A Comparison of Popular Maps and Driving Directions Sites

Finding maps and driving directions online only makes sense. The popular map sites have current changes updated in real time, and even feature traffic reports so that you can better plan your route. Getting reliable step by step directions will make any trip easier. The only thing left to decide is where to get your directions from. So with Yahoo Maps, MapQuest and Google all competing for our attention, which map site will reign supreme?

Basic Directions

First we’ll look at providing simple directions, as this is what most of us are looking for when we visit one of these sites. If you’re concerned about traffic, construction or other hazards, Yahoo Driving Directions is the best choice. MapQuest score some points by letting users avoid highways; take the shortest distance, or the route with the shortest time. It is also very intuitive and easy to use, which is good if you’re in a hurry to get your directions and hit the road.

MapQuest also has a cool drag and drop menu that Yahoo has also had, making it easier to plan your trip around traffic blockages. For those walking or jogging, Ask and Google are the only sites that currently lets users plot pedestrian courses. Google Maps has a handy feature that allows users to zoom in for topographical views, which some may find useful. In summary, use Yahoo Driving Directions when construction and heavy traffic are a concern, and MapQuest is usually best for quick, simple directions.

Sightseeing

So which is the best choice for sightseeing? MapQuest currently lacks the ability to show users satellite images, though it does allow you to plot multiple points around an address to pick a good route for your sightseeing tour. Google is a heavyweight here, and can show you close up views from continents all over the world.

Yahoo Driving Directions also provides satellite images of remote locations, but Ask and Google have higher resolution displays. To sum it up, Google Maps takes the crown for the most comprehensive satellite image capabilities and quickest response times. There are even websites which allow visitors to go on amazing sightseeing tours around the world from their laptops using Google’s satellite images.

A New Contender

Another site I want to touch on here is the new kid on the block, Microsoft Windows Live Local. It allows users to place pushpins at their favorite locations, upload photos to their own websites, and record notes. It also has some impressive features similar to Google including a map creator function, full traffic reporting in real time, and complete tours of popular sightseeing landmarks. Perhaps its coolest feature is that it allows users to take 3-D tours of different cities. It seems Microsoft has attempted to take the best features from the other sites and give them a run for their money. So far, they are holding their own, but I still favor Yahoo Driving Directions overall.

If you’re the type who likes to experiment for yourself rather than taking the word of some hack typing away at his keyboard, there’s a quick and easy way to determine which of the map sites out there will be best for your needs. Go to each site, and request directions for a route you know very well and travel regularly. Choose a route that has obstacles like ongoing construction, or that uses highways with lots of traffic at certain times of the day. In other words, challenge the mapping programs as much as possible. From experience, you will know the best route to take at the time of day you’re requesting directions for, so let’s see if any of the map sites know your city as well as you do!  Spend some time looking at satellite maps and searching for obstacles. After a few minutes on each site, you’ll see which of the sites gives you the best directions and has the best maps. For my area, Yahoo Driving Directions provided the best overall results, and actually taught me some shortcuts that I was previously unaware of.

The Google Map site, MapQuest, and Yahoo Driving Directions are all pretty close when it comes to mapping solutions, with Google maps showing a slight advantage over the other two in the eyes of users. Users who favor Google say the interface is the fastest and easiest to use, prompting users with an address search field, and a field to get directions with one click. Users also have the ability to alternate between street map views, traffic map views or satellite map views. There is even a 360-degree street view available in some cases.

Yahoo Driving Directions is still the site I choose most often, but there are times when Google’s advanced features are a better choice. Despite coming in third overall in user satisfaction behind Google and MapQuest, Yahoo driving directions is quite comparable to the other map sites, offering simple menu options, two search boxes to minimize clicks, and good satellite imagery. When experimenting myself, I found Yahoo driving directions and Google Maps gave me the same route almost every time

In summary, the big three contenders Google Maps, MapQuest and Yahoo Driving Directions all include a host of great features, and are all highly rated by users. Google has a slight edge with their intuitive interface and advanced satellite imagery, but both Yahoo Driving Directions and MapQuest are holding their own. Nipping at their heels, Microsoft Windows Live Local has introduced some great features of their own, and may make this a four way race in the near future.

What’s Next?

The development teams behind the map and driving directions sites are currently exploring ways to integrate their mapping functions in with other projects. “My Tracks”, for example, allows users to create pedestrian maps for walking/biking/jogging routes and use your mobile device as a GPS system, after which you can save your map to Google Docs. Google Maps is also now accessible through users’ Gmail accounts.

We’re sure to see exciting new developments from mapping and driving directions sites like Google Maps and Yahoo Driving Directions and others, as the four major sites (5 if you include Ask) will all be vying for attention from users. Expect to see improved features and more intuitive control panels which allow users to get what they want very quickly from almost any device that connects to the internet in the coming months.

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Famous Sites and Buildings on Google Maps About the Author:Melanie has been working in the tech industry for the past 15 years. Her most recent interest is social media, and how it is changing everyone's life drastically.Author: Melanie Gross, Thursday March 8, 2012 -
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Close’n Forget Removes Active Sites From Firefox’s History

You sometimes may want to erase traces of web pages that you have visited in the past. This is especially useful on multi-user systems where every user is sharing the same account and profile, but also for privacy conscious users who want to protect their privacy from third parties (for instance during US border controls or theft).

While it is possible to use programs like CCleaner for that, its all or nothing approach may suite everyone’s needs. Another possibility would be the private browsing mode, but that too has disadvantages like having to switch between normal and private browsing mode whenever necessary.

The free Firefox add-on Close’n forget adds a third possibility to the browser. The extension by default removes all cookies of the active tab. This alone may be useful in some situations, but it is not removing all traces of the website from the browser.

Users should pay a visit to the extension’s options where they can improve the functionality. Here they can enable the removal of the current site and the removal of all pages viewed in a tab from the web browser’s history. It is in addition possible to remove cookies from all subdomains of the root domain as well.

When you run the command then, the add-on will not only remove cookies but also the browsing history from the browser.

Firefox users have three options to run the cleanup. They can right-click on the page and select the close and erase cookies for the current site option from the context menu, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl-w to do the same.

It is alternatively possible to add one or two add-on buttons to a Firefox toolbar. This is done by clicking on Firefox > Options > Toolbar Layout, and dragging and dropping the buttons to a browser toolbar. The first button clears the cookies and browsing history of the active tab, the second does that for all tabs open in the current window.

The tab will be closed automatically, and all traces will be removed from the cookies storage and browser history.

The developer notes that the extension sometimes cannot clear the browsing history completely. This is the reason why the feature is disabled by default. You can verify that everything has been cleared by visiting the history page of the browser.

Firefox users who are interested in the extension can download and install it from the Mozilla Firefox Add-ons repository.

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Friday January 27, 2012 -
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Classified Ads, Job Fairs, and Buy and Sell Sites - Philippines Job Searchers' Most Useful Friends

Trying to find jobs in Manila is really a challenging job by itself. There are numerous corporations with various employment offerings. The task, nonetheless, is not easy since you should discover one to suit your background and your preference on salary and working conditions. Unless you are fortunate that the first company you're making an application for is just waiting for you to step into their office and submit your resume, the task is usually exhausting and depressing. Rejection and the feeling of hopelessness will make you feel like giving up at some point.

Don't let such feelings stop you from carrying on with your pursuit. Manila is really a huge place with many different industries and companies. You could find web based corporations in search of writers, restaurants searching for personnel, or companies searching for supervisors. The Philippines is a great spot to invest that's why there are thousands of business opportunities for Filipinos and foreign workers.

The obvious way to achieve success in your job search would be to never give up. After all, the best jobs are not the sort that will just knock on your door one morning and will allow you to begin working on the same day. Naturally, you need to understand that it will take patience and determination. Yes, there won't be shortcuts in trying to find jobs in Manila. The good news is, there are ways so that you can proficiently locate one. The next information can help you in your job search.

Make your search for jobs in Manila a job

Making your job search a job is a wonderful secret weapon to success. You should grow this to a routine to help you use your time correctly. It really is important to come up with a weekly schedule of your job hunting activities. You might assign a couple of days for checking out classified ads, newspapers or even buy and sell Philippines sites. It's also possible to devote one day for updating your resumes and making resume cover letters for particular companies. You can utilize a day for submitting your resumes to possible firms. The next day could be a good time for you to follow up on the resumes you have sent in a week ago.

It is an example of a routine which you might apply to successfully manage your precious time and make your job searching pursuits in order.

Keep an eye out for job fairs

One other good approach to finding your dream job in Manila would be to be present at several job fairs. With these venues, you'll find various companies in need of job hopefuls. Additionally, it can provide great networking opportunities available for you.

Try to look for several job fairs and make a schedule at the same time. You need to know that participating in a job fair can be your key to finding a job. Come in prepared. Mark it down as if you are reporting for a job interview. Dress nicely and prepare the essential requirements together with numerous copies of your curriculum vitae.

By simply following these suggestions, you could be a few steps away from some of the finest jobs in Manila. Plan today and start your quest tomorrow!

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Online Bingo Sites ?EUR" Top 5 Reasons Why It is the Easiest Game Ever

Online Bingo sites are getting more and more famous among the first timers because of the easy access as well as the easy way of playing. Whether it is the comfort of playing Bingo games or simplicity of the online Bingo games, they have become extremely popular among the regular as well as the new players of Bingo. Due to the increased traffic of players, new Bingo sites have cropped up. As per a statistics of the total number of Bingo online sites that are operated from UK, there were two hundred and fifty of such sites in the year 2004. However, this number has become more than four hundred at the beginning of the year 2011. Thus, over one hundred and fifty new Bingo sites opened up within these six years.

Now, let us discuss about the top 5 reasons why Bingo online sites have become so popular:

1. Easy to Play

The game of Bingo is a very easy one to play. If you are a novice then also you can play the game without any hassle. The free games available at these online Bingo sites make Bingo gaming easier to play because the players get the chance of playing the games at free of cost, without requiring to risk their own money. This easy way of play makes online Bingo sites so much popular among the revellers.

2. Auto Play Availability

The option of playing at these sites are very easy than the land based Bingo halls because of the presence of auto play option. In this format of the game, a player can put the game in the automated playing option so that he or she can concentrate on social networking available at the chat rooms of the site. Once the Bingo cards are bought, the entire game starts to roll. Firstly, the numbers were called, the numbers on the virtual cards (as many as possible) were marked and the winner is declared automatically. If a registered member of a site wins a game then the winner will get declared and the amount of prize money will be added automatically to the Bingo account of the player of that site.

3. Pre-buying Option of Bingo Cards

Players can buy the cards or tickets to play online Bingo games at a future date. This will help players to play the game without having to play the game at present. Thus, you can actually play the game at a future date, without having the requirement of being there.

4. Comfort of Gaming

Online Bingo sites can be accessed from your computer or laptop. Whether you are in a tube, in your bedroom or office, you can play at your own ease and comfort. You can wear pyjamas or shorts and play the game at your own comfort on the online Bingo sites.

5. Round the Clock Gaming

You can play the games at online Bingo sites anytime you want because they are available 24x7.

These are the top 5 reasons why Bingo gaming at online Bingo sites is so easy.

Derick Branson is an online Bingo buff and is being playing this game for decades. He had started his gaming from Bingo halls and then got hooked to online Bingo sites.You can know more about the internet based bingo gaming along with free bingo sites from this article.

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