Google Maps

Speaking of Google Maps, I'm suprised at how dumb the address recognition is! Unless you type in the exact address, it tells you it doesn't understand. This is suprising when Google Search itself has a facility where it prompts when it thinks you have made a mistake: Search for Map and Directoins and you get a "Did you mean: Map directions"   I also remember the Irish equivalent service BizMaps. They once provided a service charged through your mobile phone. If the address was wrong, it would offer you a list of likely addresses which you could select from. It was a much better experience, as addresses are very easy to mistype.

Tags: GoogleMaps Addresses BizMaps

Google Map Hacks

Jon Udell pointed at an excellent google map hack called gmapPedometer. It allows you to plot a walking or jogging route and calculates the distance and calories burnt. In a previous life I used to do a bit of jogging and would spend quite a bit of time in the car plotting routes and recording distances for future runs. I can see huge benefit in this hack. Now to get off my arse and start jogging again!

Tags: GoogleMaps Hacks Pedometer

Presentation Jitters

No matter how many times I give presentations I still get nervous. The level of nervousness is a direct consequence of the audience I'm presenting too. Although its a nuisance it has its advantages, I tend to make sure I'm well prepared and have rehearsed it several times. When I started presenting first I used rescue remedy. It's a herbal concoction that calms you down. It worked, though it could be just the placebo effect.

Tags: Rescue Remedy Presentations Nerves Placebo

Information Overload in IT

Richard Monson-Haefel asks how do you keep abreast of all the information available today. He lists four main tools in his post Del.icio.us, , MindManager, Wikipedia and Google. I have never used MindManager so I can't comment on that one, but the others I use to varying degrees. I would add two more tools to the mix Safari and Gartner.

1. Safari is an online book resource. It has approximately 3,500 books available from technical publishers such as O'Reilly, Addison Wesley, IBM, Microsoft etc... It's an absolutely fantastic resource, though it costs. I use it for researching and understanding existing technologies
2. Gartner(Richard works for a Gartner competitor) is another key resource that I use. As distinct from Safari I use Gartner for researching and understanding new and converging technologies.

Tags: safari gartner technology research