What will we see at Google I/O 2012 ?

Lots of rumors on the Internet. Let's join in.

If you want to see pink unicorns riding on rainbows, you might get very disappointed. And with all the hype about Google I/O you might be anyway. But I expect that we see very interesting stuff to say at least.

Designed by COdie Morgan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ChromeOS
Sure, we will see more about the new Chromebooks and Chromboxes including a glimpse of what will come. We also will see more "offline" functionality with ChromeOS and a tighter integration with Google Drive, possibly including their own cloud storage solution much like Amazon.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

I'm pretty sure about this. At least we get an announcement when Jelly Bean rolls out. It could be however that it will be released at Google I/O. But expect 2 weeks anyway before the release is available, even if they release it now. Weird, I know.

And I'm excited to see if it will be "Jelly Bean" or "Jellybean" :). Looks like it's also pretty sure that the first phone to get Jelly Bean will be the Galaxy Nexus

Nexus tablet(s)

I think this is also a sure thing. We will see the Google tablet. No matter if it's called Nexus or "Unicorn Rainbow Reader" (hey, so I might be wrong :) ). That will fulfill the circle with Google's Play Store / Movies / Books / Music strategy. It will be positioned as a rival to the Kindle Fire, and will be less than 200 bucks with 7". It could be possible that we see another tablet. Rumors are that there is also a 10.1" tablet to be announced at the event.

(Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Nexus phone(s)
At least we will get a hint of the next phone or phones. People expect 5 Nexus devices. This might include the tablet. I guess we'll see  Nexus/Stock Android phones from HTC, Samsung, Motorola and possibly LG. I don't think any of them will be available. That's almost certain. If new Nexus devices are coming, it will take some time. There is also evidence that the Galaxy Nexus is the first phone to get Jelly Bean. This could mean either Jelly Bean will be released at the Google I/O, or that it will take some time before the new Nexus phones are available. Both would make sense.

Google Maps Update
Be prepared for a big thing. A Google Map update, or at least a big announcement, is in sight. After revealing plans to the public a few weeks ago, you can see a much deeper look. The Google Lego Maps Builder is a neat sign for the introduction of something interesting at I/O. I hope the 3D insanity will leave room for real important enhancement. I will never use the 3D map function. It's just eye candy for me.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Larry Page
He is fine. Can we go on?

Play Movies and other media content
I expect no big announcement. But we will get an update about the situation. While Play Books recently started in Europe, Play Music and Play Movies are still missing. Unfortunately I don't see Play Music starting at I/O in Europe. But Play Movies is likely to be announced for overseas.

I'm sure there will be something that surprises me, too. At last I hope so :).
Have a nice Google I/O coverage. Where is my popcorn?

The "Leistungsschutzrecht" Is The New Censorship

Imagine, you cite a news-article and you must pay for a license. As a publisher you might say, it's a good thing. And the [sarcasm]big, bad Google[/sarcasm] can't "steal" the content.
But what does Google do? Having about 200 Chars for an appetizer, is just that. It is free advertisement. But that's not enough for the publishers.

The Internet Will Be Jailed

You can think about that what you want, the collateral damage are the bloggers and free speech in Germany. Exactly there, the ones that should have learned something you could think, a so-called "Leistungsschutzrecht" draft is pushed to get in effect before the summer break. Yes, German politicians do that. And the European Soccer-Cup is always a nice idea to push such unwanted laws, because no one really cares as long as their soccer team keeps winning.

So basically it is the opposite of the Fair-Use ruling in the US. You may not use any bit of a sentence from a press-product. That is ridiculous. It will be hard to write blog-articles in the future. Except you have a lot of money buying licenses from a few big companies. Free speech for money and chicks are not free... oops.
The consequences for blogging and free speech on the internet, including social networks, is unforeseeable. Especially Facebook, Google+ and Twitter are relying on links and excepts. Up until now, even in Germany this is legal. There is a law that regulates citing. This will be completely worthless when the new law takes over. Not even a headline is allowed. The exception for non-commercial blogs doesn't help. The term commercial is not that easy in Germany. If you have Ad-banners or even blog regularly, like writing an article a day, it's considered commercial. In real life, a blog that have some readers at last, are having real big problems.
The first blogs have already shut down. A blog of a public library e.g. There goes free speech and you right for independent information.

Why should you care in the US?
Well it might not take long before companies in the US will also be tempted to try that. The problem also is, can you link to German news ever again? Don't mistake, a lot of news are from German agencies and publishers. Or else, how about losing clicks, because no one dares to link to you?
And of course, some pressure on that topic, showing that in the US, companies can't screw Americans in time, will be a good sign to prevent such ill intentions of undermining the essence of the free Internet.


More info about that issue on irights.info.

Write Or Let Write

Do you like books and read a lot? Did you ever think about writing your own novel? Why not? It's the Internet, you know.

Writing a book is not a something you can do quickly. But it's no magic in the Internet age. You can benefit from the collaboration and engagement of early fans or interested people.

First outline a first, rough view of the story you want to tell. Beginning, ending and the side story, that will hum in the background all the time. Most failures in the content of books is that the authors are not keeping the story line and get lost in the sea of words. Try to focus on the "wireframe" you made before. If you are blessed with an extraordinary sense of staying at the topic over month of work, you probably won't need to do this. But it don't do any harm if you have a basic framework.
Do a character relation diagram if you have more than a very few characters in your novel. That will keep a clear line, and can save a lot of time. And you will be very, very thankful for that diagram, if you ever plan a new chapter or episode, based on the original book.

One of the biggest problem for non-native English speakers, is what language to choose. If you want to use your own language, keep in mind that English is readable in much more countries. So your audience is much, much bigger. The world is yours if you write in English. Which brings us to another problem. Even if English is your first language, it might not be enough to use it to write a proper book. That might getting worse if it isn't your native language. But do not fear.
Remember, there are a lot of people on the net that can correct your work. Try to engage people in your work. You could publish your early version as a Wiki. Or in a blog and people could comment, telling you about grammar problems. Another great way is interaction in social networks. Engage people from there to read through your chapters. Every feedback should be welcome.
At least you can keep in mind that bad English is understood by more people, than the best work in your own other language.

If you think your book is ready to be published, try the new ways. You can easily publish an eBook at Amazon or other platforms if you want to make money with your book. Don't let the community down. Name the contributors in your book, and choose a license that allows you to use the contribution from people commercially. That's the payout for their engagement. If you want to publish your book for free, you can still consider Amazon to publish it, because you reach a big audience. As a free book, people are ready to try reading your novel. But you also can release it on your website. Do not rely on a single format. You should at least publish an ePub and a PDF version. A HTML version would also be a good idea. People can easily send those formats to their Kindle (converts automatically via Kindle-Mail) or any popular eReader, smartphone or tablet.

Keep remembering, the Internet makes it ridiculously easy to publish your work. You still have to do a lot of things and don't get frustrated from setbacks or bad comments. Try to focus at the positive. Do it, learn from it, work with the community and consider a free license, like a Creative Commons License, to protect your work, and still be able to benefit from the open work of the Internet.

And now, let's write something...