I had cause to search Google for “Illinois” this morning and was a little surprised by the blurb that Google put under the link to Illinois’ Wikipedia page. (Click the image for a bigger version.)
None of that appears to still be on the page itself, though. <sigh> But we’ll always have the Google Cache (until it’s updated).
Way back in April 2010 I wrote about an option in Google Streets View that let you switch to an old school Complementary color anaglyph 3D image. Sadly, that option disappeared not long after I discovered it.
Or so we thought!
Today I noticed an option in the Streets View right-click menu that I haven’t seen before – a 3D Mode option! Take a look (click the image to make it bigger):
To make the magic happen, just go into Streets View and right-click any part of the image. And what happens when you select it 3D Mode On? This:
Of course, you will still needs some of those crazy coloured glasses to actually take advantage of it, but if you’re like me you have a whole bunch kicking around anyway.
I had a funky issue with my computer last night that made it so I couldn’t access Google.ca – I could access every other Google version, just not Canada. Boo. In any case, once I got everything sorted out, I was switching back and forth between the basic Google home page for the .com version and the .ca version, and I noticed a tiny difference:
The menu options at the top of the Google.com page are: Web, Images, Videos, Maps, News, Shopping, Gmail, and more. Like this:
But the same menu on Google.ca has slightly different options: Web, Images, Videos, Maps, News, Books, Gmail, and more. Like this:
Now, the fact that the US page would have shopping on the main list while Canada doesn’t, isn’t really that big a mystery. Google is an American company and there are a whole lot of reason’s why they would be less likely to have shopping as a major option for Canadians. But what I found most interesting is that they chose to replace shopping with books.
Google has so many products and services, I just find it surprising that they wouldn’t have chosen something like YouTube, or Photos. But hey, Google is all about knowing everything about their users, so if they say that Canadians want books, I tend to believe them!
So I typed ‘flo’ into Google tonight. That’s it – just three little letters – and the first suggestion for the auto-complete was “florence and the machine“!
That’s all it takes? The band is so big now that typing three letters into Google gets them suggested right away? Of all the other things that I could have been searching for that might start with ‘flo’, Google suggests Florence and the Machine?
That’s a little weird. (Ya, of course I was searching for the band, but I could have been searching for something else… like… Flowmaster Mufflers?)
But do you know what’s even weirder? If you actually search Google for the letters ‘flo’, Florence and the Machine doesn’t even make it into the first page of results!
That’s right! So if you type ‘flo’ into Google, it will suggest that you might be looking for the band, but if you actually hit Search for just those letters it doesn’t think you want the band at all.
What’s up with that?
I really, really don’t like Christmas. I hate it.
In fact, I hate it at least as much as this guy – though I suppose he wins just for having the presence of mind to dedicate a blog to his hatred.
But you know what is awesome? This website -> Ten Reasons Why I Hate Christmas
Now, I know what you are thinking: “Bah, only ten reasons? That’s nothing.” Well, I agree. But the website isn’t awesome because of it’s content – oh no. It’s awesome because:
That is what you call staying power!
Bah humbug to all!
I have been trying to wrap my head around the name for Google‘s recently anounced phone: the Nexus S.
Yes, of course every one knows that the hardware was designed by Samsung, but since the first phone was specifically called the Nexus One, it seemed silly that the new one would directly refer to the manufacturer. After all, everyone was expecting a Nexus Two.
But then I saw it! Oh how clever! So very, very clever! The letter ‘S’ is basically a mirror image of the number ‘2’!
S2
So Google has essentially named the phone ‘Nexus 2’ – just like everyone expected – but without making it obvious. And at the same time they have a nice little hat-tip to Samsung.
Well played, Google. Well played.
So yesterday, I’m minding my own business, checking my email, when Gmail decides to point out a new menu option labeled “Call Phone“. If you missed it, it’s listed under the Chat menu on the left hand side of the screen.
I didn’t have the time, or a mic, so I just logged the incident in the recesses of my mind and went about my business. But tonight, I was using my netbook which coincidentally has a mic built in…
So I hit the link. It makes you install a browser plugin, and restart your browser, but then … oh, then you have a full on telephone built into your computer – without any need for an external application. The thing runs straight through the regular Gmail interface.
And it really works. Well.
Apparently, it will do video chat too – but I’ve only tried it with actual telephones, so I don’t know how well that works.
And the best part? Free calling to Canada and the US in 2010. It wasn’t explicit, but I’m betting that means it will cost something in 2011. But who cares? It’s free now, and totally awesome!
I feel like a chump. I don’t know when it happened, but I just learned that you can change Google‘s plain white background! I knew that you could choose different themes for the iGoogle portal, but I’ve never liked that – nor have I any use for most of the widgets on it.
Google Background Changed!
But I use the Google homepage more times in the day than I can count, and I only just noticed the “Change Background Image” link that pops up near the bottom left corner of the page when you wiggle the mouse long enough to fade in the top menu.
Granted, you have to have a Google account, and be signed in … but I do and I am! Check out the picture. (Click for a bigger version.)
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I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I just noticed a new icon on the Google Streets View map – and it changes the view into an old school Complementary color anaglyph 3D image!! Granted, this new feature isn’t terribly useful, but it is pretty cool. Especially since I happen to have the right kind of glasses to make use of it. Click the image below to see one of Ottawa’s grubbier streets in all it’s 3D glory!
Google Streets View with the new icon
Google Streets View in 3D
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I’ll admit it – I wait with a rather lame sense of anticipation for the Google April Fool’s hoax.
So far, I think that 2007 was my favorite year. That year included Gmail Paper – a free, ad-supported, service that offered Gmail users the ability to have all of their email printed and snail-mailed to them. It also included Google TiSP, which was supposedly Google’s first foray into the Internet Service Provider market. The service was to offer broadband speeds through a connection in your toilet.
But this year, the hoax is simply that Google has changed it’s name to Topeka in honour of the stupid town in Kansas that changed its name to Google in an effort to gain Google’s favour. Somehow the hoax just doesn’t have the same level of creativity that I’ve come to expect.
So I’m disappointed. But I am holding out hope that there is some other more creative and amusing hoax yet to be discovered.
Update:
Over at iFixit, they definitely know how to do an April Fool’s prank. They have a tear-down of what you would presume is Apple’s soon to be released iPad, but then come to realize is actually the decades old Newton. Well done.
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