The Wiert Corner – irregular stream of stuff

Jeroen W. Pluimers on .NET, C#, Delphi, databases, and personal interests

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Archive for the ‘Google’ Category

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Google Street View Hyperlapse

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/04/10

Interesting: Google Street View Hyperlapse.

Posted in Google, GoogleMaps, Power User | Leave a Comment »

Mute is how to block someone in google plus

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/04/08

In the steps at how to block someone in google plus, replace the word “block” with “mute” to stop receiving posts from certain sources.

–jeroen

via: how to block google plus users – Google Search.

Posted in G+: GooglePlus, Google, Power User, SocialMedia | Leave a Comment »

Google Nexus 4: How to Undo “Android sync of Google Contacts will sometimes auto-merge contacts with the same last-names”

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/04/05

On my brand new Google Nexus 4, I had this problem that some contacts were merged based on their last name.

They were merged only on the phone: at the Google Contacts web page, they still were separate.

The issue was very much “in my face”, as one of the merges was my brother and mother. For which I am pretty sure they are separate entities, both alive and kicking.

Browsing for a solution, I found these links (the first one got me to the others):

The issue is still there (I synced 3 weeks ago).

The solution is per device (the sync breaks on your device, not on Google Contacts).

The steps of the solution were not completely clear, so below are screenshots. Click on each screenshot to get a larger crisp 768×1280 HD image. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Android Devices, Google, Nexus 4, Power User | Tagged: , , | Leave a Comment »

How to take a screenshot on the Nexus 4 | How To – CNET

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/03/27

Thanks Jason Cipriani – CNET:

To take a screenshot on the Nexus 4, press and hold down the power and volume down buttons at the exact same time. After a few seconds you’ll feel a vibration on your device and you’ll see the screenshot minimize into the notification tray. Pulling down the notification tray will in turn allow you to quickly share the picture.

–jeroen

via: via How to take a screenshot on the Nexus 4 | How To – CNET.

Posted in Android Devices, Google, Nexus 4, Power User | 1 Comment »

All About SEO on WordPress.com — Blog — WordPress.com

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/03/22

WordPress just posted a nice article on SEO for people that still don’t get that SEO is basically following common sense.

The most important bullets from the article:

SEO DOs and DON’Ts

Do:

  • Regularly publish original content.
  • Use a few precise categories and tags.
  • Write for human ears.
  • Build your traffic in smart, organic ways.
  • Choose simple, meaningful post slugs.
  • Create a descriptive tagline.
  • Include keywords selectively.

Don’t:

  • Start duplicate sites.
  • “Stuff” your site with irrelevant, broad categories, tags, or buzzwords.
  • Write with search engines in mind.
  • Purchase or exchange meaningless “backlinks.”
  • Buy into SEO fads.
  • Worry too much about SEO at the expense of writing good content!

Two things I didn’t know about: WordPress generates two sitemaps for each site: both a regular XML sitemap, as well as an XML based news-sitemap.

–jeroen

via: All About SEO on WordPress.com — Blog — WordPress.com.

Posted in Google, GoogleSearch, Power User, SocialMedia, WordPress | Leave a Comment »

Google Reader stops at 2013-07-01: How can I download my Reader data? (via: Reader Help)

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/03/14

Google Reader will not be available after July 1, 2013

Learn more.

Reminder to self:

Edit; this Dutch post covered it nicely: Wat zijn alternatieven voor Google Reader?.

Google stopt per 1 juli met Google Reader – IT Pro – Nieuws – Tweakers.

–jeroen

via:

Posted in About, Google, Personal, Power User | 1 Comment »

Unavailable in your country: Nexus 4. Why?

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/03/06

Dang! I’ll be in NYC for almost 2 weeks and cannot order a Nexus 4, even when:
– using a VPN to get through a USA IP address
– having configured a USA physical address where we are staying

Why not?

Sorry! Devices on Google Play is not available in your country yet.

We’re working to bring devices to more countries as quickly as possible.

Please check back again soon.

–jeroen

via: Unavailable in your country.

Posted in Google, LifeHacker, Power User | 2 Comments »

If your system is configured as Metric, then any app not honouring that have a UX #Fail

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/01/19

I love Google:

Especially since there is still software like Garmin Training Center for Mac on Mac OS X with – in the System Preferences – the Measurement Units set as Metric, insists on entering weight as lb, and workout distance in miles.

The reason is that Garmin Training Center on Mac OS X has its own “Measurement Units” settings. Where Mac OS lets the system wide setting be either “Metric”  or ” US”, Garmin choose between “Metric” and “Statute” (the latter is default, not the OS X setting).

The problem is twofold:

Garmin has head offices and most of their customers outside the USA, so why insist on US units being default, and why not link the setting to the Mac OS X Preference?

UX #fail.

Oh BTW: if you connect your Garmin device, and GTC still indicates “no fitness device was found”, then use a different USB Cable and don’t connect it through a hub: the device is very picky on talking over USB (charging over USB works with virtually any USB cable).

Mac OS X System Preferences Measurement Units Metric

Mac OS X System Preferences Measurement Units Metric (click to enlarge)

Garmin Training Center on Mac OS X insists in imperial units, even though the system is configured as metric.

Garmin Training Center on Mac OS X insists in imperial units, even though the system is configured as metric.

Garmin Training Center on Mac OS X has its own

Garmin Training Center on Mac OS X has its own “Measurement Units” settings. Where Mac OS lets the system wide setting be either “Metric” or ” US”, Garmin choose between “Metric” and “Statute” (the latter is default, not the OS X setting).

Even after setting the Garmin Training Center to

Even after setting the Garmin Training Center to “Metric”, it still lists “Miles” in your workouts.

–jeroen

Posted in Google, GoogleSearch, Opinions, Power User, User Experience (ux) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Chrome extension Search Plus (formerly FullSearch): Search Any Text String Across All Open Tabs In Chrome

Posted by jpluimers on 2013/01/11

Often while researching, I have a zillion pages open in Chrome. Mentally I have the right search texts in my head, but finding back the really relevant tabs can be a pain. That’s where the Chrome extension Search Plus comes in handy which used to be called FullSearch.

To quote a via FullSearch: Search Any Text String Across All Open Tabs In Chrome review :

The extension allows you to search for text in all open tabs at once, and shows a list of search results right in the pop-up. Moreover, clicking any of the results takes you to the particular tab with the highlighted text.

From the Search Plus extension page:

The Search Plus is a Chrome Extension App.

It helps to find the tabs you’re looking for from all opened tabs regardless of window, and you can manage the found tabs easily and quickly.

It works like a charm.
Highly recommended!

–jeroen

via:

Posted in Chrome, Google, Power User | 2 Comments »

Google Flights: needs a bit more work, but first look is promising

Posted by jpluimers on 2012/12/24

Just saw that Google Flights was introduce: for searching and booking flights online.

It needs some more work (see below), but it is a great start for a couple of reasons as compared to any of the competition I have seen:

  • A much more intuitive and clutter-free user interface 
  • A blazingly fast response (SFO – AMS: response in about a second, all others took at least 10 seconds)

Try the user experience for yourself. A few things I liked:

  • In addition to selecting preferred airlines, you can select preferred Airline Alliances
    (they share miles anyway).
  • Shows flight duration and allows you to sort on it
    (ideal for business passengers)
  • Shows if you can have WiFi
    (for geeks like me)
  • Uses hint-panes when you hoover the mouse over certain areas to fill in more detailed information
    (like the airline that operates the flight, or the stops you make).
  • Shows a graph with fare-rate over time
    (so you can pick days with lowest fare more easily; the sweet spot for SFO-AMS seems to be 2-5 day trips that include a saturday/sunday night).

Some things they need to work on:

  • You can search from USA to destinations outside USA, but not vice versa
    (for instance, it finds SFO – AMS, but you are not allowed to enter AMS – SFO).
  • You can enter IATA airport codes, but not ICAO ones (like EHAM)
  • It is not included in the Google – Products list
    (right now you can go from Flights to Web search, but not the other way around).
  • It always starts with a departure in SFO
    (it would make sense if you can select your faviourite departure airport; I live about 10 minutes from AMS / EHAM).
  • It always starts with a departure date 16 days from now
    (The last link is pun intended:  it tests the Google search cache for refreshing pages that calculate information).

–jeroen

via: Flights from San Francisco – Google Search.

Posted in Google, GoogleFlights, Power User | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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