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...and I think I know why...

Out of all the issues Google PageSpeed Insights seems to have when analysing my site, there are two specific things crop up that annoy me:

1. ​Reduce server response time
2. ​Leverage browser caching (due to Google Analytics JavaScript file)

The Google Analytics issue is something I will have to live with since (as far as I'm aware) there's nothing I can do. It would be nice if Google wouldn't penalise you for using a product they have developed. However, the "Reduce server response time" was something that perplexed me. My site is relatively simple and not doing anything over-the-top.

Due to the nature of my hosting setup (shared), I didn't have all the capabilities to make my website respond any better. The only way I could think of improving server response time was to move my hosting to another region and purchasing a VPS to get more control.

Now, I think I have resolved the server response time issue...It has something to do with a Web Statistics service called AWStats that was enabled by default as an "addon" service on my hosting. Once disabled through my Plesk Management Portal, Google PageSpeed didn't seem to have any issue with my server response.

I cannot 100% confirm if by disabling the Web Statistics service is a permanent solution and will work for everyone else. But there might be some truth behind this. Web Statistic services like AWStats store all analytical data in log files directly on the server, so this must have some affect on the time a request is made. I could be talking complete nonesense.

If you have experienced the same problem as me, check your own hosting setup and it's "addon" services. You never know, it may give you that extra Google PageSpeed point. :-)

Ever since I purchased my Nexus 7 last year. I've been trying to find a nice case for it. Failing, I settled for a cheap and cheerful folio case from eBay, which (still to this day) has served me well. But I was dying to have a case that looked different and oozed some unique design elements.

When I noticed Google selling their own collection of Nexus 5 and 7 cases, I purchased one straight away. The Grey/Blue colour scheme caught my eye. It seemed that Google's offering ticked all the boxes. What could they possibly do wrong? It's an official product designed and manufactured by the very people who made the Nexus 7. If anyone could make a case without fault, it would have to be Google....right?

Sadly no.

For starters, the case lacks magnet technology allowing automatic power on/off feature when opening the case. Secondly, there was no type of latch that would keep the case closed and found that the case opened whilst it was moving around in my backpack. Maybe I just had high expectations since my current offering already had these features.

Yes. These might be small things. But I found myself getting increasingly agitated (maybe an overstatement!) whilst using my Nexus 7, especially for a case that cost four times the price of the case I previously used.

It wasn't all doom and gloom. There were things I did like about Google's case offering. I loved that the case looked and felt very different to what is available on the market currently. Outside was covered with hard wearing fabric with an inner lining of suede. Definitely high quality stuff!

Unfortunately, Google just seemed to miss the mark by not including a few key features, mainly being the magnetic sensor.

Back to Google it goes.

Update - 11/02/2014

I was expecting to pay for all postage costs to return the case. But after contacting Google Support regarding the reasons to why I wanted to return the item, they sent me a prepaid shipping package and were very helpful throughout the return process. Quick and easy!

When I first heard Google were introducing their own social-networking platform, I was intrigued to say the least on what they could offer compared to the other social sites I use: Facebook and Twitter.

As I stated in one of my earlier posts, I am more of a tweeter since I can share my blog posts easily along with my random ramblings. I think Facebook will have a problem competing alongside Twitter or Google+. Facebook is seen to be more of a personal social network rather than a open professional network and that’s its biggest downfall. It’s quite difficult to cross the boundaries between posting professional/business content alongside personal posts. Thankfully, this is something Google Plus does quite well through its new “circle’s” feature allowing complete control on who see’s what.

I jumped at the chance of using Google Plus when I was offered an invite during the initial release. I was very impressed. Simple and straight-forward. My posts looked really beautiful within its minimalist user interface. Well what else would you expect from Google? Don’t get me started on the eye-sore that is Facebook’s new interface – I’ll leave that for another blog post.

For me, Google Plus is like an extension of Twitter with some added benefits such as:

• Ability to make posts private/public.
• Follow people by adding them to a circle.
• No character limit on the length of posts.
• Nice interoperability with the search-daddy that is Google.

For a new social networking site, I get a higher click-through-rate to my blog than I ever got compared to tweeting on Twitter. In the process, I managed to get more people adding me to their circle. So take any remarks regarding the inactivity of Google+ with a pinch of salt. I don’t buy it. Google encompasses a big community that you feel part of.

I briefly touched upon the interoperability factor with Google search. People underestimate the power of having the backing of Google search. For example, what if you wrote an article and linked it to your Google+ profile? This information will be displayed as author information within search results to help users discover great content and learn more about the person who wrote the article.

One thing that did surprise me is the fact that at this point in time there’s no advertisement. Unlike its predecessors (yes I that’s how confident I am in Google Plus), you always manage to find advertisement in some form or another. I can view my profile page without constantly having an advert rubbing my single relationship status to my face – something Facebook does far too often.

I trust Google more with my data over Facebook any day. I know Google can’t exactly be trusted either but unlike Facebook they’re not always in the the news on a monthly basis regarding some type of data scandal. At time of writing, it is being reported Facebook is now facing a privacy suit over internet tracking.

In conclusion, integrating ones self into Google Plus is definitely worth it. I only recently started to make more of an effort on Google+ and I find myself posting my content here over other social-networking sites. The key to making a good start is to make some of your posts public to show others your interests and even connect to these type of people either by adding them to a circle or joining a hangout.

On a final note, if you have a Google Plus account and like what I post then why not circle me. :-)

In light of what has happened recently with some 150,000 Google Account holders loosing their information due to a mishap at Google HQ over the weekend really reinforces the fact that our data is not safe…even in the “cloud”.

At the end of the day our information is stored on hardware that can fail. I think that this whole “cloud computing” malarkey has got all lured into a false sense of security where we think we don’t need to take measures to ensure our data backed up on a regular basis. I have to admit, I too have become a bit tardy when it comes to backing up my online data. If a large company like Google can get it wrong, what hope is there for other companies offering the same thing?

I practically live on the “cloud” in terms of what Google has to offer. I use their email, calendar, document and notebook applications. Even their mobile phone OS: Android! Luckily, there are steps we can take to ensure our data is backed up on your own terms:

	Google Calendar Google Calendar is the one application I use the most. If I lost all my data, I would quite annoyed to say the least (and be very disorganised). You can backup all your calendar entries by opening your calendar settings, click on Calendars and select “Export Calendars”. A zip file will be created containing your calendars in a .ical format.
	Gmail This a simple one. Use an desktop email client such as Thunderbird (or any other client you prefer) to download all your emails directly to you computer through POP access.
	Docs If you only store a handful of documents in your Google Account, you could just download them one-by-one. Understandably, if you have a long list of documents a more automated approach is required. Lifehacker.com shows a really great script you can use to that allows you to download documents in whatever format you require. Take a look here.

Hooray! Our data is saved!

I have to say that I am quite impressed with the way Google markets its own applications and services. Who would ever had thought of using a comic string to introduce the key workings of a specific application? Its a lengthy comic to say the least, consisting of 38 “fun filled” pages, which actually makes learning about the Chrome browser an interesting read.

But this does ask the question on why Google is releasing their own browser? I thought they had extended their search deal with Mozilla Firefox in return for setting Google as the default search engine. I guess this may cause an awkward relationship between the two in the future. But I suppose any attack against the dreaded Microsoft Internet Explorer browser can only be a benefit!

I have to say that the guy wearing the glasses on the left bares a striking (less cool) resemblance to me. :-)

You can view the full comic strip here.