Arlington Public Library Technology Blog

U.S. Presidential Vote History in Google Earth

2008-10-31T11:00:00.011-05:00

Google and the University of Richmond have teamed up to create a voting patterns layer for Google Earth (links to the Google LatLong Blog). It maps U.S. voting results at the state AND county level back to 1980. By state or by county you can access presidential vote data and demographics of a given area for the closest census year. Once again, too cool. If you're into the presidential race or just studying recent history, this is a great way to deliver this information.

If you're looking at Google Earth today (10/31), take a look at the "real-time earthquakes" layer and find the epicenters of today's mild earthquakes here in Dallas-Ft. Worth.

The Great Digital Image Migration ... and Fading History

2008-10-22T17:17:00.008-05:00

I've written about this before, but I think it's worth repeating. Storing your precious photographs on optical CDs (and DVDs) with NO magnetic backup (i.e. an external hard disk) is a sure way to lose your pictures forever.

I spent a number of years and lots of dollars continuously perfecting my skills as a photographer. I knew not only how to take a good picture, but how to produce an art-quality print. In doing a major personal housecleaning this last weekend, I realized that even though I still had darkroom equipment, it no longer made economic sense (for me) to make conventional prints in the future. My beloved darkroom enlargers are now junk. However, my prints and negatives will last many years.

Now, I'm in the world of digital photography and having more fun than I ever did using film, although part of the "art" is missing. I take a lot of images, about 6,000 in the last year. As the collection grows, the need to archive some of it becomes part of the process.

Here's the point, again ... DO NOT expect to store your photographs more than a couple years on disks that you burn yourself. Eventually, the organic dyes used in the disk shift, which renders the CD or DVD unreadable. I've got plenty of examples of old stored data CDs that might as well be blank. As far as my CD drives in my computers are concerned, they are.

Instead, take advantage of cheaper and cheaper external hard drives. You can now have a TERABYTE of storage in an external hard drive for less than $150. That's roughly a thousand gigabytes. Make sure duplicate copies of images exist on more than just one drive, because, eventually the drives die, too. But, if you have a "redundant" drive with the same images, you're likely to be in good shape as the chances of both drives dying at the same time is minimal. You replace the dead drive and duplicate from whichever drive still works.

Oh, yeah ... I'm still going to back up my images to optical disks, but I'll refresh the backup periodically. That data is stored well away from where I live ... because there's always the possibility of tornadoes, hurricanes, fire, lightning, floods, riots, landslides, etc. After all, I could lose both drives that way, and where would I be? Well, I'd be restoring my images to a new computer from that backup to the backup.

Save your personal and family history, don't let it digitally fade away.

Hurricane Ike Red Cross Shelters

2008-09-18T09:19:00.006-05:00

The Google people have mapped the Red Cross Shelters as a layer in Google Earth. If you're not a Google Earth user, the same data is available in your web browser via Google Maps. Or, right here (the Maps version is a bit easier to work with):

View Larger Map

Hurricane Ike Aftermath in Google Earth

2008-09-17T00:45:00.009-05:00

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has released a Google Earth KML layer showing damage along the Texas coast. You can download the layer from the Google Lat Long Blog. To see some of the most dramatic destruction, load the layer into GE and locate the Gilchrist, TX area. Use the checkbox next to "Hurricane Ike 2008" in the Places sidebar to toggle the layer on and off. In some places whole neighborhoods are gone. Heartbreaking. (Image link for non-Google Earth users.)

Just a Bit More Fit

2008-09-15T15:55:00.010-05:00

Electronic technology increasingly permeates the world of exercise. It's no longer just a matter of a pair of running shoes, shorts, a t-shirt and a dog-eared running logbook. Now, we have all sorts of ways to incorporate performance-monitoring devices (pedometers, heart rate monitors, GPS tracking, golf rangefinders, etc.) or even to physically play with an electronic console (Wii Fit, Playstation 2 Eyetoy). I use a "bike computer" that gives me feedback on my distance, pace, heart rate and even logs data about each mile I cover for online analysis later.

And now there's a device that you wear day and night. Debuted at a recently technology show, the Fitbit Tracker monitors daily activity and sleep cycles. Essentially, its a highly sophisticated recording motion sensor. "The Tracker measures the intensity and duration of your physical activities, calories burned, steps taken, distance traveled, how long it took you to fall asleep, the number of times you woke up throughout the night and how long you were actually asleep vs just lying in bed." Basically, it gives you an idea of how active you are during a day (and night).

A small device, about the size of the average USB flash drive, the Tracker also wirelessly and automatically uploads its data to the Fitbit website for analysis by the wearer. I've got admit that I'm fascinated and that it's inexpensive enough ($99) that I might have to have one. Of course, if I find that my largely desk-bound job doesn't allow for enough activity, there are alternatives to the static desk.

Bright, Shining ... Browser

2008-09-03T16:11:00.010-05:00

It's yesterday's news (Sept. 2), but you might not have heard that Google has unveiled its own web browser. The product is called Chrome. In my first day of experimenting with it, I've gone from "so what?" to "cool!" After installing Chrome, the first thing you notice is that more of the screen "real estate" is devoted to web content than either Internet Explorer or Firefox. They've done away with the title bar and put tabs in its place. Multi-tab browsing isn't particularly new as it appears in Firefox 2, 3 and Internet Explorer 7. This implementation of tabs is new. They're at the top. They're dynamic. They can be pulled out of the browser to create a new window. They can be combined. But that's just the start. It takes a little getting used to, but, you get deeper into it and you find more unique ways of doing things. However, to tell you all about Chrome is beyond the scope of this blog.

To learn more, check out the Google Blog entry introducing the browser or read about it on the Chrome site. Better yet, download Chrome and play with it. It's free and like a lot of things Google, it's beta. If you're into techier, but fun, geek information, check out the online comic book that Google commissioned cartoonist Scott McCloud to draw.

Ironically, the thing I miss in Chrome is the Google Toolbar I find so useful in Internet Explorer and FireFox. They've missed some integration with other Google services like notes and online bookmarks. Somehow I'll bet that gets taken care of pretty quickly.

Addendum: MSNBC's comparison of Chrome and Internet Explorer 8 (also in beta).

Jott Update ...

2008-08-21T16:57:00.001-05:00

In some of my earlier posts, I've mentioned the Jott transcription to e-mail/text message service. One of the features of the service has been that it is free. That, however, is changing as the first version of Jott was "beta." (beta means a program or service is still in pre-release, testing form) Now that Jott is out of beta, they have retained a free service plan, but it is without the ability to forward messages. That feature is now part of the service's pay plans. Still a good deal and still very useful, but no longer free.

Bad Mail, Bad News

2008-08-19T11:47:00.010-05:00

One of the common metaphors for the Internet is to describe it as the "Wild West." That implies that while there is much civilized behavior, outlaws and bandits are everywhere. And there are darn few lawmen to track them down. Given the paucity of lawmen, the only defense is to arm oneself (I'm still talking about the Internet here).

Last week, a series of "spoofed" e-mails made their way around the Internet and into many e-mail inboxes. The message, which was purported to be from CNN, then led the reader to sites which either phished for the reader's confidential personal information or attacked directly by downloading a virus or other malware. CNN, of course, had nothing to do with the messages.

Beyond the usual anti-virus, anti-spam, and firewall software, I have found a couple additional tools which help a little bit. Both are free.

One from TrendMicro's set of free services is a product called "Trend Micro E-Mail ID (beta)." The product validates the source of e-mail, but only from about 350 companies. CNN is not one of them. Still, it's a help. Validated e-mails are shown with a "TrueMark" icon next to each message in the inbox. It works with the major webmail services and with Outlook Express.

From my Hotmail inbox. Items 3 and 4 are malicious spam. The rest are legitimate.

Another free product is McAfee SiteAdvisor. This product adds safety ratings to sites. The ratings are generated from a combination of user reviews and automated spidering of the subject sites. The Advisor button resides in a toolbar and changes color based on the current site's rating. There are also indicators that display next to sites listed in Google and Yahoo searches.

Still, even with all the virus/spyware/malware/etc software you might employ, it's a rough world and you're never completely safe. Sometimes, even the sheriff got shot in the back, right? Maybe what the Internet needs is a Texas Ranger. "One Riot, One Ranger."

Teens, Mindsets, Writing ...

2008-08-01T11:46:00.003-05:00

With the next school year rapidly approaching, it's worth taking a look at our young people and how communication and technology are integrated into their lives.

The Beloit College Mindset List is a way for an adult to see part of a teen's frame of reference from their eyes. What an adult knows isn't always relevant to how a teen sees the world. All of us former teens know that, but the Beloit lists make the differences a bit more concrete.

The people at the Pew Internet & American Life Project have been thinking about teens and written communication in this Age of Texting. I really wouldn't have thought it so, but writing (beyond the classroom) is truly important to the majority of teens. And, more than ever before, parents recognize the ability to write well is a key to their children's future.

Read up! This is information worth knowing, especially if you're a parent or teacher ... or just care about what makes American youth tick and where they're headed.

The Small (small) Screen is Big (with some audiences)

2008-07-30T11:17:00.002-05:00

According to a Reuters story, a fifth of U.S. TV viewers are watching primetime programs online, particularly professional women. And half of the people watching TV on the web are "beginning to use the computer as a substitute for the television set."

While there's no doubt that "big screen" HDTV is the way of the future, "small screen" TV programming via the Internet is catching on, too. We're talking full-episode primetime programs ... Desperate Housewives, House, CSI ... and not just network news clips or amateur videos on YouTube. For those of us who aren't time-shifting with DVRs (digital video recorders), catching a favorite show via the web is a great alternative.

It's "portable," too. It's so portable that a lot of the viewing is undoubtedly going on at work. I mean, why not? The fastest Internet connection available is usually the employer's. People are so used to having the TV on at home while they do chores, it's natural to have last night's episode of "My Name is Earl" running while they check their morning e-mail.

That's OK, isn't it?

Think you know Google Search?

2008-07-15T16:15:00.003-05:00

If you think that all there is to using Google Search is entering a few keywords and sorting through the answers, you don't know it very well. There are a number of "featured searches" built into that little search box on the Google page.

Want to know the weather in Arlington? Type in "weather Arlington, TX" or "weather 76010". Challenged by time zones ... like, uh, what time is it in Auckland, New Zealand? Type in "time auckland". Want to see a movie? Type "movies" followed by your zip code.

If you want to see more of these "built-in" searches, take a look at the Google Search Features page. You might find a search so useful it becomes a regular part of your day.

Hmmmmm, I wonder what the weather is like for our Olympic athletes in Beijing?

Texting While Driving

2008-07-02T11:17:00.004-05:00

It seems that the written word has triumphed. "Texting" has become a primary way of communication among teens worldwide. If you've been living deep in the Brazilian rain forest for the last decade, you might not have heard of texting (sending text messages via cell phone), but everyone else has. My own daughter's prodigious output/input has hit 15,000 messages a month more than once. She can key words in at a rate that would make the fastest Morse Code telegrapher envious. (Remember Morse Code? Remember telegraphy?)

The topic of texting while driving came up yesterday. A friend told me her daughter had picked up a cellphone while driving and started to input a text message. Being the passenger in the front seat and not wishing to be any part of an accident, the mom interceded and put an end to it, at least for the moment.

I admit to having tried texting behind the wheel. I promise to never do it again. It's probably the most dangerous thing you can do while driving, short of imitating Al Pacino. (Pacino played the part of a blind man who attempted to drive in Scent of a Woman )

If you know someone who might be inclined to drive and text, teach 'em to use Jott instead. Jott automatically transcribes spoken words into e-mail or text messages. It's still using the cell phone while driving, but far less of an attention diversion. It's a great productivity tool that I use regularly and have written about before. Save a life (maybe your own). Don't text, Jott.

Workspace: The Empire Strikes Back

2008-06-19T16:57:00.006-05:00

SaaS is all the raage (sic) these days. "SaaS" stands for "Software as a Service." That is, SaaS programs require that the end user has an Internet connection and very little or no software on their machine other than the browser. One particular example that I've written about is Google Docs. Everything runs through the browser window ... data files exist only out on the web and word processing/ spreadsheet/presentation programs exist only out on the web, too.

I've also written a bit about online storage, uploading and saving files to services on the Internet. Examples are Skydrive for file storage and Mozy for file backup. The former is intended to allow day-to-day use of files.

Now Microsoft has introduced an online storage service that integrates directly with Microsoft Office programs. It's called (deep breath) Microsoft Office Live Workspace. The model here is that you use Microsoft Office programs (Word, Excel, etc) that are installed on your machine, but access data files that are stored on the web. You can directly open and save files from/to Workspace. The service requires running an Office Live Update to add the functionality to Office XP, Office 2003 or Office 2007. The initial Workspace offering is a space of 500mb, but I expect that to increase in time. Users can control file/workspace permissions and can store other types of data files.

While Google Docs' program functionality isn't close to the Microsoft Office applications, I still prefer the Google approach. Their model is NO (expensive) applications required on the local machine. Everything runs through a browser, program and data. This post was initially drafted in Google Docs. On the other hand, for people who are attached to Office file formats with the added benefit of storing other data on the web, the Workspace service is worth a look.

"Free" ... and then there's "Free"

2008-06-08T22:13:00.005-05:00

Starbucks' announcement last week of free WiFi somewhat stretches the meaning of "free." (WiFi is the most common technology that lets computers connect to networks wirelessly) It's more like "sorta free." One, you have to purchase a Starbucks card and you have to use it within 30 days prior to using the wi-fi service. And, you have to accept promotional e-mail from AT&T. They expect they won't send you one more than every few months. Not too bad ... do a little business with Starbucks, accept a little spam, and you're good for up to two hours per day (but, only a single session) of wi-fi service at their stores. It's almost free and a pretty good deal.

There are other free wi-fi providers near the Central Library: Wendy's, Panera Bread and Coffee Haus come to mind. Still, all of them hope (expect?) that you'll do some business with them while you're connected. There's nothing wrong with that, it's a fair trade. But if you want really free wi-fi, go to any Arlington Public Library branch and connect your computer to COA-Online. It's an all-you-can-surf service during library hours. While you're visiting us, get a library card if you don't have one and maybe check out and read one of those old-fashioned books. That's another fair trade, I'd say ...

Addendum: Did you know that rest stops along Texas highways are now wi-fi equipped?

Online storage update ... better ...

2008-05-20T16:27:00.004-05:00

A few months ago, I prognosticated the imminent arrival of online file storage services from Google (so did the Wall Street Journal, I should add). The service has never materialized (I can qualify that answer slightly as it's possible to buy more storage space for Gmail and Picasa Web Albums). I had sniffed at Microsoft Live's Skydrive online file storage and their mere 512 megabytes of storage. In the meantime, Microsoft has upgraded Skydrive to 5 gigabytes of free storage. Again, I'm sticking with my USB drive, but I'm now considering backing some of the USB's files up to Skydrive. Google or Microsoft, I still think that file transer time is likely to be a sticking point for such services, even with a broadband connection.

Google Earth update ... news, again ... but, better news ... much better

2008-05-20T11:39:00.008-05:00

I've previously mentioned the somewhat disappointing New York Times layer in Google Earth. Selected Times articles are "georeferenced" to where they occurred. Cool idea, but the articles were a bit sparse and not always timely. Now, Google has added a layer featuring its own Google News summaries. This is a much more "dense" selection of news stories than the Times. Unlike the Times, Google News is an aggregator of news stories linked back to a broad range of source publications. You'll find the new feature under "Gallery" in the Layers panel. (minor gripe: I wish the summaries were dated/timestamped)

Tragedy Mapped

2008-05-13T10:20:00.013-05:00

Even in this hyper-connected world, it's sometimes hard to get a feel for the size of disasters or even relate to where they occur. Yesterday's (May 12) 7.9 magnitude earthquake in China is getting fairly decent news coverage as is the cyclone that hit Myanmar the previous weekend.

Still, those countries are far away and mostly out of mind. Even if you know where the countries are located, you might not know much about their geography. The Google Earth community has created a number of add-in layers that give depth to these events and their locations.

For the disaster in China, it might be instructive to visualize the location of the earthquake(s) that hit Sichuan province. The U.S. Geological Society makes available a layer to display real-time earthquake activity worldwide (below). To add this layer to Google Earth yourself, explore the KML Gallery on Google's website and look for "Real-Time Earthquakes."

Because there's been a bit more time since Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis, there have been a number of efforts to plot disaster data. The Google LatLong: Master collection of Cyclone Nargis layers in the Google Earth Lat Long blog is a collection of layers that detail storm track and flooding areas (below).

Alltop.com - RSS in a Bottle

2008-04-28T13:47:00.005-05:00

Many users are intimidated by the abbreviation "RSS" (Really Simple Syndication). And, if they're intimidated by those three letters, then chances are that they're not going to take advantage of the technology. Still, using RSS has gotten a bit less complex ... ok, it's really simple ... with the addition of dedicated buttons to add a newsfeed into a reader (Google Reader, Bloglines, etc.) or a home page (My Yahoo!, iGoogle, etc.).

However, if you're not inclined to want to learn a little about RSS in order to read blogs, you might take a look at Alltop.com. Alltop's home page is a series of topics grouping some of the best blogs on the Net. Under every text link on the home page, you'll find dozens of quality blogs addressing each subject area.

If you're willing to have your blog reading selected for you (and with so many choices, I hesitate to say that), Alltop.com is a way to dispense with the (small) hassle of RSS and feed readers. I'd encourage you to explore the web for even more blogs, but Alltop.com is a great place to start and maybe all some people will ever need.

It's a New Day for Google Earth

2008-04-16T10:53:00.010-05:00

As someone who is addicted to Google Earth, I'm thrilled whenever there's an update to the program. I was truly happy when the Google people finally updated the DFW imagery from about 2001 to October of 2007.

Now, there's a new version: Google Earth 4.3. I could list all the updates to the product, but I'll just mention a few here. The change that I felt was most needed was dating of earth imagery and now we have it (most of the time). Daytime shadows are emulated on 3-D terrain and global daylight/night is displayed. Street View, which already existed in Google Maps has now been incorporated into Google Earth. And there's more, but I'll direct you to the Google Lat Long Blog for the rest of the story.

Below: Google Street View positions around the George W. Hawkes Central Library.

The darkness of night approaches Europe at the end of the day.

Organization Tools

2008-04-11T15:46:00.003-05:00

PC World has published a list of nine online organization tools. I won't summarize the whole article here, but will say that I already use three of the services, including the previously mentioned, including Jott. I also use Remember the Milk for a personal task list (what a great name!) and Google Notebook. Even though it's not mentioned in the article, Google Calendar is a core organization tool in my life. Take a look if you haven't already taken advantage of these free resources.

Update on Google Earth / NY Times

A few days ago, I was excited about the possibilities of this particular mashup. Since its introduction, I've felt like there weren't as many articles as I'd expected. The articles weren't as newsy (timely) as I'd hoped, either. To be fair, it's early and maybe the quantity and speed of news data will improve.

Get Your News Where it Happens

2008-04-07T12:09:00.002-05:00

The people at Google Earth and the New York Times are now "geotagging" news articles. Articles are tied to the physical location of the news story via placemarks. It's a whole new way to look for news stories. You'll find the New York Times placemarks, updated every 15 minutes, in the Google Earth Layers panel under "Gallery." Will the cool stuff never stop? And just as cool, Google Earth is free. I know, I know ... I'm a geek.

Storms, Lightning and Electronics

2008-04-07T11:31:00.008-05:00

While North Texas may not have the lightning activity of Florida and the Gulf Coast, thunderstorms here can be pretty fierce. These days, most people know to keep their computer equipment on surge protectors or, better yet, uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). However, few computer users allow for the other ways that a power surge can sneak in. If you have cable broadband, consider adding an inline surge protector for the coaxial cable that comes into your home. If you have DSL, you should run that phone/DSL line through the phone ports on most good quality A/C surge protectors. In my home I have UPS's not only on my computer, but on the networking devices (routers and cable modem) that support my connection to the web.

It's a good idea to protect your phones and other home electronics, too. According to the National Weather Service, phone use is the leading cause of indoor lightning injuries. And a good surge protector is usually a lot less than the insurance deductible on that high def TV you just bought. The National Weather Service has more information on indoor and outdoor lightning safety.

Yahoo for Google Earth!

2008-04-02T16:06:00.006-05:00

OK, that didn't sound right. Maybe it should be "woo-hoo!" Yesterday, the independent "Google Earth Blog" reported a large number of updates to the base layer Google Earth imagery. The official Google Earth blog, Google Lat Long Blog, also indicated there were updates, but didn't specifically list the areas. Included among those updates are MUCH fresher images of Dallas-Ft. Worth. We've been living with images that were as much as five or six or seven years old. I'm estimating that the new images were made in October, 2007 based on the progress of the new Cowboys Stadium and, while I can't come up with a particular date, they were made on a Saturday or Sunday based on the lack of cars in the City Hall parking lot.

Changes I've noted: the presence of our Southwest and Southeast library branches; the QuikTrip at Collins and Division has finally replaced an old auto dealership building; the aforementioned Cowboys Stadium; indications of natural gas drilling activity, the completed section of Hwy 360 between Hwy 183 and Hwy 121; the completed Gaylord Hotel and still-under-construction Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine; and the completed N. Dallas Tollway up to Hwy 380. If you've been a Google Earth user, I'm sure you can find changes of your own. I'll try and add the KML links to the locations I've listed soon.

Thanks, Google! The North Texas GE users appreciate the update.

Mozying On

2008-03-31T11:52:00.005-05:00

Data storage and backup has been a recurrent topic in this blog. I've suggested backing up irreplaceable photographs to secondary hard drives and to CDs. I've discussed the possibility of online file storage using Windows Live SkyDrive or the (maybe) forthcoming service from Google.

After reading a brief article about Mozy in Consumer Reports, I decided to give it a test run. Mozy (Mozy.com) is an online backup service. Note that the word here isn't "storage," it's "backup." What that means is that Mozy essentially provides a disaster recovery service. While that has an important role, it's not the same as having easy access to your files from any location.

Most users would be likely to pick Mozy Home, at $4.95 a month per computer. There's also a free version of Mozy that allows you to store up to 2 gigabytes of files. Either version requires you to download client software to your machine. The software facilitates choosing what needs to be backed up and also manages restoring files. It also handles the secure connection required to back up your files safely.

As a test of the free version, I backed up 200 megabytes of MP3 music files. That's not much, these days. While it was easy enough to select the files and upload them, it was a slow process. The 200 mb of files took 1 hour and 37 minutes. If you have to back up a significant volume of data from a computer, you'd best be prepared to have the machine powered on and online for a long time. To be fair, after an initial backup, Mozy uses a faster "incremental" process to back up only files that have been changed or added.

Still, based on my first experience with online backup, I think I'll stick with using redundant hard drives and offsite storage of CDs. And yes, I'm still carrying my USB drive for files which I'm most likely to want immediate access.

Why wait?

2008-03-20T15:16:00.003-05:00

A few months ago, I wrote in this blog that Google would soon have online file storage as a service for Internet users. The Wall Street Journal said the same thing in November. So far, not much has happened, but I want to update a couple things.

First, Microsoft's Live.com "Skydrive" is now 5 gigabytes of free storage, up from 1/2 gb last Fall. Google's additional online storage for Gmail and Picasa Web Albums is now 10 gig for $20/yr (up from 6 gb) ... that's additional storage beyond the e-mail's current 6.4 gb of free storage and Picasa's 1 gb of photos. Still, Google's offering is not quite the same as personal file storage.

I also wanted to point out that there are other online storage services. One service worthy of note is MediaFire. MediaFire provides "unlimited" online storage with a maximum individual file size of 100 megabytes. While I haven't used the service myself, it appears to have been well reviewed by various magazines.

Any time you put your files online, you have to remember that Internet connections aren't always available or working and that the online storage sites won't have 100% uptime. I mention this because I saw that MediaFire was down for maintenance or updating for several hours the other day. And before you put any files online, READ the Terms of Service for your chosen storage site. I would never let a single copy of an important file be stored only online. Have a backup somewhere else.

I'm still carrying my 2 gigabyte flash drive in my pocket, btw. I'm still a ways from giving it up.