Google Embedded Maps Feature

At last, the millions of users worldwide who prefer Google Maps can embed their maps and have them fully interactive (with zoom and panning) into their own websites.I’ve just done it here adding a much needed map to help people find the School Hall we meet in every Sunday.

What’s cool with Google Maps is the combining of this feature (embedding the map in your own website) and the My Maps feature which allows you to add text, drawings and pinpoints on the maps you create. This means you can send people, on your website, to a map you have created with your text and locations specified. Totally brilliant! Thanks Google again for making life and websites easier.

For more info click here for a news item or for a walkthrough to help you do it, here is the Google blog explaining how step by step.

EDIT: A feature I just found and have used is the customise feature. You can set the height and width of the map to be embedded and preview it live. Google also provide the html code live as you change the size etc. I’m impressed.

Windows Desktop Search

Anyone who uses a computer regularly needs to find files and it’s ideal if you can find them instantly. In business sectors, regular, quick access to urgent files is essential to stay ahead of the competition. Apart from anything, it’s just frustrating when you’re looking for a file and you can’t find it. Especially when you’re stuck with Windows’ old search tool which can take forever.Enter Windows Desktop Search. There are a number of desktop search tools out there (Copernic, Yahoo and Google) but in my opinion Windows has the best software available for this important task. While the others are good (I’ve tried each but Yahoo’s one), none of them are as powerful as the Microsoft version. Microsoft has a knack for entering into a market, surveying what’s there and then coming in with a new product that dominates.

Why is WDS better? Here’s a few reasons. Firstly it kicks butt if you use Microsoft Office and Outlook (or Outlook Express) for your email. Windows Desktop Search can locate what you’re searching in emails, files, Office documents and even attachments in emails. It’s saved me plenty of times. WDS has a toolbar that you can add to the Windows one down the bottom so it fits seamlessly into your desktop. When you type in a search, the results are shown instantly because the program indexes your computer while it’s idle. For this reason it’s a good idea to let it index your system overnight when you first install. Then you can find files superquick.

Finding files is a breeze. You type in your search and either select a file from the menu that pops up as you type (see the Windows Desktop Search demo on the link above) or you hit enter after typing your search and a window similar to the one above will pop up giving your ample options to narrow your search to find your file. For example you can select the documents button and only see those results, email for emails and so on. It’s brilliant.

I agree with the reviews I’ve seen about Windows Desktop Search. It’s revolutionising the way we use our computers. No longer do I have to go looking for a file and try and remember where I put it, in what folder, on what drive… instead I can type a part of the filename or something I know is in the document and KAZAM I’ve got it.

For me, it’s become an essential part of how I use my laptop (which is an essential component of my life!). You can also check out these reviews of desktop search tools for more information:

– Cnet.com.au – Find it fast: 6 hard drive searching applications

– ZDnet.co.uk – Find it fast: desktop search programs