I want to continue with my thoughts this morning about Flash sites. Pros, cons and the shockingly wrong. Let’s continue with standards in mind.

A standardized site

With Flash, you do not have to worry about cross-browser compatibility. No more woes over how a certain css code displays differently in Internet Explorer, Firefox and Opera. When you position your site elements in Flash, they will always appear as they are as long as the user has Flash Player installed.

Better expression through animation

In Flash, one can make use of its animating features to convey a message in a much more efficient and effective way. Flash is a lightweight option for animation because it is vector based (and hence smaller file sizes) as opposed to real “movie files” that are raster based and hence much larger in size.

Besides all the Android news and views today at Google’s I/O conference they unveiled the browser plugin that allows for browser based access to Google Earth. Guess if I was inclined to flex my semi-clever noodle we could call it Google Earth without the need of Google Earth. *Why do I feel like John Oliver while saying that?

The Google Earth Plug-in and its JavaScript API let you embed Google Earth, a true 3D digital globe, into your web pages. Using the API you can draw markers and lines, drape images over the terrain, add 3D models, or load KML files, allowing you to build sophisticated 3D map applications. If you have an existing Maps API site, you can 3D-enable your page with as little as one line of code.

Ok, so you willing to give it a try? Looks like it’s only available for the Windows platform at the moment. Head over to http://dl.google.com/earth/plugin/GoogleEarthPluginSetup_en.exe to get started.

Google Unwired (LIVE WEBCAST)

Google Co-Founder & President Larry Page will be a featured speaker for Google Unwired on May 22, that is this coming Thursday. The event will be streamed live through ustream.tv at which time he will answer questions.

Here are directions to the Atrium Ballroom in the form of a one page PDF. You can also use Google Maps to help you along.

The meat of the discussion will deal with the FCC’s 02/09 switch to DTV. However, I see this as an opportunity to sqeeze in a question about the Google slap of 2007. In advance questions were accepted by cyber.law.harvard.edu. Click to vote my question up.

Matt Cutts, a Google Engineer, works towards identifying and fighting spam. Not all spam is easily ID’d though. In this video he discuss “What Google Knows About Spam”. Towards the end he talks about the recent sql injection that hit thousands of sites. I guess the thing to do is what… use a WordPress firewall? Anyway, enjoy the clip.

Protect and personalize your cell phone

The cell phone is a loyal accessory and source of pride. Protection and love of this daily extension is high on the list of the owners. Cell phone skins have become very popular today, especially for the people who consider it an indespensible companion in the concrete jungles of modern cities. Todays cell phone owners have no inhibitions about investing money for phone covers, because dressing up your handheld accessory can be fun and is also considered fashionable.

Designer cell phone faceplates have become a fashion and the industry is growing phenomenally, because cell phones are considered not only a luxury, but a necessity. If you live in a city where the work days are long, your cell phone actually needs faceplates, covers, skins - insert term of choice. We want to Twitter in style.

Cell phone faceplates can be bought and ordered online of course from Cellular Blowout. You can get almost any style cover for a multitude of phones, from Blackberries to iPhones, LG, Kyocera, Motorola, Nokia, Nextel, Samsung, Sidekick, Treo or Sony. The customized skins come in any size, shape or color that suits your individual style. The most important factor for any cell phone protection is its practicability. Of course the covers are fashionable, but these faceplates have to fit well and hence they have to be specially tailored for each manufacturer.

A Personal Firewall Protects You From Harm

Every person with a computer that connects to the internet should have a personal firewall. Believe it or not there are people all over the world who would like to get into your computer. They would especially like to get into your computer if you buy items on line or you do banking chores online. A personal firewall can protect your identity, your credit cards and your accounts. A personal firewall is basically unseen by most human eyes that use the computer internet, but a personal firewall works in the background protecting you from the unseen thieves trying to make a fortune from people who do not have an effective personal firewall.

A personal firewall works in the background on the computer monitoring and rejecting any unwanted intrusion into your computer. A personal firewall often comes with your computer, but each person using their computer on the internet should make sure that they have a personal firewall and that it is working. Some personal firewalls need to be configured and turned on. These should be left running at all times unless they are disabled for a very specific reason.

A Personal Firewall Stands Between You And Thieves

Many people have set up devices on their computers so they can accomplish many tasks without leaving their own computer. People can set up facilities so their bank accounts are available online at any time of the day or night. The person with the account can check their balances, transfer funds and pay bills with a couple clicks of their mouse. People can order all of their birthday presents, send flowers to their mother and a card to their boss without leaving their comfortable home office. People set up these facilities to make their lives easier and more efficiently run. However, they must have a personal firewall so someone else does not order flowers for their mother with your credit card.

If your computer does not have a firewall program that comes with it, make sure that you buy a program that performs this function. The people looking for other people’s credit cards so they can send their mother some flowers might use yours if you do not have an effective firewall program. Once the program is installed and working, you should not have any problems, but you should check and update this program periodically because the thieves are always looking for new ways to use your credit card. In the event someone does get through and uses your computer contact the computer forensic experts right away!

If you get a chance to upgrade today take it. There’s a new WordPress available with improvements and security improvements. Read more.