Today's tip: Get the most out of Google Maps
— -- Google Maps isn't just for driving if you own an Android device.
If you have an Android phone, you may already be dependent upon the free, turn-by-turn driving directions Google's Maps app provides — unlike Apple's equivalent app on the iPhone. But you may not have tried two newer options that also lack parallels on that other smartphone platform.
One is the ability to request bicycling directions. At least around the Washington, D.C., area where I am, Google's database of bike trails, lanes and on-street routes has improved considerably since its first, spotty implementation; you should have good odds of finding a two-wheeled route more direct than four-wheeled transportation would allow.
The other new option is the transit navigation the Mountain View, Calif., company added in July. This takes much of the anxiety out of trying a new bus route: It will track your progress, stop by stop, warn you when you're one stop away and alert you when it's time to exit.
I've tried this feature in Washington and San Francisco— two metropolitan areas with sprawling bus systems that can be hard for beginners to grasp — and came away impressed both times.
Q: Do you feel tech is isolating humans from each other in the long run?
A: I'm sorry, what did you say? I was just checking Twitter on my phone…
Ahem. But anyway: This is a complex question, so I'll limit myself to two angles in answering it.
The first angle involves the gadgets we carry around. It's true that since the debut of the Sony Walkman in 1979, the advent of each new portable entertainment and communication device has reduced our need to acknowledge strangers, much less say hello to them. For an extended discussion of how mobile phones in particular have changed how we relate to each other, I recommend the lengthy Quora thread on " What was daily life like before almost everyone had cell phones?"
At its second-worst, the glowing screen in front of our eyes can distract us so thoroughly that we literally bump into other people. At its absolute worst, you have the distasteful spectacle of men talking on their phones while doing their business at urinals. (I'm sorry to be so graphic on a family-oriented site, but the first step in solving this problem is acknowledging it exists.)
Yet at the same time, portable devices that can record photos and videos and upload them online make it far easier to share experiences with friends — in other words, deepening our connection with them. In the bargain, we've made it easier for citizens to hold their governments accountable, which I think counts as a people-friendly move.
The other, more complex angle is social networks. Here, I'll point to research by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. The non-profit released a study, " The Social Side of the Internet," which found that online users were more likely than Americans in general to participate in groups: 80 percent of those online versus 56 percent of those offline. The numbers were even higher for users of social-networking sites and Twitter, at 82 and 85 percent.
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