Grrr Google

In a case of biting the hand that feeds me, I'm going to take a moment to complain about Google. Well not about the company per se. It's my go-to search engine. It's my standard email. It's also my favorite place to search for scholarly information. And obviously it houses my blogs. It also used to be my RSS compiler. Used to be. Google announced this week that they will be shutting down their incredibly useful Reader function in July. And I've grown to depend on my Reader. Seriously depend. So I'm not looking forward to finding a new compiler to use.

The  problem is I subscribe to a little over 120 blogs and tumblr sites. That's a lot of posting. In a full day there are at least 45-60 new articles that post for me. Some blogs are daily, some post a couple times a week, and some post much less frequently. I've grown used to a simple format that allows me to see only the new articles available and then clears them out when I've finished reading. It makes my internet time more organized and happy. And organized and happy are my favorite things.

Thankfully, Google has put into a place a transition program so I can move to a new compiler but so far I haven't found any that offer me the same efficiency. Many of them have odd UIs. Or perhaps I'm just bristling at the change for format. I don't need a tablet or smart phone based reader and that seems to be where most services are focused. I want something that lets me read the articles without clicking on them, and then lets me know which ones I've read that morning. I want something that displays all my new articles in one place. I want something that is simple and easy to use. In other words, I want my Reader. If you couldn't tell I'm a little frustrated with this decision of Google's. I understand they are trying to pare down, but I just don't want it to be here. Grrr.

Google Wallpaper

If your Google page looked a little different this morning, that's not by accident. Apparently Google is launching a line of background wallpaper for their website. Rather than the basic white background with search box and a few links, Google lets you customize your page with either personal images or ones from their stock photos. Just sign in to your account and Google will look however you want.

I was excited to see familiar artists like Jeff Koons or Dale Chihuly available for a background. There are a number of public photos as well that are really stunning. It was difficult to pick just one. I went back and forth between a couple images before deciding on this Dale Chihuly as my background. I may change it tomorrow though. I do like the flexibility.

I wonder if this is Google's way of competing with Bing's search engine. I've been going to Bing daily to look at the incredible photography that they have available. They change the image daily and then have links for more information about the location, event, animal, or whatever other subject it depicts. Today's image of Lisbon's Belem Tower was so beautiful that I ended up saving the image in a file I keep.

I'm a huge fan of photography and art so I honestly don't mind if this is competition between the two search engines. I like that I can choose my image from Google, and I love that I get surprised daily by Bing. It's a bit like browsing or searching for books. With searching you are guaranteed to get something you like. But with browsing you can discover something completely new. Both wonderful. And now available on my desktop in beautiful colors.

I'm a Follower

First and foremost you need to know that I'm a web-junkie. The internet is a bit like crack to me. I'm completely hooked. I jump from website to website, often losing track of my original path as I fall further and further down the rabbit hole. It's really a wonder that I get anything done. One discovery leads to another and then another until hours have gone by and I have no idea where the time has gone. I read at least 30 webcomics daily and my list of blogs that I read grows by the day.

It used to take me way too long to keep track of all those, particularly since so many blogs only update occasionally. But I would check each daily to see whether they had posted anything new. That is until I discovered the magic button that took away all that lost time. Of course I'm talking about the Follow button. If you aren't following the blogs you read, you're really wasting tons of time. For those of you with Gmail/Google accounts, this is as simple as logging into to Google and going to your dashboard. That has your RSS feed that will allow you to see which blogs have updated and when. No more checking needlessly.

I started by following the blogspot websites. They were easy. I would just click the follow button and add them to my list. But I was so frustrated that I couldn't follow other blogs. That I still had to manually check them. That is until I discovered the add feature. As long as a blog offers an RSS feed, it can be followed. It doesn't matter which platform it falls under. You simply need to go to your dashboard, click on the add button by the blogs you follow, and insert the URL. Done. Now I only have one or two sites (those without feeds) that I have to check manually.

I can't even begin to tell you how much time this simple tool has saved me. No more hunting to see when people update. No more going to websites needlessly. Instead just one click on the blog name (or the post name for those only interested in the one listing) and you're there. So what can I say, I'm a follower. But it makes my web addiction just a little more tolerable.

Bing

I'm trying to remember when Google appeared on the scene as the primary search engine for the world. Google has easily outstripped all other engines in terms of usage and I would argue, versatility. As a librarian, I know that it is not a great research tool but I will admit that if you have an idea what you are looking for, it is invaluable.

This past year the word has been Bing, a new search engine put out by Microsoft. I've done some comparison work and still prefer Google for most of my search needs. But every morning I dutifully go to Bing.com. I go for the photography. Every day, Bing posts an image as the backdrop for their interface. And every morning I am completely blown away by the image. I'm not sure where they are finding these photographs but I want that source.

The images then offer links to learn more about the animal, place, landmark, etc.... I've learned a lot about different landmarks just by finding an image I liked. I clicked on an image of Stari Most, the Old Bridge in the town of Moster in Herzegovina to find out all about it's history. I learned about the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland after seeing a picture on Bing and wondering what the heck it was. I got to reminisce about my trip to Maui after seeing the image below. This picture was taken at the Black Sand beaches on the road to Hana. I stood on this very beach but my pictures don't come anywhere close.

Bing is not going to be my new search engine. I've done scientific comparisons and simply feel that Google is a better engine. But there is something about serendipitous learning that draws me. It's the same way I love to walk aisle by aisle through a library to see what catches my eye. I'll keep going to Bing to learn new things, to find new places, and to see the beautify of the world around us. For that reason alone, I hope they keep the site up.

Source:Life

Google has been doing some amazing things in the last couple of years. And I'm not just talking about the new data center they are building here in Iowa. (my office helped bring the company in). Des Moines was recently added to the street view images which is pretty incredible. I can literally walk down any of the streets in Des Moines all from the comfort of my desk. Here for example is my favorite lunch place. When I talk about Lucca for lunch, this is where I mean.

Google has also been great about putting book content online. Bookstores and publishers are grumbling, but I still say that the more information that is out there, the better. Education and knowledge are simply the most important resources we have. Without education, society simply isn't possible. So all of these books are now becoming increasingly available online, thanks to Google and it's gigantic servers. (the environmental aspect of servers and data centers I won't get into)

But my favorite new thing that Google has done recently is Life. The company has posted thousands of old Life Magazine photos on their image search. These are original pictures pulled straight from the magazine and searchable by all. To find old Life images, go to Google, click on image search, type in your subject words, and then type source:life. This will search only the Life Magazine pictures. You can also access the entire archive from the image search page. This is a rather impressive archive and a wonderful treasure trove for a history fan.

As I'm a huge Walt Disney fan I searched for him in the Life photos. And luckily, no single person, spent more time getting photographed for Life than Disney did. All interesting shots. Here is perhaps the most famous one going around. This is mostly because it shows Disney smoking. Since the man was a pack a day or two pack a day smoker, I'm only surprised that more photos don't show him that way.

Here are some great photos of early Disneyland and the building of Disneyland. I was in history heaven.

And here is perhaps my favorite picture I've ever seen of Disney. This reminds me of why he was a creative genius. Even if he didn't draw Mickey Mouse (Ubb Iwerks did most of those drawings) he still had a hand in everything. He was naturally curious and just loved what he did.