Google Lat Long Blog: Better access to your content is, well, better

(Cross-posted from the Google Places Blog.)



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Google Lat Long Blog: Better access to your content is, well, better

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blogspot/SbSV/~3/B1HQrP5MGng/better-access-to-your-content-is-well.html

Well Service Company

Drilling wells is not enough. The average African woman spends 6 hours walking 4 miles for her family’s water. Dirty water is the biggest killer on earth so it’s great that many groups are drilling wells. Unfortunately, the wells don’t last long before needing maintenance (25-30% in the first year). Repair costs are low but 95% of wells are never revisited after drilling. About half of all wells aren’t working. As a village women commented, “They only serve to remind us that we can never escape poverty.” Funded by the women who will benefit, Cheetah has a warranty service model to maintain wells at a very low cost.]]>

Well Service Company

Backlink: http://www.slideshare.net/cheetahdevelopment/jacobs-well

Well, What Do You Know: Flash Video Actually Looks Good On The PlayBook (RIMM, ADBE, AAPL)

Despite our skepticism, Adobe Flash video actually looks good on the BlackBerry PlayBook, which we've been testing today.

Above is a screenshot from Hulu, where the 480p video plays smoothly on the PlayBook. Now let's see how quickly Hulu blocks the PlayBook, forcing people to sign up for Hulu Plus. (We've reached out to Hulu for comment, but haven't heard back.)

Meanwhile, Major League Baseball's Flash-based MLB.TV also looks good and works okay on the PlayBook. Netflix, which uses Microsoft's Silverlight software, does not work on the PlayBook.

There are some issues with Flash-based user interfaces -- they aren't designed for touchscreens, so there are some issues when typing is required, etc. And browsing the web in general is awkward on the PlayBook. But, specifically, the Flash video at least plays back smoothly in our brief testing.

It's hard to tell how Flash video is affecting the PlayBook's battery, but this is potentially the biggest concern. We'll try to perform additional tests on this in the future.

If the PlayBook had launched a long time ago with this quality of Flash video support, that could have been a real advantage over the iPhone and iPad, which don't support Flash. But these days, almost all the video worth watching on an iPad is available through an app.

It's hard to see Flash video support being the reason someone would buy a PlayBook over an iPad, but it's nice to see that it works.

Earlier: Here's The Best Thing About The BlackBerry PlayBook... And How RIM Is Blowing It

Here's another screenshot of Hulu on the PlayBook:

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See Also:

• Here's RIM's Only Chance For The BlackBerry PlayBook
• Here's The Best Thing About The BlackBerry PlayBook... And How RIM Is Blowing It
• BlackBerry PlayBook Launch Party: Orlando Magic Star Dwight Howard Steals The Show

Well, What Do You Know: Flash Video Actually Looks Good On The PlayBook (RIMM, ADBE, AAPL)

Backlink: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/alleyinsider/silicon_alley_insider/~3/tLHVzt1_KXM/playbook-flash-video-2011-4

Comment on Video: PlayBook Multitasking (and Why Flash Works Well on It) by jeo4long

Question on your last sentence Kevin, so with the WIFI model, the mail, web and internet based apps won't run without having BB phone around (even we have a WIFI available)?

Comment on Video: PlayBook Multitasking (and Why Flash Works Well on It) by jeo4long

Backlink: http://gigaom.com/mobile/video-playbook-multitasking-and-why-flash-works-well-on-it/#comment-572842

Eating Well in Portland, Maine

Contributing editor Margaret Loftus takes us on a culinary tour of Portland, Maine.

I've been known to plan my day around where I might eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner when visiting the venerable food capitals of New York and Paris, but Portland, Maine? You bet.

The city's rise to culinary stardom has been chronicled in the food press, from the New York Times to Bon Appetit, who named it the "foodiest small town in America" last year. Lured from New York and other pricey cities by the relative cheap rents of the Old Port (the city's revitalized waterfront), a small army of top-notch chefs have set up shop here. Combined with an already intense locavore scene--if it grows here, there's a Mainer raising it--and a thriving food artisan community, from whoopie pie bakers to mead brewers, and you have all the makings of a gastronome utopia.

My last visit, in late October, coincided with the city's third annual Harvest on the Harbor, three days of cooking demonstrations, tastings, and exhibits that celebrate Maine's bounty and enormous pool of culinary talent (pictured, above). The high point of Harvest is undoubtedly the Lobster Chef of the Year competition (right), a sort of live lobster Iron Chef where the entire audience gets to taste and judge dishes presented by three finalists. This year's contest turned out to be a real nail-bitter--all three entries were knock-outs--but it was a young upstart, Chef Kelly Patrick Farrin from Azure Café in Freeport, who took the title with his herb grilled Maine lobster on arugula with chive ricotta gnocchi and corn milk.




Post originale: http://blogs.nationalgeographic.com/blogs/intelligenttravel/2010/11/eating-well-in-portland-maine.html