• Faster tracking code load times for your web pages due to improved browser execution
• Enhanced data collection & accuracy
• Elimination of tracking errors from dependencies when the JavaScript hasn’t fully loaded

The way the new asynchronous code works is that most browsers will load the asynchronous tracking code in parallel with other scripts on the page, thus reducing the web page load time.

The new code can be found here

$(document).ready(function() {
$('a[href^=http]:not("[href*=://' + document.domain + ']")').click(function() {
pageTracker._trackPageview('/out/'+$(this).attr("href"));
});
});

(please indent them!)

Cheers

There’s a brand new shiny search engine due to be released this May, which many have tipped to rival Google.

The idea behind the idea

The Wolfram blog post The Quest for Computable Knowledge: A Longer View cites the idea of Gottfried Leibniz, a German philosopher and mathematician; “He really had pretty much the whole idea of Wolfram|Alpha—300 years ago. At the end of the 1600s he came to believe that somehow there must be a way to mechanize the resolution of all human arguments”. Simply said, there is a way to rationalise our discourse, or a computer can find the answers to our questions.

Head to head

Technology Review provide a good blow by blow account of the differences between the two search engines in their article Wolfram Alpha and Google Face Off, where they test various search terms and analyse the results. Their finding was that “on many common questions for which there is no obvious data element, you will not get much help.”

Fair rivals?

At present, it reads as though Wolfram|Alfa is not quite there yet. A closer description of what it is currently could be that of Search Engine Landwho brand it a “Fact Engine”. Wolfram themselves describe it as a “computational knowledge engine”, which suggests they are looking to take it a step further than what we think of today as a “search engine”.

This is not to say that things won’t improve in the future; “Building the ultimate computational knowledge engine is a highly ambitious and long-term project. The Wolfram|Alpha that you will get to start exploring next week is really just the beginning”.

For more information check out the Wolfram blog.

Long distance:

My cousin recently had to drive from Queenstown to Christchurch on her own, but couldn’t quite remember how to get there. Before she left I suggested she have a quick look on Google Maps (http://maps.google.com).

• Step 1: Go to http://maps.google.com and click on “Get Directions”
• Step 2: Enter your location, and then enter your destination in the “A” & “B” boxes
• Step 3: Click “Get directions” to search the map

Tip: If you’re going to a specific address you can type this in too e.g. “Crowne Plaza, Christchurch, New Zealand” – give it a try!

The result (click to enlarge)

Short distance:

“Ahh” she said, “I hate Christchurch’s one way road system”. No problem. Google Maps will take this into account. If you zoom in on your destination using the “+ -” buttons you can see the road directions.

The result (click to enlarge)

Other uses:

• A great tool for getting from the airport to your hotel, when you’re in a different country
• It’s great for judging distances – if you’re not sure whether you should walk or take a car
• Avoiding toll roads – click on “show options”

Where are you going? How has this helped? Any other tips or ideas? Please leave your comments below.