Internet
Things about and on the Internet
Walk Score Maps Bring New Use to Google and Bing Maps
Sep 9th
Walk Score brings a new, powerful service to website owners who can benefit from letting web visitors see what is nearby. Nearby what? Well anything that has an address. 
These maps can be used for many purposes including real estate agents showing what is nearby properties listed on their websites, churches, schools and businesses showing what is nearby, and many other things. The use of Walk Score by website owners is limited by imagination so long as things near a specific address provide useful information to the web audience.
Walk Score information overlays Google and Bing maps, showing nearby banks, restaurants, and more, Visit the Walk Score rankings page for some interesting maps.
For example, Clage Solutions is a business near my house that recently opened its doors. A map to their location and what’s nearby could look like this (depending upon chosen options/features):
Some Great Walk Score Features
On the Walk Score site you can find Walk Scores for entire cities. If I knew years back what I know now I may have chosen a different city to live in, since Goose Creek is one of the 3 least walkable cities of South Carolina’s largest 28 cities.
Walk Score can display nearby amenities, commute drive times, maps are switchable between different map views (try it above under the Bigger map link, click Street View…), can display information for residential, commercial or travel.
Visit the WalkScore website for even more information about their useful maps.
The Increasing Dangers of Facebook – Part 2
Aug 18th
Originally posted from one of my other blogs, George’s Wonder Blog on August, 5, 2008 – and little has really changed in that Facebook is not for the faint of heart. You need to be careful.
MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter attacked by social engineering – fake flash downloads
I’ve recently read about ‘Web worm’ attacks aimed at Facebook and MySpace; and just today I read about social engineering attacks (ploys, tricks) against Twitter. ZDNet’s Ryan Naraine posted Adobe: Beware of fake Flash downloads just today, and Adobe’s David Lenoe posted Verifying Installers on Adobe’s Product Security Incident Response Team blog yesterday. Here’s the skinny from Adobe’s blog, color & formatting added by myself for emphasis:
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Google Labs Closing (Not Gmail or Maps Labs)
Jul 20th
In a post just today Google announced it will be closing Google Labs [Google Labs website]. Some current labs projects will vanish and some will be incorporated into applicable places in “googledom”. Says Google:
In many cases, this will mean ending Labs experiments—in others we’ll incorporate Labs products and technologies into different product areas. And many of the Labs products that are Android apps today will continue to be available on Android Market. We’ll update you on our progress via the Google Labs website.
- GOOGLE POST: More wood behind fewer arrows
The Increasing Dangers of Facebook
Jul 19th
If you search the terms “top social media networks” your likely to get lots of lists of the top 10 social networks, and Facebook is 
almost always going to be in the first five. Even so, Facebook is not without its list of detractors and dissatisfied customers waiting for Facebook to “get it right”. They change things around on a pretty regular basis, even a Dec. 6, 2010 ABC News video is touts “Facebook Facelift: Rolling Out Another Makeover”. Online tech sites like ZDNet have guides on locking down your Facebook account!
So why can’t Facebook “get it right”, why do they change so often? Several factors weigh in, and just a few of those are advertising income, new features from Facebook user feedback, keeping ahead of the competition, and privacy policy advocates. With all of these conflicting forces, Facebook changes aren’t so simple. Imagine the task of meeting the demands of privacy policy advocates, keeping ahead of the competition, and at the same keeping revenues up!
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Google Voice Search, Search by Images and Instant Pages
Jun 18th
Google just launched a new website about Google called Inside Search, designed to inform you about the different features and usefulness of Google Search. Who would want to know more about Google, we already know about it. Right? Aside from new features, Google’s post points out …
Whether you’re a beginner to web search or a search master, you’ll find all the search shortcuts you need under the Features section of the site. For example, most people don’t realize that the Google search box is a calculator, a world clock and a unit converter.
SEARCH GOOGLE BY TALKING
Have you noticed the small microphone inside the Google Search box? Now, if you have a microphone, you can search Google by talking. Just click the microphone icon and if a micorophone is found on your computer you can just say your search phrase. Its a lot faster to say than it is to type many search phrases.
Google Advisor, Make Smarter, Faster Financial Decisions
Jun 18th
Google Advisor can help you make financial decisions. Advisor helps you choose Mortgage, Credit Card, Certificated of Deposit (CD’s), bank accounts and more. Yes, Google Advisor can help you with financial decisions by cutting down the time spent looking for, applying for and comparing offers and programs. Google for your daily life … check out Google Advisor, more info and video are below.
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Schedule Appointments with GCalendar
Jun 7th
Google Calendar keeps getting better and better… recently GCalendar added color-coding of events, and now they’ve introduced appointment slots which allows you the flexibility to accept appointments.
Or as Google’s post put it:
Google Calendar has become indispensable for organizing my own time and sharing my schedule with friends and coworkers. But what about letting others know about my preferred availability? Likewise, when I look at my hairdresser’s online calendar, I wonder why I can’t just book the open slot instead of remembering to call during regular business hours. Now, with appointment slots in Google Calendar, any individual or business can manage appointment availability online 24/7.
First, you define appointment slots, and then the next step in the process is that someone with access to your calendar signs up for one of your appointment slots. Now you can schedule appointments with your friends, clubs you’ve joined and businesses can accept appointments.
Color Code Calendar Events in GCal
May 11th
Gcalendar was bound to have color coding of calendar events considering color coded Gmail tags, customizing your Gmail background, and other Google personalization tweaks.
Their post also adds…
Just click on an event, then click the colored square in the top left of the pop-up bubble and pick a new color. If you don’t see this option quite yet, hang tight — it’ll be there for everyone within the next day or so.
Only you and anyone else you’ve given edit access to your calendar will be able to see the colors you choose. This has been a feature request from many of you for some time, and we hope you enjoy using it as much as we do.
So now you can organize more effectively, and if you are already organized your calendar can be more colorful, less drab.
