Friday, April 29, 2011

Ordnance Survey Leisure


New Ordnance Survey Leisure

Ordnance Survey New Get-a-Map
View weather and 1:25,000 scale [Explorer Range] Maps

bug: when panning with toolbar pan panning does not stop [FireFox 4.]


Experience a whole new world of online maps with Ordnance Survey getamap. Plot your own routes, print, save and share customised maps. If you’re looking for something new on your door step or planning a trip away...
  • Create and share routes and maps
  • Search for routes from other members or our featured brands
  • Print Ordnance Survey mapping
  • Find places of interest and attractions
  • Check the weather and local news.
  • upload gpx or kml files for creating routes
  • save as gpx to hand held gps unit (only garmin gps products supported)

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Maps of Disasters

7 February 2011 marked the second anniversary of the worst bushfire tragedy in Australian history - 173 people died and 414 were injured as the result of infernos raging around the State of Victoria. The Black Saturday Bushfire was a very traumatic event for many Australians, those directly affected by the fires but also those thousands who got emotionally and personally involved in post event forensic studies, clean up, counselling, rebuilding, Royal Commission and general assistance through voluntary work or collection of donations. The whole nation felt the pain and helplessness in the wake of such an enormous tragedy.

After a period of a relative calm over the last two years Australia has been struck again by several major natural disasters, such as flush floods in Queensland and Victoria, tropical cyclone Yasi, or bushfires in Western Australia. Events like these bring online crowds of people: those caught inadvertently in the incidents, or those concerned about safety of their family members and friends, but above all, “curious onlookers” from around the world who just would like to know what is happening. All those people are looking for basic information, such as maps of places to identify where “these things” reported in commercial and social media are happening, as well as anything that relates to progress of the event, likely scenarios it may evolve into and the impact on people, infrastructure and the surrounding environment.

In the first instance they turn to official sites run by State authorities - those that issue the alerts and warnings - and of course the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. When they can’t find what they are looking for, or the information is not in the format that is meaningful, they turn to online search engines seeking more details about the event. It is therefore not a coincidence that during the times of natural disasters the traffic to sites providing information on maps goes through the roof. A question comes to mind if there really is enough tools in the public domain to keep general public fully informed. Has anything changed since Victorian bushfires of 2009?

In an ideal world, all the relevant information would be provided by the authorities, along with alerts, warnings, evacuation orders, road closures and detour routes, situation briefs etc. And through all possible channels: online, stationary and mobile phones, radio and TV, and in all formats: text, audio and video broadcasts and online streaming, printed as well as static and interactive maps, and above all, web services for republishing the information through media and social channels. But that is still only a distant dream. The reality is that information is very fragmented, differs in formats and content from State to State and ultimately in reliability, accuracy and timeliness.

So, what information is actually available, in spatial format, to an average person interested in a particular event? Let’s start with bushfire related information as there is quite a few resources available...

Part 1: Mapping Bushfires

Detection of fire hotspots from satellites has been around for quite a while and Australia has two systems delivering such information that pre-dates Victorian bushfires of 2009: Geoscience Australia’s Sentinel and Landgate’s FireWatch. Both are using data obtained from the NASA Earth Observation Satellites Terra and Aqua which pass over Australia up to three times a day (although a revisit of the same area is only two times a day). Although data has some limitations, like timeliness due



to infrequent revisit cycle or inability to detect hotspots through thick smoke and clouds, these applications provide excellent location reference for larger fire outbreaks throughout Australia. Geoscience Australia publishes the data in KML, WFS and WMS formats. I use those in my Hazard Monitor Bushfire Incidents map to publish an alternative view of the information. FireLocator from PitneyBowes provides yet another version of the same data in Silverlight format and with Bing Map in the background.



North Australia Fire Information is an application dedicated to monitoring fires in the northern part of Australia. In addition to satellite detected fire hotspots it also includes information on fire scars from past bushfires. Some of the information available on this site can be accessed in KML and WMS formats.
State authorities responsible for emergency alerts and response to natural disasters are publishing on their respective websites summaries of information on the latest incidents. Victorian Country Fire Authority (CFA) publishes a summary of incidents in a tabular format and on a Google Map. The information is also available as RSS feeds (locations are not georeferenced, hence cannot be directly imported into maps).

In NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) publishes its version of summary of incidents - as a list and a map. Georeferenced RSS feed is also provided.

Both Bushfire Incidents map and FireLocator (developed in late 2009) are using the above feeds to display information about the latest incidents on the maps. During the peak of Victorian bushfires
Google released its own application that mapped these feeds and showed satellite imagery of smoke and cloud cover.


Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) is another agency that publishes fire incidents information and a map as well as distributes the information via RSS (non-georeferenced) and KML. And South Australian Country Fire Service (CFS) publishes map and incidents in a similar fashion to already mentioned States (their RSS feed is also not georeferenced).


There are no interactive maps with the latest incidents for Queensland and Western Australia and those states do not publish RSS feeds in the format that could be easily reused for displaying the information in third party mapping applications.

The most recent additions to the list of online bushfire related information sources are BushfireConnect and everymap.com.au. Built with Ushahidi, these online mapping applications aim to publish information supplied by the public located in the affected areas, either by lodging reports online, or via SMS or Twitter (ie. crowd sourcing). They also republish RSS alerts from State authorities. Not the easiest and the most intuitive tools to use but these initiatives are attempting to engage a wider community in reporting of incidents so, deserving all the support.


At the time of major disasters media and private individuals create maps and various applications to share the information about a particular event. Examples include a Black Saturday feature created by ABC that allows users to explore timeline of events on an interactive map, or Google’s MyMap version created by a private individual as a static record of events (presented here on aus-emaps.com shareable map).

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Experimental APIs for Chrome extensions

In the latest Chrome beta release, we made available two new experimental extension APIs: the Web Navigation and Proxy Extension APIs. They are the first in a series of low-level APIs that allow extension and application authors integrate more closely with the user’s browsing experience. We're excited about these APIs and want to get them in front of developers early so we can receive their feedback on any additional needs.
  • The Web Navigation Extension API allows extension developers to observe browser navigation events. These events fire both for top-level navigation and in-page navigation. The API therefore allows an extension to keep track of exactly what page (or section thereof) the tab is showing, and how the user got there. We foresee a number of use cases for this API, including extensions that gather and present statistical or benchmarking data, safe-browsing extensions, and developer tools.
  • The Proxy Extension API closes one of our most popular feature requests, allowing users to configure Chrome’s proxy settings via extensions. Proxies can be configured for the entire browser or independently for regular and incognito windows. Configuration options range from setting a single proxy server to installing remote or even local PAC scripts. A sample extension demonstrates these capabilities.
Sample extension showcasing individual proxy settings for normal and incognito windows.
To try out these new APIs, please go to about:flags and enable “Experimental Extension APIs”. To protect our users' privacy, when these APIs reach the stable channel, extensions that use them will need to request explicit permission from users.

Let us know if you create something cool with one of these APIs. If we like it, we may feature you in the extensions gallery.

Open Source Software class visits Google

The continuing mission of the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC) is to inspire social change by enabling the sharing of diverse stories through art, education and technology. One of the ways they pursue this goal is by offering classes to youth, such as their Digital Pathways: Open Source class. This program offers intensive media training for young people who want to learn skills related to careers in technology and the media arts.

Earlier this month the class was treated to lunch and a tour of Google’s headquarters in Mountain View, CA. During lunch, the students had a chance to sit down with members of the Open Source Programs Office and ask questions about working in open source. They talked with Junio C Hamano, maintainer of the GIT project, Ian Hickson, writer for the HTML5 spec, and Carol Smith, administrator for Google Summer of Code and Google Code-in.

Grading Made Easy using Apps Script

As an instructor for a night class in physics at De Anza Community College, I didn't have enough time to grade assignments. Because it was a survey course, multiple choice assignments seemed like a viable option. So I used Google Forms to collect homework assignments. But I needed a way to grade the collected submissions and perform some useful analysis. The idea for Flubaroo was born and is now ready to share with other teachers thanks to Google Apps Script!

Flubaroo is designed as a simple grading solution for teachers using existing tools they're already comfortable with. It allows automated grading of quizzes and assignments administered via Google Forms. Beyond just grading, Flubaroo also provides analytics such as a histogram of grade distribution and identification of questions that many students missed. Flubaroo’s most popular feature is its ability to email each student their grade, along with the answer key if desired.

Here are the key reasons I chose Google Apps Script to implement Flubaroo:
  1. I wanted to build a simple application which can be easily integrated with Spreadsheets without the need to compile and deploy code.
  2. I liked its ability to integrate right into the spreadsheet as a menu, easily giving teachers access to all of Flubaroo's features.
  3. Apps Script provided UI Services which allowed me to build UI applications very easily from within a browser. I did not have to install complex tools to create a UI.
  4. Apps Script Services makes it very easy to integrate other Google APIs such as Google Charts API for the grade histogram.
  5. A JavaScript syntax is easy to program and without the need to learn more complex languages like Java and Python.
  6. Apps Script gave me the ability to easily share my grading technique with other teachers through the Apps Script Gallery. It is very easy for anyone to install the Flubaroo script in their Apps Script editor.
It was easy to get started with Apps Script, and the examples already provided in the Apps Script Documentation further helped me get it working quickly. Flubaroo is about 2300 lines of code. I used Spreadsheet Services to process and grade assignment submissions. I extensively used Ui Services to create the grading flow. In addition, Flubaroo makes use of the Google Chart API to create the grade distribution chart. Integration with Apps Script with Google Chart API was very easy. Below is an example of the types of charts I was able to generate using Apps Script’s integration with Google Chart API.



One of the great features of Apps Script is the availability of Triggers and Events. Events helped me provide a menu to the users. I created an onOpen function which installed a menu on the spreadsheet every time the spreadsheet is opened by a user. This allows users a menu based access to the various functions in the script.



If you’d like to give it a try then please install the script from the Apps Script gallery. You can also visit Flubaroo website to go through a full tutorial of the script. Thanks to Apps Script, grading assignments is no longer a chore for me.

Real-World Sightings experiment

Prematurely is launched a feature called “Real-World Sightings,” showcasing fantastical creatures our users have spotted around the world. We’ve rolled back the test, but wanted to share an explanation in case you came across any surprising images in Google Earth and Google Maps.

We’re always working to provide an up-to-date, accurate reflection of the real world through our products. On Friday we learned of many additional sightings through reports submitted by our users, and we have decided to pause the beta until we can provide more comprehensive coverage of these mystical creatures.

We’d also like to take a moment to thank the Google SketchUp users who helped us create the 3D models for this experiment: AeriliusAthinaios,  BdhyBerylDrueFingerzJan WesbuerKangaroOzNESUA, and Zoungy.

GOCE Releases New Geoid Model of the Earth

GOCE geoid model


A new geoid model has been released by the GOCE satellite mission. Included in the release is an animated geoid model. A geoid is a gravity map of the earth that compensates for ocean currents and variations in sea level.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Check out the latest from the Developer Sandbox at Google I/O 2011

With Google I/O 2011 less than a month away, we wanted to give you a preview of the partners who will be present at our Developer Sandbox. Starting today, you can visit the Developer Sandbox page on our website for a preview of who will be exhibiting at Google I/O 2011. Think of the Sandbox as a place where you can get real-life case studies and hands-on time with developers who use Google technologies to build products. We have 128 partners participating across 10 product tracks this year.

For those of you joining us via I/O Live, you can submit and vote on questions you’d like to ask our partners via Google Moderator. We will be taking the most popular questions and conducting video interviews with Sandbox partners. The videos will be posted to the Sandbox page on the following day.

Also, stay tuned on the Google Code Blog where we’ll be featuring guest bloggers from Sandbox companies in the days leading up to I/O.

For those of you joining us in person, we’ll see you in San Francisco. For everyone around the world, tune in to I/O Live and don’t forget to submit questions for Sandbox companies via Google Moderator!

Dusty Reid plans and manages many events at Google each year, including Google I/O. He works at Google's office in beautiful Boulder, Colorado.

Christine Songco works with developers in Southeast Asia, although before and during Google I/O she wears many additional hats. Christine likes to travel, scuba dive, and snowboard in her spare time, which she hopes to discover again when I/O is over for the year.

Former student pays it forward as a mentor for Google Code-in

Charlie Gordon was a student participant in the Google Highly Open Participation Contest, an earlier version of Google Code-in that pairs high school students with mentors in open source projects. Here he discusses his recent experience as a Mentor for the 2010-2011 Google Code-in.

There were so many great stories from Google Code-in that it's hard to pick out just a few. I'm always so excited to get young people involved in open source - I remember how excited I was when I participated in the Google Highly Open Participation Contest myself back in 2007-2008. The program opened many exciting doors for me, including going to Drupal conferences, becoming involved in Drupal core development, and even eventually going to college at MIT, where I am now. It brings me great joy to be able to help open the same doors for the next generation of bright young open source enthusiasts.

Now for the stories! I'm always impressed when students, who are used to doing only what they're specifically told to do for school assignments, go above and beyond. Especially in the format of a contest where the incentives lead students to do the bare minimum, I find those students who put in a real effort to go above and beyond are those who really care about the open source project, and are those who are most likely to stick with it after the contest ends. Here are some of these students:

A student from Thailand, "chalet16", worked on five complex coding tasks for Drupal's style guide module. Over many iterations with the tasks' mentor, the quality of chalet16's code improved, and he also became more comfortable with using drupal.org's issue queue, a key part of our development process. Not only were the tasks well done, but when chalet16 encountered software bugs in parts of the code that he wasn't working directly on, chalet16 had no problem taking the initiative and opening new issues for the bugs, even submitting additional patches to those issues that fixed the problem. That's exactly the kind of participation that we want to attract to our project, and to open source software development in general.

Despite not having very much experience in PHP, “aantn,” a student from Israel, found ways to contribute to the Drupal project, such as by writing a Python script to survey test coverage statistics for Drupal core and the top 50 or so modules. We now have a much better idea of where and to what extent our automated testing system is being used, and making such statistics public will hopefully encourage module maintainers to write more test coverage for their code.

We specified a task that called for a Drupal core patch to allow a "full preview" button on the content submission form. Halfway through the task, Romanian student "bluman," encountered big roadblocks to that patch. After discussing the issue, we realized that the task would not work as a patch for Drupal core, but would have to be rewritten from the ground up as a contributed module. However, rather than give up, bluman worked hard to redo the task as a module, and came up with fantastic results.

Finally, we set a task to translate a small to medium sized module into another language. Another student from Romania, “ungureanuvladvictor," went way above and beyond the task description, translating one of the largest and most widely used contributed Drupal modules into Romanian. The translation file had more than 1,000 translations in it, a very impressive feat for such a short period of time. I had to scramble to find a Romanian speaker willing to review such a large translation!

Really, there are so many impressive students out there.

By Charlie Gordon, Drupal.org mentor

We always hope that the students who participate in programs like Google Code-in and Google Summer of Code develop a bond with the open source community they work with during the program and continue to contribute to the community long after the contest ends. Charlie Gordon is a prime example; he not only continues to be actively involved in the Drupal community but he is also sharing his experience and wisdom with younger developers and helping them become contributors to open source.

New photo browsing experience in Google Earth

Google Earth users love flying around the globe and checking out beautiful photographs in the “Photos” layer. Whether you are a photography fan or simply want to check out images of a place you'd like to visit, we’re pleased to announce a new photo browsing experience in Google Earth. With the new photo cluster feature, you can browse through several photos more easily and quickly.

To start, make sure the “Photos” layer is checked in the left layers panel and zoom down to your area of interest.




As an example below, check out the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, CA. You will see photo icons on top of the satellite images. The larger photo icons indicate larger collections or clusters of photos. Click on any photo icon to open the Photos window.

To browse through the images in a collection, click on a photo in the filmstrip and use the “left” and “right” arrow keys on your keyboard to flip through them quickly.






Whether you’re deciding between Paris, Beijing or Venice for a nice vacation or simply want to go on a quick virtual getaway after a long day, we hope this new way of viewing photos in Google Earth helps bring places around the world to your fingertips.

If you’d like to contribute to our efforts of building a virtual atlas of the real world and have amazing photos you’d like to share, you can do so by uploading them to Panoramio.com.

Android for Good at Google I/O 2011

Do you have an unlocked Android device that you no longer need? If you’re coming to Google I/O, you can make a world of difference by donating it to Android for Good.

Android for Good evolved from a program at Google started by one passionate engineer with an idea to help the developing world through technology. A small team collected Android devices from Googlers around the world and organized their donation to groups including Grameem’s AppLab Community Knowledge Worker Initiative in Uganda, Save the Elephants in Kenya, V-Day in the Democratic Republic of Congo, VillageReach in Mozambique, VetAid in Tanzania & Kenya, and UNHCR in Central Africa.

This year, we want to make it easy for everyone at Google I/O to get involved as well. We know you like to keep up to speed with the latest and greatest technology, so you may have an older Android device you don’t need anymore. If that device is unlocked (such as the T-Mobile G1, Nexus One, or Nexus S) and in good working condition, bring it along to Google I/O and drop it off at the Android for Good booth, located on the third floor of Moscone Center. Although it might seem old to you, that device could mean a new beginning when placed in the right hands.

Zi Wang is a Product Marketing Manager on the Android Team. In his 20% time, Zi is working on a very cool project called Android in Space.
Sound Transit: Riding the Bing Maps Wave http://ping.fm/xuKnc
Paul on Extra Effort http://ping.fm/77eka
The Art of Maps: John Speed Atlas Online http://ping.fm/p4lRK

Sunday, April 24, 2011

The Art of Maps: John Speed Atlas Online - John Speed’s atlas, The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine, first pu... http://ow.ly/1ckv7q
Paul on Extra Effort - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart…” –Paul the Apostle Colossians 3:23 East http://ow.ly/1ckhVU
Sound Transit: Riding the Bing Maps Wave - Sound Transit has launched their new public transit system featuring Bing... http://ow.ly/1ck7bV
It’s Tax Time but Don’t Search for the IRS in Sturgis MI - It’s tax time so folks all across the US are calling the ... http://ow.ly/1cjVcT

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Google Earth: The Home Greenover Project - We've shown you some neat use of the Google Earth Plugin from Earthvision... http://ow.ly/1cjLkm
Travel inside of Art Galleries with Street View | Mapsys.info http://ow.ly/48M0L
Android In Space! http://ping.fm/USzDh
Google Developer Day US – KML Search and Dev. Maps Mashups http://ping.fm/msKeZ
London Twitter Network Map http://ping.fm/r42aY
Integrating your Rails application with Google Apps and the Apps Marketplace http://ping.fm/ekvKk
Google Developer Day – Mashup Showcase http://ping.fm/oOhmE
Map Prints http://ping.fm/EPGua
Google Places Mobile Option to Only Show Open Businesses http://ping.fm/RpGWv
Quantum GIS: Geocoding & Reverse Geocoding plus Google Maps (and OpenStreetMap and Yahoo) overlays http://ping.fm/WzBow
Undo certain Gmail actions in your mobile browser http://ping.fm/YEBN0
SketchUp: Better sectional views in LayOut http://ping.fm/6a7xm
Capture and Share Panoramas Anywhere You Go with the Photosynth App http://ping.fm/TbfoH
Microsoft MapPoint: Mapping Demographic Data and Layering Sales Data on Top http://ping.fm/7NyLS
Microsoft MapPoint: Mapping Demographic Data and Layering Sales Data on Top http://ow.ly/1cjpG9
Undo certain Gmail actions in your mobile browser - Sometimes when I’m using Gmail on my phone, I delete a message b... http://ow.ly/1cjew3
Undo certain Gmail actions in your mobile browser http://ping.fm/yvHmh

Friday, April 22, 2011

Prediction API: Every app a smart app

If you’re looking to make your app smarter and you think machine learning is more complicated than making three API calls, then you’re reading the right blog post.

Today, we are releasing v1.2 of the Google Prediction API, which makes it even easier for preview users to build smarter apps by accessing Google’s advanced machine learning algorithms through a RESTful web service.

Some technical details of the Prediction API:
  • Chooses best technique from several available machine learning algorithms.
  • Supported inputs: numeric data and unstructured text.
  • Outputs hundreds of discrete categories, or continuous values.
  • Integrates with many platforms: Google App Engine, web and desktop apps, and command line.
  • v1.2 improvements:
    • Simpler interface: automatic data type detection, and score normalization.
    • Paid usage tier.
    • Improved usage monitoring and faster signup through the APIs Console.
Ideas to make the most of the Prediction API:
  • Recommendation: What products might a user be interested in? (example)
  • Filter RSS feeds, user comments, or feedback: Which posts are most relevant? Should a user comment be featured? Which feedback should we look at first? (example)
  • Customize homepages: Predict what content a user would like to see and populate the page with the user’s anticipated interests.
  • Sentiment analysis: Is this comment positive or negative? Does a commenter support Group A or Group B?
  • Message routing: Route emails to the appropriate person based on analysis of the email contents.
  • See the Prediction API website for many more!
To join the preview group, go to the APIs Console and click the Prediction API slider to “ON,” and then sign up for a Google Storage account.

We would also like to continue to thank our supportive preview users for their help making the API the service it is today. We look forward to seeing many more of you join us in making the web just a little bit smarter, and hearing your thoughts and feedback through our discussion group.
More great models from Andy Dell http://ping.fm/qX2sN
ArcGIS 10 Online Capabilities http://ping.fm/ZtDwm
How Big Africa Really Is ? http://ping.fm/KqUaS
The Population of China’s Provinces Compared http://ping.fm/euIam
Adding your local knowledge to the map with Google Map Maker for the United States http://ping.fm/mke0o
Adding your local knowledge to the map with Google Map Maker for the United States http://ow.ly/1ciBEU
Help with spherical geometry from our first Maps API library http://ping.fm/hgMOU
Adding your local knowledge to the map with Google Map Maker for the United States http://ping.fm/hWCJ6
OpenLayers-based slippy map http://ping.fm/LVhXM
New way to view photos in Google Earth - For more than five years, since we first learned of Panoramio, photos have ... http://ow.ly/1cilyT
Playing GeoGames in Google Earth http://ping.fm/i6TWH
Cloud app mash-up: iPhone app created using Google App Engine, Facebook, and Google Maps http://ping.fm/9jOrq
Off to the 2011 GeoDesign Summit http://ping.fm/KIVhk
Solar Eclipse Map Website http://ping.fm/7rRYZ
Kinect Google Map Mashup http://ping.fm/Ux1Q3
Return to the Gulf of Mexico http://ping.fm/ou2JY
New way to view photos in Google Earth http://ping.fm/mUmIx
3D fireworks in Google Earth http://ping.fm/Uzwwz
Google Places http://ping.fm/PvCd2
Adding your local knowledge to the map with Google Map Maker for the United States http://ping.fm/a2HZk
Google Releases Map Maker in the US http://ping.fm/zd1Qt

Световната банка представи интерактивна световна карта

Уникална интерактивна карта представи Световната банка. На картата се вижда разпределението на парите, които заема финансовата институция на нуждаещите се държави. Чрез картата може да се получи информация за 16 хиляди проекта на Световната банка, които са насочени към нуждаещите се хора в 79 държави, предаде Mashable.

Целта на създаването на картата, както и на други подобни инициативи на банката, е да се информира обществото за това, как се разпределят парите и да се стимулират богатите да помагат повече на по-бедните държави. Чрез тази карта може да се повиши и нивото на отчетност на правителствата, които получават от средствата.

Преди създаването на интерактивната карта, информацията можеше да се получи само след безкрайно ровене в хиляди страници с финансови документи. Никой не знаеше къде точно и за какво отиват парите по проектите на Световната банка. Сега положението е значително подобрено.

Картата е създадена благодарение на десетки неуморни стажанти, които са извадили информацията. В чисто технически план информационната услуга е изградена чрез картографските системи GeoIQ и Blue Raster. Вече с няколко щраквания на мишката може да се получи информация за различни проекти на обща стойност 168 милиарда щатски долара.
Световната банка работи главно с правителствата на отделните държави, а благодарение на новата инициатива обикновените граждани ще получат достъп до информация, която преди дори не са подозирали, че съществува.

Картата е достъпна на следния адрес: http://maps.worldbank.org/

Заплатата на Ерик Шмид с над един милион долара

Понякога понижаването в длъжност може да се окаже много печелившо за този, който вече заема по-ниска позиция. Точно такъв е случаят с бившия изпълнителен директор Ерик Шмид, който предаде кормилото в информационния гигант Google на Лари Пейдж. В момента Шмид заема позиция, която е по-малко отговорна, но за сметка на това новата длъжност ще се отрази повече от положително на джоба му, предаде Mashable.

Като изпълнителен директор Ерик Шмид получаваше заплата от един долар на година. Сега той вече работи за сумата от 1.25 милиона щатски долара годишно. Към договора му има и опция за бонус, който може да достигне 400% от основната заплата.

Ерик Шмид

Бившият шеф на Google вече получи щедра награда след напускането на високия си пост. Той прибра ни повече, ни по-малко от 100 милиона долара под формата на акции и други активи. В началото на януари той обяви, че смята да продаде 534 хиляди от акциите си в най-голямата търсачка. В момента тези акции струват около 280 милиона долара.

Въпреки голямото увеличение на заплатата и щедрата компенсация от Google доскорошният директор няма намерение да промени обичайните си всекидневни разходи. Според Форбс, сумите за които се говори по-горе са джобни пари за Шмид, който притежава състояние, оценявано на 6.3 милиарда долара.

iPhone следи тайно местоположението на притежателя си

Епълските устройства iPhone и iPad 3G тайно следят и записват местоположението на своите собственици. Това е било установено при специално изследване, предаде BBC.

Информацията за местата и времето, по което човек е бил там се събирала в скрит файл, който се съхранява в устройството под некодирана форма. Това са разкрили специалистите по цифрова сигурност Аласдар Алън и Пит Уордън.

Всеки, който притежава необходимия софтуер може да източи от дадено устройство информацията за всички места, където е ходил неговият собственик, твърдят специалистите. От Apple все още не са коментирали това разкритие. Засега няма данни за наличието на механизъм, който да изпраща файлът с информацията на трети страни, но това не значи, че такъв не съществува.

За първи път информацията за разкритието е била публикувана в британския вестник Guardian. Новината идва като гръм от ясно небе за потребителите, които използват мобилните устройства iPhone и iPad 3G. Джаджите не дават никакви видими индикации, които могат да подскажат на собственика, че информацията за неговото местоположение се записва в специален лог.

Специалисти по сигурността са разгледали условията за ползване, които поставя Apple на своите клиенти и според тях практиката на тайно записване на местоположенията не е в разрез с указанията.

Авторите на откритието са заявили, че следенето на потребителите е въведено напълно умишлено и преднамерено. Това е станало през месец юни 2010 година с поредното обновяване на мобилната операционна система iOS.

Щатски полицаи ровичкат в чужди смартфони по време на рутинни пътни проверки

Полицията в щата Мичиган има практиката да разглежда съдържанието на смартфоните, които притежават хората, намиращи се в коли, спрени за рутинни пътни проверки. Полицаите разглеждали информацията в адресната книга, снимките, текстовите съобщения и дори геолокационната история, предаде Mobiledia. Това повдига въпроси за личната неприкосновеност в дигиталната ера.

Сдружението за защита на граждански права ACLU обвини мичиганската полиция, че извлича лична и неприкосновена информация от телефоните на хората в нарушение на четвъртата поправка в конституцията на САЩ. Има данни, че органите на реда използвали и специализирани устройства, които позволяват достигането до защитена с парола информация.

„Мобилните телефони съдържат информация, която според много хора е лична и неприкосновена от полицията и други правителствени агенции. Ако полицията разглежда информацията в телефоните директно на пътя, тогава има реална опасност от злоупотреби.”, е мнението на Марк Фанчър, който е адвокат на ACLU.

От личните смартфони лесно може да бъде извлечена информация за религиозните предпочитания и политическите пристрастия на рутинно проверяваните граждани, което е силно нежелателно. В законовата уредба на САЩ има неясноти заради наредби, които не са актуални на днешното ниво на технологичното развитие. Полицията се възползва от тези неясноти и пропуски за да получи колкото се може повече информация.

По летищата в САЩ също се претърсват лаптопи и телефони рутинно, без никакви конкретни причини.

Skype отстрани критичната уязвимост в приложенията за Android

Skype отстрани критичната уязвимост в приложението за смартфони и таблети, базирани на операционната система Android. В официалния магазин за приложения Android Market се появи актуализирана версия на клиента за IP телефония, пише техноблогът Electronista.

В новата версия на приложението разработчиците са "запушили" установената преди седмица "дупка". През нея хакерите можеха да получат достъп до личните данни на потребителите, включително до потребителското им име, адреса на електронната им поща и историята на кореспонденцията им в Skype.

Тази уязвимост беше открита при тестовете на ранната бета версия на клиента за операционната система Android с поддръжка на видео разговори. По-късно обаче редакторът на блога Android Police, открил уязвимостта, установил още, че тя присъства и в официалната версия на Skype, предлагана в Android Market.

Оказало се, че мобилното приложение съхранява всички лични данни на потребителите в споделена папка, достъпът до която е свободен. Така при хакване или кражба на смартфон или таблет, на който е инсталирано приложението Skype, атакуващите могат без разрешението на потребителя да получат достъп до тези данни.

Skype най-популярната услуга за IP телефония и видео. Освен компютърното приложение са достъпни и мобилни версии на Skype, в частност за платформите iOS и Android.

Синът на Евгений Касперски отвлечен в Москва?

Синът на руския софтуерен предприемач Евгений Касперски е изчезнал в Москва, след като най-вероятно е отвлечен, съобщават руските медии, цитирани от BBC („Би Би Си”).

Тайните служби и полицията вече два дни издирват 20-годишния Иван Касперски, е съобщил полицейски източник пред агенция "Интерфакс”.

От фирмата на баща му - Kaspersky Lab, са заявили, че не могат да потвърдят информацията, че младежът е отвлечен.

Евгений Касперски натрупва състоянието си чрез разработването на антивирусен софтуер.

Новината за похищението на сина му беше първоначално съобщена от руския новинарски сайт Life News, който цитира собствени неназовани източници.

Похитителите са поискали 3 млн. евро, за да върнат Иван невредим, съобщава сайтът.

Според непотвърдена информация, той е бил отвлечен, докато е отивал към работното си място в Москва във вторник.

Пред руския вестник „Газета” от Kaspersky Lab са заявили, че могат нито да потвърдят, нито да отрекат информацията.

Като цяло по казуса не е направен нито един официален коментар.

Извън Русия Kaspersky Lab се възприема като една от малкото фирми, чийто успех в бизнеса не е свързан с енергийния сектор.

Американското бизнес списание Fast Company наскоро постави Kaspersky Lab в Топ 50 на най-иновативните компании в света.

New York Times триумфира след въвеждането на платен достъп до сайта си

Рисковото начинание на вестник New York Times да въведе такси за достъп на читателите до онлайн съдържанието си изглежда дава резултат.

Компанията е привлякла над 100 000 нови потребители, откакто въведе онлайн абонаментната си услуга на 28 март 2011 г. Този факт опровергава някои мрачни прогнози, направени от анализатори, за евентуалния неуспех на платения онлайн достъп. Изчисленията показват, че компанията ще получи около 26 млн. долара годишни приходи вследствие на нововъведението.

Този нов модел на таксуване на потребителите се наблюдава отблизо от вестниците от общ характер и с широко съдържание, които търсят нови форми на привличане на приходи на фона на понижаващи се рекламни постъпления и намаляващ брой читатели на печатните си издания.

Едва няколко вестника, специализирани главно във финансовите новини, а именно Wall Street Journal на News Corp и Financial Times на Pearson PLC, с успех въведоха платения достъп до онлайн съдържанието си, припомня агенция "Ройтерс".

News Corporation, например, представи платената си онлайн услуга за британските издания Times и Sunday Times през юли 2010 г. Заедно двата вестника до момента имат 79 000 месечни електронни потребители, при 50 000 в края на октомври 2010 г.

New York Times - фирмата, която издава едноименния вестник, както и ежедневника Boston Globe, съобщи в четвъртък, че постъпленията й от печатна реклама са спаднали рязко, което занижава и цялостните й резултати за приходите и печалбата за първото тримесечие.

Verizon все още умува дали да разпространява PlayBook

Verizon Wireless все още е в процес на осмисляне дали да стане дистрибутор на таблетния компютър на Research In Motion (RIM) – PlayBook. Това съобщи най-големият американски мобилен оператор в свое изявление в сряда.

Въпреки че производителят на BlackBerry – RIM, обяви, че очаква Verizon Wireless да стане един от партньорите му в дистрибуцията на PlayBook, от компанията отвърнаха, че все още не са взели решение по този въпрос.

„Все още правим оценка на BlackBerry Playbook и не сме взели еднозначно решение дали ще го разпространяваме или не”, обяви Бренда Рейни, говорител на Verizon Wireless, цитирана от агенция „Ройтерс”.

Този коментар дойде в сряда - един ден, след като PlayBook беше пуснат в магазинната мрежа и при електронните търговци в Северна Америка.

Според първоначалните данни продажбите на устройството, което е отговорът на RIM на таблета iPad на конкурента му Apple, са под всякакви очаквания.

Анализаторите критикуват остро PlayBook заради липсата на вградени функции за имейл и органайзер, за достъп до които устройството се нуждае от BlackBerry. Освен това в голяма част от отрицателните мнения за таблета се посочва, че той е бил пуснат на пазара, преди да е напълно готов.

Verizon Wireless е съвместно предприятие между Communications Inc и Vodafone Group Plc.

Apple изпревари Nokia по приходи от продажби на телефони

Apple Inc. изпревари Nokia Corp и стана най-големият търговец в света на мобилни телефони по показател продажби. Това съобщиха в четвъртък изследователите на пазара от Strategy Analytics, след като двете компании оповестиха финансовите си данни.

„Пресметнахме, че приходите на Apple от продажби на едро на нейното подразделение, отговарящо за телефона iPhone, са 11,9 млрд. долара за първото тримесечие на 2011 г.”, съобщи старши анализаторът от Strategy Analytics Алекс Спектър. „За първи път Apple изпреварва Nokia, която е отчела много по-ниски приходи от продажби на едро в размер на 9,4 млрд. долара”, допълни той.

От анализаторската компания отбелязват, че Apple е завладяла този пазарен дял за по-малко от четири години.

„Патентованата екосистема на Apple, състояща се от хардуер, софтуер и услуги се оказа изключително популярна и извънредно печеливша”, обясни директорът на Strategy Analytics Нийл Моустън.

Nokia остава най-големият производител на мобилни телефони в света от гледна точка на доставките, показват данните. Доставките на мобилни устройства на Nokia са се повишили с 1% през първото тримесечие до 108.5 милиона, докато Apple е продала 18,6 млн. устройства iPhone за същия период.

Продажбите на Apple се изстреляха във висините след като тя пусна своя iPhone, което от своя страна стимулира и продажбите на другите устройства на компанията, като iPod и таблета iPad. Обратно, пазарният дял на Nokia се свива, докато тя се опитва да въведе операционна система, която да може да се конкурира с интерфейса на Apple. През февруари Nokia съобщи, че операционната й система Symbian ще бъде заменена от Windows на Microsoft Corp като основна система за смартфоните й. Въпреки това, компанията очаква преходът към Windows да отнеме около две години.

Базираната в Бостън Strategy Analytics отбелязва, че конкурентите на Apple й "дишат във врата", особено тези, които използват операционната система Android на Google Inc. Анализаторите очакват броят на телефоните, работещи под Android, да надмине тези с операционната система на Apple до края на 2011 г. Според Strategy Analytics партньорството на Nokia с Microsoft също би могло да бъде заплаха за доминиращата позиция на Apple на пазара на мобилни телефони.
BMW - Truck http://ping.fm/fV57T
Bicycle Ashtray http://ping.fm/k8VVo
Ugly Bicycle Seat http://ping.fm/VGu5b
Booker on The Next Level http://ping.fm/67T70
Google Maps API and The New York Times http://ping.fm/kFpWa
Event Management Automatisation using Apps Script http://ping.fm/vHcNW

Google APIs Python Library goes to Beta

Over the last several months we have launched a number of tools, such as the Google APIs Explorer and the Google APIs Console, that help you explore Google APIs based on our brand new API infrastructure and manage your API access directly in your browser. However, most of the day-to-day usage of the APIs is still via client libraries in various programming languages.

Today, we are announcing a major milestone for one of the Google APIs client libraries. The Google APIs Client Library for Python has officially reached Beta. This means that we're comfortable enough with the stability and features of the library that we'd like you to start building real production applications on top of it and send us your feedback. Client libraries in other languages are soon to follow.

If you are interested in getting more familiar with our new client libraries, we hope to see you at the “Introduction to Google APIs” lecture at I/O Bootcamp and the “Life of a Google API Developer” session at Google I/O, where you can chat with the developers of the libraries face-to-face.

An Update on Tags

As users increasingly rely on tools like Google Maps and Places for information about the world around them, we're working hard to develop products that help local businesses highlight themselves and their offerings.
Last year, we introduced our trial for Google Tags, a way for businesses to highlight their organic Google Places listing with a yellow tag that showcases offers, photos, videos, menu, and reservations for a flat monthly fee.
Since that experiment began, tens of thousands of businesses have used Tags to help potential customers make easier, more informed decisions when searching. Throughout this period, we monitored Tags closely to learn more about our users' business needs and how they used the product.
We’ve made a decision to shift our efforts toward other present and future product offerings for local businesses, and will be discontinuing this trial. To that end, we’ve now halted new signups and will be working with existing participating businesses over the coming weeks to help them meet their marketing needs with other Google products where possible.
We’ve learned a lot from our Tags trial and will take that knowledge into account as we continue to find the best ways to serve users and local businesses alike. Lastly, we want to thank all of the businesses that were part of our Tags trial, and we hope we can meet their advertising needs with one of our existing products.

Google Still Advertising HotPot

Google Hotpot was discontinued as a distinct product line last week. It was merged into Places and the Hotpot brand was summarily executed.

Apparently the folks promoting it on Adwords have not yet been informed of the change. I saw this ad today.

Geocoding Tool http://ping.fm/bN9JM
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/n8oOF
Return to the Gulf of Mexico http://ping.fm/l1xts
Kinect Google Map Mashup http://ping.fm/zS7G8
The Art of Maps: Map of Anglia,Scotia and Hibernia from Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595) http://ping.fm/FA77u
Maps of Made-Up Cities http://ping.fm/lmFC9
London 3D Project http://ping.fm/vJZ1U
SketchUp 7.1 for Architectural Visualization: Retweet and Win a Free Copy http://ping.fm/ExZvI
Sneak Peek of Android 3.0, Honeycomb http://ping.fm/lioRZ

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Google Maps API and The New York Times - NYTimes.com, the nation's largest newspaper website, uses the Google Maps A... http://ow.ly/1ci7pT
Levi-Montalcini on Contribution http://ping.fm/1YcEX
Where 2.0 2011 – Day One http://ping.fm/hjxir
The High Replication Datastore for App Engine http://ping.fm/gTMxq
Google’s Cloud technology to Google Earth & Maps Enterprise http://ping.fm/zB73w
Google’s Cloud technology to Google Earth & Maps Enterprise - Our vision for Google Earth and Google Maps has always...
Geocoding http://ping.fm/8J6uW
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/30xMn
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/V1L6e
Geocoding Tool http://ping.fm/ZDs5f
Google Discontinues Tags http://ping.fm/hPf0C
Nuclear Reactors in Google Earth http://ping.fm/kBMqB
New Google Earth Imagery – April 19 http://ping.fm/5CKR1

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Google Developer Day Sydney http://ping.fm/zXbjw
The High Replication Datastore for App Engine http://ping.fm/cXLap
Augmented Reality for SketchUp http://ping.fm/1SLde
Apple iPhone FaceTime around the world http://ping.fm/SVyjg
BigQuery, meet Google Spreadsheets http://ping.fm/XB9bK
The iOS Video Chat Applications: FaceTime vs. Skype http://ping.fm/yPmJP
Awesome Russian Military Trucks! http://ping.fm/QBoCw
Geoserver Google Maps http://ping.fm/GpsV8
Amazing 3D Mapping Goes Indoors http://ping.fm/dGsAJ
Google Places Dashboard: How to Make % Complete = 100% http://mapsys.info/38998/google-places-dashboard-how-to-make-complete-100/
Journey in Google Earth http://ping.fm/zqmsL
Loci 2010 – Greg Sterling http://ping.fm/o2So7
Converting shapefile into KML http://ping.fm/2NcPP
Better map of Southern Sudan http://ping.fm/7kLZT

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

NineMSN & Bing Maps User Collections: Tracking the Floods http://ping.fm/ywZrS
Use Google Earth to estimate point-to-point links http://ping.fm/U9mwv
Rebuilding L’Aquila in 3D with Google SketchUp http://ping.fm/ibwEr
TomTom on Smartphones and Standalone GPS Devices http://ping.fm/Ly5v1
Your SpaceNavigator now works with SketchUp 8, and the Shadow Bug is fixed http://ping.fm/xoUMP
http://ping.fm/dvTy3

Steve Vai... no words...

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8
http://ping.fm/G5Bk5
Fwix’s API “help big companies and developers produce local products” http://ow.ly/1cgbyU
Another natural disaster tragedy in Oz http://ping.fm/HSgID
Fwix’s API “help big companies and developers produce local products” http://ping.fm/L2A0e
http://ping.fm/ieSgS
How Much Traffic Do Local Sites Get from Google? http://ping.fm/FAUGr
A new look for Google Translate for Android http://ping.fm/8U6t6
Stairway to Nowhere http://ping.fm/zgB8U
Fuel Tank http://ping.fm/4yYVb
Security http://ping.fm/KpPza
DIY Motorcycle http://ping.fm/Hvucr
Google Maps API and Clear Channel http://ping.fm/osrJp
App Engine team appearances Winter 2011 http://ping.fm/wMTxi
In the Crosshairs http://ping.fm/f6W7A
Armelle Caron http://ping.fm/UGLtd
Aerosols in Earth’s Atmosphere http://ping.fm/VTm0f
Milk and Beer Prices on Google Maps http://ping.fm/ETreV
Milk and Beer Prices on Google Maps - The Brian Lehrer Show: Are You Being Gouged? The Brian Lehrer Show has cre... http://ow.ly/1cfRTO
New Google Places Review Bug- Will Google Ever Get Their Review Shit Together? http://ping.fm/FR8Wr
Mission Blue: Tracking the gulf oil spill recovery effort http://ping.fm/9bM9W
Google Places Hack: Barnacle Marketing Goes Black http://ping.fm/YXzEC
GWT Goes Bidirectional! http://ping.fm/KlyK7
Google Releases More Oblique Imagery in Google Maps http://ping.fm/A00IZ
45º imagery update for various U.S. cities – Part II http://ping.fm/TxXgT
The 2011 GSA Penrose Conference http://ping.fm/bX6ml
Google map & Joomla component with 3d map http://ping.fm/bNQvz
NJ Historical Society Criticized for Selling Map http://ping.fm/LhmQS
ABC Community Queensland Flood Map http://ping.fm/Y7BKz
Have Androids. Will Travel. http://ping.fm/3Imfd
An important update for SketchUp 8 http://ping.fm/c3l4Z
How to find directions online (and 50 other things you might want to teach your parents) http://ping.fm/vGVPz
Creating 3D Points in MapInfo and Discover – Visualizing and Modeling in 3D Series http://ping.fm/pN3Ho
The WaterAid Point Mapper, helping find fresh water http://ping.fm/R3dSz
Bing Maps controlled with Kinect 3D-sensing technology http://ping.fm/HvlfL
The “City of Love,” now in 3D http://ping.fm/2wfl9
Google Places to Rollout Repair Option for Merged Listings http://ping.fm/WQe4M
De-coding the “Decode Jay-Z with Bing” Campaign http://ping.fm/2C2q7
More than 10 Million User Accounts Compromised in Trapster App Attack http://ping.fm/RydTa
Build your own Mapping, Geocoding, and Routing service with SQL Server http://ping.fm/odE0m
Writing is still a good business http://ping.fm/evC2c
Zimbio launches Celebrity Places, powered by Bing Maps http://ping.fm/hiAnS
Bing Maps Tip of the Week: Shift-click and Right click http://ping.fm/nhYNx

Monday, April 18, 2011

Happy Tax Day! Now, where did your tax dollars go? - yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = "Happy Tax Day! Now, where did your ... http://ow.ly/1cfma3
XBox Kinect Hack – 3D Room Scanning and Model Construction http://ping.fm/6qyS7
Happy Tax Day! Now, where did your tax dollars go? http://ping.fm/KXPi3
Nice updates to the Blue Marble - Google Earth provides some amazing imagery of the earth, but as most of you know, ... http://ow.ly/1cf7UE
Make quick fixes quicker on Google Project Hosting http://ping.fm/U2rB2
FME 2011 – Released http://ping.fm/DHVYf
Let Your Hotpot Friends Help You Search on Google Maps http://ping.fm/wjfIg
Google Places Tidbits and Quirks http://ping.fm/9mQYw
New Google Maps widget! http://ping.fm/sD1il
Google Confirms Testing a Groupon Like Product – Google Offers http://ping.fm/30s90
Processing Ordered Broadcasts http://ping.fm/FUcTD
The California Bay Area, now in 3D http://ping.fm/SLr1r
The Art of Maps: Map of America from Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595) http://ping.fm/xQsxP
Anti Theft System http://ping.fm/luBHn
Lose your truck http://ping.fm/VGlIV
Scrapy http://ping.fm/6GLF1
Wrong Turn... http://ping.fm/l1bkE
Great British Google Maps Round-Up http://ping.fm/IiZbU
KML and Google Earth API: Recent updates and resources http://ping.fm/bh7Wp
Contracts for Java http://ping.fm/OTuaC
Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Threat http://ping.fm/wkthw
High school mashup: Digital History Class http://ping.fm/8CBTy
Google Maps Realtime radiation Japan Map http://ping.fm/s11pk
The Art of Maps: CORNELIS DANCKERTS Nieuw Aerdsch Pley MAP http://ping.fm/OYcIu
Nice updates to the Blue Marble http://ping.fm/hZWkR
Google Places Tidbits and Quirks http://ping.fm/VszJn
Predict how much solar power your house could generate http://ping.fm/eTn0Q
Flooding in Queensland, Australia http://ping.fm/xOd5p
New Google Maps widget! http://ping.fm/PNspV
Make your SketchUp models more realistic with Shaderlight http://ping.fm/Uemk3
ESRI ArcGIS 10: Editing in ArcGIS 10 http://ping.fm/4OA8D
Mapping Latin America http://ping.fm/L7V4g
Defense Department Testing to Affect GPS Signals in Southeastern U.S. http://ping.fm/9ghfs
File Geodatabase API – Released (Finally) http://ping.fm/eCBt5
Processing Ordered Broadcasts http://ping.fm/2C214
Google Places Review Bugs on the Mend http://ping.fm/Sp9QP
Google Developer Day London: Earth, KML and the GeoWeb http://ping.fm/4bsOh
Foursquare Will Totally Show You the Best Spots to Pick Up Desperate Chicks http://ping.fm/87qv4
GDP Map http://ping.fm/cD5Kb
Google Maps Adds A Fuel Cost Calculator http://ping.fm/FRKuL
Announcing Google Shopper for iPhone http://ping.fm/d8ix0
Zimbio launches Celebrity Places, powered by Bing Maps http://ping.fm/eZqbE
Listen to more languages in Google Translate for Android - Today we launched an update to Google Translate for Andro... http://ow.ly/1ceP0V
Listen to more languages in Google Translate for Android http://ping.fm/eZ5Wd
Geocoding Tool http://ping.fm/awK42
KML and Google Earth API: Recent updates and resources http://ping.fm/gLoUw
Round-up of all imagery and resources available for Japan Earthquake http://ping.fm/i5q7o
Google maps: New Street View imagery of historic sites in Italy and France http://ping.fm/n3Z7K
Bing Maps V7 – Modular design and Client Side Clustering http://ping.fm/qzkJ8

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Google News for Opera Mini - While the Google News team has been hard at work redesigning our service for smartphone... http://ow.ly/1ceAVH
BrightLocal Survey- 59% of Consumers use Google Each Month to Find a Good Local Business http://ow.ly/1cenav

Creating High Availability Spatial Databases- Part 4

Creating High Availability Spatial Databases- Part 3

Creating High Availability Spatial Databases- Part 2

Creating High Availability Spatial Databases- Part 1

Google-Translate-with-Text-to-Speech

Intel Bag http://ping.fm/YasR1
Seals on Being Tenacious http://ping.fm/sxtbB
Google Maps of the Egyptian Protests http://ping.fm/JpAWY
The Art of Maps:Johann Baptiste Homann [California as an Island] http://ping.fm/gzG3G
The Art of Maps: Map of Asia from Atlas sive Cosmographicae by Gerardus Mercator (1595) http://ping.fm/MXwB6
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/1M1Sq
Google Maps mashups http://ping.fm/atxAd
Simian: Mac OS X package deployment via App Engine http://ping.fm/1rovp
Google Tool Sends Alert When Satellite Imagery Is Updated http://ping.fm/SgytM
Drive from Colchester to Leicestershire with Front/Rear Camera + Google Earth Overlay http://ping.fm/XdImV
L’Aquila being rebuilt in 3D http://ping.fm/PkOxX
Funny Pictures http://ping.fm/d44eH
The Art Of Maps: The Art of maps: John Speed: Asia with the Islands adioyning described, the atire of the people, & Townes of importance, all of them newly augmented . . . 1626 http://ping.fm/bdZCg
Funny Pictures: Soviet Lada Tunning http://ping.fm/K1mjy
Funny Pictures: Lose your truck http://ping.fm/q6Rg3
Funny Pictures: Strange Kiss http://ping.fm/xfRAx
ESRI ArcGIS 10: ArcGIS Server 10 capabilities http://ping.fm/s7UF3
Sign up for imagery update alert http://ping.fm/YFMjl
Mining for gold with MineCache http://ping.fm/fQrgn
Google Rolls Out Boost Nationwide http://ping.fm/kSTxM
How did Belgrade get such great 3D models? http://ping.fm/hiJ7C
Imagery Update – Week of January 31 http://ping.fm/46qqf
Cancel or Rebook Your Flight for Free While the Massive Midwest Storm Looms http://ping.fm/W7oZw
This Is the Apocalyptic Storm Hitting the US Right Now http://ping.fm/DQJqf
Tips for creating a free business listing in Google Places: Adding useful descriptions and relevant categories http://ping.fm/l02UE
Coming together to model The Hague http://ping.fm/XPHCW
YouTube Captions Uploader Web App http://ping.fm/r3ZzL
Google Earth and Google Maps the wildlife and polar bear http://ping.fm/isg4X
Put Facebook Friends on a Map with Bing – Tekzilla Daily Tip http://ping.fm/R18S9
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/7PDf1
Android Developer Challenge, Sub-Saharan Africa! http://ping.fm/v6ORr
Android Market: New Carrier Billing Options http://ping.fm/0kRbr
Taking Chrome to Lite speeds http://ping.fm/ZCNQF
OpenWhatEverMap http://ping.fm/IpFZE
Sessions updated for Google I/O 2011! http://ping.fm/jVTpc
Geocoding Tool http://ping.fm/LbbbY
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/diRNV
Satellites around the earth http://ping.fm/VBEHY
Street View takes you inside museums around the world http://ping.fm/wKpsV
Kite Photos of Tikehau Island Now in Google Earth http://ping.fm/GhCl3
Julia meets HTML 5 http://ping.fm/uD6bU
When Google Places Doesn’t Work, It Really Doesn’t Work http://ping.fm/KR3Is
Travel inside of Art Galleries with Street View http://ping.fm/6xKXm
Google Map mashup service linknow friends http://ping.fm/wKBfe
Beauty On the Outside, High Replication on the Inside http://ping.fm/Z1RHm
Check in with Google Latitude http://ping.fm/KnI6u
Google Pushing HotPot to the Big Leagues http://ping.fm/7d9vF
Cycling the Alps adds games, tours and much more http://ping.fm/hUaTJ
Imagery Update: Cowboys Stadium Gets Fresh Bird’s-eye & Aerial Imagery http://ping.fm/zLsSL

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Sessions updated for Google I/O 2011! - This post is by Monica Tran. Monica comes to Google by way of the Developer ... http://ow.ly/1cdCAE
Introducing Renderscript http://ping.fm/Tr0pi
Local Search Tools For the SMB and Professional http://ping.fm/LSAju
Where Is A Business Address That is Hidden Not Really Hidden? Google Places http://ping.fm/Z5iTd
Some amazing rides in Street View http://ping.fm/8NOX0
New in Building Maker: See what’s already modeled http://ping.fm/Zxz52
Microsoft ICE (Image Composite Editor), integrating with Photosynth and Bing Maps http://ping.fm/OWgdj
Real-World Cellphone Signal Strength http://ping.fm/l82uu
Google Places Quality Guideline Minor Update http://ping.fm/FY8BK
Yahoo! India Maps http://ping.fm/sHjq1
Azure SQL 2008 – Bing Maps – Near Route Demo http://ping.fm/C1zup
Google Testing New SSSerps? http://ping.fm/Q8Ywm

Friday, April 15, 2011

MapInfo Blues Commercial - Here's a little commercial I did for MapInfo Corporation. It's called the "MapInfo Blues"... http://ow.ly/1ccPpA
New SketchUp books for interior designers http://ping.fm/wJAif
Bing Maps Adds Malls http://ping.fm/1Bhsp
Route Savvy App – Bing Maps http://ping.fm/2x78l
Greg’s Cable Map http://ping.fm/eekSn
Car Pool Google Maps Mashup http://ping.fm/cPA9w
Draggable Routes Demo – Bing Maps API – Windows Azure http://ping.fm/cH04l
New Google Earth Imagery http://ping.fm/TKZ48
Draggable Routes Demo – Bing Maps API – Windows Azure http://ping.fm/mmCWX
Report a Problem with Google Maps http://ping.fm/AIKO9
ESRI ArcGIS 10 Online Capabilities Part 2 of 2 http://ping.fm/sGIGO
Bing Maps – Piracy Watch http://ping.fm/uOMhT
Bing engages open maps community http://ping.fm/nV5ij
Leadwerks Engine for Architectural Visualisation http://ping.fm/UxUTo
The Bing Maps Education App http://ping.fm/XyUms
Updated Google Interface Rolling Out? http://ping.fm/Lrco2
Act Locally with New Imagery & Maps in Sudan http://ping.fm/HVReJ
Battle of Britain – Bing Maps http://ping.fm/l2b6u
Seattle.gov ‘My Neighborhood’ – Bing Maps http://ping.fm/bayeQ
MapInfo On demand / SaaS for MapInfo Pro Users = mapworkspace.com http://ping.fm/Ke4NR
File Geodatabase API Is Now Available on Linux http://ping.fm/90No6
New Free-Busy feed for the Google Calendar API http://ping.fm/MJZdK
Using My Maps for your summer sublet http://ping.fm/c3ucQ
MapInfo Blues Commercial http://ping.fm/qBRLl
Bing Maps in Hotmail http://ping.fm/xdFcl
Another disaster looming for Oz http://ping.fm/M6lb9
Perth bushfires http://ping.fm/ko7Xo
National Address Gazetteer (GeoPlace) http://ping.fm/UIUEf
Google Plugin for Eclipse and GWT 2.2 now available http://ping.fm/8wcbI
Google Maps API and Yelp http://ping.fm/AqjOa
Visualize your own data in the Google Public Data Explorer http://ping.fm/i7mLn
Google Place/Tags Support Calls Me Back http://ping.fm/IzLU5
Mapping favourite romantic movie scenes http://ping.fm/Wm5tl
Updates to the Google Reader app for Android http://ping.fm/op0L8
ESRI ArcGIS 10 Quick Glimpse and Overview Part 1 of 2 http://ping.fm/aSs5B
Mapinfo vers Google Earth http://ping.fm/XaG6f
Google I/O – Keynote Day 1 (full) http://ping.fm/Lh2ex
5 tips for using Blogger on your Android phone http://ping.fm/bT07Q
An update to Google Social Search http://ping.fm/ifDp7
The Art of Maps: PIRI REIS MAP http://ping.fm/UteyO
Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Threat http://ping.fm/hCGqA
Japan Earthquake Online http://ping.fm/c1amA
War in Libya http://ping.fm/JnajF
Bulgaria-Sightseeing-Map-Locations.jpg (2702×1787) http://ow.ly/4Bdez
War in Libya http://ping.fm/efbzM
Google Maps Realtime radiation Japan Map | Mapsys.info http://ow.ly/4Bd9Z
Geoportal Server http://ping.fm/SR9FA
Free data, maps – unique insights http://ping.fm/hDl3r
London Bus Flows: An URBAGRAM Animation http://ping.fm/W4HKk
Free data, maps – unique insights - I am launching today another service which is a part of a bigger development pro... http://ow.ly/1cciMj
5 Tips for Responding (or Not) to “Fake” Reviews http://ping.fm/7a5Zh
Maps APIs over SSL now available to all http://ping.fm/gPq6i
How Google Earth displays dates on their imagery http://ping.fm/HwgXv
Dev Tip of the Week: Using Bing Maps with SQL Server spatial http://ping.fm/c4NrX
Dev Tip of the Week: How to search by driving time with AJAX v7, REST, and Spatial Data Services http://ping.fm/BaqbY
Reverse Geocode Template for Microsoft Excel http://ping.fm/YqGcn
Quantum GIS: Geocoding & Reverse Geocoding plus Google Maps (and OpenStreetMap and Yahoo) overlays http://ping.fm/esDgx
Google Chrome OS Providing Click To Call Functionality http://ping.fm/Y5Pu2
W3C Geolocation API, Internet Explorer 9, and Bing Maps http://ping.fm/rIGOl
Google Maps: A new angle on the world with 45° imagery http://ping.fm/tuVZV
Dive into the ocean with Google Earth for Android http://ping.fm/zFVJ3
Google I/O 2010 – Tips and tricks for Google Earth API and KML http://ping.fm/j64Zq
Google Maps 5.0 for Android http://ping.fm/Tlhe3
Google Maps Adds A Fuel Cost Calculator http://ping.fm/lgoWN
Google maps: New Street View imagery of historic sites in Italy and France http://ping.fm/Ant5s
Bing Maps V7 – Modular design and Client Side Clustering http://ping.fm/blzhl
KML and Google Earth API: Recent updates and resources http://ping.fm/97vO4
Twitter Real Time Srtreamer http://ping.fm/pU7Rs
Geocoding Tool http://ping.fm/xBOCU
Bing Maps Streetside http://ping.fm/IRAiX
Google Maps: New 45° imagery for fun in the sun http://ping.fm/O3Rg3
Google Earth: Plug-in running slow? Here’s a few tips http://ping.fm/q3nkN
Five Universities with great maps http://ping.fm/thP0e
Google Maps: Helping you find the right route http://ping.fm/1SFtW
Geoportal Server http://ping.fm/W0ggr

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Geoportal Server - Yes, Geoportal Server has been available on SourceForge since late October. Licensing, source cod... http://ow.ly/1cc5AA
Five Universities with great maps - Over the years we've shown you a variety of Universities around the world that a... http://ow.ly/1cbPPR
Launching Google Game Developer Central http://ping.fm/7OEjA
Bing Maps V7 – Modular design and Client Side Clustering http://ping.fm/pQLpm
Import Mapinfo into Micromine http://ping.fm/e9MIQ
Google Earth on the Motorola Xoom http://ping.fm/XS2Nq
From Bermuda to the Bahamas with the Sargasso Sea Expedition http://ping.fm/MxsXn
Pedaling to new places with Street View http://ping.fm/taJCa
Geospatial Revolution: Episode Three Released http://ping.fm/MuCgw
Libya Crisis Map http://ping.fm/xgZHa
Google Maps API and New York City http://ping.fm/eoQjC
Ski the slopes in Google Earth http://ping.fm/zWNAe
Google Maps Navigation will now automatically route you around traffic | Mapsys.info http://ping.fm/i1le1
Mapsys info - mapping and geospatial news - Part 69 http://ping.fm/z0uBt

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

ESRI ArcGIS 10: Setting Up ArcGIS Server 10 in the Amazon Cloud http://ping.fm/nKQCI
New SketchUp 8 books from Bonnie Roskes http://ping.fm/5v9rX
Japan Earthquake Online http://ping.fm/pDy1v
Google Developer Day US -Making Maps Mashups Discoverable http://ping.fm/rgWsn
New York: Pinball Skyline http://ping.fm/4kxZp
W3C Geolocation API, Internet Explorer 9, and Bing Maps http://ping.fm/dVWhg
Shaker Village in Google Earth http://ping.fm/1GBaD
Big Data – The Strata Review from JISC http://ping.fm/Z4zQL
Japan Earthquake and Nuclear Threat http://ping.fm/nnRGT
Explore events with Localstreamer.com http://ping.fm/IBQYj
Instant Previews now available on mobile http://ping.fm/JJzHT
Join the League of Extraordinary H4ckers at SXSW! http://ping.fm/gcDUJ
Angry Birds Go Bing: Map Search http://ping.fm/zQr7f
Last Call for Google I/O http://ping.fm/Sr6u8
Googlers are Everywhere http://ping.fm/MHo87
Styling and skinning your apps with TravelTripper http://ping.fm/JQc3K
Bing Maps Tip of the Week: Shift-click and Right click http://ping.fm/7Rz2n
Mappa Mercia Demonstrating the Power of Open Street Maps http://ping.fm/CE9kN
Mini-Newsletter From Your Google Chrome Security Team http://ping.fm/6hPko
5 Tips for Responding (or Not) to “Fake” Reviews http://ping.fm/lYk72
A Big Overhaul is Getting Google’s Street View Website http://ping.fm/9eQ15
The Weeks Media Update http://ping.fm/0zJyB
Round-up of all imagery and resources available for Japan Earthquake http://ping.fm/paN20
New Street View imagery in Japan http://ping.fm/40QzI
New Google Earth imagery of post-earthquake Japan http://ping.fm/vQFSR
Google Places Dashboard: Widespread Reports of System Error http://ping.fm/27Y9h
Google: Celebrating 1 year of Integrated Goodness http://ping.fm/rG04g
Open delimited text file in mapinfo http://ping.fm/ZhGbn
Video Demonstration: Illinois Public Health Map http://ping.fm/D4RPH
Ordnance Survey Open Data into SQL Server 2008 http://ping.fm/zqSsM
Google Earth resources for the Japanese Earthquake http://ping.fm/5teF8
Google Places Dashboard – There’s Good News and There’s Bad News http://ping.fm/NDCCY
Japan: Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Street View http://ping.fm/ydtEa
Unlock offers, check in, and gain status with Google Latitude in Austin http://ping.fm/HjBPA
Engineering a network in Haiti with Google Earth http://ping.fm/97oyy
Reverse Geocode Template for Microsoft Excel http://ping.fm/fwmji
Google Earth and London in 3D http://ping.fm/OKt52
Google Earth: Post-earthquake images of Japan http://ping.fm/EZDm2
Google Maps Realtime radiation Japan Map http://ping.fm/3mqjD
March Madness in Google Earth http://ping.fm/NYDVm
You Can find out where the Street View cars are currently on the road http://ping.fm/CMDPt
Youtube Video from Earthquake in Tokyo Japan http://ping.fm/FYOlH
SketchUp Pro 8: Introducing the Advanced Camera Tools http://ping.fm/xOVKz
Google Earth: Baseline to baseline, we’ve got the basketball games covered http://ping.fm/hYgv2
Making auth easier: OAuth 2.0 for Google APIs http://ping.fm/tepO6
Adobe Illustrator: Pathfinder Effects and Bad UX http://ping.fm/kfhHj
War in Libya http://ping.fm/aNB3X
More resources for Earthquake in Japan http://ping.fm/sImlf
More resources for Earthquake in Japan http://ping.fm/hO1mB
Graphic: How an SMB Solves a Problem in Google Places http://ping.fm/On8UG

SuperPages – Let Your Fingers Do Less Walking

AT&T may say that print YP is still strong. And it may be for AT&T, although I doubt it. I live in Verizon country and I just recieved the 2011 version of my local SuperPages. Their book tells another story. It seems to be getting thinner every year. I wish I could do that.



-



The consumer white pages have been totally removed from the book. I am not sure many will notice. That trimmed 113 pages of paper as well as and shipping costs.

More significant (and I am sure the reason behind the white pages trimming) is that the YP ad pages dropped from 182 to 137 pages. That’s a 24.7% drop. Given that print size, book size and ad sizes all remained constant it means that display advertising is way down. On the first page of the yellow pages, Superpages themselves had a 50% bigger ad and they continued that practice throughout the book. So even the fewer number of pages do not contain as many paying ads per page. That has to sting.

One interesting addition to the cover was a QR Code to down load their app. It replaced their URL.

If they keep going at this pace, it will be reduced to thin air in no time. It reminds me of the first sci fi thriller of my childhood: The Incredible Shrinking Man. It was scary and made for some bad dreams but in the end was just a good story that very few remember. My fingers will be walking a lot less whether they want to or not.

Related posts:
  1. Greg Sterling: Print Yellow Pages: What’s the Real Story?
  2. Google Maps and the QR Code – Why Use Google’s?
  3. Yahoo! Maps Updated

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