Publication Date: August 22nd 2005
ISSN 1445-1360
In this issue you will read:
Editorial: August 22nd 2005
Definition: Traveling Technologist
Software Review: Google Earth
Quotable: Richard Feynman said...
Software Review: Google Desktop (now with Sidebar)
The Great Australian Joke: Printing under Windows
G'Day Blokes and Sheilas!
Joy for the world, the latest NetBloke newsletter is here!
I figured I hadn't kept up my end of the bargain with getting you all a newsletter this month so here it is! It is heavy on the Google, as I have been discovering and using a lot of Google products and services of late. In fact I am wondering if they are actually behind a plot to slowly take over the world, one computer at a time!
So I have provided a couple of brief reviews on Google Earth and Desktop. The first is fun the second is useful.
I am also now using a different list manager for sending this newsletter. It is called PHPlist, I swapped as I was not getting the support that I needed to in turn support you, my readers. If any of you have any problems or issues with this new method let me know. It should be a lot more streamlined for handling your subscription to the newsletter.
Have a great day!
Nathan Allan
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In a bit of a rant the other day I decided I am the Traveling Technologist. That through this newsletter and my actions in life this is what I can share with the world.
So my mission is to make your life that little bit easier, enjoyable and streamlined through the use of technology. There are many others that do the same thing so my goal is to make this web site, newsletter and forum a place where it is written in a way that anyone can understand.
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This is a really great application that gives you pictures from the air of the entire world. You can zoom in to your house, you can find landmarks, or you can just have some fun looking at places you have been.
What Google has done is put together publicly available aerial photography in one easy to use and search mapping program.
If nothing else it is fun and easy to use. There is a forum like community that has placemarked a variety of interesting places. Personally I was able to find my residence, places I have lived, worked and travelled to. It truly is amazing at some of the detail available.
The Plus version allows you to plug in GPS co-ordinates direct from your GPS device.
Visit: Google Earth
The Hacks site is a third party site that maintains a bunch of hacks and placemarkers to be used with Google Earth. It is sometimes scary what can actually be "seen" with the aid of this program.
Visit: Google Earth Hacks
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I believe that a scientist looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy.
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Here is something hot off the presses! Google updated their Desktop application so it now includes a Sidebar tool. This sidebar is very cool as it already knows things about you when you install it. Of course to get the most out of it you need to customize it. To start with it has some of your favorite sites (most frequented), a Gmail reader, stock quotes, your local weather, a scratch pad for notes, Web Clips for RSS feeds and the like, a news area and of course a search box.
Customizing the sidebar was fun with people already having developed many plug-ins for it. I started off with a Todo list and a Adsense monitor. There are plenty of other nifty plug-ins I am sure would make life easier for you too.
You can also have it display just as a deskbar in your taskbar, which gives you a one click way to complete a Google search. I suppose the only downside to this application is that it does take up valuable screen real estate.
Visit: Google Desktop
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A frustrated person called the help desk with a problem with their printer.
The Technical Support person asked if they were "running it under Windows."
The person responded, "No, my desk is next to the door, but that's a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his is working fine."
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