Thanks to the KCLS Library 2.0 study-project, I finally took a gander at the stuff in Google Labs. (And it's about time: cue "nerdette hangs head in shame at appalling lack of ordinary curiousity" image)
So:
"Nice Try" in that snarky unimpressed voice: Google search "by timeline" is pretty pointless, compared to any library's magazine index. It doesn't actually set the wayback machine for you. How do I know? I call it the "Kenneth Starr" test. Do a magazine index search and grab anything prior to the 1990s. Consensus? An all-around decent fella and a fine lawyer. Post 1990s--? El Grand Inquisitor who eats babies for breakfast (why this should be, I leave as an exercise for the student)
The interesting thing about easily-accessed digital media is that it preserves the opinions and attitudes of the time. Why librarians should care? Because we're proud members of the anti-"we have always been at war with EastAsia" team.
And:
"Nice Try" in "Howza-bout that" impressed voice: The King County Metro Trip-planner sucks hard vacuum. Trying to help library-customers get from point-A to point-B is an exercise in pain all-round. The nice folks at Google seem to be going for the "We Love Capitalism" award. Follow the link (above) and go ahead and try to figure out how to get from down-town Duvall to Redmond Town Center. I dare you. Now try Google Transit. Here's what I got.
Pretty sweet. So, even though they're still weasels for playing footsie with the Chinese gulag-masters, I have to say: Go Google!
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