Saturday, April 23, 2011

Wordle Fun

Click on image for enlargement.

http://www.wordle.net/

Inspiring Websites

Check out http://www.limeandtonic.com/sydney/en/index.php for excellence in website design. If I was giving out prizes, this one would be a "first place" for innovation, use of coding, originality, etc etc etc. Purists shouldn't pay too much attention to the content (I didn't, but then I was looking for something else) - just the website design.

Imagine that level of digital excellence and creativity transferred to a library/book/author website. Or maybe just the capacity to purchase the necessary software and the intestinal fortitude to run with something so far removed from the "industry standard".

(Actually, JK Rowlings' site fulfils the above criteria - and look how brilliant that site is. By golly, don't you wonder how many books she might have sold if it were not for that website? Yeah, OK ... stretching it a little bit there.)

Monday, April 18, 2011

Not so smart - Google Maps

It's brilliant in so many ways; not to mention plug-ins like Google Earth. But it does seem to be a little flawed. If you ask for driving directions from Sydney Australia to New York, NY, you'll get the usual highly detailed street directions .... try it for yourself.

You'll get told that it is a 56 day drive, but instruction 123 on my test was "kayak across the Pacific" (from Tokyo to Hawaii) . I want to know why I would have to kayak, when there's perfectly good luxury liners offering passage. Is it something to do with carbon footprints, or an economy option?