Kicking Crunchy Leaves
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Google Tip of the Day
I have been playing around with iGoogle a bit and in the process of 'adding stuff' went to the Editor's Picks section to add gadgets. They had a Google driven gadget that was aptly titled 'Google Tip of the Day' now with 1,421 users and a 4 out of 5 star rating. So I thought I'd give it a whirl. It is a brilliant little advice giver (and probably acts more as a way of advertising all the cool things Goolge has to offer).
One tip suggested having a look at Google Sites - it said: Thinking of creating a website? Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share webpages.
This looked interesting and so I took a look - a tour around some examples and was blown away by how easy it seemed! And the variety of ways it can be used. There was one site run by a teacher for her class to check homework another for a project team to keep up with everything going on and a personal 'Family' site for keeping in touch. I'm very excited about this tool and the myriad of opportunities it presents.
To check it out, head to Google (either your iGoogle or regular www.google.com.au web page) and click on the 'more' menu link up the top of the page (left of the middle). It should present a list or menu of 'more' Google tools and if you click on 'Sites' it will take you to it!
Check it out and let me know what you think...
One tip suggested having a look at Google Sites - it said: Thinking of creating a website? Google Sites is a free and easy way to create and share webpages.
This looked interesting and so I took a look - a tour around some examples and was blown away by how easy it seemed! And the variety of ways it can be used. There was one site run by a teacher for her class to check homework another for a project team to keep up with everything going on and a personal 'Family' site for keeping in touch. I'm very excited about this tool and the myriad of opportunities it presents.
To check it out, head to Google (either your iGoogle or regular www.google.com.au web page) and click on the 'more' menu link up the top of the page (left of the middle). It should present a list or menu of 'more' Google tools and if you click on 'Sites' it will take you to it!
Check it out and let me know what you think...
Labels: gadgets, Google, Google sites, iGoogle, web pages
Friday, April 24, 2009
iGoogle
I have a few questions. Not about iGoogle (as I have been using this
for a while now and love it) but about the 'i' in front of Google. Why
does everything have an 'i' infront of it all of a sudden? I know it
has to do with 'me' and hence the 'i' but why not call it 'my'? It
would make more sense to have 'mypod' and 'myphone' and 'myGoogle' page
and 'myselect'-ion of health insurers. Does the 'i' in front of all
these things all of a sudden make them irresistible and therefore a
marketer's dream?
Did Apple invent the 'i' in ipod? If they did - perhaps they kept the
golden egg and gave away the goose. Yes, ipods are popular but imagine
the bucks they could have raked in with the royalties from the simple
addition of 'i' to support a product. In a way it is similar to the
celebrity endorsement we see with many products. Paul Newman's head on
a sauce bottle; George Foreman's autograph on a grill. Or perhaps it
could be that the 'i' is actually a nod to the success of Apple and its
products just as 'German engineering' acknowledges other top brands
engineered by Germans like VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Porsche.
Either way is it even possible to own a word? I am aware of Burger
King's plight when extending their franchise to Australia and deciding
to go with Hungry Jack's as their name was already in use for a burger
shop somewhere in South Australia. Not that it did any harm since
customers were sucked into the idea that 'the burgers are better' at
Hungry Jack's because they are Australian. What's in a name?
Apparently quite a bit!
So perhaps we could have iVicnet - your personal community portal. Or
even go one step further and have iSLV. Your very own personal mini
State Library - now with miniature Ned Kelly armour (for all your
miniature bushranger needs).
for a while now and love it) but about the 'i' in front of Google. Why
does everything have an 'i' infront of it all of a sudden? I know it
has to do with 'me' and hence the 'i' but why not call it 'my'? It
would make more sense to have 'mypod' and 'myphone' and 'myGoogle' page
and 'myselect'-ion of health insurers. Does the 'i' in front of all
these things all of a sudden make them irresistible and therefore a
marketer's dream?
Did Apple invent the 'i' in ipod? If they did - perhaps they kept the
golden egg and gave away the goose. Yes, ipods are popular but imagine
the bucks they could have raked in with the royalties from the simple
addition of 'i' to support a product. In a way it is similar to the
celebrity endorsement we see with many products. Paul Newman's head on
a sauce bottle; George Foreman's autograph on a grill. Or perhaps it
could be that the 'i' is actually a nod to the success of Apple and its
products just as 'German engineering' acknowledges other top brands
engineered by Germans like VW, Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, and Porsche.
Either way is it even possible to own a word? I am aware of Burger
King's plight when extending their franchise to Australia and deciding
to go with Hungry Jack's as their name was already in use for a burger
shop somewhere in South Australia. Not that it did any harm since
customers were sucked into the idea that 'the burgers are better' at
Hungry Jack's because they are Australian. What's in a name?
Apparently quite a bit!
So perhaps we could have iVicnet - your personal community portal. Or
even go one step further and have iSLV. Your very own personal mini
State Library - now with miniature Ned Kelly armour (for all your
miniature bushranger needs).
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Audiobooks and E-Books
Since I love to read, and since I really need to get back into my morning walks again, I thought Audiobooks could be a good way of killing two birds with one stone. So I have had a browse through a few of the suggested Audiobooks and E-Book sites reccomended by AetherICT and the Learning 2.0 guide, such as Librivox and Project Gutenberg. There I found some interesting titles. Lots of them. A bit dazzling really.
So what made me think I would be able to choose an Audiobook that I'd like to 'read' when I struggle to pick a regular paper book? I guess I hadn't figured they were the same thing (yes, silly me). So if you have any suggestions of Audiobooks that are good to walk to, I would love to hear from you. I tend to like fantasy (although not so much sci-fi) and also enjoy soppy chick-lit corny stuff. I also don't mind books that are made into films (I prefer to read them then see them at the movies). So I'm opening my ears to all possiblities here...
So what made me think I would be able to choose an Audiobook that I'd like to 'read' when I struggle to pick a regular paper book? I guess I hadn't figured they were the same thing (yes, silly me). So if you have any suggestions of Audiobooks that are good to walk to, I would love to hear from you. I tend to like fantasy (although not so much sci-fi) and also enjoy soppy chick-lit corny stuff. I also don't mind books that are made into films (I prefer to read them then see them at the movies). So I'm opening my ears to all possiblities here...
Labels: Audiobooks, Books, Reading
