Posted on: 24-12-13 01:36:22
NORAD Tracks Santa : Is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Every year on Christmas Eve, "NORAD Tracks Santa" purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. The program is in the tradition of the September 1897 editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" in the New York Sun.
http://www.noradsanta.org/
HO HO HO &
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL WHO VISIT THIS WEBSITE.
FH.
Quote:
Originally posted by Full House
NORAD Tracks Santa : Is an annual Christmas-themed entertainment program, which has existed since 1955, produced under the auspices of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). Every year on Christmas Eve, "NORAD Tracks Santa" purports to track Santa Claus as he leaves the North Pole and delivers presents to children around the world. The program is in the tradition of the September 1897 editorial "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus" in the New York Sun.
http://www.noradsanta.org/
HO HO HO &
A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ONE AND ALL WHO VISIT THIS WEBSITE.
FH.
wish you the same FH
Thanks FH. You been doing excellent research and contribution to the forum.
By best wishes to all.
thanks for the link
my kids loved it as we tracked SANTA over various places in the world
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Non illigitamus carborundum
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Check out the two Santa Trackers and decide for yourselves: H0 H0 H0. That is what Santa says, when he greets every one. I also found out that it is his Postal Code also. So, the next time you get a chance, please ask your children to drop him a note and he will reply back to them.
https://santatracker.google.com/?hl=en#village
http://www.noradsanta.org/
Each side has again beefed up its website and mobile apps. They decided to test-drive the two tracking sites and share with you the good, the bad, the naughty and the nice. Game on!
LOOK AND FEEL
Google: Lots of moving parts and clever use of simple animation you have come to expect from the folks behind the daily Google Doodle. But it's all a bit too busy and confusing precisely because of those many moving parts. Grade: B
NORAD: Santa's Village home page is graphically clean as a whistle, with vibrant but not too many colors. Easy on the eyes, set against a deep blue background, and a cinch to navigate. A-
THE FUN QUOTIENT
Google: A smorgasbord of (mostly game-based) activities for users to play around with while they wait for Santa to get his sled in gear. A new one is unlocked each day of December, including ones that teach kids geography by having them slide countries into their place on a world map. A keen sense of humor imbues the site; you can do things like speed up the animation so that the cartoon elves are falling over themselves with Christmas joy. A-
NORAD: Limited to only a few educational games, most are just for fun, targeted to the very young. There's a new Name the Elf contest that's already received more than 2,000 suggestions with the three finalists being Radar, Echo L. Foxtrot and Daron (yup, NORAD spelled backward).B
LANGUAGE OPTIONS and GLOBAL REACH
Google: Like other products from the search giant, the tracker can run in more than 30 languages, including Lietuvos and Hrvatski. It includes a game that lets you click on a world map and discover how other countries celebrate Christmas. (Bonus: learn to say "Santa" in different languages and connect with nonprofits around the world.) A-
NORAD: Available in only eight languages, although the site does offer informed descriptions of holiday traditions around the globe. (Who knew that the Japanese eat turkey for Christmas dinner?). C
MUSIC & SOUNDS
Google: The digitally processed music starts the minute you click on the home page. And it never stops. Obnoxious. C
NORAD: The silence when entering the site is golden. Games like Cookie Crunch ask first whether you want to enable sounds. Very happy-holidays of them. A
THE HUMAN HELPERS
Google: All volunteers on deck! Googlers can contribute their time and talents to the site using part of their "20 percent time," a very cool perk that lets employees spend a day a week on their own side projects. And if Santa floats your boat, go for it! A
NORAD: By tapping into a long roster of both military agencies and civilian groups, NORAD is able to make its tracker a mostly volunteer effort. "We spend few very tax dollars on this," says Knott. "We have over 60 contributors who help us bring it to the world. Microsoft runs our website, other companies help create the mobile app and games. Our military bands contribute music to our Music Stage." A
EDUTAINMENT
Google: Teaches kids "how to code," although it's extremely rudimentary (think: clicking on body parts to assemble a cartoon reindeer). C
NORAD: While its rival is having fun with its users, NORAD is schooling them on the global population boom, with U.S. Census counters showing the real-time tally here and globally. It offers a cute, if somewhat suspect, mechanical breakdown of Santa's sleigh, including "Passenger weight at take off (Santa Claus is 260 pounds)" and "Passenger weight at landing (1,260 pounds)." A
LUMPS OF COAL
Google: The "click here to learn more" button on the home page didn't work. The countdown clock is suspect, since it has Santa arriving three hours after the time its rival's clock says. And that annoying synthesized "music" may quickly turn a user into a real Scrooge.
NORAD: Sloppiness (one typo has the "US Merchant Marine Academy Band" playing Battle Hymn of the Republic on the site's Music Stage). Creeping consumerism (a click on "Gift Shop" sends you to an off-site tackyland hawking "Official NORAD Tracks Santa" T-shirts for $16.95 plus shipping (and you know this is only the beginning!).
Contact Patrick May at 408-920-5689 or follow him at Twitter.com/patmaymerc
What ever you do, don't let the secret out of the bag.
Want to wish each and every one "A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS" and A Happy New Year.
FH.
