DrWeb's Domain

Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits: Life on Google Earth

Poynter Online - E-Media Tidbits: Life on Google Earth.

Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Posted by Steffen Fjaervik 12:30:36 PM

Life on Google Earth

Google today launched its Google Earth, an installable program that lets you search for or zoom in on areas, places of interest, or specific addresses around the globe. In addition to looking at places, you can fly over them, as it were. You also will get a pretty good idea of the topographical situation, with mountains, hills, and ehhh ... fjords if you're interested in Norway.

This initiative of course comes after Google's purchase of Keyhole last year. The program is rated "very good" at PC Magazine today. The fact that it is now free -- after having cost $299 -- tells me it will be popular. I haven't tried the Plus version or the professional version. These both have a fee.

The down side is that you seem to need a fairly updated computer to enjoy the program, and it doesn't work on Macintosh computers. But if you are able to install and use it, the level of detail is astonishing. ...

It appears the beta from Google Earth isn't available full-time to all, yet.. I did find a copy here, so you might be able to, yes, use Google, to find another copy "out there," so much like "the truth is out there," same thing for software :) ...

Everything TypePad - Get ready for some great new features

Everything TypePad - Get ready for some great new features.

06.30.2005

Get ready for some great new features
Posted by Byrne in Announcements

This Friday we will begin some maintenance work on TypePad in preparation for launching the new design and community management features we've been writing about. At 5PM PST, TypePad will be taken offline for about two hours.

Then over the course of the weekend we will begin to rebuild everyone's weblog in order to ensure that everyone's published weblog is taking advantage of the latest features and stylesheet enhancements (users of advanced template sets excluded).

During this period you should not encounter any performance degradation, but if you notice anything that seems amiss our TypePad support team will be there to assist and respond.

Finally, finally.. SixApart is slow to deliver the long-promised Typepad key system, but it's coming, and some better design tools, can moderate comments and trackbacks *before* they hit your blog, and more.. seems some of the new tools will make the Typepad blogs more attractive to new media, newspapers, and other community groups --having a hosted blog, with management of the spam, and "people" posting, is taking citizen journalism up a nice notch.. way to go, late, but still, I can't wait for the improvements...

United States Olympic Committee - NYC2012 makes final drive for bid

United States Olympic Committee - NYC2012 makes final drive for bid.

NYC2012 makes final drive for bid
DAVID CRARY // Associated Press Worldstream // June 30, 2005 Copyright 2005 Associated Press All Rights Reserved

The role of underdog doesn't come naturally to a city that calls itself "The Capital of the World," but that is how New York's Olympic boosters are casting themselves as they scramble to recover from a setback that nearly wrecked their bid for the 2012 Summer Games.

The campaign, launched in 1994, seemed doomed when a three-member state committee rejected plans for a new, showcase stadium in Manhattan - just a month before the International Olympic Committee meeting next Wednesday to choose a 2012 host city.

I am a betting man, and I'll bet NYC wins the games, and it's what would be great for NYC still recovering, and great for the new venues to be developed.. fingers crossed.. and, oh, the substitute plan sounds just fine.. there's more than one way to five rings...

First Draft by Tim Porter: Debating the Future of Newspapers

First Draft by Tim Porter: Debating the Future of Newspapers.

June 30, 2005

Debating the Future of Newspapers

A frothy conversation is bubbling through the online-news listserv about the New York Times weekender aoubt the Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, which the Times dubbed as the newspaper of the future for its multiple platforms, citizen participation and local, local news.

Read the story. It's a good starting point to think about changes any newspaper can make.

What I want to share, though, is part of an online-news comment made by Howard Owens, the new media director for the Ventura (Calif.) County Star, a pretty innovative paper in its own right.

Here's what Owens said about newspapers and their role in community (all emphasis added):

Great commentary by Howard Owens on the DNA of newspapers, which, he rightly notes, has been too deeply and too easily forgotten in the new media citizen journalism death knell of newspapers debate.. recommended reading...

Ernest Hemingway Festival™: Sun Valley Ketchum Idaho CVB

Ernest Hemingway Festival™: Sun Valley Ketchum Idaho CVB.

Ernest Hemingway Festival™
Presented by: The Sun Valley/Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau Sun Valley, Idaho
September 22-25, 2005
1-866-549-5783

The Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau has teamed together with many area enthusiasts and organizations to celebrate the life of world-renowned writer Ernest Hemingway by creating the inaugural Sun Valley area Hemingway event.

One of the main goals of the event will be to honor the heritage of Hemingway’s strong bond to the Wood River Valley and Idaho.

• About Hemingway In Idaho
• Schedule of Events
• Short Story Contest - Prose For Papa
• Sun Valley Indian Summer Shootout
• Ernest Hemingway Festival Lodging Specials
• Speakers/Scholars
• Ernest Hemingway Festival Sponsors
• Area Maps
• Contact Us
• Press Release
• Getting to Sun Valley
• Register For The Festival

Sounds like a great place and a great writer at the heart of it all.. I will think about this one for September.. would be lovely there, with the trees in colors...

Google points way to Maps' code - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Business

Google points way to Maps' code - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Business.

Google points way to Maps' code
Move OK's sites' use of feature to create their own services
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff | June 30, 2005

Hacking Google Maps just went legitimate.

When the online information search giant launched a feature in February letting Web surfers pull up maps and satellite images of virtually any neighborhood in America, hackers quickly found the Google service made it possible to present data in cartographic format. Unlike existing services from Time Warner Inc.'s MapQuest.com and Yahoo Inc. that are limited to presenting information authorized by the portal -- like locations of pizza shops or bank machines -- Google Maps let people plug in their own data.

As noted today on Web4Lib mail list.. I think there's a limit on the beta downloads, but I will check it out.. the personal use vs. commercial developments are of more interest to me, but I see the business applications swirling...

Knowledge for Sale, Chris Dodge

Knowledge for Sale.

Knowledge for Sale
Are America's public libraries on the verge of losing their way?
—By Chris Dodge, Utne magazine, July / August 2005 Issue

Before joining the Utne staff in 1999, Chris Dodge worked for 19 years in a suburban Minneapolis library system, helping the activist librarian Sandy Berman reinvent the art of cataloging. Long before search engines swept the Web, Berman and his team created a network for searching the system with plain words and phrases, not arcane jargon. Today, that innovative system has been dismantled -- a symbol, Dodge argues, of wider trends that are transforming public libraries across the country. Are we on the verge of losing a cultural treasure? Dodge finds reason for both concern and hope. -- The Editors

Imagine a social space that's designed for individual enlightenment, a "people's university" where all can read and learn. A haven from commerce where everyone can conduct research or enjoy the arts. A place for children to escape their family bonds just long enough to glimpse a broader world. A home away from home for those curious about ideas and passionate about knowledge.

Such is the American public library at its best. And who doesn't love a library, at least in concept? In a land where private ownership is the rule, libraries lend items and offer help for free. Historically, they've provided things to be shared, not consumed and thrown away. Good libraries are deeply conservative in that they guard and archive the culture's diverse wisdom and beauty, its vast oddities and amusements. But they're also radical bastions of mutual aid. In a "knowledge economy" where information carries an ever-steeper price, where the rich get wealthier and the poor have less, libraries are one of the few ways still available for many to educate themselves -- ideally, an American right.

Recommended professional reading.. Chris Dodge is the Utne magazine librarian...

NBCSandiego.com - News - Author, Historian Shelby Foote Dies

NBCSandiego.com - News - Author, Historian Shelby Foote Dies.

Author, Historian Shelby Foote Dies
POSTED: 10:36 am PDT June 28, 2005 UPDATED: 11:13 am PDT June 28, 2005

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Acclaimed Civil War historian and novelist Shelby Foote has died.

Foote's widow, Gwen, confirmed his death, saying he died Monday night. He was 88.

In 1999, the Modern Library ranked Foote's "The Civil War: A Narrative" as No. 15 on its list of the century's 100 best English-language works of nonfiction.

The 848 page book was published in 1958. The longtime Memphis resident worked on "The Civil War" for 20 years. He used a flowing, narrative style that let readers enjoy it like a historical novel.

He once said, "Narrative history is the kind that comes closest to telling the truth."

A great historian gone.. he will be missed...

Lord of the Pigs? - The New York Times violates its code to cheap-shot director Peter Jackson. By Jack?Shafer

Lord of the Pigs? - The New York Times violates its code to cheap-shot director Peter Jackson. By Jack Shafer.

Lord of the Pigs?
The New York Times violates its code to cheap-shot director Peter Jackson.
By Jack Shafer, Posted Monday, June 27, 2005, at 11:51 AM PT

The wildest cinema heists, as "The Hollywood Economist" columnist Edward Jay Epstein coolly demonstrates in Slate and his book The Big Picture, are not committed by fictional, gun-toting robbers but by real-life accountants, lawyers, and studio executives packing fountain pens.

Today's (June 27) New York Times untangles a recent Hollywood lawsuit filed by the director of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Peter Jackson, against Time Warner's New Line Cinema subsidiary, in "The Lawsuit of the Rings." Jackson's suit charges that New Line defrauded him out of millions by the way it sold the rights to merchandise, books, and DVDs related to his first installment of the trilogy, The Fellowship of the Ring. The studio used "pre-emptive bidding" to sell some of the rights to other Time Warner subsidiaries rather than accepting open bidding. This suppressed the gross receipts, the suit contends, and because Jackson's deal with New Line was for a percentage of the gross, he may have been underpaid by $100 million for all three movies, according to his lawyers.

My take.. good for Peter for getting what is fair, and should be his shares.. they may not have done it to "cheat him," but they didn't use smart business to license the properties, which indirectly made his income less.. he deserves fair rewards.. read more in the article.. and, yes, the NY Times this time took a very cheap shot by hiding the slam's speaker behind anonymous veil...

NBCSandiego.com - Getaways - Wynn's Great, But Still Disappoints

NBCSandiego.com - Getaways - Wynn's Great, But Still Disappoints.

Wynn's Great, But Still Disappoints
Nothing Could Live Up To Hotel's Hype
Rick Garman, Vegas4Visitors.com, UPDATED: 7:58 am PDT June 28, 2005

As Steve Wynn spent more than $2.7 billion over the course of five years to acquire the former Desert Inn, tear it down and build a sparkly new mega-resort in its place, he missed no opportunity to trumpet what he was doing, using phrases and terms that tried to get us all to believe that Wynn Las Vegas would be unlike any other hotel in Vegas.

If Wynn was to be believed, it would revolutionize the way we thought of a Las Vegas resort, a masterpiece of form and function that would change everything.

How does something live up to that kind of hype? It can't.

Florida Keys set for summer

Florida Keys set for summer.

Florida Keys set for summer
Larry Habegger, James O'Reilly -- Christine Delsol
Sunday, June 26, 2005

Even though they escaped damage from the four hurricanes that hit their state last year, the Florida Keys are ready to advise visitors with concerns about this year's storm season.

Through the "Hurricane Info" link on the local tourism bureau's Web site, www.fla-keys.com , visitors can learn about everything from evacuation policies to getting refunds from hotels, should your trip be disrupted by a storm.

Those who make it to the Keys this year can check out the Underwater Music Festival on July 9 in Big Pine Key, where music is broadcast over underwater speakers to divers and snorkelers; Summer Food & Wine Festival, held July 30 to Aug. 8; and the annual Hemingway Days festival, July 19 to 24. Events honoring the late author Ernest Hemingway, who lived in Key West for 11 years, include an exhibit called "Fishing, Friends and Family: Hemingway in Key West, 1928-1939" at the Key West Museum of Art & History; a marlin tournament; a one-man play about Hemingway's life at Waterfront Playhouse; and, of course, the famous Hemingway Look-alike Contest.

There will also be readings, parties and a reception for the winner of the Hemingway Short Story Competition, as well as a family boatbuilding workshop, a sunset run and an art show.

For more information on events, visit www.fla-keys.com or call (800) 527-8539. --Associated Press

NBCSandiego.com - Entertainment - George Lucas Moves Headquarters To San Francisco

NBCSandiego.com - Entertainment - George Lucas Moves Headquarters To San Francisco.

George Lucas Moves Headquarters To San Francisco
POSTED: 7:12 am PDT June 27, 2005 UPDATED: 7:22 am PDT June 27, 2005

SAN FRANCISCO -- It's easy to tell where the entrance to George Lucas' newly built San Francisco headquarters is: Just look for the stone fountain with a statue of Yoda.

It's at the front door.

Lucas is moving most of his operations from the Marin County side of the Golden Gate Bridge over to San Francisco, on land that used to house the Presidio military base.

The "Star Wars" filmmaker, who was recently honored by the American Film Institute for Lifetime Achievement, is hanging on to the famous Skywalker Ranch and other property over in Marin and will maybe use it for filming.

He said he probably won't come to the new complex much because he's tired of being a corporate executive.

Instead, Lucas said he wants "to focus on making movies" including "Indiana Jones 4."

Lucas, 61, wrote the stories for and produced the films in the "Indiana Jones" trilogy. His friend, Steven Spielberg, directed the films, and will return to helm the fourth.

Congrats to George Lucas and Skywalker and Industrial for coming together at such a wonderful place, the Presidio.. it's a super re-use of this historic property, and having the creative leadership of the enterprises together bodes well for the filmic arts Lucas has always championed.. stay tuned.. oh yes, I am excited at the prospect of Lucas and Spielberg and Indy Harrison Ford together again...

SanLuisObispo.com | 06/27/2005 | Finding Love in the Age of AARP

SanLuisObispo.com | 06/27/2005 | Finding Love in the Age of AARP.

Posted on Mon, Jun. 27, 2005

Finding Love in the Age of AARP
When spouses predecease them, many seniors find themselves back in a world they thought they'd left behind: the dating scene
By Matt Sterling The Tribune

Ray Swanagon, 78, is dating again, searching for many of the same qualities in a spouse he wanted 30 years ago — a companion and best friend.

"Just because we're older doesn't mean we don't have the same needs," he said.

He doesn't require a mother for his children, but he'd like someone to be there for him as he grows older. So would many SLO County seniors. After a spouse passes away, the desire for companionship remains.

Google Adds Playback to Video Search

Google Adds Playback to Video Search.

Google Adds Playback to Video Search
By Chris Sherman, Associate Editor June 27, 2005

Google Video Search now includes video content uploaded by users, and this content can be displayed directly in your browser window.

A longer version of this story for Search Engine Watch members explains how to prepare your own video and upload it to Google, and how to manage your Google Video account. Click here to learn more about becoming a member.

Google has been collecting video from users since April, but until today that content has not been accessible. Today's launch now allows you to keyword search user-submitted video content, and if you download the new Google Video Viewer you can watch the content directly in Internet Explorer or Firefox on computers running Microsoft Windows.

We have a lot of content that we've received via the upload program, and we've been overwhelmed with the quality," said Peter Chane, senior product manager for Google Video. The content covers a wide range of subject material, and includes both amateur and professionally produced material.

Summer, written on the wind...

Summer, written on the wind...

"So I went along the straight white road to Aigle through the evening and wondered about the grand army and the Romans and the Huns that traveled light and fast.. I have never seen the town of Aigle, it straggles up the hillside, but there is a cafe across the station that has a galloping gold horse on top, a great wisteria vine as thick through as a young tree that branches out and shades the porch with hanging bunches of purple flowers that bees go in and out of all day long and that glisten after a rain; green tables with green chairs, and 17 % dark beer. The beer comes foaming out in great glass mugs that hold a quart and cost 40 centimes, and the barmaid smiles and asks about your luck."

--Fishing the Rhone Canal, The Toronto Daily Star, June 10, 1922, Ernest Hemingway.. see also Ernest Hemingway, Dateline: Toronto, Scribners, 1985. Hemingway's Toronto Star dispatches from 1920-1924, edited by William White, as cited in the Hemingway Resource Center Bibliography.

He always put you right there beside him, no matter what he wrote.. summer writings and reading.. thanks to the Hemingway list and Peter K. for wonderful memory posting...