Thursday, May 31st, 2007 11:08 am GMT +8

Hey What’s That? is a google mashup whose mission is to tell you the names of the summits you can see when you’re standing almost anywhere. There’s also the Path Profiler, where you can see the elevation profile for any arbitrary route.
The technical background behind it all is available here and there’s also a general FAQ that explains how to use the site in greater detail, including obtaining the lists of summits by telephone and email.

from Google blogscoped:

Google announced Mapplets (as in �map applets�). A Mapplet is a special flavor of a Google Gadget, the XML/JavaScript-based widgets you can add to iGoogle ??” only that this time, you�ll be adding it to Google Maps. From a press release by Google:

Mapplets enables third party developers to create mini applications that can be displayed on Google Maps, much like Google Gadgets are displayed on iGoogle. These Mapplets contain a variety of information, from housing listings to crime data, and tools like distance measurement. Users can select from a wide range of Google and third party Mapplets to display on the Map, essentially creating their own �mashup of mashups� directly on the Google Maps site, while still enjoying the built-in functionality of Google Maps, such as local search and driving directions. A number of our partners, including WeatherBug, Booking.com and Platial have already created Mapplets.

You can take a first look at this feature at a special preview page. Mapplets can be found in the Mapplets directory, and a developer documentation is available as well, clarifying that �Mapplets are mini-webpages that are served inside an IFrame within the Google Maps site. You can put anything inside this mini-webpage that you can put into a normal webpage, including HTML, Javascript, and Flash. Google provides a Javascript API that gives the Mapplet access to services such as manipulating the map, fetching remote content, and storing user preferences.� Google goes on to say that when a Mapplet is enabled by the user, Google will grab a copy of the source from your server to then serve it from gmodules.com (the domain currently caching iGoogle Gadgets as well).

YouTube – Did You Know; Shift Happens – Globalization; Information Age

From Download Squad:

Google has another aquisition under its belt and this one is a little green. Not in the environment sense, but in a secure sense.

GreenBorder, based in Mountain View, California, has developed a way to isolate each internet session from the rest of a users PC. This way threats like viruses, spyware, trojans and malware can be secluded and tossed when users close down their browser window instead of potentially infecting machines. A green border displays around safe pages, and files that are downloaded from the internet can be opened in a virtual environment so as not to infect the rest of the user’s machine.

The application is available for use in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. With over 100,000 downloads since October 31st 2006, the Windows version of the software is currently available on Download.com for $29.95, but knowing Google, this will be down to free in no time at all.

Apparently the two most common points of view on global warming, ferociously held, are these:

1. The earth is warming up.
2. The earth is warming up.

A few people have figured out that the only real question is whether people can or should do anything to try and slow the warming. Meanwhile, everyone else is counting icebergs and polar bears and imagining they are contributing to the debate.

The question of whether people are the cause of global warming, or part of the cause, is somewhat irrelevant. It doesn�t really matter if the problem is caused by cars or farting cows or rotting leaves. If the warming is going to threaten life as we know it, the only important questions are these:

1. Are we sure global warming will cause more bad than good?
2. Realistically, can we do anything to stop it?
3. Would the costs of stopping it be more or less than the benefits?

I�m fairly certain the answer to all three questions is �Beats the shit out of me.�

The Dilbert Blog: Global Warming ??” Part 2

I, Cringely . The Pulpit . The Final Days of Google | PBS:

Back in the 1990s Bill Gates said the company that would eventually beat Microsoft probably had yet to be founded, by which he meant that Microsoft was in such a strong position that only something truly disruptive — a whole new business — would have a chance to unseat Redmond. Some people think the company Bill was describing back then might be Google. I don’t know if that’s the case or not, but it leads me to ask this question: If Google, itself, is to be eventually beaten by some other company, does THAT company yet exist? I don’t think so. But unlike the scenario envisioned by Gates, I have a pretty good idea where we’ll find the founders of that Google-beating start-up. I think they are working right now at Google.

Based on several thousand geniuses spending 20% of their time pursuing new technical ideas of their own, but with Google only able to fund and implement, say, 10 per year of these innovations…….

How do you get people to stop posting television clips and full episodes to the internet? You probably don’t. But a government panel in Japan has an interesting take on that idea: don’t try to stop internet pirates, just regulate them.

The Intellectual Property Rights Policy Work Group is expected to issue its recommendation this week. If adopted, anyone would be allowed to post television programs online without permission of the content owner. But anyone who uploads such video would be required by law to pay a royalty to the content owner.

15 Coolest Firefox Tricks Ever – lifehack.org:
Get to be a Jedi master with the following cool Firefox tricks.

1) More screen space. Make your icons small. Go to View – Toolbars – Customize and check the �Use small icons� box.

2) Smart keywords. If there�s a search you use a lot (let�s say IMDB.com�s people search), this is an awesome tool that not many people use. Right-click on the search box, select �Add a Keyword for this search�, give the keyword a name and an easy-to-type and easy-to-remember shortcut name (let�s say �actor�) and save it. Now, when you want to do an actor search, go to Firefox�s address bar, type �actor� and the name of the actor and press return. Instant search! You can do this with any search box.

3) Keyboard shortcuts. This is where you become a real Jedi. It just takes a little while to learn these, but once you do, your browsing will be super fast. Here are some of the most common (and my personal favs):

• Spacebar (page down)
• Shift-Spacebar (page up)
• Ctrl+F (find)
• Alt-N (find next)
• Ctrl+D (bookmark page)
• Ctrl+T (new tab)
• Ctrl+K (go to search box)
• Ctrl+L (go to address bar)
• Ctrl+= (increase text size)
• Ctrl+- (decrease text size)
• Ctrl-W (close tab)
• F5 (reload)
• Alt-Home (go to home page)

4) Auto-complete. This is another keyboard shortcut, but it�s not commonly known and very useful. Go to the address bar (Control-L) and type the name of the site without the �www� or the �.com�. Let�s say �google�. Then press Control-Enter, and it will automatically fill in the �www� and the �.com� and take you there – like magic! For .net addresses, press Shift-Enter, and for .org addresses, press Control-Shift-Enter.

5) Tab navigation. Instead of using the mouse to select different tabs that you have open, use the keyboard. Here are the shortcuts:

• Ctrl+Tab (rotate forward among tabs)
• Ctrl+Shft+Tab (rotate to the previous tab)
• Ctrl+1-9 (choose a number to jump to a specific tab)

6) Mouse shortcuts. Sometimes you�re already using your mouse and it�s easier to use a mouse shortcut than to go back to the keyboard. Master these cool ones:

• Middle click on link (opens in new tab)
• Shift-scroll down (previous page)
• Shift-scroll up (next page)
• Ctrl-scroll up (decrease text size)
• Ctrl-scroll down (increase text size)
• Middle click on a tab (closes tab)

7) Delete items from address bar history. Firefox�s ability to automatically show previous URLs you�ve visited, as you type, in the address bar�s drop-down history menu is very cool. But sometimes you just don�t want those URLs to show up (I won�t ask why). Go to the address bar (Ctrl-L), start typing an address, and the drop-down menu will appear with the URLs of pages you�ve visited with those letters in them. Use the down-arrow to go down to an address you want to delete, and press the Delete key to make it disappear.

8 ) User chrome. If you really want to trick out your Firefox, you�ll want to create a UserChrome.css file and customize your browser. It�s a bit complicated to get into here, but check out this tutorial.

9) Create a user.js file. Another way to customize Firefox, creating a user.js file can really speed up your browsing. You�ll need to create a text file named user.js in your profile folder (see this to find out where the profile folder is) and see this example user.js file that you can modify. Created by techlifeweb.com, this example explains some of the things you can do in its comments.

10) about:config. The true power user�s tool, about.config isn�t something to mess with if you don�t know what a setting does. You can get to the main configuration screen by putting about:config in the browser�s address bar. See Mozillazine�s about:config tips and screenshots.

11) Add a keyword for a bookmark. Go to your bookmarks much faster by giving them keywords. Right-click the bookmark and then select Properties. Put a short keyword in the keyword field, save it, and now you can type that keyword in the address bar and it will go to that bookmark.

12) Speed up Firefox. If you have a broadband connection (and most of us do), you can use pipelining to speed up your page loads. This allows Firefox to load multiple things on a page at once, instead of one at a time (by default, it�s optimized for dialup connections). Here�s how:

• Type �about:config� into the address bar and hit return. Type �network.http� in the filter field, and change the following settings (double-click on them to change them):
• Set �network.http.pipelining� to �true�
• Set �network.http.proxy.pipelining� to �true�
• Set �network.http.pipelining.maxrequests� to a number like 30. This will allow it to make 30 requests at once.
• Also, right-click anywhere and select New-> Integer. Name it �nglayout.initialpaint.delay� and set its value to �0?. This value is the amount of time the browser waits before it acts on information it receives.

13) Limit RAM usage. If Firefox takes up too much memory on your computer, you can limit the amount of RAM it is allowed to us. Again, go to about:config, filter �browser.cache� and select �browser.cache.disk.capacity�. It�s set to 50000, but you can lower it, depending on how much memory you have. Try 15000 if you have between 512MB and 1GB ram.

14) Reduce RAM usage further for when Firefox is minimized. This setting will move Firefox to your hard drive when you minimize it, taking up much less memory. And there is no noticeable difference in speed when you restore Firefox, so it�s definitely worth a go. Again, go to about:config, right-click anywhere and select New-> Boolean. Name it �config.trim_on_minimize� and set it to TRUE. You have to restart Firefox for these settings to take effect.

15) Move or remove the close tab button. Do you accidentally click on the close button of Firefox�s tabs? You can move them or remove them, again through about:config. Edit the preference for �browser.tabs.closeButtons�. Here are the meanings of each value:

• 0: Display a close button on the active tab only
• 1:(Default) Display close buttons on all tabs
• 2:Don�t display any close buttons
• 3:Display a single close button at the end of the tab bar (Firefox 1.x behavior)

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has filed a lawsuit against spoon-bender Uri Geller. The so-called psychic had sent a letter to YouTube asking that a video be removed from the site. The 14 minute video details slight-of-hand techniques a magician could use to pass himself off as say, a psychic that can bend spoons with the power of his mind.

So where does the EFF come in? Well, apparently Geller’s company only owns the rights to a few seconds of video in that 14 minute movie. There’s a good chance those three seconds would fall under fair use.

from youtube:
Ever feel like ripping apart your PC? Even better, what about eating the bits and pieces. This little muppet did, and well before the home computer even hit the market.

PS It’s not the cookie monster (who is blue and doesn’t have teeth)