look a lot like other social networks where we've participated before, but it's not a product in isolation. Every piece has been designed to help push the industry in a new direction of interoperability and selective sharing. Edd Dumbill of O'Reilly gets it and breaks it down.

Much of the power of Google+ becoming the social backbone comes from intelligent focus on standards, from people who have pushed for standards long before they joined Google - helping move the industry from the inside out. Read the article.

/via My Google+ Profile.

Google makes a ton of products. Almost two years ago, thinking about it, I posted my top ten Google products at the time. Google Reader was #1, Blogger was #2 and FeedBurner was #3. Since then, G+ has come into play, I switched to Android and Chrome is on fire. It's time for a rewrite.

The Original Post from Sept. 2009: My Top Ten Favorite Google Products

Here's what I would list now. Eager to hear your own top 3, 5, or even 10.

1. Google+ (Obviously, this is my start page, I am here constantly)
2. Android (The mobile OS runs my favorite tablets and phones)
3. Google ChromeOS (Living in the cloud is a game changer)
4. Blogger (The easiest, most flexible and stable blogging platform)
5. Google Reader (Still the best place to follow hundreds of sites in one place)
6. Google Search (The gold standard for finding anything)
7. Gmail (Finally my default email, and archive. Buzz is a plus.)
8. FeedBurner (Takes my blog to the rest of the Web, powered by Pubsubhubbub)
9. Google Voice (Syncs my phone to the Web with auto-blocking of spam calls)
10. YouTube (If it happened and is worth watching, it's here. Now with movies too!)

Things have obviously changed in just two years. Android, ChromeOS, Google Voice and Google+ were not on my radar much only a short time ago, and now they're essential. Curious to your own insight and what major services (Analytics, Maps, Earth, etc.) I missed.

/via my Google+ Profile.

In the latest build of ChromeOS, version 751.0 for those keeping track, running on a new version of Chrome 14, the operating system has introduced a new windowing feature that lets you put multiple tabs side by side instead of the previous standard where new windows either became tabs in the browser, or went to a new screen altogether. Now, you can take notes on one side of the screen and read email in the other, or run apps on one side while keeping your favorite social network on the same screen. It brings the system even closer to more traditional OS's like Macintosh and Windows, with the exception being you're not exactly dragging windows around a screen in an up/down fashion, only splitting them left versus right.

The feeling of the new windowing effect is more akin to Apple's Coverflow display instead of being reminiscent of spaces. This means no more copying text from one screen, tabbing over to another and pasting, but also no secretly running ESPN in one screen to stay tuned to the game while working on a Google Doc in the front.


The windowing effect comes courtesy of an icon in the top right corner in what's starting to look like a menubar, with the time, WiFi signal, battery status and now a small rectangle. When running multiple windows, you can Maximize to a full screen mode, or Restore to go back to the previous status. The two foreground windows can split screen, divided in the center, which you can pull left or right to give one more or less space. Third windows and beyond get a small sliver on the right, in the order they were opened.


You can still Alt-Tab between open windows, while hitting the Window button on the keyboard (for the CR-48 at least) toggles between Maximize and Restore, instead of switching windows entirely, as it had before.

The option to have multiple windows in one screen was one that I've been waiting for, since accosting Google's Don Dodge at Google IO about the feature following day two's focus on ChromeOS. For us press people, having one window to take notes and another do post those notes or do some other task is very helpful.

Only a few weeks away from the August 5th Teens In Tech Conference at Xerox PARC, in partnership with Meshin, a half-dozen companies founded and run by teens are preparing their sites and products for unveiling in what should be a fun Demo Day. The companies themselves were revealed earlier this week, providing a sneak preview of what you can expect should you attend. While not on the scale of Y! Combinator or 500 Startups, what the teams lack in number, they make up for in spirit and a lack of inhibition. They do believe they can accomplish anything they set their minds to, and with some aid from the more seasoned of us who can help provide some mentorship, the teams are converting their projects from whiteboards and ideas to shipping and availability for the public.

While you will hear more about each of the companies face to face at the conference, and in follow-on press, a quick summary of the participating teams is below:

• Bubbls, founded by a team from Palo Alto, is a new social mobile application that taps into geolocation and lets your friends know when you are available to hang out.
  
• BuyNomial, based in Oakland, is a new site that helps youth set savings goals through creating a wish list of products and working to budget wisely.
  
  
• CM Studios, from Atherton, is creating a fun new game for iOS and soon Android, involving zombies.


• Codulous, founded by a group from Santa Cruz, is a smart Web-based code editor that lets engineers work in the cloud, and synchronizes to multiple devices, including desktops, for remote access.


• MySchoolHelp, the most remote applicant, based in White Plains, New York, but spending the summer in the Bay Area for the purpose of participating in the Teens in Tech incubator, is setting up a collaborative site for high schoolers to share class notes and get rewarded for high quality work.


• Workcrib, from Walnut Creek, is working to provide an easy way to showcase workspaces online.

There are some obvious themes in this year's participants, the inaugural class of companies - as some are leveraging the fast growth in mobile and social, while others are tapping into the cloud for improved sharing and collaboration. The activity I've seen face to face with many of the teams in recent weeks has been quite impressive, and they can lap me in the geek front, which is a good thing indeed.

All will be presenting at the August 5th conference at PARC. As noted Monday, I have a discount code I hope you can leverage. Sign up at http://2011teensintech.eventbrite.com/.


Disclosure: I am an unpaid advisor to Teens in Tech, and have a small equity stake in the company.