To use this feature, get directions using google maps and then hover over the alternative routes. The new route will be displayed on screen at the same time as the original one. See the screenshot below for more details.

Be a silo buster. If your organization operates in a fragmented, highly departmentalized, siloed way, decide to be the silo buster. All these ideas can help you do this, but the point here is to make a conscious decision to network with the purpose of building relationships that will begin to break down these barriers.

That certaily sounds like most IT departments to me. How many IT departments have a tech/(l)users mentality, where you don’t really see the people you supports as anything more than users, and they don’t see you as much more than a bad SNL skit? How much better would things work if your IT techs were seen as actual human beings? In this economic climate, how much more value to you appear to be bringing to the table when everyone knows you, talks to you, and respects you, when you’re taking the time to learn about what they do and how technology might be able to help? How much could that value mean when it comes time to decide who to lay off?

Give it a shot, you might be surprised just how talented and interesting those (l)users are.

It’s actually quite easy.  Take for example this simple form below.

To generate such a form, log on to Google Docs, create a new document, and select Form. Create the fields you wish to receive responses to then select Embed. The code necessary to embed the new form within your blog is then presented.

Now, to get it in to your blog you’ll need to ensure that you are in HTML mode before pasting the content in to the body of your post. That’s all there is to it!

Any other tips and tricks with Google Docs? Please share.

   Hi Everyone!

 It has been a long time since you had audio on the the FiT feed. Well here we go again. This time around several of us got together and had a chat. We talked where we have been in 2008 tech wise. What we expected to get for Christmas and where we are going in 2009.

Join Us:

• Victor Cajiao
• Chuck Tomasi
• Kreg Steppe
• Steve Holden
• George Starcher

We Chat About:

• Nikon D90 - SLR Camera
• Victor’s eeePC
• Fujistu Tablet Pcs
• Box.net Storage Service
• Getdropbox.com Storage Service
• Brightkite Location Service
• Evernote 
• Flip Mino HD Camcorder
• JVC GZ-MG155 Camcorder
• TomTom GPS
• ChuckChat Technorama TomTom Video
• Zoom H2 Handy Recorder
• Sling Media - SlingCatcher
• AppleTV
• aTV Flash Hack Stick
• Boxee
• Amazon Kindle

Last night my wife says the remote control quit working. This happens now and then, but a simple reboot usually fixes it right up. This unit is connected to dual Directv receivers. I found to my dismay when the system rebooted it claimed something was corrupt and could not see any tuners. Spending my weekend rebuilding the OS was not something I looked forward to.

After some poking around here is what I did to fix it. Otherwise it was time to look into a Mac Mini as a media center. I just liked having my xbox360 be able to pull tv from the directv over my network.

The next Geek Cred Live will be on this Friday, November 28th, at 10:30 PM EST (GMT-5)

The live show will be done via TalkShoe.com. If you want to participate, if you aren’t already, sign up over there, download and install the TalkShoe software, and when the show starts, join the Talkcast here, which will let you listen to the live stream and participate in the chat room. If you have something to say, dial-in by calling the number (724) 444-7444, enter the Talkcast ID, 52365, and your pin number, and use the software to request to speak. That’s it!

Look forward to seeing you there!

To find out more about Geek Cred, you can visit the show website at http://www.geekcred.net.

Sometimes the cutting remark can blunt the cutting edge. Every year firms spend millions of dollars on hardware and software, but when we asked third-, fourth- and fifth-year associates about their firm’s technology as part of our annual midlevel job satisfaction survey (August 2008), we heard a lot more about long waits and condescending IT staffers than we did about innovative products. Specifically, we found, the quality of tech support — the size and organization of the help desk, and the responsiveness and attitude of its employees — often was the make-or-break factor in respondents’ opinion of their firm’s IT efforts.

I saw this first hand a number of years ago. Not specifically with a help desk, but I saw how a crummy attitude, and an unhelpful support person can ruin a tech project. I came in to an organization that had a fairly complex, yet very useful database system. Unfortunately, hardly anyone ever used it for anything outside of it’s main membership function. It had meeting planning, and subscription modules, and no one used them. When I suggested using them to some folks, I was met with fierce resistance, and came to the realization that everyone in this small organization simply hated this database, and I couldn’t really figure out why. I made an effort to educate people on the benefits, help them learn how it worked, etc. and nothing helped. Everyone still hated it.

It was only a couple of years into this job that I learned the reason why. Apparently, when they purchased this software, the software company sent a trainer to work with all of the staff. This person was not especially helpful to new users, had no patience for questions, did not do a good job training, and just generally wasn’t very nice. Everyone hated her, ergo, everyone hated the product.

I’ve continued to see the same thing play out over and over again. If your tech support folks convey a bad attitude when it comes to questions about your IT efforts, it will influence how people view the projects thesmelves.

Have you seen this play out in your own workplaces? Share your stories!

A few years ago, we picked up a couple of smoke detectors of this type for our family — It’s a vocal smoke detector.  It comes with a recommended script for yor recorded message.  It’s a very short and basic message calling out your child(ren) by name and instructing them on what to do.  Of course, this also means that you must have a family evacuation plan and have worked through it with your children.  The recording time is rather small, but that’s the way it’s meant to be — keeping the message short for kids so as not to be too complicated or confusing.

I can’t say I recommend or suggest this specific device, but just wanted to share which device we chose for our family.  This model is a few years old, so there may very well be newer, better models on the market.  Do a little research first to determine which type of device is best for you and your family.  Whatever you do…  at least have SOMETHING.

And don’t forget to change out those batteries!

I got the idea to make this great should strap for my camera From PhotoDojo. In essence it is a strap that hangs across your chest that lets your camera hang at your waist allowing you to grab the camera and bring it to your face for quick shots, but also be out of your way when not in use.

I made this strap from 2 straps. I had one wider strap from a free laptop bag I got when I ordered my MacBook pro, and the thinner strap is from an old, and I mean old, camera bag.

The laptop bag strap had great hardware and shoulder pad. I cut off the hardware which was a swivel clip and that allowed me to remove the shoulder pad. The swivel hook’s part that attached to the original strap was wider than the new one which will allow it to slide.

I took the thinner strap, put on the shoulder pad, slid on the clip hook and made the thinner strap one piece with a plastic slip hook. Afterward, I put an eyelet hook on the bottom of my camera in the tripod mount socket. It is a little long, but it works.

Now my camera can hang at my waist and I can pull it up to take a shot without the whole strap moving. You can see an example of how it works here. If you want to order the original you can do so at that link too.