An amazing video about the Hubble Deep Field, ending with a flythrough of its representation in 3D, rendered using the measured redshift of the picture. Even though the camera seems to be slowly drifting among the galaxies, it belies the fact that the viewpoint is hurtling through the universe at a speed of around 200 million light years per second.
The Features It Needs Next: Twitter
By Andrew Sparkes
Guest Blogger
As part of an on-going series, we’ll be looking at the features that top hardware, software, and websites already have and imagining the features it would be logical and useful to add in the next update. Today we’re examining Twitter.
Twitter is an extremely bare-bones site. It’s what you might expect from a service that only allows 140 characters – no more – to a post. However, there are ways that Twitter could be made more useful without adding complexity or changing the nature of the service.
Living with Google – The Miniseries
Tom and Harry needed a roommate. But when they took their “search” too literally, the “results” turned out to be more than they bargained for. The three first episodes of the miniseries are available right after the jump.
Blind Search compares search engine results
By Sterling “Chip” Camden
Contributing Writer, [GAS]
Taking a page out of Pepsi’s anti-marketing marketing playbook, Microsoft Developer Evangelist Michael Kordahi has created a blind taste test for the search engines Google, Bing, and Yahoo! Enter your search query, and the results from each of these three are shown sans branding:
You may then vote for the results that seem most appropriate to you, at which point the identities of the three search engines are revealed.
After the first eight weeks online and more than half a million searches, Kordahi published the results up to that point. Users preferred Google results 41% of the time, Bing at 31%, and Yahoo at 28%. This has been painted as a win for Microsoft, indicating that Google’s 70% market share is not due to the quality of their product but rather to their brand recognition (insert “pot calling the kettle black” joke here).
In my own informal test, I entered 57 different queries on a wide range of subjects (though with a decidedly geeky slant). I chose Google’s results 47% of the time, Bing 37%, and Yahoo 16%. Two of the searches for which I preferred Yahoo were “best search engine” and “competes with Google”, neither of which included Yahoo in the results. For “best search engine”, all three listed Dogpile at the top.
Here’s the list of all of my queries, with a 1 under each preference:
| Search | Bing | Yahoo | ||
| august 5, 1945 | 1 | (wrong date, Google helped me find the right one) | ||
| august 6, 1945 | 1 | |||
| best search engine | 1 | (yahoo wasn’t in the results, but neither was bing. All three listed dogpile at the top) | ||
| blind search | 1 | |||
| bloomsday | 1 | |||
| camden software consulting | 1 | |||
| cheap netbooks | 1 | |||
| chip camden | 1 | |||
| chips quips | 1 | |||
| chips tips | 1 | |||
| chipsquips | 1 | |||
| chipstips | 1 | |||
| closures | 1 | |||
| code samples c++ | 1 | |||
| code samples javascript | 1 | |||
| code samples python | 1 | |||
| code samples synergyde | 1 | |||
| competes with google | 1 | (yahoo wasn’t in the results) | ||
| composition vs inheritance | 1 | |||
| concurrent programming | 1 | |||
| cracking iphone | 1 | |||
| facebook vs linkedin | 1 | |||
| fine as a split frog’s hair | 1 | |||
| geeks are sexy | 1 | |||
| google page rank | 1 | |||
| heavy lies the head that wears a crown | 1 | (inaccurate quotation, bing led me to the correct one) | ||
| howto install apache | 1 | |||
| IntPtr | 1 | |||
| is google doomed | 1 | |||
| is google evil | 1 | |||
| is microsoft doomed | 1 | |||
| is microsoft evil | 1 | |||
| is there a god? | 1 | |||
| is yahoo doomed | 1 | |||
| is yahoo evil | 1 | |||
| Javascript DOM | 1 | |||
| kde or gnome | 1 | |||
| kubla khan | 1 | |||
| let’s do it | 1 | |||
| mint julep | 1 | |||
| peanut allergy | 1 | |||
| programming languages | 1 | |||
| recursion vs iteration | 1 | |||
| redirecting wordpress feeds | 1 | |||
| ruby array class members | 1 | |||
| ruby vs python | 1 | |||
| sauerbraten | 1 | |||
| social media | 1 | |||
| sterling chip camden | 1 | |||
| Synergex | 1 | |||
| synergyde | 1 | |||
| tighten a bicycle chain | 1 | |||
| troilus and cressida | 1 | |||
| uneasy lies the head that wears the crown | 1 | |||
| visitor pattern | 1 | |||
| where are my keys? | 1 | |||
| where is tajikistan | 1 | |||
| Total | 27 | 21 | 9 | |
| Percentage | 47.37% | 36.84% | 15.79% |
It’s pretty addicting, and I have to admit feeling surprised and a little dirty every time I picked Bing. How about you? Go give it a try.
Set up hot keys without any added software on Windows XP or better.
It’s very annoying and counter productive for your hands to leave the keyboard as you use your mouse to click, click, clickity click click away at something.
Join the ranks of power users to add keyboard shortcuts for every computer task you do. Yup any task!
Built into Windows is the ability to let you assign a keyboard command to any shortcut icon on your computer. Just right-click on the icon you want to assign a shortcut to, click Properties, and click in the ‘Shortcut key’ field. Then enter in the combo of keys you want to use to launch the shortcut; it has to have one standard character (A-Z 1-0) plus two or three of the control keys (CTRL, ALT , or the Windows key.)
Also, did you know that the Windows Key + R launched the Run box and Windows Key + E opens Windows Explorer? Of course you did, that is why you are a [GAS] reader!
Consider yourself more productive! Are you feeling that productivity boost yet? Do you have other tips and tricks for our readers? We would love to hear about them in the comments!
———-
Karl L. Gechlik spends all of his free time helping technically challenged individuals on his blog www.askTheAdmin.com.
Cheetos Lip Balm: A Travesty of Nature
Made by New York based Lotta Luv, this Cheetos lip balm is exactly what you think it is: orange lip balm that tastes like cheese. Would you be willing to give this thing a try? Personally, I Just got one thing to say about it: Ew!
World’s Craziest Alpine Roller Coaster
Sitting right on top of a glacier in the Swiss Alps, this alpine roller coaster will hurl you down the side of a mountain, making you feel like you will fly straight off the track.
Iron Man 2 Comic Con Footage
If the movie is actually as good as what you and I just saw in this 5-minute piece of footage, Iron Man 2 is going to be positively AMAZING!
[Via Gizmodo]
SwissGear Back-to-School Computer Backpacks Sale (70%+ off)
Amazon.com currently has some huge specials for the back-to-school season on SwissGear computer backpacks. Whether you’re a student or not and need a backpack to carry your laptop around, now is a great time to get a high-quality one at a very low price. Most have been cut more than 70% off their regular retail price.
[SwissGear Back-to-School Computer Backpacks – 70%+ off, Shipping included]
Captain Kirk is Climbing the Mountain
Exploring motivations for mountain climbing leads, like everything else, to sex. A remix by the editor called Fall on Your Sword.