Facebook Places Video

GrottoCenter: a comunity database for cavers

GrottoCenter is wiki-like website for cavers. The site allows cavers to share their knowledge and favourite caving locations with other cavers. GrottoCenter includes a Google Map that shows the locations of the submitted caves and the site’s members.

Currently the map shows the location 0f over 12,000 caves and 361 grottoes. As well as displaying the location of caves the map includes geological overlays for America, Australasia, Europe and the Poles.

If you click on any of the plotted caves on the map you can get further details and links to any relevant websites about the selected cave.

12 Beginner Tutorials for Getting Started with Adobe Illustrator

This series is supported by Ben & Jerry’s Joe, Ben & Jerry’s new line-up of Fair Trade and frozen iced coffee drinks. Learn more about it here.

Adobe Illustrator, the industry-standard vector graphics application, is the tool you use when you need flexible, scalable vector graphics such as logos and artwork that will be printed in various formats, mediums and sizes.

Illustrator’s huge array of digital drawing features makes it a favorite amongst illustrators and print designers, but for those just starting out, the application can be intimidating. To help set you on your path to Illustrator mastery, here are some great beginner-level Illustrator tutorials that cover the fundamental tools and techniques.

If you have tips for aspiring Illustrator pros, share them in the comments below.

1. Getting Started in Illustrator

First thing’s first: You need to familiarize yourself with Illustrator’s graphical user interface. This quick and easy-to-read tutorial talks about Illustrator’s workspace, pointing to areas such as the Tools panel, the Status bar, the Artboard where you craft your vectors, and so on. It also touches upon how to create your first Illustrator document, as well as the different items you can find within the Tools panel.

2. Illustrator’s Pen Tool: The Comprehensive Guide

The primary drawing feature of Illustrator is the Pen tool. If you have aspirations of becoming an Illustrator ninja, you’ll need to have a strong command of this tool. This Illustrator tutorial from Vectortuts+ (a leading vector graphics tutorial site) covers all the things you need to know about this powerful, but oftentimes daunting, tool.

The tutorial covers the concept of Bezier curves, which are used to draw shapes with smooth curves, the need-to-know keyboard shortcuts, and even provides a practice sheet that you can download and import into Illustrator to help you practice your vector-drawing skills.

3. Fun with Illustrator’s Blend Tool

The Blend command is deceptively simple in function. It takes two or more shapes or colors, and then blends them together smoothly. But as this Illustrator tutorial will show you, the Blend command is a very effective feature for crafting stunning graphics effects quickly and easily.

4. Adobe Illustrator Tips: Live Trace

Live Trace, which appeared in Adobe Illustrator CS2, is a game-changer. Before Live Trace, an artist sketching an art piece using pen/pencil and paper would have to scan their work into Illustrator, then spend hours manually tracing it with the Pen tool and other Illustrator functions.

When Live Trace was introduced, this process was made simpler through automation, saving you precious hours. From sketch drawings to photographs that need to be converted to vector graphics — Live Trace is an excellent option to try. This tutorial goes over the process of using Live Trace by using a stock headshot photo, discussing how to execute Live Trace, the various options, as well as showing off a handful of examples of where Live Trace has been used in existing artworks.

5. Illustrator’s Type Tool: A Comprehensive Introduction

Illustrator is also a popular graphics application for print designers. From logos, business cards, and brochures, all the way up to posters and large billboards, Illustrator can help you make flexible and scalable designs.

A big part of print design is quite obviously text. This Illustrator tutorial will help you begin to explore the Type tool. It covers ways you can set text on vector paths for unconventional text flows, talks about the associated panels such as the Character and Paragraph panel, and provides useful keyboard shortcuts.

6. The Power (and Ease) of Patterns in Illustrator

Using patterns allows you to make repeating graphics. Experimenting with patterns can lead to excellent artwork that looks like it took days to complete.

Creating custom pattern brushes and applying them to vector shapes is covered in this Illustrator tutorial.

7. Mastering Illustrator Effects

Effects in Illustrator allow you to add all sorts of wonderful graphic treatments to your artwork. From applying 3D effects to creating faux colored pencil looks, this set of Illustrator features will let you rapidly enhance your work with a few clicks of the mouse.

If you’d like to discover the abilities of Illustrator effects, check out the above tutorial, which discusses various processes — such as Roughen and Scribble — as well as the Appearance panel, which allows you to modify applied effects, among other helpful tips.

8. Everything about Gradients

The Gradient panel in Illustrator is a wonderful feature for applying color and pattern gradients to your work. Gradients allow you to stylize your graphics such that they have smoothly blended fills or strokes.

Learn everything you need to know to get started with gradients from this tutorial, which discusses topics like applying gradients, modifying the angle and direction of the gradients, saving gradient swatches, and more.

9. The Stroke Panel

In Photoshop, a sibling of Illustrator, strokes (creating an outline around the edge of an object) seem like an afterthought. But in Illustrator, where your vector paths take center stage, the stroke feature is very important to master.

This Adobe Illustrator tutorial covers the use of the Stroke panel in creating vector objects.

10. Pathfinder: Explained

The Pathfinder panel is a popular time saving feature for working with shapes and paths. This panel is a collection of commands that allow you to unite, divide, and subtract two or more shapes, among other functions. Utilizing these commands gives you the ability to draw complex vector graphics using basic shape tools.

Learn how to use the Pathfinder panel with this excellent Illustrator tutorial.

11. The Power of Smart Guides in Illustrator

Don’t have a steady hand? Having trouble drawing shapes that align with one another? Smart guides give you snapping features that will enable you to draw objects more accurately.

Explore the fundamentals of Illustrator’s smart guides through this beginner-friendly tutorial.

12. How to Make a Custom Illustrator Brush

Brushes in Illustrator are a quick way to save objects that you will reuse later in your projects. Art brushes, for example, take a vector object that you’ve drawn and allow you to then apply those objects later as strokes or fills of other vectors.

In this step-by-step guide, you will discover the awesomeness of custom brushes in Illustrator.

These 12 tutorials will set you on your path to Illustrator mastery. If you’ve had success with other tutorials not on this list, let us know about them in the comments below.

This series is supported by Ben & Jerry’s Joe, Ben & Jerry’s new line-up of Fair Trade and frozen iced coffee drinks. Learn more about it here.

(from mashable)

Shopping idea

Are you a freak like me?

Then take a look at this. I’m sure you’ll like it…

You can buy this at this etsy shop. It cost $45.

Google Images more like…. bing?

Have you recently looked for an image using google images? Well, it get getting better and better. Now it looks like bing ;-)

I tried looking for images of New York.

Now You Can Search For Google Docs From Within Gmail (And It Catches Typos, Too)

Google may be synonymous with search, but some of the search functionality in its Apps products is sadly lacking — if you want to search for something in Google Docs, Calendar, or Gmail, you’ve had to do it from within its respective app. Today, it’s getting a bit better: Gmail has just launched a feature that lets you search for Google Docs and Sites directly from within Gmail. You can activate the new feature under the Labs section of Gmail settings — it’s called ‘Apps Search’.

Apps Search also activates another cool feature: when you make a typo in a search query, you’ll get a “Did you mean” suggestion. I’m not entirely sure how typo correction is related to Apps Search, but I’ll take it.

Hopefully this is the start of a new trend — it would also be nice if you could search for Google Calendar events from within Gmail (and vice versa).  Google also recently released the headache-reducing multiple accounts feature, which lets you hop between multiple Google accounts without having to repeatedly log-out and back in.

(from techcrunch)

Millennium Development Goals Monitor: Countdown to 2015

MDG Monitor website shows how countries are progressing in their efforts to achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Halfway towards 2015, a lot more needs to be done to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Ahead of the United Nation’s 25 September High-level Event on the MDGs, which will identify gaps and determine how to accelerate progress toward the MDGs, theUN has launched a blog to stimulate the discussion on how to make the most of the upcoming 7 years. Have your say!

Take a look at the google earth map or to the map they have online to se realtime progress towards the goals. We are 5 years and 134 days away from the “D” day. Still a long way to go. Unfortunately the site is not very well maintained. Google earth link does not work and map displays data old from 2007…. petty.

Facebook adds Location: Facebook Places

Finally Facebook has partnered with Gowalla and Foursquare to create Facebook Places.

They just updated the iPhone app but it is still not working. Nothing on the web yet.

A lot of questions though: How are they going to use Places? How are they going the manage check-ins? They said they were partnering with Gowalla and Foursquare but I cannot see how. Is Facebook going to kill this two successful startups?

FingOut coming soon: calls worldwide to any phone from 1 c/min!

Yes, for the time being beta testing only and only for nokia phones, but Fring has started a well deserved fight with Skype. Petty they don’t have a desktop app…

Here from the official Fring blog:

If you want to be 1st to try the latest and greatest features, keep reading.

fring is hosting an exclusive preview for its new fringOut service (sorry, the preview version 4.4.10 is only available on Nokia, other users stay tuned). fringOut lets you call any landline or mobile in the world for almost free all from your mobile phone.

So, now you can call your friends who are not yet on fring. Call Abbey in Atlanta, Bob in Berlin, Clara in Cambodia or David in Dehli, for ‘almost-free’.

As always, chatting, calls and video calls to other fringsters and other internet friends is still completely FREE.

If you have questions about fringOut, you can check out our FAQ, our TOS see ouruser guide or drop us a line.

Text books in electronic format: CaféScribe

Students buy an eBook either on CafeScribe’s online store or in its offline store. They then read it via a PC and Mac software program called MyScribe.

CafeScribe Features

Notes in MyScribe are done as overlays, so that they stay in context. Notes can also be shared, including in groups, which according to Isabella Hinds means that students can “have a dialog about the book while they’re reading.”

Groups may be created not only inside the classroom environment, but as part of the purchase of an eBook. The buyer can see who else purchased that same eTextbook, and choose to create or join a group around the book. Follett has observed that many students are creating study groups around books.

Groups are also very useful for instructors, who can create a group for their class. Hinds told us that this enables instructors to “enrich the core book with content or comments that they find valuable.” They can also better engage with students and ascertain whether students are really learning the material. Teachers can encourage students to ask questions, via the notes feature.

One of the main features of MyScribe that Hinds pointed to is maintaining pagination, which helps in group collaboration and also syncing eBooks with paper books.

eTextbook Market & Future

Currently there are about 10,000 books available in CafeScribe. Hinds said that Follett represents all of the major Higher Ed publishers, including the 5 largest.

The product is being used today by about 400 education institutions across the US. Some are using the product heavily, while others have just a few courses that utilize it. The product is currently being introduced in Canadian stores, but there are no plans to extend outside of North America.

As for its future, CafeScribe is making a push towards mobile – in particular the iPhone, Android, and iPad. It recognizes that students use a variety of devices nowadays, so it wants to go beyond the PC market. Whether CafeScribe can tackle eReader devices will, as noted above, depend on iPad pricing going down and eReader functionality going up.

Other companies in the eTextbook market include CourseSmart (which we reviewed in readwriteweb last August) and VitalSource.

Students & Teachers: Are You Using eTextbooks?

A study in May by OnCampus Research showed that 74% of students still prefer to use a printed textbook when taking a class. The Seattle Times also reported in May that eTextbooks are “flunking.” So clearly, eTextbooks have a long way to go. On the other side of the coin, eTextbooks are expected to 1 in 5 textbooks by 2014.

Much of the problem at present seems to be that eReaders are either too expensive (e.g. iPad) or not functional enough (e.g. Kindle). Those issues certainly seem solvable by 2014.

If you’re a student or teacher, we’d love your input in the comments about your use of eBooks – or if you don’t use them, why not?

(from readwriteweb)

Crowdmap

Crowdmap is designed and built by the people behind Ushahidi, a platform that was originally built to crowdsource crisis information. As the platform has evolved, so have its uses. Crowdmap allows you to set up your own deployment of Ushahidi without having to install it on your own web server, and it is free.

With Crowdmap you can collect information from cell phones, news and the web, aggregate that information into a single platform and visualize it on a map and timeline.

Nothing to Install

Your site is hosted on our servers, so you have no installation to worry about. Instead, just choose a name and start customizing your site.

Interactive Map

One of the most powerful ways to visualize information is via a map. Choose a location and start plotting reports, information and other data right away.

Dynamic Timeline

Track your reports on the map and over time. You can filter your data by time and then see when things happened and where, as it’s also tied to the map.

“Real Time” Data Tracking

The admin area of Crowdmap has analytical tools for you to make sense of your incoming data in real-time.

On demand car service via iPhone

There is nice service in the US with cars and an iPhone app.

Their goal is that you’ll use UberCab when you need a car service.

If you want to use it yo can use your iPhone app or SMS to request a black car limo service within a matter of minutes, for about 1.5x the cost of a taxi, with one click iPhone requests, with location based dispatch, with on demand limo service and in app billing – no cash needed.
Take a look at the video. It is quite an idea.

Online free converter for video, audio, images and documents

If you’re looking for a one-stop web-based tool for converting media from one format to another Online-Convert supports dozens of conversions including obscure formats often overlooked by other web-based converters.

Give it a try, it is free.

Using Google mail (apps or Gmail)? Try Rapportive to see you contacts activity in the net instead of ads

Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox.

You can immediately see what people look like, where they’re based, and what they do. You can establish rapport by mentioning shared interests. You can grow your network by connecting on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and more. And you can record thoughts for later by leaving notes.

Imagine relationship management built into your email. For free.

I installed the plugin in Safari, Chrome and it works fine. The problem for me is that most of my contacts don’t have a social life… so the right column is empty, which is still better than to have it with ads.

I used it with google apps.

Give it a try, it is a good idea.

Wiki with all pay as you Go plans around the world

Going out on a trip? Would you like to have a web with all the prepaid phone plans around the word, which, by the way, you can contribute to?

It is there, in a wikimedia way: Pay as you Go