Google Maps

When I was in elementary school, and even early into high school, I would decorate my notebooks and binders with stickers. In the 80s, it was Garbage Pail Kids, and as I got older, rock bands and such. Yeah, I was totally cool.

In the tech world, customization is always popular, including stickers. Think about it -- some people decorate their laptops with stickers, while other folks put case badges on their gaming PCs. Today, Google is bringing virtual stickers to Google Maps on Android.

Remember the days when we went everywhere with either a printed map or none at all? That's not the case these days as we almost universally have maps at our fingertips. Leading the way in this market is Google, which powers many mobile devices, though it's far from the only option.

Now the search giant is rolling out an update that it hopes will improve getting around town. This comes in the form of a dedicated tab aimed at commuting in the fastest way possible.

South Africa, as the name implies, lies at the very bottom tip of the continent for which the nation is named. The coast is a region that has long been feared by mariners, who dubbed it Cape of Good Hope -- hopes were that you would survive the journey around it, passing from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean.

But there is much more to South Africa than just that, there's a history there and, also great wildlife that needs to be protected, not to mention the beautiful scenery.

It's been almost five years since the infamous Japanese earthquake and tsunami event. On March 11, 2011 the cataclysmic natural disaster unfolded, seemingly before our eyes thanks to 24-hour news coverage. The world watched in horror and donations poured in for relief efforts.

While I doubt anyone has really forgotten that terrible day, it has faded in the memories, except for those who live there or have friends and relatives in the area.

In just a couple of days the Alaskan dog sled race known as the Iditarod will kick off its freezing, snowy journey from Anchorage to Nome. It's a long, brutal trip that can take anywhere from nine days to as much as two weeks to complete.

If you can't make it up north to see the historic race then Google Maps can bring it to your computer with all of the beautiful scenery and brutal conditions. A reporter once called it "The Last Great Race", and that may be true after Hillary made the top of Everest and Amundsen got to the South Pole. Both were races, albeit of a slightly different kind.

Google has extended its pit-stop feature -- the ability to find places to stop off on journeys -- to iPhone and iPad users with the release of Google Maps for iOS 4.16.

The ability to create diversions was first unveiled in Google Maps for Android back in October, and allows users to add pit stops to a planned route during journeys while in navigation mode.

One of the great things about travel is the food you get to try, authentic dishes that can sometimes only be found in certain locations. If you aren't picky about new things then you just may find something to satisfy your culinary dreams, perhaps a dish you've never heard of.

Google Maps has been guiding users to restaurants in both the US and UK for a while now, using a feature called "Explore Around You". Now the search giant is bringing this to more nations so both locals and travelers can find a location to satisfy their appetites.

Watching the Super Bowl is easy. Sit down, turn on your TV, and you are good to go. With that said, properly experiencing the big game is something else. For maximum fun, it is a good idea to watch it with other people while eating delicious snacks.

If you are an Android user and not sure where to watch Super Bowl 50, Google has you covered. Its Maps service will help you discover some awesome places to watch the game. If you don't have any friends to call upon, don't worry -- you can use this as an opportunity to make some.

There is no shortage of online blabbers making predictions about the future or bloggers pining pageviews with rumors about the next thing (usually from Apple). I rarely join the chorus of new year prognosticators—and won't now. Instead I make a wishful what-if aimed squarely at Google. Watching the blizzard blast the Washington, D.C. metro area, once my home and for most of my adult life, I got to thinking: Wouldn't a live feed, something like Google Drone Street View, be fantastic way to experience the storm?

Why shouldn't this be the next wave in drone deployments? If not from Google, then from newscasters? The low-flyers could go where snow would stop motorized vehicles; and, connected in real-time to Google Maps, provide contextual viewing experience. You can be there, too, even if living one-thousand kilometers distant. Newscasters could use drones to give a more immersive watching experience.

It's hard to have too much storage, and cloud storage is particularly handy. Microsoft may have cut the amount of space OneDrive users have access to, but Google is giving you a way to gain 1TB of Google Drive space for free.

There is, of course, a slight catch. While the storage space is free, you will have to work for it. It's all part of a big push of Google's Local Guides program. Make contributions to Google Maps in the form of uploading photos, writing reviews, and correcting mistakes and you'll be rewarded in a number of ways.

Google has unveiled updates to its Google Maps for iOS and Google Maps for Android apps. The big news in this latest release is the addition of support for the Apple Watch on the iOS platform.

Both Android and iOS users also gain additional new features including support for comparing ETAs across a range of transit options, plus the ability to generate directions and call businesses directly from a list of places.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret -- I am overweight, and love to eat. It's true. While I have been known to chow down on fast food like McDonalds and Taco Bell, my true enjoyment is higher-end dining. Dinner at a fancy restaurant is a great way to relax after a hard week of work.

When you live in a place like New York, however, deciding on a place to eat can be difficult. The number of high-quality restaurants are endless. With that said, you never want to try a new place on a whim and end up having an expensive and disappointing meal. If you are an Android user, you can now explore and discover new restaurants without fear. Google Maps will now assist you in dining discovery, and depending on where you live, will offer curated listings as well. Hopefully this will come to iOS too. Bon appétit!

Sir Isaac Newton famously said that "If I have seen further, it is because I stood on the shoulders of giants". Newton referred to the scientists who came before him, but Charles Darwin could have uttered a similar phrase. The explorer and scientist visited the islands of Galapagos and saw literal giants in the form of turtles, or tortoises to be precise. In fact, Darwin brought one home to England, though Harriet eventually resided in Australia before she died at the age of approximately 176.

Now you can see these famous, and seemingly ageless, creatures on Google Maps. No need to board the HMS Beagle and set sail, just look on your computer.

Google has come a long way over the years, but one thing has remain remarkably simple: its logo. There have been various designs for the six, colorful letters and today the company has taken the wraps off the latest version... complete with an uppercase G!

It's going to take a while for some people to get used to, but the clean, sans serif look of the new logo is simultaneously modern and retro. But today's announcement is about more than the main logo -- this is the launch of a new 'identity family'. In addition to the main logo, there's also a new four-color G icon, as well as similarly-colored imagery for other elements.

Google is everywhere, you cannot run and you cannot hide. Well, maybe I am being a bit dramatic, but if you use Android or any of Google's services, it is compiling data to track your actions and behaviors. The search giant may know your favorite restaurants, sexual tastes, plus home and work locations too.

If you use Google Maps and location services, the search giant is even tracking your movements. While that can lead to powering some useful solutions, it is also creepy as hell. Today, Google announces "Your Timeline", which is a tool for Android and desktop that shows you all the places you have been. While it is sort of cool, it is also a reminder that Google is watching you.