FlashLadyBug.com

I knew that Google had an airplane (a few actually), but I never knew where they kept it. . .

“The bummer about owning 767s and G-Fives is you need somewhere to land
them, preferably close to your office so you don’t have blow hours
stuck in traffic with all the plebes. Thankfully, resourceful Google
has already solved that problem–by cutting a deal with NASA to
use the government’s private runway next door to the Silicon Valley
Googleplex. And now Google has made the deal even more convenient, by
signing a broader deal to rent 42 acres of NASA land for 40 years on
which to build a new Googleplex.”

$1.3 million for the runway, and $3.66 million for the 42 acres. Not bad.
http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/google_secures_nasa_land_and_767_runway_for_40_years

Check out this link if you want to know (and see) Google’s $15 million ex-Quantas 767, and some of the may locations its been over the past year or so. (Clickable map included.)

http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/6/where_in_the_world_are_larry_sergey_and_the_google_party_jet_

Read more about the Google Jet here
http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/archive/index.php/t-1441.html

“Flat screens for computers? They will soon be passe if the vision of Queen’s University computing professor Roel Vertegaal takes off outside the lab.

The Ontario school’s Human Media Laboratory is cooking up futuristic
computer screens on Coke cans that can receive RSS feeds and videos (as
seen above) and even on paper (as seen below) that blow away some of the other PC form factor improvements on the market or in the works”

Read more about this technology, and take a look at some photos showing what could be here
http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/28371

In case you haven’t noticed, Google has changed its favicon, the little box that shows up to the left of the address bar in Firefox and Safari (and somewhere in IE too, but I haven’t used it in so long, I forget where. . . . .).

For many people, this was quite a surprise, simply because Google isn’t in the habit of changing the design or layout of their pages or logos. They just don’t. Okay, so its just the little icon next to the adress bar. Its not that important in the grand scheme of things. So why the change?

From the official Google Blog :

“Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP Search Products & User Experience, and Micheal Lopez, Web Designer

You
may have noticed that Google has a new favicon, the small icon you see
in your browser next to the URL or in your bookmarks list. Some people
have wondered why we changed our favicon — after all, we hadn’t in 8.5
years(!). The reason is that we wanted to develop a set of icons that
would scale better to some new platforms like the iPhone and other
mobile devices. So the new favicon is one of those, but we’ve also
developed a group of logo-based icons that all hang together as a
unified set. Here’s the full set:”

And there it is. What I find really interesting is this block of favicons that didn’t make the cut, or were just ideas that were tried out. It’s no surprise to me how simple the final favicon is; Simple is quite often better, especially with such a small graphic.

Images and quote from the Official Google Blog,
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-blue-fish.html

UPDATE : In some random browsing, I noticed that the Google “G” with the blue background is a lot like the Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/) favicon,

.

It was similar enough to make me wonder for a second why the page I was looking at was connected to Google. . . . Maybe Googles new favicon needs some more work after all? I also have to say that I wondered why the Google “g” was done in such a funny lower case font – compare it to the Guardian “g” and its backwards.

What I wonder is how favicons will be used in the future. I mean, on a iPhone screen, I’d think that favicons might soon be integrated in new bookmarks, so that you just look for the favicon instead of reading the text. I’m not sure what you’d do if a page didn’t have a favicon, or how you’d store them on the mobile device, but its a thought.

And now, if you’re still curious, here the Favicon for FLB (the little logo on the left before HTTP:// ) :

Its the small version of our homepage logo,

This little robot searches for things to drum on, drives up to them, and starts playing.

“According to a study by Australian consumer group Choice, video game
consoles such as Sony Playstation 3 consumes five times more energy
than a medium sized refrigerator.

They found out that a medium sized refrigerator of about 12 cu. ft.
volume (60 inches in height) will cost $50 a year while Sony
Playstation 3 will cost $250 a year even if it is not in use and only
turned on.”

“…Incredibly, the Playstation 3 consumed over ten times as much power as the Nintendo Wii.”

(http://www.intology.com/computers-internet/playstation-3-consumes-more-power-than-a-medium-sized-fridge/)

People always say that being “green” costs too much money. Green, or energy-efficient (whatever you want to call it) products sometimes do cost a little bit more upfront. But the cost of an appliance, game console, etc., isn’t just the cost to purchase the unit. It’s the cost to run it as long as you own it. You don’t buy a car and NOT consider how much you’ll spend on gas for it. You must make the same considerations with video game consoles and other electronics. At least, remember this : If you leave it on, you’re paying for the power to run it.

So, I know theres been quite a few lists of demotivation posters, and I just want to contribute some that I have found to be especially funny or striking. A lot of these came from sites that made flash slideshows, and so here, I provide the actual image file in case you people want to keep a set on your own harddrive
Check it out: Flashladybug Demotivation Poster Collection

A rather useless thing for most people, but is something interesting to know if you are curious. This program displays the upload and download speeds of multiple network connections in realtime, and can record monthly reports. Heh, it could tell you how much bandwidth your using in your own house.
Check it out: SpeedApps Cyber Bandwidth Monitor

This is really off topic/not a normal post for flashladybug…but really, I just have to get this off of me.
You know those sites that claim they have found the secret to making thousands off of adsense? Their always in this particular format, long page, signature, personalized by the person who sold it, etc. I dont know about you, but, I used to think those were 1) all made by like the same person in some bot craze and 2) makes no money at all.
Well…surprisingly, I’m here to tell you that, atleast, ONE is legit
*gasp
let me clarify. By legit I mean that I, or rather a friend of mine personally knows the person making the claims, has worked with him for several years, and heres the kicker…actually makes money!
Really, its quite surprising. And who knows, it could just work
And so…this guy deserves a page on flashladybug, in addition to this post. Really…I just posted this because to actually know someone who does this for a living, and IS living, is quite amazing to me and who knows, he probably has some tricks up his sleeve.
Check out the description for his ebook: Adwords Profits 2