Going Local on Google 411 (aka Goog 411)

You likely heard about the recent Beta service from Google called Goog 411... local search from Google using your mobile. I've been testing out the service and have to say its totally sweet. Best of all, it enables the mobile user to by-pass some of the crazy charges that the unsuspecting mobile user typically winds up taking up the rear from their carrier.. sorry to be so frank but after recently pouring over my cell phone bills doing taxes I can't help but cringe at the charges that these guys throw at us users. Now I have to admit I am much better off being with T-Mobile since I'm now in the US, thanks to my $29 all I can eat data plan. Compare that to the horrendous charges I used to get from Rogers Wireless in Canada... man I feel for you CDN mobile users having to get stroked by these guys each month. Anyway, instead of dialing 411 which will usually get you a charge of $1 or even $1.50 from your carrier (regardless of where you are) try this cool voice recognition local search from Google. It's totally free although you will have to pay for your airtime and txt messaging charges from your carrier - still a great deal compared to $1 a pop! The service uses voice recognition technology to walk the user through the options. Specify a city, submit a business name or type, then listen to the results. A test of this app from my Nokia N80 proved very simple and had surprisingly good results. I search Fort Collins, Colorado for "Bowling" and the "hits" were very accurate providing me with listings of bowling alleys within my region. Once I selected the desired listing I am automatically connected... optionally, you can enter the command "text message" and the results are sent via txt messaging... unfortunately I'm still waiting for the results to come through to my phone.. perhaps T-Mobile isn't supported at this time! Oops.. I take that back... the text message did arrive about 10 minutes after my request (after all, the service is still in Beta). Low and behold I received a txt that contained the address and phone number of the listing... one suggestion I would make would be to also provide a hyperlink to call up the location on Google Maps Mobile.. after all, doesn't everyone have that application loaded ;0) See a screen-cap of the txt message here - Give it a try - See http://labs.google.com/goog411/ or dial 1-800-GOOG-411

Connecting to open Wi-Fi just got a bit easier - a free tip o the day!

Connecting to open Wi-Fi just got a bit easier... ever had this issue.. I know I have! If you've ever tried to use Windows XP's built-in connection manager, you know what a hassle it can be to quickly check for public WiFi access. You need to browse through a list of access points, find one that you can connect to, manually try to connect to it, confirm the connection and then wait. Even if it says that's it connected, often it doesn't open a webpage or you mail will stall. Easy WiFi Radar automates all of this. It's main goal is to let you get your mail or surf the web without having to go through all of the connection trouble, and without having to pull your creditcard. Just run it and it'll connect you for FREE to the internet. Note... this developer of way cool mobile apps also has a great solution for converting video to take on the road with your mobile device. Once again I'll go on about the new Nokia N95... given the huge memory capacity of this smartphone its ideally suited for watching (and capturing) video. You can find easy wifi radar at http://www.makayama.com/easywifiradar.html

Google Summer of Code's 900 projects - also included are OSGeo projects from 12 students

Google Summer of Code.. .announced a while back, the project has now accepted over 900 student applicants from a pool of nearly 6,200 applications. All the applicants, mentors, and project descriptions are now available for viewing at http://code.google.com/soc/. Of interest, OSGeo has 12 student coding projects in the planning, these are listed at http://code.google.com/soc/osgeo/about.html .FYI, ongoing open source projects from Google are descibed at http://code.google.com/projects.html. Do you have an open source project in the works? If so maybe you're interested in sharing details in the Open source search project at http://www.google.com/codesearch

Another WiFi calling solution for S60 smartphones

WiFiMobile today launched a Mobile VOIP service on the Nokia S60 handsets which enables users to make free calls to each other over Wi-Fi regardless of location. The WiFiMobile service is available at www.wifimobile.com. Using the basic service users can call other VOIP users completely for free. A premium service is also available that permits calls to be made to ordinary landlines or mobile phones at heavily discounted costs. This service may be of interest to users of funky new devices like the Nokia N95 which runs on S60 and is GPS-enabled.

Trimble goes "outdoors" with premium GPS Content Layer for Google Earth

Trimble today launched their premium GPS Content Layer for Google Earth. The layer incorporates interactive information from the Trimble Outdoors(TM) catalog of GPS-on-cellular applications, as well as premium content from contributors to BACKPACKER, Bicycling and Mountain Bike magazines. Google Earth users can export the layer data to any WAP-capable mobile phone, experience it via a GPS-enabled mobile phone with Trimble Outdoors' fitness and outdoor recreational applications, or download to a stand-alone GPS device. See www.TrimbleOutdoors.com

Did-U-Know... Landsat is now 24 - Happy Birthday!

Did you know that on March 1, 2007, the Landsat 5 satellite began 24 years in orbit. This comes from the USGS... This milestone is particularly impressive considering its operational lifespan was thought to be no more than three years. On April 15, 2007, Landsat 7 will complete its eighth year of operation. Landsat data is a vital component of an incredible array of research that includes wildfire mapping, crop identification, timber harvesting, desertification, climate change, habitat suitability and urban expansion. Data gathered by Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 continue to form the backbone of the 35-year-old global Landsat archive ( http://landsat.usgs.gov/ ), which contains millions of images of Earth’s terrestrial environment and is maintained at the USGS Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science. So how do you view the data being collected??? Check out EarthNow... tool displays data received from the Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites as they pass over the conterminous United States . When a Landsat satellite passes within range of the ground station at the USGS EROS center, image data are downlinked and displayed in near-real time. When Landsat 5 and 7 are not in range, the most recent ten pass are displayed. This application is nothing short of amazing! Coincidentally, as I viewed it this AM the bird was flying over my old hometown on Vancouver Island, BC! See http://earthnow.usgs.gov (Source: USGS)

Is your school Geography Ready? A cool Geography quiz for parents and teachers

An interesting quiz is now available from the MyWondefulWorld Blog - a National Geographic led effort. This PDF enables you to test your school to see how Geography Prepared they are. From the document... Is your school ready to build students' geographic understanding and skills? Is it ready to help students learn about their world, from their neighborhood to places beyond U.S. borders? This tool is designed to help parents and other school leaders determine the geography readiness of a school. Find answers to the following questions, total the points, then compare your score using the ranges at the end. My wonderful World Blog is a National Geographic initiative. See http://www.mywonderfulworld.org/pdf/school_checklist.pdf - How Ready is Your School? I'd like to see a How GIS Ready is your School effort!

Is that a Nokia N95 smartphone In your Pocket or Are You Just Happy to be Mapping!

Nokia has come up with another clever promotional effort, giving users and potential users a chance to win their latest device - the Nokia N95 - equipped with the popular, free Maps2Go (aka. Nokia Maps). Sporting integrated GPS, loads of memory, quad band functionality, and a 5 megapixel camera, this devie is being hyped a the coolest mapping-enabled smartphone on the shelves. If you want one you can lieneup at a Nokia store in Chicago or New York, otherwise, enter this contest by uploading a short video with a clip about something in your pocket. The idea here is that having an N95 in your pocket is the equivalent of toting around many things - think mobile swiss army knife! Symbianone reports on this - see http://www.symbianone.com/content/view/4390/108/

Google Developer Day 2007 - May 31

Once again Google is planning another Developer Day.. .recall last year the Google crew hosted a couple of hundred attendees from the Where 2.0 Conference at the Googleplex to take in what was then the first GeoDeveloper Day. This year 10 events will be held around the Globe to mark the event. See more at http://www.google.com/events/developerday/index.html. The agenda for the Mountainview CA campus includes:

1. Developing with Geo: Google Maps, Google Earth, and SketchUp
2. Mashups and More: AJAX, Google Gadgets, and the GData APIs
3. Tools for Better Web Development: The Google Web Toolkit, open source, and other developer initiatives

FYI Here's some images I grabbed last year at GeoDeveloper Day 2006 - http://www.flickr.com/photos/gisuser/sets/72157594164426365/

Where 2.0 discount registration period ends tonight

A note to share from our friends at O'reilly. If you plan on heading to Where 2.0 you better act fast to save! Register before midnight tonight and you'll save $400. Provide the special code (whr07lbsz) and you can save a further 10%... see you there! Where 2.0 takes place May 29-30, 2007 at the Fairmont in San Jose, California. See  http://conferences.oreillynet.com/where2007/

What's your mashup worth? MyOutdoors.net selling for 10k

The developers of MyOutdoors.net simply don't have enough time to keep the social networking mashup going so the property is up for sale. It will be interesting to see if there's any takers on this application (particularly since Google just launched My Maps). MyOutdoors.net was developed as a networking resource for outdoor enthusiasts where people could share journals and memories from their hikes, camping trips, fishing expeditions or anything else cool they did outdoors. The app has a very professional look and members also receive occasional updates from the developers on new features etc... See http://www.myoutdoors.net or the blog at http://myoutdoors.blogspot.com/. See the for sale ad at Web2.0 for sale - http://web2.0forsale.com/item/4818281-Complete-Web-20-Outdoor-Community-Site-MyOutdoorsnet?mpurl=forsale

Autodesk releases Design Review 2008 to the public

Autodesk has announced today the official release of Design Review 2008. Recall, Design Review 2008 is a free download, available today in English, Chinese Simplified and Traditional, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese at http://www.autodesk.com/designreview-download. Some of the things users can do (in addition to design, collaborate, share, and print) include:

Georeferencing within DWF Files
Compare Design Documents
Markup Enhancement: Persistent 3D Markups
Measure Enhancement: Persistent 3D Measure
Measure Enhancement: User Coordinate Systems
Online Content Search
Collaborate within Windows Vista

For more see this feature http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/11262/ or jump directly to http://www.autodesk.com/designreview-download