INFORMATION UPDATE July 2005 Number 64 Welcome to INFORMATION UPDATE, a monthly resource for information seekers and users. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ IN THIS ISSUE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ => Do It Yourself - Maps and Driving Directions => Did You Know? - When Information Is Not Enough => Notes, News and Announcements => Subscribe/Unsubscribe Information ************************************************************ DO IT YOURSELF - Maps and Driving Directions ************************************************************ Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Maporama, Mulitmap, and Mappy. Experienced web surfers will not be surprised to know that there is no "one stop shop" for online maps or driving directions. So, go ahead and create a bookmark category or folder for map sites and build a handy list of useful sites. Google Maps http://maps.google.com/ is way cool and attract- ing lots of attention since Google purchased the satellite image database from Keyhole. You can view a location, find local businesses, or get driving directions. When you view a location you have the map or satellite option, so be sure to see if your location has a corresponding satellite image. It's very interesting to see the actual image of your destination. Google Maps is currently in beta and covers the United States, Canada, and the UK. Yahoo! Maps http://maps.yahoo.com/ offers address and business searching for the United States and Canada. The Yahoo! map option has the nifty feature of reporting traffic speeds and incidents on your route, including the time of the last update and the source of the information. If you are a My Yahoo! user you can add the map function to your My Yahoo! home page. Maporama http://www.maporama.com/share/ offers excellent global coverage for driving directions, distances, and times. The depth and detail of coverage varies from one continent to another, but it goes way beyond the North American focus of Yahoo! and Google. Maporama also offers some interesting fee based business services related to marketing, sales, delivery, and customer care. Multimap http://www.multimap.com/ describes itself as Europe's most popular mapping web site. Key features include street-level maps of the United Kingdom, Europe, and the US; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; and local information. Note that a few aerial photographs of general interest are free, but others have a fee attached. Mappy http://www.mappy.com/ is another site that covers Europe. It has the cool feature of including estimated expenses with the driving directions. So travelers have an idea of fuel and toll costs. Mappy will also plot out pedestrian routes. Before you head out on your trip, it might be a good idea to check the directions on more than one mapping site. Happy trails! If that doesn't give you enough mapping options, check out the Yahoo Directory for more http://digbig.com/4eaae ************************************************************ DID YOU KNOW? - When Information Is Not Enough ************************************************************ I'm currently in the process of renewing my health insurance policy. In order to assist in this process, I have been receiving lots of information. On my desk I have pages and pages of policy descriptions, coverage options, and premium estimates. It's all a bit overwhelming. What I need is someone who can take this information, answer a few key questions for me, and shed light on the decision I am about to make. Tomorrow I will call my insurance broker. For your business decisions, you want more than just infor- mation. You want an understanding of the issues and answers to your questions. In place of pages and pages of information, you should expect a summary of findings, an analysis of the implications, and even simple bullet points with answers to your questions. If you are not currently receiving this kind of added value from your information service, it's time to ask for it. For more information, contact Shamel Information Services, 858-673-4673 or mailto:cshamel@shamelinfo.com ************************************************************* Notes, News, and Announcements ************************************************************* >>Information Seekers may now subscribe to Information Update using the web form at http://shamelinfo.com. If someone has forwarded this newsletter to you, why not register for your own free copy? Use the form on the Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com. ************************************************************** Shamel Information Services Web Site ************************************************************** The Shamel Information Services web site at http://shamelinfo.com contains Information Update archives. Just click on "Newsletters" and check for any issues you might have missed. Cynthia L. Shamel, editor Shamel Information Services Telephone: 858-673-4673 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Subscriptions to INFORMATION UPDATE are free. Copyright 2005 Shamel Information Services Please feel free to forward this issue to colleagues, in its entirety. Other uses without permission may violate copyright. Online archives at http://shamelinfo.com/newsletter.htm ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^