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Internet

Google Maps gets a visual update

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london-google-mapsDo you use Google Maps much? I use it a fair bit not only for finding local directions and landmarks but also because I like maps for their own sake.

So, I was pleased to see that Google has updated its Google Maps to make them even clearer to view and more useful.

Given that the range of information that’s represented on Google Maps has increased significantly over the almost five years it’s been around, it probably was due a facelift.

Colours have been optimised, roads are clearer to follow, and there’s more detail when zoomed in making it easier to use the maps for navigation.

Presumably, these changes will be echoed on mobile versions of Google Maps as well.

Check it out. What do you think?

Google Reader gets popular and personal features

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If you use Google Reader to mange your web feeds, you might have noticed a couple of additions have appeared. In fact, it’s pushed my feeds to within an inch of the bottom of the left-hand column.

So what’s the big deal that’s relegated my feeds to the bottom left-hand corner of my browser window?

First up, there are new “Popular items” and “Recommended sources” in an “Explore” section, which is supposed to provide interesting content from the web based on your own reading preferences, reader trends and opt-in web history. Presumably, this is something that learns over time — I’m not quite sure how “Bike Commuters” got into my recommended list.

Secondly, there’s a new sort option for subscribed feeds called “magic” that reorders items based on a user’s personal usage and overall activity. Again, this learns over time.

It will be interesting to see whether this improves the Reader experience or not. It will depend on how many feeds you are subscribed to and how you like to organise and read them.

Via

Amazon to Bring e-Books to PC Users, Thanks to Competition

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Amazon is really gearing up for battle against Barnes and Noble’s Nook eReader and the other eReaders are threatening to stole Amazon’s success in the e-book market.  Aside from lowering the price of its Kindle International version to $259, Amazon just announced that it will soon be releasing the – “Kindle for PC” application. [Read more…] about Amazon to Bring e-Books to PC Users, Thanks to Competition

HP Teams Up with Wikia to Offer On-Demand Content Printing, But Why?

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HP has just announced that it has teamed up with Wikia on an on-demand printing service for Wikia online contents. The new service will be made available HP’s cloud service MagCloud.  This puts Wikia’s high-quality content and images created by its more than 50,000 communites available for anyone to print  in glossy magazine format. [Read more…] about HP Teams Up with Wikia to Offer On-Demand Content Printing, But Why?