Filed under: Internet, Retrocomputing
What with all the furore over Google Buzz and its questionable security, the big picture since the launch has been more than a little occluded. I hope, with the dust settling, we can now begin to look at what Google Buzz actually brings to the table -- without hyperbole, without the Mashablesque over-reporting -- the actual goodies. As always, controversy or not, Google has brought us a very shiny new toy -- but it's not about the Buzz tab in Gmail. It's about the underlying technology.Buzz is just the beginning. Take a look at the Buzz API and the 'coming soon' developer tools. Are you drooling yet? Well, if you're one of the stubborn few that require a little more foreplay to 'get going', check out WebFinger. If you're old, the 'finger protocol' (seriously) should ring some bells -- if not, let me enlighten you: finger was the original directory service on UNIX networks, such as the early-days Internet. Finger allowed you to probe a user name (rms@mit-mc.arpa, for example) and find out meta info about them -- their job, their real world location, etc. These usernames then became modern day email addresses, and ultimately lost their associated meta data.
But now it's back, with WebFinger! It's still very early days, but it works. The eventual hope is that your email address can be used to identify you, much like OpenID does today with a URL. Kinda cool, considering how many business cards are out there with email addresses on!
Google Buzz is just part of a larger, more awesome package... including the revival of Finger! originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 15 Feb 2010 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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