Biking Directions with Google Maps

Google recently added biking directions with Google Maps. See Bicycling as a drop-down option when looking for directions.

Google Biking

Beta Warning

The yellow note at the bottom to use caution isn’t just for legal reasons. Many have reported mistakes, such as directions to bike through Arlington Cemetery.

But, like everything Google, it seems to get better over time. People report these mistakes to Google by either clicking the here link at the bottom of the Beta warning or clicking Report a Problem at the bottom right of any Google Map.

Report Biking Direction Problem to Google

With the snow melting away in DC, it should be fun to bike again soon. Give Google Maps biking directions a try.

iMac 27 Screen Problems

Screen Busted

There has been a lot of concern online about screen problems with the late 2009 27 inch model of iMacs. Gizmodo has covered this extensively. I recently saw an Arlington, Virginia customer’s 27″ iMac that had developed screen problems. I used PiXel Check to change the screen to one color to see the problem more clearly. I took the photograph below which shows the streaks and smudges that have formed in the top right corner of the monitor. (Note: The fading at the bottom of the screen is only a camera effect of photographing the screen.)

imac_27_screen_smudgeResolution, We Think

Happily, Apple dealt with this well. An Apple representative needs to see the screen problem in person, so a phone call to Apple Care doesn’t help. The customer made a reservation with an Apple Genius at the Clarendon, Virginia store. After looking at the screen, the Apple Genius immediately said that the LCD screen would be replaced free-of-charge.

Unfortunately, the Apple store needed to order the part so the iMac will not be fixed for a few days. The customer opted to bring the iMac back when the part arrived so that he could still use it.

The Apple Genius said that they had seen this problem many times before. So check your screen, especially if you have a 27″ iMac.

Some online reports suggest that Apple has fixed the problem. We hope that’s true and that the replacement will work long term.