RoomAtlas mashes Google maps with hotel prices and reviews

by Scott Carmichael on

I’m a sucker for a good mashup. RoomAtlas is such a service – it combines the power of Google maps with thousands of hotel locations. The map looks a bit like a Monopoly board, and shows the location of hotels, along with a color coded price, links to reviews, a thumbnail photo and a link to a booking site with even more details of the property.

Rates come from Hotels.com and Expedia, so you are almost always going to get the best available rates. I’ve been playing with the site for some time this morning, and absolutely love how easy it is to find a hotel where you want it, for the price you are willing to pay.

RoomAtlas current covers 53,000 hotels from all around the world. Prices can be displayed in US Dollars and UK Pounds.

Gadling readers compile Belize must-sees

by Brenda Yun on

Gadling would first like to congratulate Dave C., the lucky winner of our Moon Belize giveaway! Dave C. wrote: “I don’t get the change to do as much diving as I like, but when I can, I won’t miss it. If in Belize, I would certainly not want to miss the opportunity dive at the Blue Hole. Diving gives me a sense of peace I can’t get doing anything else, and the Blue Hole just looks like a tremendously mysterious and beautiful place to dive.” A copy of Moon Belize is heading to your doorstep as I type this. I hope you enjoy the Blue Hole, and thanks to everyone who participated.

I was so blown away by the fantastic Belize must-sees that I compiled some of the best giveaway comments below.

From Dennis: “Snorkeling at Mexico Rocks. Off the beaten path, beautiful and never crowded. It’s like your own private garden of coral heads and sea life.”

From Molly: “As newlyweds crushed under a mountain of student loan debts, we were thrilled to see the review of Moon Belize. We want our honeymoon to be there and are saving up. Definitely top of my list are the ruins and back country hiking.”

From Peach: “I’d love to go manatee watching! These are some of my favorite creatures & I’ve seen them in captivity but thats never really quite the same as seeing something in the wild.”

From Joe: “I’m starting a SCUBA program soon and I want to do my certification dive in Belize!”

I also created a handy Top Spots in Belize Google Map should you need a little inspiration on your journey through Belize. In case you don’t know how to use Google Maps, click on any pin to view a Gadling reader’s description. You can also retrieve directions to and from any destination.

Don’t forget to check out my review of Moon Belize as well as my interview with Avalon travel writer and Belize expert, Joshua Berman.

Enjoy Belize!

Angry British mob chases Google out of their town

by Scott Carmichael on

Here in the US we are used to being able to zoom in on street level images of anything in our area.

Google started mapping up and down our streets years ago, and it all happened with so little fanfare, that nobody really got the chance to complain.

Things are different in the UK, where residents are beginning to complain quite vocally about the privacy invasion caused by the ability to get up close and personal with just about anything, anywhere.

In the town of Milton Keynes, residents noticed the camera equipped Google car snapping photos of their homes, and decided it wasn’t going to happen.

The angry mob stopped just short of bringing their own pitchforks, but managed to block the driver, and then chase him away.

Of course, the whole thing could have been done to prevent anyone in the town showing up on Google doing something stupid.

Inspired by Google Earth – teenager paints 60ft penis on his roof

by Scott Carmichael on

Easily offended readers move along – this story involves juvenile humor and a massive painting of a penis.

When 18 year old Roy McInnes watched a TV show about Google Earth, he decided to play a little prank on the photo snapping satellites.

See, these camera satellites pass overhead, and take shots of your area. They don’t care what they see, unless it is something deemed classified, in which case it is blurred.

Roy was hoping that anything he’d paint on his roof, would be captured by Google, and become viewable to the world.

He climbed on the roof of his parents house, and armed with a can of white paint, he drew a massive phallus.

Picture after the jump, may not be suitable for work, children or anyone who is offended by a penis.
None of this would be terribly impressive, but it took over a year for anyone to notice the “artwork” on the roof. A passing helicopter pilot saw the penis, and the first thing he did was to contact the national tabloid, The Sun (I guess that is where the real money is nowadays).

The Sun then contacted the home owner, who initially thought it was an early April Fools prank. When he started interrogating his kids, he discovered the truth – his 18 year old son admitted he was behind the work of art.

Luckily for him, he’s on a year long travel around the world, so won’t be anywhere near the house to receive his punishment any time soon.