Google Image Swirl
From time to time, I like to visit Google Labs and see their most recent projects. One of their latest is Google Image Swirl.
“Google Image Swirl organizes image search results into groups and sub-groups, based on their visual and semantic similarity and presents them in an intuitive exploratory interface. Try this tool to resolve an ambiguous query visually (apple, jaguar, beetle) or to explore a concept from different visual perspectives (Eiffel Tower, beach, impressionism).”
Below are some the results/swirls from searching “Caesar.” It is nice to see Sid is right up there with Julius.
It is still in the labs, so I am sure there will be improvements when released, and I do hope they increase the size of the images in the swirls. They are a bit difficult to view. What I do like is that I can very quickly dig into subgroups of the image results, refining the search visually.
Go ahead, give it a try, Image Swirl.
Preview of Flash Player on the Google Nexus One
Each time Flash appears on another mobile phone I get ever more hopeful about Flash becoming THE delivery platform for m-learning.
So, will Flash be on the new Google phone that everyone is buzzing about? It is not currently, but Adobe will be making it available for download sometime in future and here is a preview.
We are moving a little closer to a world were Flash is on every smart phone… iPhone, where are you?
Cloud Apps Page Added
While recently reviewing my “best of” posts, I also looked at its top keywords. Seeing cloud computing ranked as the highest keyword inspired me to add a bit more about the Cloud. So I have decided to add a cloud application page.
The Cloud App page is a compilation of free cloud applications. Many of these are useful online learning tools. So far, I have listed 20 apps, but there are many more out there which I hope to add as I encounter them. Please feel free to recommend your favorite free cloud app and I will add it to the list.
Google Chrome OS Announced
Google has announced they will release the Chrome Operating System in 2010. This OS is for netbooks and takes full advantage of the cloud. Thus, less of a need for a hard drive and a much quicker machine. In fact, they are currently boasting of a 7 second boot-up time. The success of a Chrome OS can mean a huge leap in cloud computing and hopefully more e-learning tools and apps on the cloud too.
Here is a video preview of Chrome OS.
Not sure what cloud computing is?
- Cloud Computing in Plain English (explanation from CommonCraft)
- Cloud Service and Deployment (Brandon Hall)
For Those of Us Who Didn’t Get a Google Wave Invite
If you did not get a Wave invite, but would like to get a peek at it, here are few videos from those that did get invites.
And here is the Google Wave team on launch day.
FYI: If anyone out there still has a Wave invite, I am still interested in receiving one. Thanks!
Quick Explanation of Google Wave - Video
Here is a video from Epipheo that sums up Google Wave in just 2 minutes.
If you want to learn more, go to http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html.
Feds on the Cloud
U.S. Federal agencies are utilizing cloud computing and now have an app store, Apps.gov, which provides federal agencies and their staff with cloud computing applications. This includes business apps, productivity apps, social media apps, and cloud IT services.
Here is the video Apps.gov provides as an introduction to cloud computing.
Many corporations, and individuals, are still very hesitant to use the cloud, but hopefully the government’s move to using the cloud will encourage others to use it. Especially if the government’s use results in efficiencies, cost cutting, and being environment friendly.
How will cloud computing affect education? The Don’t Waste Your Time blog just added a post on this very question. And he gives the “good” and the “bad.”
You can also read how Google is playing a role in this.
Android and Flash?
It was announced today that Verizon and T-Mobile are offering Motorola smart phones based on Google’s Android operating system. These will be available later this year. T-Mobile already offered one phone with Android, the G1, and will have the My Touch 3G during the summer.
Will these new Google Androids have Flash?
Well, according to Adobe’s 2nd quarter earnings call, they are releasing Flash for smart phones (Flash 10) this October. And it is expected to be on Androids.
If Android phones have Flash, they will have at least this edge on Blackberry and iPhone. This includes the ability to deliver m-learning created with Flash. I just can give up on using Flash/Flash Lite for delivering m-learning.
Test Driving Google Labs’ Similar Images
I took the time today to check out Google Labs’ Similar Images, which was recently released. It does make the search quite a bit easier. A challenge I have always found when searching images via Google Images was that I had to sort through many unrelated images that shared the same keywords. With Similar Images even if you have many images unrelated to what you intended, you only have to identify one that is the subject you were looking for and click the “similar images” link below it.
As they describe it:
Similar Images allows you to search for images using pictures rather than words. With the similar images feature, most images have a link below them that lets you find other images like them. There’s no need for you to refine the text of your query. Your new results will be tailored based on whatever image you select. So if you see an image you like but you’re stumped on how to describe it, just click the similar images link to see “more like this.”
It’s great for queries with multiple meanings (jaguar), comparison shopping (hairstyles), or just browsing (New York).
Here are the results of my test drive.
I searched “archaeology” and results did vary, but all were related to archaeology. The first image was of Indiana Jones (the character was an uber-looter), which was bothersome to me, but I know how it got there. Anyway, there were quality archaeological images. I clicked one from a meso-american site and voila, a slew of meso-american archaeology images. Absolutely great results.
I dug deeper and clicked “similar images” for a pottery shard within the archaeology results. It did NOT result in more pottery shard images. The results varied a lot. Some archaeology images, but more were images from related fields like paleontology and geology. I did notice there were some images not in the least related, like a few pet pictures. Those not related had similar color schemes. I assume color scheme is a factor, which may be good at times, but can really throw the results off as in the this scenario. Maybe searching for pottery shards was asking a bit too much. FYI: I did find great results when I did a top level search for the words “pottery shard,” but I could have done this in Google Images which showed the same results.
So, although not perfected it is a useful option to searching images on Google. I look forward to future versions of this Google Labs product.
FYI: This is what a pottery shard looks like.
