Abducted Man Finds Way Home Using Google Maps After 23 Years
Now this is definitely a modern day version of Hansel & Gretel (no, not the high tech witch hunting pair of siblings as depicted on the silver screen earlier this year), where a 28-year old man who was abducted more than two decades ago (when he was just 5 years old) actually managed to find his way home. Of course, there was no gingerbread house in the picture or breadcrumbs for him to follow, but rather, his ingenious use of Google Maps to figure out his 1,500km journey home to Guangan City, Sichuan Province from Sanming which is located in the Fujian province.
The abducted Luo claimed that ever since he was abducted, he would remind himself of what his hometown looked like mentally every single night before he fell asleep. Obviously through the past 23 years, his memories faded with age, although there was one thing in his mind that stuck out like a sore thumb – a set of two bridges. It was last year that Luo stumbled upon a website that provides services for victims of abduction, where he posted a rough depiction of his hometown. Approximately half a year later, he was pinged by a volunteer who informed him that a couple in Guangan, Sichuan, had lost a son exactly 23 years ago. Serendipity, perhaps? Luo then used the satellite view of Google Maps to check out whether anything clicked with his memory, and much to his amazement, he saw the same set of bridges which had been burned into his memory all those years ago. Needless to say, there was a happy ending to Luo’s story as he eventually reunited with his family. Of course, there are certain quarters who doubt the veracity of this story, but it is a great way to end the week with a smile on our faces, right? This is the kind of stuff that Disney movies are made out of.
Do you remember the good old days of IRC and later on ICQ? I can still remember my 8 digit ICQ number, although I am quite sure that a fair number of you veterans out there do have an ICQ number that has far less digits, which is a badge of honor even until now. You could more or less see who was online among your list of friends, although there was the option to go invisible. Google has quietly rolled out a new app known as “Who’s Down”, where it will let you check out just who you would like to hang out with. How so?
For starters, when you turn on a switch that mentions you’re available and would like to do something specific (it is up to you, actually, so whether it is you carving out time to hang out at the mall or to grab a bite), then your desired status will appear with a question to invite anyone who has the same mind among your friends to join you. This status will last for three hours, and makes it easier to coordinate your desired plans with your mates.
I guess the Who’s Down app’s goal is to provide a platform where a group of friends can check out what you would like to do at a glance, as opposed to messaging one another on a group chat channel or the like. Your ego will also be protected in some way, since there is no way you can get turned down – because technically speaking, you didn’t ask anyone to join you directly. Who’s Down is available for the Android and iOS platforms.
I am quite sure that many people have already heard word concerning a Verizon-branded model of the Nexus 6 for quite some time already. Well, one can only say that the stock-powered Android phablet has been a rather difficult “creature” to spot – where even Google CFO Patrick Pichette did admit last month that they were unable to obtain enough inventory in order to cover demand for the device. The Nexus 6 can be considered to be a success in this sense, and it seems that Verizon subscribers can hope to see it arrive soon.
After all, that is what it looks like through a leaked marketing material that points to such a possibility. The label that is on the package itself did mention that it is Merchandising material from Verizon, and there was the specific phrase “Nexus 6 Launch” spotted there. True or otherwise, all that we can do is sit tight and wait.
It looks like we live in the age of speed, where delays are frowned upon on. In fact, it seems that Google too, wants to deliver near instantaneous translating with their Google Translate app on mobile devices by minimizing the amount of delay, making it feel as though it works in real-time. Word on the street has it that Google is preparing to roll out a brand new service which will be able to translate words in real-time, pretty much in the same manner as a current market solution known as Word Lens is able to do.
The update to the Android ‘Translate’ app will also be able to automatically recognize when someone is speaking another language, before going about with its translation magic to turn it into text that you can understand. The mechanics behind this app remain to be understood, but changes are one will need to have it configured to translate popular spoken languages into written text in a language of your choice, allowing it to be ever ready to see action. Anyone interested?