Question: Eddie asks, "On Google.com, what does instant(beta) mean?"
Answer: Good question. In general, whenever you see the term Beta, it means that the program or feature you're using is still in development and not quite ready. The "Instant" refers to that feature of Google's search box that attempts to predict what you might be searching for as you type and instantly and automatically provide search results matching your entry.
Cool Site: DifferenceBetween.net: Ever wonder what the difference between rugby and football is? What about the difference between cricket and baseball? This week's cool site is differencebetween.net and it has the difference between what looks like hundreds of things that are similar, like till and until, further and farther, and many more. The articles are listed under the broad categories of Technology, Objects, Science, Language, Business, or Miscellaneous, where "sports" is located. There's a search box if you want to use it, but I just like browsing. The site is free to use, and if you like to write, they're soliciting writers to write for them. The articles are anonymously authored, however and as such may not be useful if you're looking for material for a research paper.
Cool Gadget: TelePen Telescoping Pen: From Vat19 comes our cool gadget this week. Seems like when I need to write something I have either a pen or paper, but not both at the same time. Well for a mere $8 plus shipping you can get the Telepen. It's a pen that telescopes from 2” to just over 4.5”. It comes with 3 refills which is great, and so that you don't lose it, it's attached to a keyring. Don't worry about how many keys you've got on there, because you can pull the pen out completely. Just put it back when you're done, then back in your pocket it goes. Now if I could only find some paper.
Cool App: KeepRecipes: We save and share recipes all the time, but it's sometimes tough to share paper recipes with far-flung friends and family. Enter this week's cool app: KeepRecipes. KeepRecipes is an app for iOS devices that lets you find, share, and save your recipes right from your iPhone. You have to set up an account at their website, then you can download the app and start saving and sharing recipes you hear about on TV or the various food websites like AllRecipes, Blogher, Epicurious, and others. If you've bought a digital cookbook (I didn't know there was such a thing), you can load its recipes right in and not have to enter each one manually into the app. You can add pictures of your culinary creations, and browse by such attributes as ingredients, type of diet, style of preparation, and so on. That way, if you're trying to see what you can make from what you have on hand, you can.
It's All "Geek" To Me: Backbone: We've got an anatomical-sounding term this week. It's backbone. Well, in addition to the one you know about, the kind of backbone I'm talking about here refers to a high speed network connection usually made of fiber-optic cable that connects the major sections of the Internet together. It might also be a dedicated, leased phone line that connects two or more offices of a company.
