Google Maps' appearance takes new direction

Google is notoriously slow and calculating about changing it the user interface of its services.

In fact, Google hasn't made any major changes to the look and feel of Google Maps since its launch in 2005.

On Friday, the company launched several refinements to Maps--the biggest changes to its look since launch. While you might not notice these changes immediately--unless you are a hardcore Google Maps user--they are designed to enhance the readability of the maps.

Notice how roads and names are called out more effectively in the new version.

(Credit: Google)

As seen above, the thick street outlines that can make maps harder to read have been eliminated.

Google describes the update here:

(L)ocal and arterial roads have been narrowed at medium zooms to improve legibility, and the overall colors have been optimized to be easier on the eye and conflict less with other things (such as traffic, transit lines and search results) that we overlay onto the map. Hybrid roads have gained a crisp outline to make them easier to follow, and the overall look is now closer to an augmented satellite view instead of a simple overlay.

Google Maps' comparison of London in the old and new views.

(Credit: Google)

DoubleTwist: First impressions

Lately, I've been hearing a lot of fanfare about an application called DoubleTwist that is at its core a free music jukebox that offers content syncing to a variety of portable devices, including the BlackBerry, the PSP, and the iPod, as well as pretty much anything that can mount in Universal Mass Storage mode. One of the main draws of the program is that it can take your iTunes library and sync it to a variety of non-iPod players, an important feature for anyone who has ditched the ubiquitous device in favor of a music phone or other MP3 player. And soon, the Windows version of the jukebox will offer built-in support for Amazon MP3 store purchases as well (note: the Mac version already supports Amazon MP3 purchases), a move in line with the company's goal to offer consumers choice when it comes to digital music management.

The DoubleTwist video view.

Certainly, DoubleTwist is a useful solution for a lot of people, especially since it incorporates automatic video transcoding for a lot of the supported devices, which is the feature that drew me to the software. However, the program is not without its pitfalls, and some of them are sure to cause no small amount of frustration. For example, the video transcoding--done during the syncing process--takes forever. Conversion speed was roughly two times normal speed, so a 90-minute movie took 50 minutes or so to encode and transfer. Still, considering DoubleTwist offers this feature for free and integrates it so simply, I'm willing to forgive the sluggishness.

Much more annoying is how slow the video library loads in thumbnail mode, and while it is loading, you can't actually browse the selections. Rather, the cursor will automatically jump back to the very top of the window. I ran into the same issue with photos. Luckily, switching to list mode fixes the problem, so you can actually get something productive done while the library continues to load (obviously, the larger the library, the more annoying the issue). I also ran into trouble during syncing, as DoubleTwist would not initially recognize my iPod Touch or a handful of UMS devices I connected (the Mintpad and the Philips GoGear, to name two), although a software update helped with the iPod issue. My final complaint is that the software doesn't give you any custom options during install and tends to take over your digital media experience once installed, automatically booting up whenever you connect any external device.

Gripes aside, DoubleTwist delivers as advertised. It offers a seamless connection with iTunes and lets users easily transfer that content to non-iPod devices. It also successfully converts video to a variety of formats suitable for whatever device is connected, and the process is invisible to the user, which makes the process extremely straightforward--a lovely thing, considering the pain that is digital video formatting. Plus, it offers integrated buttons for automatically publishing photos and videos to Flickr and YouTube. Going forward, it'd be great to see a spruced-up interface, because as it stands, DoubleTwist isn't particularly inspiring in look-and-feel. But it gets the job done and it does it for free, so it's definitely worth checking out.

Downloading Windows 7 Update Files For Computer's Without Internet Connection

It is advisable to keep your operating-system and software's updated for optimal computer performance and security and Windows allows automatic update functionality to ensure this; however if your computer does not have a functional internet connection getting updates can be a bit tricky and you need to get offline-update files via an internet connected PC and install them on your computer.

Microsoft Windows 7 operating-system supports Windows Update Stand-alone Installer (.msu) which is used for distributing standalone update files for computer's without internet connection, follow the simple trick described ahead to download all updates in a single go.

Downloading Windows 7 Offline Update Files :

1. Microsoft provides .msu files for allowing offline updates.
2. To get .MSU update packages for Windows 7 visit this page.
3. Now, to download all packages in a single go make use of free Firefox extension DownThemAll or a similar batch download link grabber.

4. Copy downloaded .msu update packages to target computer and double-click to install.

Unlike older versions of Windows currently there seems no automated utility to get Windows 7 offline update files but I am pretty sure someone should get it out soon :), if you know of anything capable of this pls. share it in comments below.

Long Reply Allows You To Tweet Longer Messages

Twitter is a micro-blogging service and hence allows users to post short 140 character limited messages, however if you wish to post longer messages new service Long Reply allows you to create really long messages which can be read from the unique URL for the message - so all you need to do is to tweet the unique web-address which users can click to read the full text.

Long Reply >>

vAmazon confirms upcoming Kindle app for Mac

A few days ago, Amazon and Microsoft declared to the world that a Kindle app was underway for the Windows operating system. Just earlier, the online retailer has confirmed that an OS X version of the application is coming too, as reported by TUAW, though details are unfortunately bare currently.

The Kindle is, as you may know, a piece of hardware designed to aid with the mobile and digital reading of eBooks, and it is coupled with Amazon's software which provides a vast range of them ready and available for download over-the-air. It's a handy service for those who use it, though currently it's limited in the devices it's available on. Amazon, perhaps seeing a threat from the new Barnes and Noble 'nook' reader, aims to fix this by having compatibility with desktop computers.

This is a great move for Amazon and users of the Kindle service, though it means if you purchase a book through that company, you can't use it with any other e-reader, causing problems if the need arises. At the moment, there's no estimated shipping date on the software, but hopefully it won't be too far away.

v

A few days ago, Amazon and Microsoft declared to the world that a Kindle app was underway for the Windows operating system. Just earlier, the online retailer has confirmed that an OS X version of the application is coming too, as reported by TUAW, though details are unfortunately bare currently.

The Kindle is, as you may know, a piece of hardware designed to aid with the mobile and digital reading of eBooks, and it is coupled with Amazon's software which provides a vast range of them ready and available for download over-the-air. It's a handy service for those who use it, though currently it's limited in the devices it's available on. Amazon, perhaps seeing a threat from the new Barnes and Noble 'nook' reader, aims to fix this by having compatibility with desktop computers.

This is a great move for Amazon and users of the Kindle service, though it means if you purchase a book through that company, you can't use it with any other e-reader, causing problems if the need arises. At the moment, there's no estimated shipping date on the software, but hopefully it won't be too far away.

Magnetic-based HDDs still cheapest in 2020

A new study has found that if magnetic-based hard disk drives (HDDs) continue to progress at their current rate then by 2020 we'll see a 2.5" HDD with a capacity of more than 14TB at a cost of about $US40. Flash memory will also become cheaper, but will reach terminal limits before 2020 keeping the ultra-fast technology from replacing HDDs.

The study by Professor Mark Kryder and Chan Soo Kim of Carnegie Mellon University, published inIEEE Transactions on Magnetics, showed that in fact most technologies wouldn't be able to compete with HDDs on a cost-per-TB basis by 2020. That is, except for two new technologies: phase changerandom access memory (PCRAM) and spin transfer torque random access memory (STTRAM).

PCRAM is based on a technology involving heat and chalcogenide glass. Heating the glass switches between both an amorphous and crystalline state that can be used as memory. The downside is this technology takes a lot of power to sustain.

STTRAM uses a spin-polarized current that writes data by reorienting states of a magnetic tunnel. The technology is more power conscious than PCRAM, but at this point it has less potential for higher capacities of data.

Commenting on the study, Kryder said, "We were surprised to find that the study indicated that, even in 2020, HDDs were likely to be considerably less expensive on a cost per terabyte basis than any of the competing technologies."

Kryder also went on to say that he found it surprising that the technical limits and potential of certain technologies weren't reflective of where the industry is investing its research dollars. Rather, Kryder believes the industry invests where they have the most current knowledge.

Kryder hopes the study will focus the industry in evaluating technologies that have significant potential long-term - i.e. PCRAM and STTRAM.

The study can be read in the IEEE Transactions on Magnetics journal, Vol. 45, No. 10, October 2009.

eBooks: replacement or enhancement of the printed page?

In the 15th century Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing process. This new technology changed the world forever. One specific task was made incredibly easy — the spreading of written words. eBooks take us to the threshold of a possible shift in the way we read books.

In this editorial I would like to share my opinion. Earlier this week, I have already shared my impressions of the newly revealed eBook readers, direct from the floor of the Frankfurt Book Fair.

eBooks were possibly the chief subject under discussion at this year's book fair. Amazon may be the most prominent player in the growing market of eBook readers, at least in the US. Here in Europe the market is just opening up to this new way of experiencing books. The premise of which certainly is very tempting; you are able to carry hundreds of books with you, and read whatever you want at the ease of a click. Just like iPod revolutionized the way we listen to music on the go, some expect the same success for eBook readers.

Publishers agree that they don't want to behave as insusceptible as record companies did in the wake of online music stores. Amazon did recognize the potential at an early stage, which explains their rising success by selling of eBooks and offering the necessary hardware too. Only this month, however, two years after the U.S. launch, did Amazon decide to offer their Kindle reader internationally. This will surely put some pressure on Sony and the other combatants who are trying to win the battle for market share in Europe. The refulgent victor could emerge as soon as summer 2010.

Personally, I don't share the enthusiasm concerning eBook readers. I don't read many novels, mostly just reference books or non-fiction. And I prefer the texture of a printed page. As an eBook every book feels the same; they are all transformed into valueless digital files. When I open a beautiful photo book I can appreciate both the art of photography as much as I do publishing. Digitizing books also categorically impugns the art of printing. Before I continue lengthening my list of cons, though, I will list the pros.

Psychologically we always rebuff the new. Fact is the word doesn't need paper to spread. Likewise, clay tablets, papyrus and parchment are media of the past. For thousands of years, humanity has always relied on the ability to communicate. It is clear now that there's no argument against the advent of the digital distribution of books; since, there is today a powerful force that drives it: economy. There is however, yet another force facilitating the rise of eBooks: climate change.

I must confess that I love to exaggerate sometimes, and I certainly do by saying that we are destroying our planet. That is no secret anymore; it was made clear in several striking documentaries, released over the past few years. Still, I'm not a pessimist. I like to believe that we may yet turn the tides. eBooks could help us do that, by reducing the number of trees chopped down. This would also reduce greenhouse gases emitted during the transportation of wood. It's only one very small contribution surely, but every bit helps.

A fervent reader of paperback novels will love the prospect of being able to carry hundreds of them in a device thinner and lighter than one novel even. So, there are practical reasons in favor of eBook readers. On a long and tedious flight, your children can read all Harry Potter novels, if they so choose. Technology can also rekindle excitement for reading with tomorrow's generation. They have a very different perspective on computers and Smartphones — strictly speaking computers are new to my generation, too. I can vividly recall the first time my father bought a computer, back in 1991.

I may not be the target group for eBook readers, but I can still recognize the positivity it can pass onto the book industry. The printed page doesn't last forever; if not kept in a very controlled and secured room, books rot and fall apart — there is always a way of retrieving data from a file.

At the moment, Google is involved in an ongoing legal dispute over its service Google Books. The harshest critics call Google's undertaking of scanning the world's books simply an expropriation. A final settlement could be decided at a U.S. court on November 9. Generally the response to Google's plans of digitizing the world's literature and knowledge is one of excitement. The trend seems to go in the direction of a happy end for everyone. By the time they launch Google Editions, an eBook shop platform, in the first half of 2010, the eBook might have made it to mainstream in Europe.

As a writer I understand the concerns authors have. I studied creative writing in London, and so I track the dislike of digital book distribution. Unless a novel sells more than a million copies, an author will never make a lot of profit. Now, with the rise of eBooks, the author's royalties threaten to diminish yet more. Only bestseller authors will be able to continue make a living with their favorite pastime. Copyright issues have always been in the way of the digital age. With music it was no different. The artists want more than they are getting; this is of course understandable. If I would write a novel I would want to make money with it, of course. No artist today is bohemian enough to claim that they only pursue higher ideals. I'm an artist myself so to speak; besides writing I also work as a freelance photographer.

At the beginning I was also very careful with my photography. Even though, amongst my friends, I'm known as the great tech geek, I never posted my photography online. For a time I showed my work on Yahoo's photo service Flickr, but honestly I never felt comfortable. As I read more about online rights, I became even more sensitive to the notion of showing my work online. Then I decided to make my own personal website, which I can control completely. However, I digress.

What I'm trying to say is that authors have the right to be protective of their work. They invested vast amounts of time in their writing; if success is not the natural result, then they should be allowed to keep the rights of the work they publish. Right now a literary work is protected by law until 75 years after the author's death. This law doesn't regulate, however, the way publishers are allowed to deal with their literary stock. At the book fair in Frankfurt a general euphoria was apparent, though. I felt that people genuinely desired to learn how to use digital technology to make literature last forever. The benefits over the printed page are very similar to those digital photography has over analogue film. Yet in both cases the big difference is what digital technology lacks altogether — the sense of touch.

An analogue black and white photo always has more life in it. Now it's possible to mimic the visual aspects of an analogue film, but it's cheating. I myself use digital photography, of course, but perhaps I should say that I could have learned much more yet had I started with analogue film. It's not that authors are generally technophobes, regardless of their age. However, digitalization gives the impression that a work loses its substance; the tactile is transformed into an abstract illusion — we must solely rely on our sixth senses to know how a book or a photo feels in print.

Reading an eBook is the same as reading an article online — it feels like I'm simply collecting information. When I open a book, on the other hand, I have to make an effort to find my favorite passage, for instance. Turning the pages of a book is as natural to us as reading itself. Future generations may find reading on an eBook reader just as natural as we do reading today.

I grew up with the computer and the Internet, but eBook technology is one threshold I refuse to lope. And I dare presume that we won't see hundreds of millions of eBook readers around. As sincere as possible, I highly doubt that eBook readers will become ubiquitous as perhaps the iPod has. Yet, I can be very wrong too.

ZFS filesystem for Mac OS X is dead

Apple's official project of porting ZFS to Mac OS X has been cancelled.

In a simple message posted by MacOS Forge, Apple stated only "the ZFS project has been discontinued. The mailing list and repository will also be removed shortly."

ZFS is an advanced file system and logical volume manager originally created bySun Microsystems. The file system boasts features such as support for high capacity storage devices, continuous integrity checking, automatic repair and integration of file system and volume management.

Apple's interest in ZFS stemmed back to initial discussions with Sun to use ZFS as a file system in Mac OS X. By 2007, a read-only port of the file system was created and command line support was added to Leopard.

However, the merger between Oracle and Sun Microsystems in April 2009 saw Apple back away from the technology. This was largely rumored to be because Oracle already owned an advanced open-source file system, BTRFS, which upon merger with Sun put the future of ZFS at risk.

By June 2009, all mention of ZFS disappeared from Apple's website and all code was removed from developer builds.

Apple now holds an unfinished file system that, according to rumors, could encounter patent issues with the newly merged Sun/Oracle should they bring it back to life.

No announcements have yet been made as to whether Apple intend to port Oracle's BTRFS to Mac OS X, or whether they will simply continue to build features into the existing HFS+ file system.