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Website of the Day: Hookupmaps

geeksugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:00:35 -0700

What happens when Craigslist's Casual Encounters meets Google Maps? Hookupmaps!

Search the relationship and/or hookup ads from Craigslist by seeing who's geographically closest to you. It's an admittedly unromantic idea, but hey, I'm not here to judge.

The two ideas had to merge at some point, right? Web 2.0 technology and anonymous lovin'. Like chocolate and peanut butter.

It may not be a story to tell your future grandkids, but by George it's efficient!

Google Maps Gets NYC Transit Directions

geeksugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:00:36 -0700

Go Google! I've already confessed how much I love Google Maps, and that was even before the latest news — Google Maps now offers transit info for the entire New York metro region! With the transit option you can check out transit stops in your area and view station information and schedules. Did you know that Google Maps offers transit info for other cities like Chicago and San Francisco? Be sure to see if your city is on the list. Oh, and if you need to find out what time your train is going to arrive while on the go, you can visit m.google.com/nyc for transit directions on your cell phone.

Google Maps, Oh How I Love Thee

geeksugar — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 06:00:10 -0700

Sure, Google Maps is great for getting directions, travel times, and checking traffic conditions, but what else can you do with this freakishly easy-to-use site? Let me count the ways . . .

Daily Tech: Now Get Walking Directions With Google Maps

geeksugar — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:50:47 -0700

Love it! Now when you type in directions on Google Maps, you can change from driving directions to walking directions with the click of a button. — Lifehacker
Nissan Motor's and Tennessee’s state government are teaming up to promote the local use of electric cars, with Nissan planning to release electric cars in the US by 2010. — CrunchGear
Remember the Zune guy, with the ginormous tattoo? Well he's not so impressed with Zune anymore and is planning to cover up his Zune tattoos with something else. — Engadget
It's almost back-to-school time, and what does that mean? New gadgetry! Check out Switched's list of the best iPod docks for your dorm room. — Switched
Want a clean, clutter-free workspace? Here's a modern and chic desk, which may do the trick. — Unplggd
It's giveaway time! Be sure to log in for your chance to win a new iPhone 3G by Apple! — geeksugar

How to Stalk Your Significant Other With Google Maps

geeksugar — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 11:00:03 -0700

It's not just the Brits who find Google Maps a little freaky deaky; there are scenarios in which the benevolent Google could be used for evil. Don't buy it? Then watch this hilariously satirical video about what happens when boy meets girl, boy gets jealous, and boy makes a My Map with Google Maps.

(PS: Is that the Dave laptop stand I see?!)

Get Flash to see this player.

Geek Tip: Use GasBuddy on Google Maps to Find Cheap Gas

geeksugar — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:00:50 -0700

If you were one of the millions who hit the road this long weekend, you know that rising gas prices can do a number on your wallet, leaving you with less cash to throw down for an icy, cold beer.

So instead of just forking over your last twenty at the first gas station you see, plot out your fuel-ups for next time with Gasbuddy on Google Maps. The GasBuddy add-on will help you find the nearest and cheapest gas to your location, helping you save a few pennies in the process.

Just add-on the GasBuddy extension to your Google Map and enter your zip code. It's all downhill from there.

Daily Tech: Google Maps for Mobile 2.2 Includes Directions, Parking Help and Gas Price Info

geeksugar — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 12:00:47 -0700

The revamped version of Google Maps for Mobile offers directions, easy browsing and a way to avoid high gas prices. — Gizmodo
An annual report about web habits reveals that people get mean when they log into the Internet. Pop-up ads and interactive content are said to be the culprits. — Popgadget
A free webapp called Lifetrick helps you manage goals and stay motivated. . . all within a clean and easy-to-use interface. — Lifehacker
Who knew? Alison DeLauzon had all her camera gear stolen and thanks to her Eye-Fi card, her camera was tracked down! — Switched
Take a virtual trip to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida thanks to a 3D Google Earth map created by The Walt Disney Co. — CNN Technology

Website of the Day: Google Street View Sightings

geeksugar — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:00:43 -0700

There's no end to the amount of entertainment that Google Maps' Street View provides. I remember when it came out and I thought, cool, I can look at the outside of hotels I'm going to stay in and my house. I didn't dream of the possibilities that could be exploited by a bunch of Google cars until controversy started popping up when it caught some odd and slightly incriminating photos.

I can't get enough of Street View snafus and surprises, so my new favorite website is Google Street View Sightings. It compiles all the odd, fun, cool, and silly things that the 360 degree cameras catch — I was pumped to see Mrs. Doubtfire's house in San Francisco, the hot babes van, and a creepy guy doing dirty deeds!

GTA IV's Cop Tracking GPS Comes to Life

geeksugar — Thu, 08 May 2008 10:00:04 -0700

If you've been spending excessive amounts of time playing GTA IV this week, (and who hasn't — it has racked up $500 million and sold six million copies already), then you have come to know and love the GPS system that not only tells you where you are going, but tells you where the cops are once you've committed a crime! I, myself, have been known to shout out loud at my BF to "go the other way!" because of the 5-0 is on his tail.

So what if we could take the best part about Nico's GPS system and use it for ourselves before we get caught breaking the law? That's exactly what Speed Trap is for. To hear more about Speed Trap,

Geek Tip: Find Your Way on Public Transit With Google Maps

geeksugar — Fri, 02 May 2008 13:03:09 -0700

I use public transit every day and rarely drive, unless I'm going out of town. And as much as I love my city, their trip planners are not as helpful as they could be. So where do you go for some bus- and train-hopping advice? You head on over to Google Maps, of course!

GoogleMaps has an awesome public-transportation database that tells you which bus to get. Enter your start and end addresses (or zip codes), select which mode you want (here in SF, you can take Muni, Bart, or Caltrain to get around), and the Google guru will do the rest. Plus it seems pretty reliable, as I've tried it twice for places I've never been before and happily arrived within 10 minutes of the ETA that Google Maps provided. And since Google is racking up the cities that they can map out for you, you should always be able to find your way — and be a bit more earth friendly to boot!

US Defense Department Bans Google Street View From Military Sites

geeksugar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 11:00:33 -0800

I love the fact that Google Street View is so cool yet so controversial. Did anyone seriously think we'd ever get to zoom in on a map to see a 360° panoramic image of streets from all over the world? It's impressive technology to say the least. Although people have had to go to great lengths to have their pictures removed from street view and Europe is already blurring faces and license plates on Street View images, I still think it's a great service. When I heard that the Pentagon has banned Google from filming inside army bases, I certainly wasn't surprised or shocked.

According to BBC News, Google has now been barred from filming and conducting detailed studies of bases. In particular, streets inside Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, TX are totally off limits, supposedly posing a "potential threat" to security. You'll notice on Google Street View that all images from inside the base have been removed. Source

Google Maps Adds 54 More Countries

geeksugar — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 10:00:13 -0700

Google is taking over the world—literally. Google maps has recently added 54 more countries to its database.

New countries include Afghanistan, Aruba, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belize, Bermuda, Brunei Darussalam, Bhutan, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Mexico, Myanmar (Burma), Mongolia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Timor-Leste, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, and Yemen. That's a mouth-full and that's also double the coverage of Latin America countries and three times the amount of countries in Asia.

via mashable

Signal Map Compares Cell Providers In Your Area

geeksugar — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 10:00:19 -0700

If "can you hear me now?" is part of your everyday vocab, you might want to check out Signal Map, a user-generated cell phone signal map that notes the strength of major service providers on a map. You can use the free service to find a cell signal in your area, or add your signal to help others. As you can see from the image below, my search for AT&T service in the 90210 zip code showed there is a three to five-bar signal in Beverly Hills, while there's limited coverage in the West Hollywood area. So, if Brandon Walsh had an iPhone, he'd be all set...

Have You Google 'Street Viewed' Your House Yet?

geeksugar — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 10:00:33 -0700

Google's new "Street View" feature, which allows users to click on maps in major cities and get real images of the street, has been causing a real ruckus this week, with people reporting strange and even scandalous images - such as a man leaving a strip joint and Stanford girls sunbathing - caught on the map's "street views." While my house doesn't show anything particularly creepy or invasive, one woman from Oakland, California shared her story of finding her cat on the map to the New York Times and even admitted she and her family feel like they are being "peeped on." While the Street View feature currently only works around major cities like San Francisco, New York, Las Vegas, Miami and Denver, there are literally millions of people whose homes, cars, cats and even bodies could have been caught on camera. What do you think about this?

Have You Google 'Street Viewed' Your House Yet?

Yes. I've done it and I think it's fun.

Yes. I've done it and I feel invaded.

No. I haven't tried it yet.

Something else. See my comment below.

New Google Maps 'Street View' Causes Ruckus

geeksugar — Thu, 31 May 2007 09:39:42 -0700

The new Google Maps Street View feature, which allows users to click on maps in major cities and get real images of the street, is causing a real ruckus on the web. In order to make the map work, Google had to send out a van with a bunch of 360-cameras to get street level images. Turns out, not all the images they picked up are the kind people want broadcast throughout the universe. Captured pictures of an old man jaywalking, a smiling man walking out of a strip club and two fellas walking into a cannabis club have made their mark in San Francisco, while two college gals sunbathing at Stanford University are making their mark on "oh there's a girl nearly naked" scene. And don't even get me started on the image (pictured at right) of what looks to be ET touching down in New York. Turns out, the view from the street might be more exciting than the view from the top afterall.

To check out additional images,

Google Maps Adds Streetside Views

geeksugar — Wed, 30 May 2007 15:00:57 -0700

While it currently only works for cities like New York City, Denver, Las Vegas, Miami, and San Francisco, the new Google Maps feature allows you to click on a map location and look at a street view image of the block. Google explains:

Street View enables users to view and navigate within 360 degree street level imagery of various cities in the US. Street View provides users with a rich, immersive browsing experience directly in Google Maps, enabling greater understanding of a specific location or area. By clicking on the "Street View" button in Google Maps, users can navigate street level, panoramic imagery. With Street View users can virtually walk the streets of a city, check out a restaurant before arriving, and even zoom in on bus stops and street signs to make travel plans.

To test it out go to google maps for one of the participating cities and click on the "Street View" tab on the right. Then select your exact location. I wasted a good hour playing with this yesterday. I dare you to try not to.

Website Of The Day: Fast Food Maps

geeksugar — Wed, 30 May 2007 10:00:14 -0700

Today's website of the day Fast Food Maps certainly isn't the most useful, or healthy site I've found, but it offers that oh-so-greasy quick fix we all crave every once in a while in the form of an innovative mashup site. (Shhh, don't tell Fit!)

The site combines google maps with the location of fast food restaurants in more than 50 cities across the United States. Last time I checked there were 49,747 McDonald's, In-N-Out, Burger King, Pizza Hut etc. on the map, stretching across the US but primarily on the east and west coasts as well as the south.

I'm a strict Fast Food naysayer, but the site could potentially be a great road trip guide or excuse to whip out your smartphone while on the road. While the selection is a bit limited right now I'm sure there will be a bajillon fast food restaurants on there in no time.

Website of the Day: Wayfaring

geeksugar — Mon, 14 May 2007 12:02:16 -0700

Now you can be your very own map builder with Wayfaring - a fun site that lets you create, share, explore and connect with others to build new maps.

Virtually construct a detailed map of your life with routes to events and special destinations. You can also add fun photos and videos to each personalized map and share your maps with friends, family and other Wayfaring users.

Check out the connect feature which allows you to find the most recent and popular maps. By the looks of it, all maps originate from user-friendly Google maps...splendid! To learn how to post your favorite sites to the Website of the Day group,

Site Combines Google Maps And Craigslist

geeksugar — Thu, 10 May 2007 10:00:31 -0700

If you, or anyone you know is looking for a new place to live, you'd better check out MapsKrieg.com, a mashup of Google Maps and Craigslist.org that will help you find apartments, houses for rent, sublets or whatever living arrangement you are looking. (Well, it won't help you figure out how to move in with Justin of Justin.tv, but I'll keep scoping out tips for all you interested ladies.)

MapsKrieg.com allows you to pick your city from a pull-down list - not every city is available, but most major metropolitan areas are represented at this point. The usual Google Map will pop up for the city with the reddish balloon markers indicating Craiglist's ad for apartments and houses at that location. When you click on the balloon you get a white bubble with a snipit from the Craiglist ad and a link to the real post. It may not be the most complete way to search for a new crib, but it takes the pain out of weeding through the usual Craigslist search results and skipping all the shady streets.

Source

Google Introduces 'My Maps'

geeksugar — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 13:30:13 -0700

Google launched My Maps today, which is a new feature of the search engine's popular map program that enables users to create custom maps for personal use or sharing through search. The program will essentially give users 'wiki-like' control of maps and allow you to personalize and save your favorite spots around the globe. Here's more:

From chronicling trips, to sharing tips and documenting academic endeavors, My Maps empowers users to create content-rich maps that are relevant to their interests, expertise, or personal needs.

With My Maps users can:

Mark locations on a map from a library of icons
Draw lines and shapes to highlight paths and areas
Add text, photos, or YouTube/Google Videos to a map
Add HTML for further personalization and view their maps in Google Earth

Users can choose to make their My Maps unlisted or public. Unlisted maps are intended for personal use or sharing with friends and family by email. Public My Maps will be accessible through Google Maps search along with maps shared by other web sites. Check out a fun sample map.