Google has now unleashed its panoramic street view imagery for Google Maps in New Zealand. The feature has previously made its way to imagery in France, Germany, Australia and UK. Folks in New Zealand could take it as a Cyber Monday gift from Google.

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One minute I was trawling for articles, blissfully convinced that Facebook was all I’d ever need to connect me to items of real time relevance. The next I was pulled into a vortex created by masterminds so ambitious and intrusive, they plan to index the worlds information. Yes, I’m talking about Google (and their latest uber-success, iGoogle).

iGoogle began its life with the name ‘Google Personalised Homepage’, briefly became ‘Google IG’, and a few makeovers later, emerged as iGoogle, a name that makes it sound like an Apple product (iPod, iTunes). Nobody seems to agree on what the most popular startpage service is but iGoogle is up there. Users are so passionate about their iGoogle pages that recent changes were met with uproar and violent protestation. The ‘changes’ were basically a new sidebar and the removal of some gadget resizing privileges. Yep, people are obsessed.

iGoogle isn’t just for accessing feeds from your favourite sites; there is a growing catalogue of gadgets from reputable developers. Google are also inviting people to create gadgets, both practical ones and social stuff of the ‘here’s what I’m up to right now’ Twitter/Facebook variety. You can see why people are saying it’s the next Facebook. What’s good about iGoogle is that the gadgets tend to be useful (feeds, search aids, shortcuts), not vacuous (throw a mudpie at your friends! become a werewolf/pirate/vampire!) and no one - absolutely no one - is going to poke you, ‘get low with’ you, post lewd comments your mum can read or invite you to rate their sexiness.

Here are the best of the best iGoogle gadgets for streamlining your online life:

1. A Podcast Player

If I say “I heart this” does that blow or bolster its case? A Podcast Player is a neat little player with a search facility; enter your search term into the bar at the top, choose your favourite podcast directory from the scroll-down list, and away you go. The options are Feedster, all4RSS, Podkast, Digitalpodcast and Podscope.

If you don’t have a favourite, I recommend the Podscope directory; here you can find a piece of audio according to the words that are spoken in it!

For example, if you want to find podcasts that mention Obama, simply enter ‘Obama’, select ‘Podscope’, press ‘Find’ and voila: ‘A Podcast Player’ returns a list of audio and the exact times (0:53, 1:45, 1:49) the keyword Obama is mentioned! Pretty amazing, and great for people like me who love to listen to news (or any podcast) as they work on the computer. You’ll find a lot of interesting stuff.

2. Driving Directions

The beauty of iGoogle is that the gadgets are integrated so well with key Google services. Driving Directions is the ultimate gadget for people who finds themselves scrolling dumbly in Google Maps or thumbing through a street directory, trying to trace journeys that jump from page 46 to 49B to 109, back to page 46 and so on.

With Driving Directions you have two entry bars (’From’ and ‘To’). Enter your starting address and destination and you’re redirected to Google Maps, where the page is sized just so and your route easily plotted. You also have the option of sharing the map by pressing ‘Send’ or ‘Link’ in the top right hand corner.

Google Maps is great because it contains business information; there is a large and growing catalogue of business locations, so you can search by, say, the name of a restaurant or bar even if you don’t know the address. A good startpage shortcut to a useful service.

3. Digg

Not sure which feeds to track on iGoogle? Why not be a sheep and let public opinion decide?  Digg is the ultimate online popularity contest; the Digg iGoogle gadget lets you keep track of the articles people are digging.

Click the tabs at the top of the gadgets to view either News, Video, Images or All Content, or you can opt to see a list of what your friends are digging (if you have any Digg friends).

To filter according to content, open the scroll-down menu in the top righthand corner and choose between Science, Technology, Entertainment, World and Business, Lifestyle, Sports, Gaming and Offbeat. The gadget is updated continuously, so you’ll know as soon as something rises in the Digg ranks. Keep track of what’s creating buzz on the web from the safety of your startpage.

4. Facebook

A sprawling page within a sprawling page. Once upon a time Facebook was my number one web destination. Now it’s just another little box on my iGoogle page. Like a big fish swallowing all the little ones, Google is insatiable and unstoppable.

Who can resist? No need to visit Facebook anymore; just add the Facebook gadget to iGoogle and keep track of who, exactly, is poking you.

5. Memba Velodoc

To be fair, Velodoc is a great large file sharing service, and would deserve a mention even if they didn’t have an iGoogle gadget. The fact that they do just confirms how damn fantastic they are.

Have a large file you can’t send via Hotmail or Gmail? No need to burn a CD, send anything via post, sign up with some paid site, or even register with anyone.

Enter your email into the Velodoc file sharing gadget and the ‘Browse’ button will appear. Search your directories for the file you want to send, click it and send away.

Now, this is what’s great about the Velodoc service. The person you select as your recipient will receive an email. They’ll open it and find a neat little link. They’ll click that link and be directed to another neat little page- minimal text, no images- where they can download your file.

For a while I was using Sendspace (another free large file sharing service) and thought it was fine until I actually opened what I was sending. It was all pop-up ads, blocks of weird text and flashing arrows next to the words ‘Download Here’! After you opened my file everything was good, but that interim page was a killer: really gaudy and unprofessional looking. Not good if you’re sending files that are supposed to land you a job, which is what I was doing.

Don’t make the same mistake I did. Send files linked from nice-looking pages, and do it in your iGoogle. Great for people who send a lot of audio files, images or videos.

6. Anagram

Another shortcut to Google services - this time to Google Accounts and Google Calendar.

Anagram is really just an efficient way to save contact details to Google Accounts and add events to Google Calendar. No need to navigate all the way to Accounts and enter somebody’s number, name, etc. Simply enter their information in the Anagram text box in an incoherent blob. For example

Bob 77447744 3 Grate St

You don’t even need to keep pressing enter. Anagram will do the rest for you. A lazy person’s dream, and perfect for when you need to take details down fast.

Calendar details work the same way; this time you’re writing ‘Staff Lunch 3 November 5:30′. Anagram will understand what you’re doing and submit the information to Google Calendar.

7. Dictionary.com and Wikipedia

Two commonly used references in one handy gadget. Flip from tab to tab to alternate between Wikipedia and Dictionary. Results open in a new window, so your iGoogle is safe and secure.

8. Internet Bandwidth Speed Test

Created by an independent developer and applauded for its accuracy, this quick and easy speed test estimates your bandwidth and places you on a spectrum between plodding dial-up and hardcore DSL.

9. World Webcams

For the voyeur inside us all. Spice up your iGoogle with popular webcams from all over the world. Watch a beach in the south of France one day and a bustling scene from Rio the next. All pared down (of course) to iGoogle size. That’s about 5 x 6 cm, though if you’re really keen you can expand it to fill the page.

10. Random Google Gadgets

There are new gadgets popping up all the time, and we all know that the most useful, innovative stuff isn’t always the most publicised (remember our feature on Google services that get no love?).  With this gadget you can test drive a different, random Google app every day, and have the options of keeping stuff you like.

So what gadgets sit on your iGoogle page?   Which ones get your love?    You might also want to check out Mark’s earlier article from May this year on how to make your own personalised iGoogle gadgets.

(By) Sandra Hajda is a freelance writer from Melbourne. She hangs out on her Blogger blog and occasionally appears on Australian radio.

Enjoyed the article? Please leave a comment and tell us what you think about it

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While at MAX, I learned about the 'Tour de Flex' website. I'm excited about the resources that are offered at Flex.org, but the Tour de Flex tool is especially focused and useful.

First, the site allows you to download the Tour de Flex AIR app. This is a tool similar to the Adobe Flex 3 Component Explorer. The Tour de Flex version is expanded, with 200 component examples, covering core components, data access, data visualization, mapping. and many others. Because it is an AIR app, the tool can also demo components and language features only available in AIR. There is also a listing of custom components, effects, skins, and other content created by the community.

One of the features I'm most excited about is the listing of Cloud APIs

A few clicks brings up example code for a bunch of online APIs. Viewing how to get started with Ebay, Amazon, or Google Maps is a great way to help an idea get off the ground. Even better, there's examples for some of the services that Adobe offers, like Acrobat.com and Photoshop.com. Way cool.

The tool also includes a download option, which creates a zip of the source code for the example you choose to download.

Another great feature is the Tour de Flex plugin for Eclipse. With this installed, you can browse the 200 examples from within your IDE. Having an example to look at often makes it easier to implement a component you haven't used before, or one you haven't used in a while. With this, there's no need to go looking around on the web for example code.

Check out the Tour de Flex page for more detail.

Welcome to the WrapUp by CyberNet. This is a collection of news stories, downloads, and tips that we have collected over the last few days, but never got around to writing about. Don’t forget to send in your own tips, or just leave a comment on this page if you think you’ve got something we should include.

–News–

I Want Sandy & Stikkit Close
Two popular online productivity applications, I Want Sandy and Stikkit, have announced that they will be shutting down soon. Both services are run by the same company and recently got acquired by Twitter. It was hinted that some of the technology would be integrated into Twitter later on.

Google Admits to Breaking App Store Terms
After a little searching around a group of individuals managed to find out that Google had used undocumented API’s in their iPhone application, which is against Apple’s SDK rules. There’s been no word from Apple yet regarding whether Google will have to change how their program works.

eBay’s Traffic Plummeting
According to some data eBay’s traffic in the U.S. has been sharply dropping. In October 2007 they were receiving 13.5 million unique visitors, but in October 2008 they received just 9.1 million unique visitors. And it continues to drop from one month to another. Will eBay be able to come back?

Apple Finally Got Safari Right on the iPhone
Looks like I’m not the only one noticing a dramatically improved Safari browser on the iPhone 2.2 firmware. I used to see Safari crashes several times each day, but haven’t had a single hiccup since the iPhone 2.2 firmware update. Yay!

Google Maps Updated
Google has updated their maps service with a refreshed interface, and spruced up the Street View a bit. Now when using Street View the imagery will take up the entire map area on the screen instead of being contained in a bubble. This is a dramatic improvement for anyone that uses the Street View regularly.

G1 Gets Visual Voicemail and Opera Mini
The T-Mobile G1 powered by Google’s Android operating system now has two long awaited apps: visual voicemail and Opera Mini. The only downside is that the visual voicemail service is run by a third-party, but it is still free.

Watch Out for the New Digsby Installer
I’ve been a huge fan of the Digsby instant messenger client ever since it became available, and have managed to get dozens of friends, family, and co-workers using their software. Now, however, they are doing something I’m not all that fond of… asking users to install toolbars and other things during installation. I’ll continue to recommend their software, but I’ll be sure to warn people about the things it will try to install.

–Tips, Tutorials, and Reviews–

Lunascape Browser Uses 3 Rendering Engines
Lunascape is a new browser available for Windows that lets you view websites using the Trident (Internet Explorer), Gecko (Firefox), or WebKit (Safari/Google Chrome) rendering engines. You get to pick and choose which rendering engine you want to use!

Zenbe Brings All Communication Into One Place
Zenbe is truly on the bleeding edge of email and communication innovation. Their email client will let you do things like manage tasks, sort through your calendar, post to Twitter, view Facebook updates, and much more from one central interface.

Share a Printer over the Internet
There have been times where I’ve wanted to print something when I’ve been away from my home. This freeware app will let you do just that by using your Internet connection to share your printer.

–Downloads–

• 7-Zip 4.61 ^Beta [Mirror]
• BurnAware Free 2.1.7 [Mirror]
• CCleaner 2.14.750 [Mirror]
• Deluge 1.0.5 [Mirror]
• Digsby Build 38 ^Beta [Mirror]
• FeedDemon 2.8.0.7 ^Beta [Mirror]
• FileZilla 3.1.6 [Mirror]
• Flock 2.0.2 [Mirror]
• Google Chrome 0.4.154.25 ^Beta [Mirror]
• HandBrake 0.9.3 [Mirror]
• ICQ 6.5.102 [Mirror]
• MediaCoder 0.6.2.4215 [Mirror]
• PeaZip 2.4.1 [Mirror]
• Recuva 1.21.373 [Mirror]
• Trillian 3.1.12 [Mirror]
• uTorrent 0.9 ^Beta
• uTorrent 1.9.13485 ^Alpha

Copyright © 2008 CyberNet | CyberNet Forum | Learn Firefox
WrapUp: I Want Sandy Closes, Share a Printer Over the Internet, and More

Related Posts:

• Look for CyberNet WrapUp’s for More News & Tips
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• OS & Browser Market Share History
• CyberNet Update: Daily Downloads Merges with WrapUp’s
• Make $10 For Buying A Brother All-In-One Printer

SnapPages has two plans to choose from: a free plan and a premium plan, which costs $50 a year (about $4 a month). The free plan gives you access to lots of great features, but if you want to use your own domain or have access to more themes and options, you will need the premium plan. For a comparison of the two plans, check out the SnapPages site. If you want to try the premium plan before you buy it, no problem—there’s a 30 day free trial.

Once you’ve selected a plan, you can begin building your site. Don’t know any code? No problem—SnapPages is easy to use. The control panel is simple and aesthetically pleasing, and its WYSIWYG interface makes changing the layout and design as simple as drag and drop. Even if you’ve never used a website builder before, you can figure SnapPages out in a matter of minutes.

Updating your site’s look is a lot of fun - seriously. Browsing for a new theme is done through a really nice coverflow-style browser. All the themes, free or premium, look great so you’re sure to find one to suit your needs. Customizing your site’s look doesn’t end with selecting a theme, though.  You can also change your theme’s colors and fonts, or add a logo, graphic, fill, or background image. All this is done effortlessly through an intuitive interface.

Second, you have lots of options when editing your site’s content. After choosing a page layout, you can drag content blocks where you want them on the page. Examples of available content blocks are photo galleries, YouTube videos, Google maps, a contact form, text, and an iFrame for your own HTML.

One of my favorite features is the customizable flash billboard. This feature lets you create a rotating flash banner on your homepage using images that you upload. You have lots of control over how your billboard looks, including the ability to change transition effects, text, and image order. This feature is great for businesses and organizations, and it adds an extra touch of class to your site.

The best part of SnapPages, though, is its emphasis on design. While there are lots of site builders that can get a site up and running quickly, they usually look like the fast, cheap solutions they are. Not SnapPages. Every one of the available themes, free or premium, looks great and they all have the hand crafted look of a professionally designed site.

In summary, SnapPages is a great web application for those with little or no web design skills, but who still want a great looking site. It’s packed full of great features, and yet it doesn’t compromise usability. I’m convinced that anyone could learn to use SnapPages quickly and have a great looking site online within minutes.  If you don’t believe me, sign up and try it yourself!

Does anyone have another free website builder that they prefer, instead of SnapPages?

(By) Sam Guzmán is a college student studying English. In his spare time he enjoys writing, reading, and running his freelance business, Sam Guzmán web solutions. You can follow him on Twitter.

Enjoyed the article? Please leave a comment and tell us what you think about it

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XMCP wrote a post this weekend which looks at how Google tracks each of us as we use the net. Last year James Thomas devised a plan to go without using any of Google's services and was able to turn off their tracking as well. XMCP's post doesn't include the mobile point I've noted above but does look at some of the elements of tracking. People talk about how worried they are about national ID cards - does Google know more about us than an ID card ever will? I like XMCP's notes about Google Chrome.

Just how much does Google know? Ok for Google to control these many bits of data on each user no matter if they use it or not? Here's my chart for easy reference:

• If you use Adwords, they know your marketing plan and they know your purchasing patterns.
• If you use Adsense, they know which of your sites makes money (though we know nothing sadly), they know how to target which ads to your site, they know how much to payout and how much to keep.
• If you use Alerts, they know what topics are important to you.
• If you use Analytics, they know which sites you control and/or monitor, how those sites are doing and every trend possible.
• If you use Blogger, they know what you write about. Every word, every phrase, every out and in link.
• If you use Calendar, they know where you have been, are, and plan to be.
• If you use Catalog search/Product Search, they know what items are of interest to you and which items you actually purchase.
• If you use Checkout, they know all of your personal information: name, address, phone, credit card, ccid.
• If you use Chrome, they know everything they didn't already know about your browsing.
• If you use Desktop, they know what you have on your PC.
• If you use Docs and Spreadsheets, they know that you are writing a paper on 13th century france, and your checking account is $30 overdrawn.
• If you use Earth, they know where on the planet you desire to research.
• If you use FeedBurner, they know all about your readers and your readership levels.
• If you use Finance, they know what stocks (and other instruments) you own, which you monitor, and which trends you follow.
• If you use Gmail, they know everything. Yep, everything.
• If you use Groups, they know you have a fetish for rare steaks and love art from Paris.
• If you use Image search, they know that you like Britney Spears and you have a craving for chocolate babaka and cat photos.
• If you use Local search, they know where you are now, and what you are interested in.
• If you use Maps, they know where you might be, where you might be going, where you have been. And as noted above, if you have GPS, they know where you are at this exact moment.
• If you use Reader, they know what you are interested in.
• If you use Search (any Google search), Google knows every search you have ever made.
• If you use Talk, they know who your buddies are.
• If you use Toolbar, they know every web site you visit.
• If you use Translate, they know that you are learning German.
• If you use Video, the same applies as for YouTube.
• If you use YouTube, they know every video you have watched, what genres you like, which naughty videos you have watched, which ones you commented/favorited on, and the videos you have uploaded.

Please add your own Google tracking bits and I will update the post. (added Reader per comments)

XMCP wrote a post this weekend which looks at how Google tracks each of us as we use the net. Last year James Thomas devised a plan to go without using any of Google's services and was able to turn off their tracking as well. XMCP's post doesn't include the mobile point I've noted above but does look at some of the elements of tracking. People talk about how worried they are about national ID cards - does Google know more about us than an ID card ever will? I like XMCP's notes about Google Chrome.

Just how much does Google know? Ok for Google to control these many bits of data on each user no matter if they use it or not? Here's my chart for easy reference:

• If you use Adwords, they know your marketing plan and they know your purchasing patterns.
• If you use Adsense, they know which of your sites makes money (though we know nothing sadly), they know how to target which ads to your site, they know how much to payout and how much to keep.
• If you use Alerts, they know what topics are important to you.
• If you use Analytics, they know which sites you control and/or monitor, how those sites are doing and every trend possible.
• If you use Blogger, they know what you write about. Every word, every phrase, every out and in link.
• If you use Calendar, they know where you have been, are, and plan to be.
• If you use Catalog search/Product Search, they know what items are of interest to you and which items you actually purchase.
• If you use Checkout, they know all of your personal information: name, address, phone, credit card, ccid.
• If you use Chrome, they know everything they didn't already know about your browsing.
• If you use Desktop, they know what you have on your PC.
• If you use Docs and Spreadsheets, they know that you are writing a paper on 13th century france, and your checking account is $30 overdrawn.
• If you use Earth, they know where on the planet you desire to research.
• If you use FeedBurner, they know all about your readers and your readership levels.
• If you use Finance, they know what stocks (and other instruments) you own, which you monitor, and which trends you follow.
• If you use Gmail, they know everything. Yep, everything.
• If you use Groups, they know you have a fetish for rare steaks and love art from Paris.
• If you use Image search, they know that you like Britney Spears and you have a craving for chocolate babaka and cat photos.
• If you use Local search, they know where you are now, and what you are interested in.
• If you use Maps, they know where you might be, where you might be going, where you have been. And as noted above, if you have GPS, they know where you are at this exact moment.
• If you use Reader, they know what you are interested in.
• If you use Search (any Google search), Google knows every search you have ever made.
• If you use Talk, they know who your buddies are.
• If you use Toolbar, they know every web site you visit.
• If you use Translate, they know that you are learning German.
• If you use Video, the same applies as for YouTube.
• If you use YouTube, they know every video you have watched, what genres you like, which naughty videos you have watched, which ones you commented/favorited on, and the videos you have uploaded.

Please add your own Google tracking bits and I will update the post. (added Reader per comments)