Plane Finder – Track Flights Worldwide on this Amazing Google Maps Mashup

Posted on Thursday, December 15, 2011

If you’ve ever watched a jet’s contrails appear overhead and wondered where the flight’s going and where it came from then you’re going to love this website. The online version of the already successful iPhone and Android apps, Plane Finder displays a live map on which thousands of aeroplanes move across the globe. You can click on any of the aeroplanes on the map to find out more about it.

Clicking on any aircraft pulls up a flight identifier box with flight, plane and sharing tabs. In the flight tab you can see the flight number, origin and destination, aircraft type, speed and altitude. You can toggle the flight path on or off and even view the plane’s route in realtime on Google Earth. On the plane tab you can see further information about the aircraft and view a gallery of images. In the sharing tab you can share the flight’s details with friends on Facebook or Twitter.

Plane Finder’s sophistication doesn’t end there though. If you have a look in the map options you can restrict the map to specific airlines, show only aircraft flying at a specific altitude range or speed, search for a plane by flight number or registration or tweak all the map settings. It’s the sort of website that’s perfect for following the progress of friends and family as they fly between destinations and, since it’s live data, will enable you to carefully time your trip to the airport to pick them up.

Five Star Wall – Week 2 – December 2011

Posted on Friday, December 9, 2011

The Desktopography site can be a bit hit and miss, but it does sometimes manage to showcase some good design work. This wallpaper is by Paweł Dąbrowski (better known as Polaus in customisation circles) and he’s produced a superb abstract wallpaper for this year’s ecologically themed exhibition. You can get it, here.

TFI Friday Time Waster

Posted on Friday, December 9, 2011

Blotter 2 – Embedded Desktop Calendar for Mac Released

Posted on Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Blotter is an innovative Mac application that enables you to embed your iCal calendar directly in your desktop. Version 2 has just been released and brings a number of welcome updates and additions to the package, including resizable calendars, any calendar colour and new animations. Full details available here.

iPhone 4S Camera Vs Canon 5D – Not the walkover you might imagine

Posted on Monday, December 5, 2011

An interesting and informative photo gallery over at the Guardian which compares the camera in the iPhone 4S with a Canon 5D MKII. It’s not a technical comparison, but an assessment of capabilities by a professional photographer. The results bear out what I’ve always thought about the iPhone camera – it punches well above its weight.

TFI Friday Time Waster – If you get a chance to rob a bank – take it

Posted on Sunday, December 4, 2011

Little Printer – Hard Copy and Good Times

Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Google Maps Gets Sent Inside for a Stretch

Posted on Wednesday, November 30, 2011

So we all know that Google have done a pretty damn sensational job mapping the planet, but there’s one area that they have, until now, overlooked. No, I’m not talking about the sea-bed – I’m referring to the world ‘inside’. What, in short, happens when you get to that town-sized shopping mall on the outskirts of your metropolis and you can find the toilet? Well fear not, because now Google are bringing their mapping capabilities to the indoors and you’ll never have to play hunt-the-terminal again.

Dick – the missing Android trouser snake emulator

Posted on Tuesday, November 29, 2011

The video below is probably NSFW in America, but I suspect that if you watch it any other part of the world the result would be raucous laughter and not a summary dismissal and a lonely walk out to the carpark with your box of cubicle toys. It’s a game that was apparently so rude that Google refused to carry it in the Android Market, but having watched the promo below I can’t help thinking that there are far, far more offensive games out there than this cartoon cock simulator.

The Tool – Ideal Xmas Pressy for the Surfer in your Life

Posted on Monday, November 28, 2011

Surfers are fairly self-sufficient folks, which makes it quite hard to find something decent for them for Xmas. The Tool by COR Surf is a Swiss Army Knife for surfers. It has a tool that can change any fin system on the market, an allen wrench, a standard and phillips head screwdriiver, a built in wax comb and a leash hook

It’s made from stainless steel and therefore won’t rot into red dust the first time you take it to the beach with you. It also comes with a lifetime guarantee. It’s available now on Amazon for a very reasonable $19 – a small price to pay for making your surfer friend a happy waterman/woman.