Tech Tips, Tricks & Trivia

Just in case you haven't heard of it yet or seen it, HOME is a documentary movie by Yann Arthus-Bertrand with breathtaking photography on how we can preserve the Earth before it's too late. It is available for free viewing on YouTube . Synopsis of the documentary: In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth's riches and change its patterns of consumption. If you are concerned about the environment, you should also take a look at the book Blue Planet Run: The Race to Provide Safe Drinking Water to the World . It tells the thought-provoking story of the drinking water crisis across the world through 250 photographs by the world’s top photojournalists. You can download the book in PDF format for free from Amazon .

T he ever increasing crude oil prices and the precarious weather conditions threaten the way we live & commute. Cities around the world will have to embrace mass transport systems to counter the energy imbalances. One website that's championing the cause of mass public transport is Google Transit . Google Transit is one of the most innovative mashups currently on the Web that's also very relevant to our times. It currently provides schedules for several cities across 9 countries - an unenviable task simplified by the Google Transit Feed Specification (GTFS) format that transit agencies share their schedules in. I discovered Google Transit in Seattle when I had to plan my commute from Bellevue to the Washington State Convention & Trade Center and I found it very friendly & helpful. In typical Google style, the UI is minimal & intuitive. You just have to type your address of origin & destination and Google Transit will show you the relevant bus #'s, route...