Links 2007-05-03 May 3, 2007
Posted by mark in : Culture, General, Geo, Networks, Web , add a comment- Map of online communities [via Jason Kottke and Tom Coates].
- 11 Great Colour Legends (US-centric) [via Jason Kottke].
- People walk 10% more quickly than a decade ago [via Jason Kottke].
- Tip : Page up & down in a browser with the space bar [Lifehacker].
Links 2007-04-26 April 26, 2007
Posted by mark in : Application, Geo, Telecoms, Web, Wireless , add a comment- GPS chip on a SIM card [via Mobile Weblog and Navigadget].
- 2.7Bn mobile phone subscriptions at y/e 2006. 2.1Bn unique users [via Communities Dominate Brands].
- Should Mozilla focus more on its XUL platform (for others) to develop “Rich Internet Applications”, (and not ‘just’ on FireFox)? [AllPeers].
Nokia N95 – some issues April 25, 2007
Posted by mark in : Device, Geo, Telecoms, VoIP, Wireless , add a commentLast year, I mentioned that I’d be looking for a new phone, and listed some desirable features. Nokia’s N95 looks and feels less attractive than I’d expected, but is novel at the moment in being GPS-enabled (and has a lot of other features).
GPS is a feature I’d particularly like to try, as well as some VoIP and photo applications I’ve read about over the last couple of years …to better understand the user experience, issues and other possible services and business cases. I don’t like ‘walled gardens’. (Mapperz has listed some free applications.)
Dean Bubley reports that handsets with built-in GPS were “flavour of the month” at 3GSM. Mobile Weblog reports that GPS device makers are developing mobile handsets, and a WSJ article that Nokia will use GPS (and LBS services) as a strategy to maintain its handset prices.
Issues :
- Operator-disabled features : Orange and Vodafone in the UK have disabled some features, to prevent SIP use, and prevent 3rd-party VoIP apps (which support SIP) from integrating with other features. This is at odds with their advertising, and UK Trading Standards and OfCom are getting involved. The Truphone video [via Andy Abramson] explains some of it. I want to try other VoIP apps …and to use wifi as the bearer, when available, not be forced to use cellular by the operator. (I’d prefer not to pay the upfront cost for a SIM-free version, nor switch from Orange).
- Poor battery life means that you won’t want to leave all the ‘options’ (3G, wifi, GPS) enabled. It may limit the ways I use it, but apparently the battery is the best available.
Links 2007-04-22 April 22, 2007
Posted by mark in : Geo, Networks, Telecoms, VoIP, Wireless , add a comment- Canada makes map data free …”Rationale for charging has gone, says government”. But further investigation shows it’s only the higher level (federal) data that is.
- “Radical Transparency” is the Wired magazine cover story. Remember ‘The Manifesto‘ : Markets are conversations.
- “Optimising the user experience, for different bearers or locations is an essential aspect of FMC” …and I’d have assumed so, but it’s helpful to list the reasons why.
Yahoo! Pipes February 9, 2007
Posted by mark in : Geo, Web , add a commentYahoo! Pipes launched this week : a simple visual editor, and the tools for ‘anyone’ to create her own “mashup“. The words GeoRSS caught my eye, as I’d been researching it (and SMIL) last week.
Here’s the Pipes coverage; and I may write more when I’ve had time to read it properly :
- O’Reilly announcement [Tim]
- O’Reilly on the tools
- O’Reilly example
- O’Reilly tips
- Lifehacker announcement
- TechCrunch announcement
Strange Maps November 7, 2006
Posted by mark in : Design, General, Geo , add a commentThe Strange Maps blog [via Platial] has a whole load of unusual and interesting maps, often with an historical element.
eg. The Manhattan Neighbourhoods map and general feel of the site made me think of Maira Kalman’s “New Yorkistan” cover, (which I was pointed at recently, but can’t remember by who).
A future of geotagged photos September 5, 2006
Posted by mark in : General, Geo , add a commentAs usual, Jan Chipchase asks some interesting questions about human interaction with technology, this time about a (future) critical mass of geotagged photos
Elements of it border on ideas I suggested to Sharing Places, about creating time lapse movies from geotagged images
Flickr Photo Compass September 3, 2006
Posted by mark in : Geo, Wireless , add a commentThe Greasemonkey scripts for Flickr Photo Compass [via Lifehacker] and GeoRadar reminded me of some of the elements in Ajit Jaokar’s example of a Mobile Web 2.0 service, at Open Gardens
Flickr adds geotagging August 28, 2006
Posted by mark in : Geo , add a commentFlickr has added geotagging capability to photos, by drag&drop onto a Yahoo! Map …[Found via TechCrunch]
“If you already have geotagged photos on Flickr (from using a 3rd party tool), you can import them into the new system…We’ll also be releasing new API methods for developers soon”
VirtualGlobes.org August 25, 2006
Posted by mark in : Geo , add a commentThe Virtual Globes Directory is a “central depository for virtual globe related links” (such as Google Earth and NASA’s World Wind). It excludes 2D maps, such as Google Maps
…[Found via http://del.icio.us/inbox/starhill_blend/, which is part of Hack #9 in "Google Maps Hacks"]
“Sharing Places” August 22, 2006
Posted by mark in : Geo , add a commentRecently I’ve done some work with Mista in Bristol, to help define the future value proposition and user ‘experience’ of its Sharing Places mapping site
For me, it was a chance to combine recent interests (including AJAX, mapping, and Jane Jacobs‘ work) together with ideas about website usability and social networks that have interested me for a decade
We’ll have to see whether that relationship goes any further, but do try out the preview, and give them some feedback