Google Squared

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Google Squared
EdTech, General Technology, Internet

Google has released two cool new products this week. First, there is a major update to the user interface for Street View.  The transitions between scenes are much smoother, and it reminds me of Microsoft’s Photosynth technology.  One gets the feeling of looking around corners, and actually being immersed in the environment.  For a good example, take a look at Times Square in New York.

As cool as this is, I’m even more excited about the public release of Google Squared, a new search product that creates tables for search results.   I had mourned the demise of Google Notebook, and haven’t really played around with Search Wiki, which is supposed to replace it. This new product is an excellent tool for research and comparison.

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Unrest in the Neighborhood

Posted on By Tom 2 Comments on Unrest in the Neighborhood
Local, Rants

The other day as I was heading out of our street I spotted a small yellow sign advertising a community “meet and greet” at our local swimming pool.  I decided that it would be a good opportunity to see some of our neighbors, so I made plans to attend.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be more of a “meet and beat” with complaints overriding any socializing.

The meeting included residents from our greater neighborhood, bounded by the four major streets.  There was one neighbor from our street, and a good friend from several blocks away.  In all, about 25 people gathered.

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Oconee Photo Safari

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Oconee Photo Safari
History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Travel

Geezers

When I knew that Laura was going to be out of town this weekend, I contacted a couple of my Chorale/Furman friends to see if they would be interested in a photo safari. Ken Cothran took me up on the challenge, so early Saturday morning I picked him up at his place in Clemson and we headed out.

Our first stop was the town of Pendleton. Once the major city in the Upstate, the whole area is now on the Register of Historic Places. We walked around the little town square and took a few shots.

Red, White, and BluePendleton ArchitectureCannon BarrelKen shooting a cannon

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Peak Experience

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on Peak Experience
Geocaching and Maps, History and Genealogy, Local, Photography, Travel

Peak Trestle

Conditions were ideal for a photo trek. I had a day of vacation I needed to use before the madness of summer system installations started up. Laura had left town for a conference, so I was on my own. And I had gotten new information about an interesting place to visit. My main target for the day would be the old railroad trestle that crosses the Broad River near Peak, SC.

Jay Hope had e-mailed me earlier in the week with a link to a story in The State newspaper about completion of the aforementioned bridge and opening of a new section of the Palmetto Trail. Jay’s family has been working to restore the nearby Hope School, which is one of the historic Rosenwald schools. The trail passes through Jay’s family land and close to the school, and he knew that I had an in the area, so he tries to keep me informed. I followed up on his suggestion, and after getting Laura off to the airport, headed south.

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i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts

Posted on By Tom 1 Comment on i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts
Gear, Geocaching and Maps, Photography

As I stated in my last post, the i-GotU GT-120 was a pleasant surprise. The unit functions much better than the GT-100 that I purchased and returned last year. It geotagged images accurately from my little Nikon S50 camera. However, in my last tests I ran into some puzzling problems – not with the GT-120 … Read More “i-GotU GT-120 Final Thoughts” »

i-GotU Revisited

Posted on By Tom 8 Comments on i-GotU Revisited
Gear, Geocaching and Maps, Photography

i-gotU GPS tracker

A little over a year ago I tried out the i-GotU GT-100 GPS tracker from Mobile Action. At the time I was looking for a simple tracker for photo geotagging, and the GT-100’a small size and price ($49 from Amazon) were very appealing. I put the unit through a series of tests, and found it to be completely useless for geotagging, and wrote up two reviews to that effect (Test Driving the i-GotU GPS Tracker, and i-GotU GPS Tracker – Summary Review.) Those two reviews generated lots of hits and comments for this website, both for and against the GT-100.

Subsequently, I was contacted recently by Mobile Action and asked if I would be willing to try out the new GT-120. The unit arrived Saturday and I’ve been putting it through the same tests that I did with the GT-100. So far, I’m impressed, and pleasantly surprised. This unit appears to work much, much better, and geotags images like a charm.

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