Results tagged “google”

Android was a super idea for creating a mobile platform for the rest of us*. That is to say, a mobile platform for those of us who, for one reason and/or another, couldn't use an iPhone. After Android was announced by Google and embraced by mobile device makers, I could hardly wait the years it took for the first Android phone to come out.

By that time the Apple iPhone had been through a couple of software iterations and, more importantly really, had been hacked with the "jailbreaking" crew and had been opened up, against Apple's wishes, to hundreds of cool "apps" to extend the iPhone's use beyond the vision of even the great Jobs. 

This could be awesome -- at least as far as cool personal communications go. Google and Verizon let it out today that they joined in a strategic partnership "to deliver leading-edge mobile applications, services and devices" based on Android.

This could work out really well for consumers and, actually, for developers and for Verizon too. It's not going to hurt Google either, of course, as it looks like a huge boost for the Android OS.

Verizon has been missing out on the app store action that Apple created and has been trying like the dickens to encourage developers over to its network and devices to help Verizon close the app gap.   It's already lined up to bring out a set of Android devices from Motorola, but that's not seen as a great leap forward for Verizon so much as just catching up with everybody else.

This partnership with Google, though, committing resources directly from Verizon into the Android cauldron and getting Google to commit to work with them -- this looks like the start of a whole new attack on the smart-comm device opportunity. That includes all of the possibilities: phones, netbooks, readers, streamers and the who-knows-what's-next.

For Google; having this committment from Verizon and its giant mobile network is a key -- perhaps the key -- to  moving Android beyond the "has potential" stage and into the actual consumer battleground with Apple.  This really could be game changing for the whole smart-comm world.

There is potential here to force Apple to actually modify its action plans to stay in the lead in this huge market.

Fantastic.

I'm wondering if Google's new "Chrome OS" operating system might encourage Apple to review its no-clone position on OS-X?

Having only Windows and a gaggle of Linux distributions for consumers to choose from leaves a huge gap in the market for a well-supported, professionally supported, affordable alternative to Windows. Until now only Apple could fill it and they have elected not to do that.  That's a shame for consumers and for Apple shareholders. Apple's OS-X could instantly fill that gap and just as instantly become a balancing competitor to Windows. 

The OS-X operating system has long been the most-likely alternative to Windows, going all the way back to its origins in Next-Step -- except, of course, that Apple hasn't turned it loose for non-Apple machines. Unfortunately for real-world users, the Apple folks have elected to hold OS-X close as a proprietary system, only licensed to run on Apple hardware and suing to death any company that tries to get into the Apple clone business.

But the window of opportunity for Apple to decisively and exclusively fill the OS gap is slamming closed very quickly. Apple still have time to release their grip on OS-X, and to effectively take over a huge share of the small-machine operating system market but if they wait until Google's Chrome-OS arrives there is a very good chance that Apple will be permanently closed out of the market. Chrome could even take over on Apple's hardware.

Heads-up Apple. The clock was started with Google's announcement on July 8th and it is running out fast.

I've heard about guys who "collect" sightings of airplanes in flight on Google Maps and found a plane in flight myself just this evening. I searched Google for references to it but couldn't find a single one so maybe this is a new sighting.

The airplane is almost directly over George Washington's residence at Mount Vernon in Virginia.

Below is a screen capture of the view on Google Maps. (The map itself is embeded below.) The plane is there in Google Earth also. If you look just south of the main residence (the large red-roofed building adjacent to the oval drive) between the house and the river you'll be able to see a passenger jet in a steep bank. The second image below is zoomed in on the jet.

Google Maps image of George Washington's residence at Mt. Vernon, VA. with an airplane visible in a steep bank directly south of the main house (large red structure) between the house and the river.

If you're a regular Google Maps user like me then you've no doubt noticed that the address location markers don't always poing exactly where they should. I use Google Maps all the time to find my way to a new client's location. There's a lot of back country hollows and rural dales around here so it's so much easier to have a map to go with the client's directions to their place.

It would be even better if the map could be counted on to point at the right spot.

Now as I read that sentence I realize how Star-Trek it sounds. It's amazing how quickly we humans can start to take for granted the amazing services we get from the internet and GPS devices and so on. Shoot; I remember calling -- with the telephone! -- to the Triple-A to request a "Triptik" -- a book of maps from point A to point B across country. Now you just go online to Google or Maps.live.com or any of a handful of other places and get a map in seconds.

Anyway; the online maps are pretty cool but they aren't always exactly spot on when it comes to pointing at a precise address. So now Google has added the ability to actually edit the online maps and satellite images to adjust the pointers to the correct spot. As long as your edit is within 200 meters of where they estimated it to be then they'll take your edit and update the online map with it. Wow.

It couldn't be simpler to do, too. Start by searching Google maps for an address as you usually would. 

1. Look for and click the new "Edit" link in the lower left corner of the label ballon for the map pointer.
   • If the label balloon is closed or isn't showing, then click on the pointer itself to make the label balloon appear. 
2. Now click the "Move Marker" link that appears in the balloon.
3. "Grab" the pointer with your mouse and move it to the correct location.
   • Notice the "X" that move with it and use that to locate the pointer correctly.
4. Click "Save" to save the new location.
   • Watch for the confirmation message that your location change has been saved. (Sometimes the Google map server is busy and it will take a second try to save the change.)

That's it! The next time that anyone searches for that exact address they will, thanks to you and Google, get the correct information and directions.  Swell.