Results tagged “google”

          

Earlier this week our good friends at Torontoist had a great idea about "Google Auto-Suggesting" themselves and fleshed it out in a rather funny post. The Auto-Suggest feature--essentially the 21st century's version of a palm reader--has been the object of web comedy for a little while (or 12 blog years) and it's the kind of idea that we wish we would have come up with first. But when you aren't innovative, the next best thing to do is copy the idea entirely, right? So, what did we learn about ourselves from Google's Auto-Suggest? We smell like chocolate, Google "gets" the Cubs, and people hate Oprah, Michael Jordan, and us. Ouch.

Mega tech-company Google is giving the people what they want: free wi-fi at airports across the nation. Unfortunately for Chicago, where Google coincidentally has an office, neither of our city's airports will be offering the free wi-fi, instead sticking with their current pay-as-you-go wi-fi setup. But take heart, weary travelers: FOX 32 has a full list of the 47 airports around the country that are getting in on the free action, so as you head off to destinations far-and-wide this holiday season, at least you know you can view this site for free while stuck in a layover in Kalamazoo (we can hear you all breathing sighs of relief from our office).

     

Google recently announced new capabilities for Google Earth that will change the way you look at Chicago. Michael T. Jones, chief technology advocate for Google, was in town this week so we sat down with him to check out some of the new tricks they created, and what Chicagoans can look for now. Besides roving the land, you can now also cruise water, space, and even time.

Metra and Google have partnered to bring us a trip planner that allows residents to plan trips involving Metra's commuter trains now, a great tool for those of us who aren't too familiar with what train to take to which suburb. While the planner incorporates CTA buses and trains, its drawback is the absence of Pace information. It offers the same info as the RTA's trip planner, but with the world going Google crazy, Metra is happy to get the plug at no cost.

The fine folks at Google have come up with a nice plug-in with Google maps that allows you to find your polling place. The site also provides helpful links such as the corresponding state's official election office and how to get an absentee ballot. Click here to check it out and make your plans to go vote on November 4th.

As the fall-out from the United Airlines story continues, the Tribune Company says it's identified the culprit: Google. And its Googlebot.

Chicagoist loves Google Maps as much as anyone and we especially love the strange scenes occasionally captured by Google's Street View shots. For whatever reason, Chicago seems to be the epicenter of getting caught in the act -- from frisky coeds in the suburbs to drug deals on the South Side.

Get ready for WiMax to blanket our region with delicious, wherever-you-want speedy internet connections (provided you have a WiMax-enabled device). Come to mama.

The CTA has teamed up with Google to help riders plan trips (starts playing a video) with Google Maps, and lo, it is good. Google Maps now has a "take public transit" option when giving directions. We've been playing around with it for a little bit, and it seems to work pretty well.

Aiming to bring down Google Adwords (not likely) by keeping online ad revenue local (quite likely), SaveChicago.org is connecting businesses, consumers and the nonprofits they love, turning bargain hunting into desk-chair philanthropy.

Make your own Obama logo. This isn't an endorsement. Think of this more as a challenge. Get creative.

Porn is like a money tree. If you need some cash, just go out and shake the silicone until a few hundred thousand dollars drop out. So how exactly can the nation’s foremost “gentlemen’s magazine” be losing money? Playboy announced a 4th-quarter loss today, losing $1.1 million compared with a $3.7 million profit at this time last year.

Here are some things going around town to make you consider giving the weather a big ol' raspberry.

Will watching the above video of xkcd genius Randall Munroe's talk at Google be the geekiest hour of your life? Maybe. But it's worth it. [via waxy]

The crowd at Bernice's Tavern was separated into smaller groups. They were huddled together, studying a board containing ten photographs of church steeples and facades.

Today Steve Johnson decided to gripe about Google's request for Gmail stories about users' experiences with the service. We actually have to admit we were with Johnson for most of his piece, since the idea of people having Gmail stories worth sharing seemed pretty dubious. What, are you going to go over how you chatted with you future mate through Gtalk? Or how you couldn't remember where that really rad party was happening so you used Gmail's search function to suss out the original email invite amongst the 15,456 other messages in your archived folder?

Where Can I See the Best Christmas Lights in the City?

Who doesn't love the Onion? God knows we do, and hey — even Neil Steinberg sort of likes it. And that guy knows funny! Anyway, there are two big reasons to love the Onion even more: First and foremost, their Google map layer — go ahead and play around with it, above — is twenty kinds of amazing. And the company announced today that they're moving their HQ here. Well, business HQ. While the...

These days, when you’re loathe to drag your ass too far from home, Theater in Chicago has your back. The Chicago theater info source already sorts city and suburban productions by company, neighborhood, production date, and strength of review. Today we got word they’ve just rolled out a nifty Google Map mashup, plotting hundreds of area venues—institution and storefront alike—in one place. The navigation looks familiar enough and the Big G’s search engine allows easy...

According to the New York Times, Chicago "is the alley capital of America." Eh, we'll take it. Because the story's all about our "green alley" initiative, which if you'll recall snagged an Innovation Award last month.

Monica Eng at the Trib must be helping Chicago win its title of "most caffeinated" city; she tried 32 different coffees for a story in today's paper about which coffees taste the best. Coming out on top are cups of coffee from Metropolis, Intelligentsia, Coffee Beanery Ltd., Whole Foods, Cafe Colao, Illy, Peet's Coffee (our personal favorite), and Julius Meinl. She also recommends picking up the banana cream tart at Fox & Obel to...

Should Chicagoist be worried that the Bulls have opened their season 0-4 after dropping Tuesday night's game to the L.A. Clippers 97-91? Having watched three of their first four in their entirety, we can certainly say that the Bulls look nothing like a team who we'd predict to win 55 games and finish atop the Eastern Conference. Not only have they yet to enter the win column, but they're not even losing to elite teams....

Nostalgic for the pre-Mapquest world? Do your dogeared city guides and abused atlases sit proudly on your bookshelves? Have we got an event for you. The citywide Festival of Maps kicks off tomorrow, and is a tribute to those simpler, flatter world guides we’d consult constantly before the internets helped us find the best non-highway crosstown routes quicker than you could say "Western Avenue." It’s the first fest of its kind, and is a collaboration...

Chicago Calling, a collaborative festival linking Chicago-based artists with international friends and counterparts, continues tonight and Saturday, the exclamation point to Chicago Artists Month 2007. The festival as exchange program is perfect for an age where Skype, Google Talk, and unlimited wireless plans have dissolving the distance between us and our European, African, and Asian friends. If you’re commuting through the Thompson Center tonight, stop by the front plaza to hear Jennifer Karmin’s “Beast Poem,”...

Twenty new restaurants, including Chicagoist favorite Smoque, (chow pictured) were named Great Neighborhood Restaurants (GNR) today by our favorite (and the only) Chicago-based culinary discussion board, LTHForum. LTH members give the yearly awards to restaurants they believe "contribute to their neighborhoods' and the city's character by offering outstanding food, an authentic experience of their ethnic culture, and/or a welcoming (or in some cases, belovedly cranky) atmosphere for guests."

Google's controversial Street View feature is officially live for the Windy City, igniting renewed concerns about privacy. It's also rolling out in Pittsburgh, Philly, Portland, Phoenix and Tucson today. Privacy has been an issue since Street View launched last spring, though not so much a legal question as a personal one. Google captures the images by having a van with cameras on top of it cruise around; technically, that's no different than standing on...

Do you find your cell phone doesn't do enough for you, what with features limited to text messaging, video and music playing, internet access, cameras, alarm clocks and, oh yes, actual call capabilities? Do you find yourself wondering, "When, oh when, will I finally be fulfilled by my cell?" Well, until we get those kind of Touch capabilities built in, maybe not for a while, but in the meantime, you'll soon be able to use...

Aurora's Planned Parenthood can open immediately. How bad do things have to get before Daley will denounce what's going on with the Chicago Police Department's Special Operations Section? Even the Associated Press is saying, "Not since club-swinging cops in baby-blue helmets chased demonstrators through clouds of pepper gas at the 1968 Democratic National Convention have Chicago police been so awash in trouble." Dayum. And yet Da Mare has given no indication that he'll disband...

"I am a mailman and I have delivered mail here and the woman who lives here screams at me to get off of her property. I have spoken to the other neighbors about her." Aw, poor Gary. Looks like he's getting his revenge by posting on Rotten Neighbor, another one of the many fabulous Google map mashups that never stop popping up. The Chicago area still seems a little light, so go fill 'er in — you've got time to kill before 5 p.m.