Today's Links

as simple as possible, but no simpler: Mapping Google
cool 'behind the curtain' look - "By now, many of you will have gone and tried out the new Google Maps application. By and large, you have to admit that it's pretty damned slick for a DHTML web application -- even my wife was impressed, and that's not easy with geek toys. So, in the spirit of Google Suggest and GMail, I've decided to have a quick peek under the hood to figure out what makes it tick."
Tags: google, howtodevelopsoftware, maps
Poised for Hype | Doc Searls' IT Garage
Doc nails it as usual - "BZZZT! Wrong. Hold it right there. Internet radio was effectively killed when the Library of Congress, with no small help from the RIAA-led CARP (Copyright Arbitration Royalty Panel) process, imposed a cost and reporting structure on the infant industry that effectively killed it in the cradle. There are lots of pointers in Podcasting Isn't Webcasting, plus lots more from pieces like this from early 2002, when the restrictions were imposed."
Tags: howtodevelopsoftware, podcasting, radio, riaaisbogus
TANKERx - Thoughts, Meditations and Brain Dumps: SMARTPHONE: The Difference Between Cool and Brill!
Flickr is easier and better than Lifeblog, not only don't I have to buy an expensive Nokia smartphone (I love my Nokia 7610 but I am a techie), it has a photo timeline that just works. Combine it with a Mac, and iPhoto and Keyword Assistant and Flickr Export and you have the best, minimal pain, photo timeline blogging tools. Today's smartphones are too hard to use for "humans" and the network (at least GPRS) is too slow. Perhaps in the mobile phone heaven of Scandinavia, Europe and Asia where 3G, EVDO, etc. actually is viable, Lifeblog works but in GPRS Canada and USA it doesn't. - "Take, for example, my favourite piece of software at the moment, Nokia Lifeblog. I don't have to do or know anything about my Smartphone to use it. I take my photos or videos, plug in the phone and there they are, on my PC, organised in a TimeLine with the messages that I have sent and received presenting me with a virtual account of my day! I mean, that's just brill! It's not efficient, it doesn't make me work any better, quicker or quieter - it just does what it does, complimenting the way I do things (just look at my Moblog), enabling me to be who I am and not what I need to be to make it work."
Tags: blogs, lifeblog, mobility, nokia
GM FastLane Blog: Myths and Facts about Fuel Economy
nice try gm, no matter how you spin it, your cars use too much gas and aren't as good as the competition, gotta admire the chutzpah for trying this, at least they are blogging and conversing unlike 99% of the companies out there - it's just too bad that even a blog can't save GM - the answer is simple - truly innovate, produce high quality vehicles that use little gas, gm is trying but it's too little too late still don't have any best in class vehicles
Tags: blogs, gm, prisdead
Micro Persuasion: Listening is the Heart of CooperKatz’s New Micro Persuasion Practice
Rubel gets it as usual - "As part of our new service we will dig in and conduct a thorough audit a client’s overarching issues and vulnerabilities, develop a preparedness plan that might include the creation of special blogs, watch and closely analyze weblogs and other consumer-generated channels such as photo-sharing and link-sharing sites for bubbling issues, and strategize ways for clients to openly engage online audiences in a dialogue about their concerns. "
Tags: blogs, prisdead
Stopdesign | Secure wireless email on Mac OS X
must read
Tags: email, macosx, security, wireless