GeekSugar

Daily Tech: Google Adds Transit Layer to Its Maps Interface

GeekSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 12:30:41 PST

Thanks to Google, you can now check out the layout of public transportation systems in more than 50 cities. To access, just click the More button at the top of Google Maps. - TechCrunch
Rumor has it that the Palm Pre may be exclusively sold at Best Buy Mobile and Sprint stores for the first two months. - Gizmodo
The recently released portrait of Barack Obama is the first official picture of a US president to be taken with a digital camera. By the way, the camera used was a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. - Switched
Analysts are predicting that Steve Jobs's five-month medical leave will likely be permanent. - Wired
Check out these creative geek-inspired posters, which were designed by a 21-year-old UK artist. - Unplggd

Google Maps Gets NYC Transit Directions

GeekSugar — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 02:00:36 PDT

Go Google! I've already confessed how much I love Google Maps, and that was even before the latest news - Google Maps now offers transit info for the entire New York metro region! With the transit option you can check out transit stops in your area and view station information and schedules. Did you know that Google Maps offers transit info for other cities like Chicago and San Francisco? Be sure to see if your city is on the list. Oh, and if you need to find out what time your train is going to arrive while on the go, you can visit m.google.com/nyc for transit directions on your cell phone.

Geek Tip: Plan Trips With Google Transit

GeekSugar — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 15:00:41 PDT

I love taking public transportation whenever I can because it's easy, affordable and stress free. So when Google announced its Google Transit trip-planning assistant, I was overjoyed!

With Google Transit you can create your own transit trip, which comes complete with itineraries and maps. You can specify when you want to leave or arrive, compare the cost of various public transportation methods and see all the route possibilities. For instance in Pittsburgh, you can find out how to get from brunch at Pamela's to a 1pm matinee at the Waterfront- very cool!

The only downfall is it only includes 12 cities in the United States and Japan at the moment. But stay tuned for future city additions. All I can say is Google has been on quite the roll lately!

Flying Cars and Other Future Tech the Movies Got Right

Kristy Korcz — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 10:50:53 PDT

The flying car is finally here! Well, almost. Though it doesn't look like The Jetsons' floating bubble or Marty McFly's Delorean, the Terrafugia Transition is street legal and can be preordered for the low price of $279,000. That's more than a space flight aboard the Virgin Galactic, but at least you'll be able to drive it (and pilot it!) again and again. Requirements for piloting are pretty tame: passing a test and logging 20 hours of flight time. You can get a closer look at the Transition at this week's New York Auto Show, but expect those preorders to roll out within the next year.

Of course, flying cars aren't the only sci-fi and future tech that movies and TV shows have predicted. Check out this list of other technology that has sprung from screen to real life, below.

Iris scanners - Those crazy iris scanners that identified everything from your identity to your last purchase at The Gap in Minority Report are here now.
3D Holograms - Though we can't yet watch 3D versions of ourselves on home movies, we can chat with others like CNN did during the 2008 election, and dance alongside a few holograms in Vegas.
Gesture-based interfaces - Not just for video games anymore, the gesture-based interfaces like we saw in Minority Report will soon be a real way of life - crazy gloves and all.

Check out the rest after the break.

Google Introduces Google Wallet Mobile Payment System

Kristy Korcz — Thu, 26 May 2011 10:13:19 PDT

Google announced its new mobile payment system today, called Google Wallet. Using NFC technology, Google plans to partner with companies like Citi, MasterCard, and Sprint to allow credit card users to simply tap their phones to pay for their items in grocery stores, shopping malls, and more. While the entire program will roll out later this year, testers in markets like San Francisco will start using the Google Wallet mobile app now. The app will allow you store your MasterCard credit card (to start with), or Google Prepaid card, which can link up to any credit or debit card you choose. What's more, Google Wallet will even store all of your loyalty cards, offers, gift cards, and available discounts via Google Offers, and will automatically apply them at checkout.

How does it work? Google Mobile can be used anywhere MasterCard Paypass is accepted to start with, but as more merchants begin to integrate NFC technology into their stores, you'll have more options. Want to know about security? Then keep reading.

In Her Shoes: Dana LaRue, Creator of The Broke-Ass Bride Blog

Emily Co — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 00:15:00 PDT

It's always inspiring to see someone take their passion and turn it into a full-time job. Dana LaRue, the creator of The Broke-Ass Bride, started blogging to her heart's content in 2008 when she was planning and budgeting for her own wedding. Fast forward to 2011, Dana has about eight other people (including her husband) contributing content toward the blog, and has several awards under her belt, which include being named Google Blog of Note in 2009 and winning the Wedding Channel's Best Budget Wedding Blog category in 2010.

SavvySugar: How did this all start?

Dana LaRue: I started the blog in April 2008 when I found myself engaged and addicted to wedding blogs, but I couldn’t really find one that spoke to my situation, a broke-ass bride. I was getting a lot of inspiration from wedding blogs and sort of getting into the blog world. I have a background in writing and needed a creative outlet, so I thought that might be a good way for me to express myself and possibly help or connect with other brides in a similar situation. And then it sort of took off.

SS: What did you do before becoming a full-time wedding blogger?

DL: I’m a trained actor so that means most of my life I was in cubicles working a day job. I was an office manager and an executive assistant and at the time Broke-Ass Bride was born, I was working for a nonprofit as an office manager. Around Christmas or a little before that the blog was getting really demanding in a good way, a way that made it difficult to balance the day job and the blog, so I got a part-time social media consulting position that allowed me to transition out of full-time work. Three months after that job, I was laid off thanks to the economy, and I got pushed from the nest so to speak, and I took that as, "This is my sign. Go for it and make it full-time work." And that’s what we have been doing ever since.

To learn what her wedding budget was, read on.