funny :)
The Maps API is implemented using JavaScript and, before it was made available by Google, many developers embedded Google Maps onto their websites by reverse engineering code. Adrian Holovaty, one of the pioneers of creating Google Maps mashups, tells of how he used to have to create hacks to embed maps.
When Google Maps launched -- with maps assembled client-side, in JavaScript! -- I was one of the band of tinkerers around the globe who poked at Google's obfuscated code until we figured out how to embed their maps in our own pages. It was a ton of fun, not only doing the reverse engineering, but seeing the various discoveries and hacks other people were making: embedding multiple maps in a single page, swapping out the map tiles, using custom map markers, making markers move, loading real-time data onto maps...These days, it's hard to fathom a Web without embeddable maps. Wasn't it always that way? To Google's eternal credit, instead of shutting these hacks down, they recognized the demand and legitimized it in the form of their mapping API.According to the Google Geo Developers Blog post, nearly half of the almost 5,000 mashups on Programmable Web's dashboard use the Google Maps API. In an effort to show the widespread influence of the API, Keir Clarke from Google Maps Mania created a mashup of mashups that we've included below. From real-time tracking of buses in NYC to mapping out news down to a block-by-block level, the mashup shows where across the world Google Maps mashups have been created using the API.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
"THQ will use the almanac to transform "Red Faction" into a generational sci-fi saga. The movie will be set after the events of the 2009 game "Red Faction: Guerrilla" and focus on the adult offspring of the game's mining colony inhabitants, while "Red Faction: Armageddon" will take place decades later and feature a grown-up villain first seen in the movie.
"Our job is to maximize the potential of the property as it stands," said Jeff Gomez, CEO at Starlight Runner Entertainment. "We're not here to change 'Red Faction' in any kind of dramatic way. We're here to make it work solidly across different media platforms by developing a resource for everyone involved to be able to tap into the mythology."
That means the artists illustrating the comic book, the screenwriters penning the made-for-TV movie, the designers crafting the next games and anyone else who hammers on "Red Faction" will all be drawing from the same inspiration and adhering to the same continuity, which Gomez insisted will keep savvy fans entertained and, more importantly, loyal."
more details here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37593899/ns/technology_and_science-games/
Really. Who can resist this man?
ABOUTA Girl Story is a unique donation-based film that brings to life the experience of many underprivileged girls in India. This particular story is told through the eyes of Tarla, a young girl who simply wants to go to school and receive an education. Our project's goals are to raise awareness about the challenges that girls like Tarla face, and to drive donations for the nonprofit group Project Nanhi Kali.
Project Nanhi Kali (little bud) was founded in 1996 by K C Mahindra Education Trust to provide 10 years of primary education to underprivileged girls in India. Nanhi Kali has successfully evolved over the years into a national girl sponsorship program, which supports the education of girl children by providing not only academic support but also direct material support in the form of uniforms, clothes, note books etc. The project currently supports the education of over 58,000 underprivileged girl children with a goal to grow this number significantly. K. C. Mahindra Education Trust regularly monitors the NGOs giving technical inputs where ever required to ensure that quality education is being imparted to all the Nanhi Kali girls.
Please see nanhikali.org for more information.
video link not active this am!