3D Disney on Google Earth

Posted on June 5, 2008 by Alvin Trusty

SketchUp has incredible educational potential.  Using free tools available from Google, Disney has added a 3D layer over the entire Disney World property.  Every building, sidewalk and tree has been drawn in detail.  Above is a picture of the haunted house.  This is a must-see attraction at the Magic Kingdom.  As you enter the building, there are tombstones with funny names and one with a picture of a face with eyes that move.  Zoom in on Google Earth and you can see it below.  Click either picture for higher resolution images.

Think of the geography, mapping, history, architecture, engineering (the list is huge) projects that students could do with these free tools.  Students could recreate a 3D version of the local school, post office, court house and other significant government buildings.  Historical locations could also be added.

These locations would have to be researched.  Community officials would be interviewed.  Measurements would be taken.  Students would learn to use the construction tools available from Google and collaboratively place objects in correct locations.

Layers representing different time periods could be constructed.  Students could see what occupies spaces once used by historical buildings.  This could be a lot of fun… and a learning experience too.

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Efficiency Tip #106 – Shift-Right-Click CMD

Posted on June 5, 2008 by Alvin Trusty

rightclickcmd.pngHere is a short-cut that helps to solve a technical problem I have had for years.

There is no easy way to quickly create multiple folders.  Using the mouse requires a click on the New sub-menu and then selecting Folder from a long list of possibilities.  If you need to create multiple folders, it’s too slow.

Since the ’80s, the quickest way to make a folder utilizes the MD command.

md folder1
md folder2
md folder3

But the MD command requires the command prompt.  Before this short-cut, getting to the command prompt in a deep folder required a lot of typing. 

1 – go to the command prompt
2 – change to the desired drive
3 – CD to the correct folder

In Vista, a new Shift-Right-Click item has been added to Explorer.  From any folder a shift-right-click will give the option to open a command prompt in the current folder.

TSPY=2.29

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I’m on the Mesh

Posted on June 3, 2008 by Alvin Trusty

livemesh.png 

Recently I talked about keeping several computers, in different locations up-to-date with the latest versions of my files.  Microsoft’s Mesh has solved this problem.  Yesterday, I received my invitation to participate in the closed beta.  I didn’t have to pull any strings or call in favors to get the invite.  I went to the web site, filled out the request and waited for a few days.  It was worth the wait.

Once I had the account, I logged into the Mesh site.  I was presented with the picture above (without my computers that have been added).  I went to each of my computers and clicked the Add Device button.  A system tray program was installed and that computer was a part of my mesh.

livemeshicon.pngNext I went to my Live Desktop.  This is where I can share resources between computers.  By clicking the Create New Folder icon a “mesh-share” is automatically created and shared among all the computers in my mesh.  A short-cut to this share is added to my desktop and any files dropped into that folder are automatically synchronized on each computer in my mesh.

I started with my presentations, since I have a lot of them.  I copied them into a mesh-share called Presentations.  Here is where it gets really cool.  From another computer I opened a PowerPoint that was in the mesh-share.  I didn’t copy it to the computer; I merely opened it.  I made an adjustment and saved it.  The final version was instantly available to all the machines in my mesh.

livemeshdesktop.png

In Windows Explorer, a new right-click item is added to the menu.  It’s called “add folder to live mesh” and it permits any mesh member to synchronize a local folder with other computers on the mesh.

On top of the file synchronization, mesh adds a remote control feature to any computer on the mesh.  I can already do this with a combination of VNC and Hamachi.  I did test out the feature in mesh just to see how it works.  It was slower than VNC.  I also had a problem connecting to my home desktop with dual monitors.  The remote display was resized to the equivalent of one screen (half the normal size).  There may be a way to fix this, but I didn’t see the need to invest the time to research it as this remote control solution will be a backup for what I already use.

I am still playing around with all the features of Microsoft Mesh.  I will certainly add a post as I become more proficient in its use.

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Google Earth in a browser

Posted on May 28, 2008 by Alvin Trusty

googleearthbrowser.png

Today Google announced that the ever popular Google Earth program can now be incorporated into a browser.  You will need a plugin, but you will not have to install the heavy application.

I captured the inserted picture from my browser.  I think that’s one of my college buddies getting out of his car.  Either that, or someone is stealing the stereo.

Google has developed an API (complete with sample code) so that developers can use Google Earth in web projects.  All I need to do is find that map key from a couple of years ago.  I know I got one.

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Update: Found the key.  Got it to work.

http://www.trustyetc.com/map/

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Sync’ing

Posted on May 26, 2008 by Alvin Trusty

I asked my students how they move files from home to school.  I expected the most common method to be a USB drive, but I was surprised to hear that most still email files.

I consider email as a last resort when it comes to file management.  It’s inefficient because of the background processes involved.  There are also file size limitations.  UF gives every user 100 MB of email space.  It doesn’t take much to fill 100 MB.

I am waiting for an account on Microsoft’s new Live Mesh.  Once I have an account there, I will be able to synchronize files across multiple computers in multiple locations.  That will be ideal.  I can create a PowerPoint file at home and it will automatically be copied to my laptop, tablet and office desktop.  Likewise, I can update the PowerPoint on my office desktop and the new version will be copied back to my machines at home.

For local file synchronization, I have been using Microsoft’s SyncToy 2.0 beta.  By hand-configuring the Windows Scheduler, I can automatically sync my files every night.

I have a few files that I use over and over.  Using Microsoft’s SkyDrive, I have placed those into a more permanent online storage area that is accessible from anywhere.  With the drag-and-drop control in IE, SkyDrive is about as easy to use as a local file manager.

Drag

Drop

The files here are not automatically synchronized, but manage them much more easily than with email attachments.  Plus, Microsoft gives everyone 5 GB for free.

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