Online window shopping in other languages

One of the neat things about the internet is the ability to visit websites from all over the world. Dream of buying that Maserati? It's easy to find them online, not just in the US but in Italy as well. Think that finding auto usate milano "car sales in Milano" won't help you because you don't happen to know Italian?

Google and other browsers will translate webpages for you. While not all of the words always translate from the language of the website into proper English, some terms are easy to guess without a translator, like vendita auto usate, auto is self explanatory, usate is sale, so it's easy to guess the phrase is used car sales.

More detailed information can be harder without a translation, through Google I can learn that
Antonino Aldo created Garage Del Parko was created back in 1978 with his son now in charge of the family business and a lifelong love of cars.

So, you can window shop for that dream European car or even make arrangements to buy a car from overseas and have it delivered. Either way the ability to compro auto usate compare auto sales, translate features, costs, and even be able to find online sources to change euros into dollars so you get an idea of what the car would cost in US dollars can all be done right from your home computer.

Once my WebTv was faster than my computer

As I sit here outside, using my little netbook, I can't help but think back to less than a decade ago when my WebTv was faster than the computer we had at the time. You could actually connect and receive e-mail faster through the WebTv than the computer. Then we got our first top of the line computer that pales in comparison to what is out there, and dial up was still the only game in town. I remember when cable internet was finally available where we lived, then several years later DSL finally arrived.

I remember my first laptop, a Sony VAIO and the excitement of being able to connect more than one computer on line at the same time. Then to be able to go wireless, slow at times and you had to deal with the usb connection with the antenna thingy but, still wireless.

Now, I have my monster tower and my handy dandy netbook, which weighs nothing compared to my previous laptops. With the built in wireless it connects effortlessly whether I'm at home or at work, once in a while even while I wait for the bus, depending on the availability of a connection. I've gone from Windows 98 being the latest and greatest to Windows 7. Then I think back even a bit farther and remember how excited I was as an administrative assistant when self correcting typewriters were purchased by my employer...It's amazing how far we've come...

Google and your employment future...

There's been a lot of attention recently as to Facebooks changes in their privacy controls and some people who have been with Facebook since the beginning when they felt they had more privacy feel betrayed. Yet the reality is even years ago when Facebook was only accessible to college students, colleges were checking Facebook for information on prospective students and interns. Now, it's really not uncommon at all for Google to be used as part of the employment screening process where what is out there about you (or someone with the same name as you) can be a factor in your future career moves.

Deleting something does not always make it go away, which is the most important less on people seem to never learn. One thing in particular people should be paying more attention to is the Facebook groups that they "like" (yes, that used to be "fan"). Joining controversial groups if you are job hunting is not smart as that group you "liked" in fun could give potential employers the wrong idea about you...

E-commerce...did you know?

While there is usually a lot of chatter when it comes to Cyber Monday and online shopping, did you know that the Census Department actually estimates E-commerce?

The numbers are of course not recent, since we are dealing with the government and statistics, they are from 2007, but when you look at the report link to pdf you can see the main areas. I was surprised that motor vehicles and parts dealers ranked so highly as to total sales online.

How to pretend to be rich and famous...

Ever dream of pulling up to an event in a F430 Ferrari? I was surprised to learn there are actually rental car companies out there that specialize in renting out top end "dream cars" for one day or monthly. It's pricey, costing almost as much for one day as a typical rental car would cost for a month, but? For those of you interested in creating one heck of an impression, it's out there thanks to the internet as well as a variety of other items related to luxury cars including Ferrari parts (just in case you have one and there's not a local dealer). For those of you who have less exotic cars, you could also pick up a set of Ferrari floor mats, or one of the yearbooks that Ferrari puts out to adorn your coffee table.

:-)

Google and Digg content kleptomaniacs?

History has a way of changing how people and businesses operate, Rupert Murdoch is a prime example, once touting the wonders of the free internet merging with news, he's now seeking ways to keep information from being free. Of course he's not alone in trying to erect paywalls for content, but are Google and Digg "content kleptomaniacs" as Murdoch describes?

Google actually can help drive traffic to a website, especially a news site, where those who want to read more, can find it easier. Digg can help boost traffic as well, as long as the complete article is not used without permission/attribution by either source (or Twitter and Facebook too for that matter).

Google has actually helped people find my blogs, that to me is not theft of content, I've had that happen where some asshat takes complete posts from my blogs, posts it on their site without even as much as a link indicating where it came from. I view "content kleptomaniacs" as some of my local media that takes material directly from my one local blog, with rarely a mention, you are lucky to get a "I read this on some blog" -- so when I read things like this?

Murdoch and his lieutenants have begun their assault with a barrage of vitriol, most of it directed at Google. “Should we be allowing Google to steal all our copyrights?” he asked a gathering of publishers last year. In November, Murdoch laid out his opposition to the Federal Trade Commission in Washington, which is looking into the fate of the newspaper business. “There are those who think they have a right to take our news content and use it for their own purposes without contributing a penny to its production,” he said. “They are feeding off the hard-earned efforts and investments of others. And their almost wholesale misappropriation of our stories is not ‘fair use.’ To be impolite, it’s theft.” Other News Corp. executives have been even more scathing. Robert Thomson, for instance, the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, has called Google and news aggregators “parasites or tech tapeworms in the intestines of the Internet.”

I wonder why doesn't Google just drop these news sources complete from their search engines and their readers. That way it will be clearly evident how much traffic is lost...Google had no problem destroying years of hard work to develop page ranks, they should easily be able to drop the newsfeeds of these companies.

A musical interlude...

If you like classic concerts I recommend checking out Wolfgang's Vault. I've been a member for quite some time (it's free) and right now I'm listening to an amazing concert from Byrds in 1970 that took place in San Fransisco, I have quite a few favorite songs, but one is "Positively 4th Street" which really fits right now with the local political drama I've been going through.

From the concert summary:

Recorded on the final night of a three night Fillmore West run, headlining over Fleetwood Mac and John Hammond, Jr., this is the McGuinn, White, Battin, Parsons lineup early on, one which would last longer than any other Byrds lineup. The band was promoting The Ballad Of Easy Rider LP, where the group continued to explore elements of country and western music, while they headed toward a heavier electric rock sound. Ex-Kentucky Colonels guitarist, Clarence White, is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this lineup and his innovative stringbending techniques and fluid solos are well represented here.

Although not as aggressive as the late show performance (also available here in the Vault) and with a tape mix that improves over the course of the first several songs, this performance captures the band approaching their peak as a live act. Several months prior to the sessions for their half studio/half live Untitled album, which would see the group reunite with their former producer Terry Melcher and original manager and mentor Jim Dickson, this is a newly inspired band reinventing itself and venturing forth into a promising new decade.