By: Doug Caverly | Source: webpronews.com

Google is usually on the cutting edge, or at least near it. The company’s latest "innovations" are intentionally out of date, though. Google Earth will now feature historical maps dating back as far as the 17th century.

Thanks to a partnership with  Nationla Geographic, this "Featured Content" can connect "users to information about the history of the world through one of the largest private map collections in the US." And according to the company, those maps "have been brought to life for the first time using advanced digitization techniques and innovative software tools in Google Earth."

David Rumsey provided the historical maps for the search engine company’s use. "I am thrilled to be able to share maps from my collection with users worldwide in Google Earth," he said in a statement. "The cartographers who made these historical maps hundreds of years ago would be amazed and pleased to see their treasures in Google Earth."

There were other updates, as well, all scheduled in honor of Geography Awareness Week. Most of them mesh very neatly with "Spotlight on Africa," in which a "layer shows the flags of 53 African countries on top of the satellite imagery." Indeed, Google seemed proud to note that the "new Featured Content pays tribute to Africa."

The historical maps got the lion’s share of the publicity, however, and spawned a number of headlines regarding Google Earth’s new "4D" capabilities. Garett Rogers wisely warned his readers, "Don’t expect detailed high resolution photography from days gone by, but it’s still interesting to see old maps overlaid on the satellite imagery of today."

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By: S. Housley | Source: site-reference.com

RSS is not quite a household word, but technically astute individuals are adopting the use of RSS feeds at an alarming rate. If you are interested in jumping on the bandwagon, but not quite sure of where to start, consider following these simple RSS feed tips to maximize feed compatibility and make your feed stand out from the crowd.

RSS DO’s

1. Titles and Descriptions.
Always include meaningful keywords in your RSS feed’s Channel title and description. Many readers will view or search for topic specific RSS feeds using keywords or keyword phrases. If you have descriptive keywords in your RSS feed’s title and description the feed is more likely to be located and subscribed to by interested parties.

2. GUID Format.
Always include a GUID with each feed item. The GUID is a globally unique identifier. Each post should use a different GUID. The GUID will in some cases assist RSS news readers and aggregation software in determining when new content has been added to the RSS feed or when existing content in an RSS feed has been modified. If you do not use GUID’s, the software used to aggregate the feeds may have difficulty detecting changes to feed items or the software may not always recognize new content.

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Source: today.reuters.com

Yahoo plans in coming months to incorporate the Yahoo Messenger  program inside the e-mail service. The new service will enable users to run the two programs in one Web browser without  downloading Yahoo Messenger software.

Yahoo is still considering how and whether to incorporate the Web-calling capabilities inside the merged Yahoo e-mail and instant messaging system.

Yahoo Mail, which counts 250 million active monthly users, plans in coming months to incorporate the Yahoo Messenger instant-messaging program inside the e-mail service, Yahoo executive Brad Garlinghouse said.

Consumers will be able to run the two programs in one Web browser. There is no need to download Yahoo Messenger software, a complication for users who are not technically inclined.

Yahoo’s melding of e-mail and instant messaging follows the lead of rival Google Inc., which merged its Google Talk instant-message chat service with its Gmail e-mail program. But Yahoo’s audience is roughly 10 times larger than Google’s base of e-mail users, according to industry data.

In the first public demonstration of the combined service at the Web 2.0 conference here, Garlinghouse and a colleague showed how, when a user opens up and addresses an e-mail, an icon appears if he or she is online.

Clicking the icon instantly transforms a conversation from the delayed, read-it-when-you-have-a-chance way people use e-mail into the immediate back-and-forth of an instant message conversation.

The existing version of Yahoo Messenger also offers Web-calling capabilities. Yahoo is considering how and whether to incorporate these calling features inside the merged Yahoo e-mail and instant messaging system, a spokeswoman said.

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