Google revamps Maps with 3D, cards, social search

The new version includes user-generated street views and live images of Earth's cloud patterns. Says Google: "The map is the user interface."

Google says it has rebuilt Google Maps for the Web with a new version that's more immersive and social.
The new version takes a page from Google's mobile efforts by putting the search box inside the map and making use of cards -- Google's take on interactive information widgets.
"It's simple and powerful. The map is the user interface," Google's Bernhard Seefeld told attendees at the company's annual developers conference, where the new Web service was unveiled.
When users click on locations, information about those areas appears on cards. Information can include navigation, which offers a comparison between driving times and public transit times in one spot. Maps also offers social results, showing places that friends have reviewed.

 

The Maps interface features a 3D view, which Google says does not require any additional software or browser plug-ins. This is a similar experience to what Google has offered in its Earth app. In fact, users can zoom all the way out to see the entire Earth with a live view of clouds.

 

Real-time clouds.

One other new feature is a way to upload Photosphere images to Google Maps, which Google referred to as a user-generated street view. These can be uploaded by locations, adding an extra layer of information for people to view.
Details about several of the features leaked out ahead of I/O and were spotted by Droid Life.
Google is previewing the new version of the service this week. Users can sign up as part of the preview today. Google will start issuing invitations Thursday.

Google shows off Maps at Google I/O 2013 (pictures)

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Today`s Quotes

“You can't live your life for other people. You've got to do what's right for you, even if it hurts some people you love.”

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‘A leader should be open to changes in the environment and know how to deal with it’

A successful leader is one who is undeterred with the changes around him, no matter how difficult they are.

‘Leadership is not about attributes, it’s about behaviour. And in an ever-faster-moving world, leadership is increasingly needed from more and more people, no matter where they are in a hierarchy. The notion that a few extraordinary people at the top can provide all the leadership needed today is a recipe for failure.’ (Harvard Business Review)
Indian businesses have seen significant transformations over the last few decades, which have changed the way we work and interact with our colleagues in the organisation. From the domestically focused businesses of the post-independence era, Indian firms today have reoriented themselves, to become more global and to deal with competition from global companies. This changed approach of Indian companies and increased focus of global companies on the Indian market has also impacted our work culture. We have moved from an authoritative leadership style to a more accommodating style where employee satisfaction is the prime focus of every leader. Employee satisfaction is built on the foundation of trust and delegation of greater responsibilities, amongst other factors.
In fact, it is imperative to train every employee in an organisation to be an efficient leader, because leadership is a quality that is not restricted to only the top bosses. Earlier, organisations used to believe that only a single individual with enormous leadership abilities could be the leader, impacting the company’s successful future. However, this belief is no more perpetuated. Corporates today share greater responsibilities with valued employees and it always works in favour of the organisation!
India is also a country with burgeoning youth population; we have more young people joining the workforce than anywhere else in the world. This generation is broad minded and independent and do not require hand holding. Every individual is a leader by mindset; we just need to harness these young minds properly so that they can become great leaders of tomorrow. There could be many good managers in an organisation but becoming an effective leader is equally important.
So what really are the attributes that a good leader should possess? In my view, leadership style is an active choice one makes, and it has a direct impact on the results they achieve. There are no well defined leadership qualities; it completely depends on the individual. However there are a few attributes that all successful leaders demonstrate.
First and foremost, it is important for a leader to have a vision and firm belief in his vision. He needs to be completely sure of the goals he wants to achieve and how he would achieve it. Further he needs to possess the skills to convince people about his vision and work with them towards it.
A leader should also be open to changes in the environment and know how to deal with it. As a famous saying goes – “you cannot change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust the sails to reach your destination”. A successful leader is one who is undeterred with the changes around him, no matter how difficult they are and knows how to steer the ship to the right direction.
We have several examples of great leaders who have believed in their vision, shown resilience to tough circumstances and emerged as a winner. Steve Jobs was forced to resign from Apple, ten years later he went on to make it one of the most profitable fortune 500 companies. Walt Disney went bankrupt several times before he finally built Disneyland.  He was once fired by a newspaper editor who accused him to be lazy and lacking imagination and creative ideas!
From an Indian context my current favourite is MS Dhoni, Captain of the Indian Cricket team, who I believe possesses the qualities of a great leader. From handling controversial team selections, to managing a diverse team, be it the Indian team or IPL, Dhoni is a performer and demonstrates the same to the team. He gives genuine respect and confides in his team members even in the worst circumstances. As a leader, he is calm in extreme situations. Above all he allows his teammates to take risks and lets them experiment even if it means tasting failure sometimes. He has been a key contributor to helping the Indian team achieve its vision of winning the cricket world cup.
A leader’s responsibility is to guide the change at work and in the society. He needs to foresee the need of a change, be the change himself and bring the change in people he leads. This alone is the key to success! Infact, a leader should prioritise the behaviours that will have the greatest impact on the disposition of his employees and enable his company to implement its strategy.

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“A fun way of hiring helps break the ice and understand a job seeker better”

Samar Singh Sheikhawat – Senior Vice President, Marketing – United Breweries Ltd

To counter the problem of limited existing talent pool and to attract the best available talent many organisations are picking innovative strategies to hire candidates. Heineken’s campaign ‘The Candidate’, is one such attempt at a non-contemporary recruitment campaign.

Excerpts from the interview:
How does creativity fit into the hiring process? Does it help?
Creativity helps in fresh flow of ideas, in line with the latest trends. It helps innovate and makes people think out of the box. Heineken as a brand feeds on innovation and believes in surprising constantly. With Heineken, even something as common as recruiting an intern can be made novel and unexpected. While hiring, we look for a person who can think out of the box, develop fresh ideas and refresh the brand’s image in the bargain.
‘The Candidate’ opened up Heineken’s world to outsiders. It gave insight to Heineken’s role as an employer brand and demonstrated why Heineken stands out from the rest. The campaign had the intention of hiring a creative person through an engaging process (rather than the standard one-on-ones) where the job-seeker could act on real-time situations and come up with out of the box ideas. The resourcefulness and spontaneity of young job-seekers was instantly instigated and it paid off. In the process we as a brand came across as fresh, engaging and innovative in our approach to hire someone with similar core values. It is a good practice but it surely has to be in lines with the brand’s messaging, imagery and the campaign has to be interesting and engaging enough to attract job-seekers.
What are some of the advantages of hiring the creative/fun way?
A fun way of hiring helps break the ice and understand a job seeker better; especially with regards to his/her spontaneity and wit. Through this campaign Heineken inspired young adults / job-seekers to think beyond traditional qualifications and encouraged them to be resourceful, innovative, and inventive and stand out in order to fulfill their dreams.
Also, considering that the process has the potential to be an engaging one, there is tremendous opportunity to generate lot of buzz through the campaign. That is what we did for ‘The Candidate’ where we used the social media platform and created noise around the hiring process itself. The campaign spread like wild fire and we were able to generate consumer interest which helped us shortlist our ‘Candidate’. Even the video which showed prospective candidates reacting to various situations went viral within minutes of posting online.
What key factors should be kept in mind while employing such strategies to recruit staff?
It is important to recognise the power of digital and social media as it holds great potential in unearthing talents, especially for a country like India which has the most number of active users on Facebook. ‘The Candidate’ campaign was primarily run on the digital medium and we saw a lot of buzz generated through it. Engagement, innovation and sticking to core brand values are the key factors that should be kept in mind.

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Foods that can give you a headache

Foods that can give you a headache

Dietary changes and certain foods can trigger migraines.
Suffering from headaches or migraines every now then? Well, you're not alone as many people complain of such problems. Leaving aside obvious reasons like sinusitis, stress and mental tension, little do people know that their diet could be a culprit too. Surprised? We tell why you should be more watchful of what you eat to avoid that throbbing pain in your head.

Diet
A headache is a discomfort or a pressure-like sensation in the head. A migraine is a common type of headache that usually occurs on one side of the head. Dietician Dr Sunita Dube agrees that one's diet can affect headaches and says, "A family history of migraine, apart from stress, food and beverages may be responsible for up to 30 per cent of migraines. If you consider some other triggers such as hormonal changes, stress, sleeping habits, and depression, it's possible that the percentage is actually higher."
One of the most common reasons for headaches due to dietary changes is suddenly switching to a very low calorie diet, in other words, crash dieting. Agrees consultant nutritionist Niti Desai, "This can lead to headaches, especially if these diets cut down or eliminate carbohydrates completely. The brain can only use carbohydrates as fuel. Headaches can also set in due to low blood sugar levels. Also, if you start skipping meals or have long intervals between your meals, headache sets in. Even a very low water intake can trigger headaches."

Tyramine, a culprit
Tyramine is an amino acid that has been thought to trigger headaches by reducing serotonin levels in the brain and affecting the dilation of blood vessels. Because of their connection to migraines, tyramine containing foods are important triggers. These include red wine, cheeses, chocolate, alcoholic beverages, and certain processed meats.

Alcoholic beverages
Dr Dube says that red wine contains tyramine, phytochemicals called phenols, which may be the real triggers. For some people, drinking any kind of alcohol can bring on a migraine. Other compounds in beer, whiskey, and wine that deplete levels of serotonin (the happy hormone) in the brain could also be triggering migraines.

Chocolates
They can act as migraine triggers because they too contain tyramine. But at the same time, the connection could be that women tend to crave chocolate during stress and hormonal changes, both of which also may trigger headaches. The amount of chocolate can be an issue too, as migraine patients with the diets highest in fat tended to have more frequent headaches.

Coffee
This deserves a special mention because sudden withdrawal of coffee consumption can trigger headaches. Clinical nutritionist Dr Nupur Krishnan explains, "Coffee is mildly addictive and it temporarily enhances mental alertness and concentration. Sudden withdrawal can often cause headaches, irritability and other symptoms that vary in severity from one person to another." For example, in some people who are sensitive to caffeine, it can trigger migraine headaches, while in others it might actually abort a migraine by relaxing the constricted blood vessels that are causing the throbbing head.

Sugar
Natural sugar is important because all plants and animal store energy chemically as sugar. All form of natural sugar provide about the same energy value — four calorie per gram. Natural sugar is better than artificial sweeteners. Desai says that a very small percentage of people intolerant to the sweeteners suffer from headaches. However, this is more common with the sweetener aspartame and not with the newer sweeteners that use sucralose.
So if you suspect the reason for your frequent headaches or migraines might lie in your diet, is advisable to see a doctor.

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CSK leap to the top as Delhi Daredevils succumb to 33-run defeat

Captain MS Dhoni (right) blasted 58 not out to lift CSK to a competitive 168-4.

CHENNAI: As expected, Chennai Super Kings brushed aside Delhi Daredevils at home on Tuesday to move on top of the T20 league table on a day CSK, Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals moved into the playoffs.

Scorecard | Watch IPL Videos

Captain MS Dhoni blasted 58 not out to lift CSK to a competitive 168-4. Delhi never looked like posing a threat and ultimately finished at 135/9 to lose by 33 runs. Skipper David Warner once again played a lone hand for the Daredevils but he had scant support from his teammates.

Earlier, CSK appeared to be losing their way after a positive start before Dhoni, yet again, took charge after promoting himself to No. 4. Already assured of a playoffs spot, CSK are eyeing a top-two finish that will allow them a second shot at the final, and it was to lift their net run rate that the hosts uncharacteristically opted to bat first.

Dhoni's fifty came off 30 deliveries with two fours and four sixes. Only, this time it wasn't brutal hitting that the Indian captain is so very capable of, but a calculated assault that took the wind out of Daredevils's attack.

Michael Hussey (26) and Murali Vijay (31) put on 61 for the opening wicket to set the platform, but Vijay's run out set off a mini collapse with the side also losing Hussey and Suresh Raina for the addition of just 12 runs.

Dhoni, however, had other plans. He quickly assessed the conditions, and smacked left-arm pacer Irfan Pathan for a six as CSK rolled to 100-3 in 14 overs. Thereafter, Dhoni was lord of all he surveyed. He lashed Ashish Nehra for a six and then slapped him for a boundary with impunity in the 16th over as he took his fourth-wicket stand with Ravindra Jadeja to 57. Jadeja fell, bowled by Umesh, after chipping in with 24.

Dhoni brought up his fifty with a six and a boundary off Nehra in the 19th over, and although Umesh bowled a tight last over, Dhoni had helped the team put on 59 in the last five overs.

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Smartphones And Tablets Increases The Risk Of Heart Attack

Smartphones And Tablets Increases The Risk Of Heart Attack: Study

Bangalore: A recent study by The Heart Rhythm Society, says the magnets in iPad 2 tablets and covers are capable of interfering with cardiac rhythm devices like pacemakers, reports TOI.
When the patients implanted with heart devices come in contact with magnets, the device switches to magnet mode, which can lead to disrupt function.

 Gianna Chien, 14, with the help of her cardiologist dad had conducted a research which was initially meant for the study as part of a school science fair project, discovered that cardiac rhythm devices can be affected by magnets and radio frequency energy in products ranging from cell phones to MRI machines.

Gianna in her research asked 26 heart patients with Implantable Cardiac Devices (ICDs) to hold an iPad 2 from a readable distance. The iPad did not affect the ICDs at this length and caused no electromagnetic interference. However, the patients were told to place the tablet on their chests, to pretend, as if they had gone to sleep with the iPads on top of them. The results showed that 30 percent of patients' ICDs had switched to magnet mode.

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Windows Blue gets official name: Windows 8.1

Tami Reller, the top Windows marketing and financial exec, tells a J.P. Morgan conference that Windows 8.1 will be free and available later this year.

Tami Reller, chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division.

The update to the struggling Windows 8 operating system, known by the code name "Blue," will be called Windows 8.1, a naming convention that Microsoft has used for its software updates for years.
Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of Microsoft's Windows division, disclosed the name during a speech at J.P. Morgan's Global Technology, Media and Telecom Conference in Boston this morning.
The new software, which Microsoft also wrote about on its Windows blog, will be available for download for free for existing Windows 8 users later this year.
"It will be easy to get from the Windows start screen," Reller said at the conference in Boston. (CNET followed her speech via Webcast.)
To date, the Windows division has updated the various versions of the Windows 8 operating system 739 times, Reller said. Windows 8.1, however, will offer significantly more changes than those frequent fixes.
"This is more substantial than what we can deliver in those weekly updates," Reller said.
Reller offered few details of what would be in Windows 8.1. There was no discussion, for example, about whether the update will bring back the Start Button that Windows users have come to know over the years, only to find it missing in Windows 8. Those questions will likely be answered when the preview of Windows 8.1 arrives on June 26 in time for Build, Microsoft's developers conference, in San Francisco.

Instead of offering those details, Reller explained the Windows group's "principled but not stubborn" approach to updating the operating system.
"You need to have a vision. You need to have a point of view. And you need to consistently deliver on that," Reller said. "You're also consistently listening, learning, and becoming smarter."
As for the timing for the general release of Windows 8.1, Reller said it will arrive before the winter holidays. She said the company recognizes the importance of giving its hardware partners enough time to install the update on the devices they hope to put on store shelves in prime shopping season.
"We understand when the holidays are," Reller said.

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Microsoft posts details of next Windows Phone 8 update

Microsoft is starting to detail features coming in this summer's GDR2 update to the Windows Phone 8 operating system.

Microsoft is starting to open up a bit on what Windows Phone 8 users can expect with the next version of its Windows Phone 8 operating system, known as "GDR2."
On May 14, company officials shared a couple of the expected GDR (General Distribution Release) 2 features in a blog post that was primarily about the new Lumia 925 phone Nokia unveiled today. That phone, code-named Catwalk, is due out in June on Vodafone and some time after that on T-Mobile. It is Nokia's first lighter-weight, aluminum-body Lumia.
Microsoft's supposed plan, according to my tipsters, is to release three GDR updates to the Windows Phone 8 operating system before delivering what we've been calling Windows Phone Blue.
The "Portico" update -- OS build number 8.0.10211.204 -- which began rolling out last year, was considered GDR1. The GDR2 update -- which Microsoft officials never actually call GDR2 in today's blog post -- is coming "this summer." GDR3 sounds like it may be timed to arrive this fall. And Windows Phone Blue is sounding from tipsters more and more like a 2014 release.
In today's blog post, this summer's Windows Phone 8 OS update is described as including "a small number of improvements and upgrades." The post said it will be similar in size to the last update, aka Portico, which included Wi-Fi and messaging improvements, among other new features.
The new update will include support for CalDAV and CardDAV, so that it will continue to work with Google contact and calendar syncing services, officials said. This CalDAV/CardDAV support previously was rumored for GDR2.
The update will reintroduce support for FM radio (as a feature carriers can opt to include or not) -- something that was part of the Windows Phone 7 operating system platform, but which was cut for Windows Phone 8. The update also will make the Data Sense monitoring feature of Windows Phone 8 available for more carriers to include if they decide to do so.
The coming update also will improve the ability to select, download, and pin tunes in Xbox Music and improve the accuracy of song information and "other metadata."
"The update includes hundreds of other small quality improvements," according to Microsoft's blog post.
The GDR2 update will be rolling out to existing Windows Phone 8 users starting "later this summer," officials said today.

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2013 Audi RS 5 is a brute in a suit

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Beneath some of the sexiest sheet metal on the road today, the 2013 Audi RS 5 is a bit of a brute.

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