Google+ Huddle vs Kik Messenger

Group messaging has never been so easy to use as with the new Google+ Huddle launched this week. The tool is well-coupled with Google+ Circles and all of your contacts which makes it easy to start chatting with specific groups of people you can relate based on the subject of your messages.

We've already seen apps like this before. Kik Messenger is one of them, if not the most used one, specially for iPhone users. The adoption however within mobile users was low. Facebook didn't even tried to do that but failed because its Facebook Groups is not as good as Google+ Circles.

And why will Huddle succeed where Facebook and Kik Messenger failed before? First because Google is Google, and everybody has a Google account. To start a group chat on Kik, all of your friends must sign up first, hence the problem with adoption. Something Google don't have to worry about. Second, because Facebook wants - needs - to have all information its users publish be public available.

The Huddle app, although very similar to Kik Messenger, has greater potential.

Icons

Group chats

A chat

UPDATE: It seems Huddle is not a new project from Google. Actually, they came with this back in 2008 and it almost killed 37signals' group messaging tool Campfire. Read the article.

Twitter email notification

Today was the last time I complained about Twitter's email notification design for, at least, direct messages. The position of username and avatar calls for my attention and everytime I look at it, I find myself searching for the message one has sent to me.

The actual design

Look at all that whitespace. Sure there's nothing can do about it? At first look, one will look at the avatar, and suddenly, will have to go backwards to find what that person had sent you.

So, I've made one little change.

The new design

Now this design has a better flow of information and still takes advantage of space for long messages and names.

Please Twitter, fix it.

You are killing my eyes one DM at a time...

Thank you.
Bruno Borges

Apache Tomcat 7: Bibliotecas Compartilhadas

Publiquei no Lado Servidor uma dica boa pra quem usa Tomcat 7.

Confere lá

Microsoft does it again

Yeap, by @brunoborges

BlocoDroid: Carnaval de Rua Rio 2011

Hoje estréia no Android Market, minha primeira aplicação para Android. O BlocoDroid é um guia da programação do Carnaval de Rua 2011 do Rio de Janeiro, com a lista de todos os blocos anunciados no Diário do Rio.

Útil para os folióids que não querem perder de vista os melhores blocos do Rio, mas também útil para aqueles que querem escapar dos engarrafamentos e bagunças causadas nessa época do ano. :-)

Para baixar o aplicativo, use o Barcode Scanner para instalar o programa no seu celular, com o QR Code acima. Ou pesquise por BlocoDroid no seu Android Market.

E bom Carnaval pra você!!

BlocoDroid for Android on AppBrain