Q When I’m using Google Earth I’ve discovered that quite often the resolution seems to be different for different locations about 50 ft above the rooftops. Am I doing something wrong? Some locations are very clear, and others are significantly blurred.
A Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) provides a satellite view of the world by seamlessly stitching together views. Some areas have been mapped very closely, such as Central London (you can see individual cars) and the Pyramids, which is one of my favourites (you can make out individual stones). Other areas, as you point out, are much more blurred – this is not because you are doing anything wrong, but simply because that particular area hasn’t been mapped to a high resolution yet. However, this is improving, so if you are offered the opportunity to upgrade Google Earth please do, and you should find that areas that were previously blurred can be seen in sharper focus. I’m afraid that it’s a question of being patient until ‘your’ area gets mapped. Alternatively, try Multimap (http://www.multimap.com/) which sometimes can provide you with better resolutions than Google Earth.
Q Should I put the same meta tag (same information except title of page) on all web pages or should the description be written individually for all the pages according to their content?
A This is a question that comes up fairly regularly. Meta tags allow a website designer to add ‘tags’ to pages that are not seen by the viewer, but which are noted by search engines, and some of them do pay attention to these when it comes to ranking pages. It’s not a magic bullet, however, so don’t expect to get a high ranking just because you’ve put tags on your pages! However, I always think it’s worth doing, and the tags that you use should be appropriate for each page on your site, and as each page will have slightly different content this should be mirrored in the tags you use. For more information on tags you might find it helpful to consult a page that I wrote about them some time ago at http://www.philb.com/metatag.htm
Q Can you provide me with a brief history of the internet for a course that I’m running?
A There are a great many histories available, but some that I’ve found useful are ‘A brief history of the Internet’ (www.walthowe.com/navnet/history.html), Hobbes’ Internet Timeline (http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/) and a site produced by the Internet Society that provides a lot of links to different histories of the internet in whole and part (www.isoc.org/internet/history/)
Site of the month
As some of you may know, my mother died recently, so I’ve been spending a lot of time looking at appropriate sites. One that I found useful was Cruse Bereavement Care (www.crusebereavementcare.org.uk/) which provides a great deal of practical information. If I Should Die (www.ifishoulddie.co.uk/index.htm) also has practical information, together with a number of poems that may provide comfort. Finally, if you are planning on having hymns at a funeral, the Cyber Hymnal (www.cyberhymnal.org/) has the words and music to hundreds of hymns to help you make a choice.
Phil Bradley is an internet consultant, trainer, web designer and author. Visit www.philb.com for free information on internet introductions, search engine articles, web design tips and a host of other free information. New: 3rd edn of The Advanced Internet Searcher’s Handbook is now available! If you have any questions about the internet send an email to mailto:philb@philb.com?subject=column query with the subject header ‘column query’. This column and its hotlinks are available on www.cilip.org.uk/update under Online Articles.