Overseas Chinese Web Guide

Tag: google

  • iOS 6 Maps

    For better or worse, iOS 6 brings a new Maps app. The 3D button offers a cool three-dimensional view of nearby buildings. The feature is much more impressive when browsing around the City. The 3D effect is practically unnoticeable in burbs of Mountain View.

    I see two big changes in the new Maps app. First, the Maps app finally offers voice navigation. Initially, I was looking for some setting or button to enable this feature. There is none. Instead, just search for directions and voice navigation kicks on automatically. I tested it on the way home this afternoon and it was able to re-route as I took a U-turn to avoid traffic.

    I already have the Navigon app, however I like the Maps app much better already. The strength of the Maps app is that it announces street names so there is no doubt which exit you should be taking or which street you should be turning on. Navigon has led me astray more than once because its directions were confusing. Navigon doesn’t announce exits or street names. It just tells you to bear left, bear right, turn left, turn right, etc., which is perfectly fine in a city with a grid layout. When that is not the case, Navigon is exposed. However, in remote locations, Navigon with its preloaded maps is incomparable. When you don’t have a 3G/4G connection, the Maps app isn’t going to help.

    The other big change is the traffic data. Even with the traffic layer enabled, I am not seeing any data. The Maps app did indicate the 101 was red earlier this afternoon. In contrast, looking up Google Maps in Safari gives you the traffic data that the Maps app is missing.

    So, I will probably use the Maps app, unless I’m headed to a remote area with no internet connectivity.

  • Chinese Google Maps

    Today, I recognized the connection between literacy and computer literacy when I reset the default language on a MacBook Pro to 简体中文. Within the Language & Text settings under System Preferences, a user can select a language for the computer. I had thought that selecting a language other than English would only alter the language of the drop-down menu items. However, that was not the case.

    Instead, changing the default language also alters the names of certain Apple applications. I discovered this when I struggled with the new Chinese menu. I know where all the menu items roughly are located on Safari, but switching from English to Chinese slowed me down enough that I wanted to switch right back. But, when I searched Spotlight for Preferences, Spotlight did not return the System Preferences application. That’s when I knew something was wrong. Instead, I had to find the System Preferences by browsing the Applications window and finding the right icon. If I only had file names and no icons, I would have been in a really bad situation.

    While using Chinese as the default language, I also discovered the Chinese-version of Google Maps. Americans all know the English name of 北京 is Beijing. But, if someone from China asked about the Chinese name for American streets or cities (outside of the obvious 旧金山 for San Francisco), I’m usually stumped. Instead of making up a name phonetically, I can now point them to Chinese maps of America.

  • Happy Thanksgiving Google

    A stuffing recipe that I am attempting calls for 8 ounces of cremini mushrooms. I don’t have a kitchen scale. However, I have three packages of mushrooms. One package lists the weight in pounds and the other two weight in pounds. Instead of grabbing pencil and paper, I grabbed the iPhone:

    .8 lb + 8 oz + 7 oz in oz

    Google says:

    (.8 pound) + (8 oz) + (7 oz) = 27.8 ounces

    Thanks!

  • Michael Jackson: Google, Bing and WolframAlpha

    24 hours after the sudden passing of Michael Jackson, I decided to take a look at how fresh the results were from various search engines.

    WolframAlpha shows a date of birth and a date of death for former President Ronald WIlson Reagan.

    ronald-reagan

    For Michael Jackson, WolframAlpha only displays a date of birth.

    michael-jackson

    Next, I compared Google and Bing. In the snippet from Wikipedia, Google’s cache is more up to date than that from Bing. Google’s display the date of birth and the date of death.

    google-michael-jackson

    Bing does not.

    bing-michael-jackson

    Curiously, the snippet that Yahoo displays from Wikipedia excludes the date of birth. However, if I view Yahoo’s cache, I can see that they have the older version of Michael Jackson’s biography, like Bing.

  • Google Chrome Has Stopped Working

    I’ve been using Chrome, Google’s opening act in the browser market. However, I haven’t abandoned my beloved Mac. Instead, I’m running Chrome inside of VMware Fusion and am loving it. The browser is surprisingly responsive, despite my less than optimal configuration. It hasn’t crashed on me yet, but a Google Chrome has stopped working window popped up this afternoon. I’m not sure what triggered it because I was able to close the pop-up window and continue using the browser. Interesting.

  • More iPhone Tips

    When EDGE takes way too long to deliver a web page, I turn to Google (again). The Cached link has come in handy on more than one occasion when I got tired of seeing the page loading icon. Click back to the search results page and view the Google cached version. The next best thing to having lynx on the iPhone, I guess.

  • The Best Thing About an Apple iPhone is Google

    Apple iPhoneHonestly, I had my doubts about the Apple iPhone: slow data network speeds, no integrated GPS, and high cost. I tried to hold off until Apple released iPhone 2.0, presumably with a 3G chipset and other goodies, but I surrendered to frustration. And, I blame Google for it all.

    Without a doubt, Google revolutionized the Internet. Suddenly, I could find anything on the Internet. Not just standard information like who is the First President of the United States, but really relatively obscure facts like who is the Second Emperor of the Northern Wei Dynasty. And, the more useful I found Google, the more I used Google until I couldn’t part from Google. I needed to take Google along with me. And, that’s why I had to buy an iPhone. I just experienced too many instances where I encountered a problem while away from my computer where I realized that I could solve my problem in seconds with access to Google or the Internet.

    • Dull EDGE. All the iPhone reviews noted that AT&T’s EDGE data network was slow. Unfortunately, the reviewers understated the problem. I could not use EDGE for regular web browsing; e.g., reading the New York Times or visiting other websites. I don’t like waiting in line. I don’t like waiting for pages to load. I don’t like waiting. Period. Safari is fine with Wi-Fi access, but seriously underwhelming on EDGE. Would love to see Lynx on an iPhone.
    • Maps. I would certainly welcome faster network speeds, but EDGE is passable for Mail and Maps. Maps has already saved me on one occasion when I was lost in an area for which I did not have a paper map. If you commute at all and forget to check the traffic before you leave your house or place of work, Google Maps shines there as well.
    • Google. While every other website features congested layouts and graphics, Google focuses on speed. Google is one web site that I can use even with EDGE. To quickly search another company’s website, I use the site:domain.com modifier on Google. I find that I can get instant results even on EDGE instead of waiting for someone else’s graphic-intensive website to load.
    • Notes. Notes is good if you’re not taking a lot of notes. On my MacBook Pro, I take notes using Yojimbo and would welcome an iPhone version. Despite its counterintuitive name, Yojimbo is a fast and easy application that lets me store information and documents with password and tagging options. For example, I have one note where I keep the store hours for all the shops I visit frequently; i.e., Target, Costco, Home Depot, Farmers Market, etc. I look at that page most weekends. Why memorize store hours when all the data is just a few clicks away.
    • Killer App. The true killer app on the iPhone for me is Google + Safari. When I’m out at some of the shops mentioned above, I can easily price shop. Oh, Target is selling this for $15? I wonder how much Costco, Crate and Barrel or some other retailer is charging? Now, I have the answer. 😉