Tag: Google

Backdating Google Maps

Call me an old fart, but I hate the new mobile version of Google Maps.

Judging from recent reviews on Google Play I am not alone. The improvements have streamlined some functions- like the confusing Navigation interchange. But others have just disappeared- like Latitude and the wonderful My Maps feature. Yet  even when I did manage to unravel the mysteries of the new interface I found the app kludgy. Even downright wrong.

The GPS seldom managed to show my position accurately. Then I could never get the display to position itself “direction of travel to the top” as opposed to north at the top. It was irritating to see something that had worked so well suddenly looking like a 5th grade science project. Correction– a 5th grader should probably have been consulted.

Continue reading Backdating Google Maps

2012 According to Google

Time once again for the Year on Google.

As usual, the top trending searches leave me saying, “Huh?” The top ten search trends for 2012 are:

  1. Whitney Houston
  2. Gangnam Style
  3. Hurricane Sandy
  4. iPad 3
  5. Diablo 3
  6. Kate Middleton
  7. Olympics 2012
  8. Amanda Todd
  9. Michael Clarke Duncan
  10. BBB12

This year for a change I actually recognize some of the names. For the whole story and a lovely video smashup of the year according to Google check out…

Google: Zeitgeist 2012

 

Go Phish

Phight Back!

Bogus emails are a pain.There is constantly a barrage of scumbags hoping to gain access to your private accounts. They use legitimate looking emails to lure the unsuspecting into a bogus website- once again, very legitimate looking- in the hopes you will enter your login or personal information. It’s called “phishing.” Fake eBay and Paypal messages are a favorite of these scammers.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could report these assholes?

Now you can.

Just as Gmail offers special tools for declaring a message is spam- there is an option available specifically for these bogus phishing scams.

Using the “Report Phishing” option (see image) will report the sender, content and network particulars to Google. While it ain’t the FBI it does serve to blacklist the bad people and stop this especially malicious spam before it spreads.

Every time we report spam or phishing with these tools it makes the world a better place.  Even if just a little bit.

Pictionary Extreme

If you have ever done an image search on Google you probably realize the results can be a little jumbled.

Dictionary Based on Google Image SearchNow imagine creating a dictionary based from the first image you found for each and every word. What would it look like? Well, it just so happens Ben West and Felix Heyes have the answer: it’s a 1,240 page tome with over 21,000 images representing all the words found in your basic dictionary.

Now just how useful such a dictionary might be is… well, questionable. But it does offer a unique insight into our current culture. Maybe we can make another one in ten years and compare.

Google Image Dictionary