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Wednesday, December 2, 2009
6:42 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post
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5:27 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post

Diploma Exam results 2009

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

PostHeaderIcon Bing Maps is a clone of Google Maps Posted: 11 Nov 2009 03:57 AM PST

4:53 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post




Almost everyone who is reading this must have read about Google Maps and used it’s functionalities and features. So I was a little curious to see what exactly did Bing Maps bring to the table. Obviously Bing is trying to capture peoples attention and rival Google which is not very easy. But a casual look at Bing Maps was quite surprising and I found Bing Maps more or less resembled a clone of Google Maps.
Below I am comparing a few features about Bing Maps and Google Maps to show how they are so similar you might mistake one for the other. Bing Maps is still a beta product and has had many recent updates. I did not expect a lot from it and was quite surprised how accurate and detailed it was even when it came to non-US or European cities.

Get Directions

  • One of the first thing that is similar is when you look at getting directions. Look at the image below and see how similar are the two.
  • I did a search for directions to drive around in Pune, India between two points. The search were the same on Bing Maps and Google Maps. The results were also pretty much the same.
bingmaps_googlemaps
  • I expected Bing Maps to show a lot less of Pune, as I thought being new it might have a lot less details about Pune but that was not the case at all.
  • Both results were accurate and detailed. The appearance of maps, directions and waypoints were eerily similar. At one point I was actually confused if I was using Google Maps or Bing Maps.
  • Even the Satellite mode of Google Maps is available in Bing Maps as Aerial mode. The options to send and share maps over email are present in both in almost identical ways.
  • Many people have added their business locations on Google Maps, but that is not the same with Bing Maps and that could be issue at first. I guess in time people might start listing their business addresses on Bing Maps in bigger numbers.
Try out Bing Maps and see how it compare with Google Maps. I still wonder if Microsoft with Bing Maps is indirectly telling us that Google Maps is so perfect they had to copy it function to function. Bing Maps in the form of Live Maps has been around for a while but recent additions have made it a lot like Google Maps. :-P
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4:52 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post

Posted: 18 Nov 2009 01:41 AM PST


Google has announced a a new web tool called Image Swirl. It allows a user to search for similar images with the functionalities ofWonder Wheel. We had reviewed Wonder Wheel over two months ago and found it quite useful especially if while searching for something, one search leads to another and you want to backtrack to what you were originally looking up.
With Image Swirl I think Google is making their image search look cooler and also has raised the bar for their competition which is Bing’s image search.

Google’s Image Swirl

Google_imageswirl
  • As you can see in the image above, I searched for ‘Taj Mahal‘. First it pulled up a host of images for the monument. I liked a sketch of the Taj Mahal and clicked on it.
  • This opened another circle which had more sketches. I clicked on another one which shows similar yet different types of sketches.
  • Image Swirl is useful for looking up similar images the same way users might look for similar information or links while using search features like Wonder Wheel. A simple click to the previous circle means I am back to where I began in the first place.

The Bing Effect

bing_similar_images
I used Bing’s image search and it also has a option to look for similar images (see image above). If I needed to compare these two, I would say Bing search was far more complete and comprehensive when it came to looking for similar images. But then Google’s Image Swirl is still quite new and it should be much improved over the days.
Try out Google Image Swirl and let me know your opinions through your comments. :-)
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PostHeaderIcon What’s good and bad about the Retweet feature in Twitter?

4:51 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post


Posted: 18 Nov 2009 07:06 AM PST


Twitter has released the Retweet feature on its website albeit the feature is still in BETA. I have written previously about it, but myTwitter account is now part of the beta experiment, hence I was able to experiment a bit with Twitter’s ReTweet feature. I liked a few things but I think there is room for improvements. If you see the below image after logging into your Twitter account, your account is also part of the experiment. :-)
retweet_func1

The Good

  • There is no need to copy-paste or use the various desktop applications to send a Retweet. Click on the Retweet button on the tweet you are reading and it is sent to all your followers as Retweet.
  • There was a way for me to keep track of all the Retweet activity by checking on details like Retweets by others, Retweets by youand Your tweets, retweeted. ;-)
  • I liked the feature where I could undo the Retweet. This is great option if you have inadvertently done a Retweet to a spurious link by someone.
retweet_func2

The Bad

  • The Retweet option does not show up when you look up tweets in a list. This means if I am looking up tweets in my list I need to visit the profile page to send a Retweet.
  • I guess this is because it it not integrated with Twitter Lists. I hope this is a temporary thing, as I would find it quite cumbersome to visit the profile of someone I am following every time just for sending a Retweet.
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PostHeaderIcon Get Email alerts while monitoring keywords in Twitter Lists

4:51 PM | Posted by Sreejesh | Edit Post


Posted: 18 Nov 2009 09:00 AM PST


If you are an avid Twitter user, you are probably following a few Lists on Twitter. It is not possible to read each and every tweet in a list. I came across Listiti which allows me to set keywords while monitoring a particular Twitter List. If there is a tweet within the list containing the keyword, Listiti sends me an email alert.
listiti_monittweets1

Set alerts with Listiti

  • The best thing about Listiti is that there was no need for me to register to their website. I could simply enter the details and the alert was created.
  • I did not need to enter the URL of the List but just enter it’s name. For example I used a list of all accounts on Twitter we have atrtBlogs.
  • Then I entered the keywords to be monitored. If you leave this field blank you will receive alerts for all the tweets from this list. ;-)
  • Finally enter your email address and click on ‘Create the Alert‘
That’s all you need to do and you are set to monitor Twitter Lists for certain keywords which will ensure that you do not miss out reading the important tweets.
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Get Email alerts while monitoring keywords in Twitter Lists
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