Google me!

Ok, recently, I googled my Internet identity - 'markyjones' and the entire first page is related to what I have been doing on the Internet. Of interest, it is typically my profiles on various web sites: del.icio.us, stumbleUpon, flickR, etc.. I was chuffed nonetheless as with a name like 'Mark Jones' it is difficult to have any sort of individual identity.

I am irked however, that identity 2.0 has not kicked in and that all of us can't have just one identity on the Internet, as I recently found out that I cannot have my favourite pseudonym for YouTube - someone already has taken it!

So what happens when you Google yourself?

Google Maps

V.exciting, but tomorrow I finalise the agreement on an apartment in alt-stadt Zurich; anyway for all those who are coming to visit me, or are thinking of visiting me, or just want to see a cool use of Goolge applications, then:

Google Maps reference
Google Earth reference

Google Calendar

I know, I know another post on Google! I was demonstrated by a colleague of mine of the power of Google calendar and as always I am impressed. Ok, so what is good about it:

• simple, easy-to-use interface and the ubiquitous Google-like drag and drop
• ability to have multiple calendars (i.e. one for friend's birthdays, one for personal appointments, one for work, one for holidays etc.)
• integration into Google maps
  
• an exposable API, such that you can use other people's calendars (e.g. loading a FIFA World Cup fixture list!); I created a Hawthorn Hawks AFL 2006 Fixture list for all the Hawthorn supporters out there ;) - just search for 'Hawthorn Hawks' in the public search option for calendars
  

So yes the strategy to move 'office' like functions to the internet continues; so when is Google going to release its wiki/word processor?

PS: I lost my car key for 2 hours yesterday so couldn't collect my Macbook PRO - unbelieveable!
PPS: If anyone needs a gmail account to access the Google calendar function - just email me.

Google again - this time, the translator - it ROCKS!

Ok, this weekend my mother who lives in Canberra emailed my relatives in Switzerland in High-German (carbon-copying me in the email); some of the transcript is below:

'Mark ist natuerlich gluecklich'

I having never studied Swiss-German before had no idea what was being said. So what did I do, well as always when confronted with a problem I turned to the Google - and voila babel fish produced. Google language tools were able to translate German-English and vice versa. Result I was able email my Swiss relatives with a full-German email (see below; indeed it even corrected my Mum's spelling errors!) ... now if only this was mobile ...

'Natürlich glücklich - ich mag den!'