Continue reading »]]> Google Buzz debuted earlier today. A friend mentioned it but I honestly didn’t pay that much attention. But while listening to Merrick, Dools and Ricki-Lee (as I usually do while slaving away on the computer at work), I heard a newscaster on Nova FM describe Google Buzz as a Facebook that uses your Gmail account. Apparently, it was big news. But it just wasn’t catching my attention.

In less than a day, Google Buzz has already taken on several hits. And I sort of agree with Microsoft, “Busy people don’t want another social network…” Actually, sometimes I’m not even that busy… so maybe it should’ve been, “Lazy and busy people don’t want another social network”?

However, I did stumble upon something fairly awesome from Google today… Mountain Street View! To ready up before the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, Google’s Street View team sent a souped up snowmobile into the mountains of Vancouver and Whistler.

The snowmobile was fitted with “cameras to capture slope-level imagery of several runs on Whistler Blackcomb Mountains” amongst other areas.

A new website will incorporate the new imagery captured from the Street View Snowmobile — competition venues and aerial views. Google even has a special Picasa Web Albums gallery for the Games.

Street Views have already expanded across Canada, as well as Norway and Finland. But, why not keep mapping out those mountains? Hey, if Google is thinking about Store View, why not a Mountain View? SoftwareMedia loves going up to the powder-y white mountains nearby, so I’m sure we’d love to see it mapped out around us!

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Continue reading »]]> A series of 23 cedar, cypress and evergreen trees were illegally removed from a Vancouver woman’s former home. Margaret Burnyeat, listed as the property owner up til June 24th, 2009, her daughter and Michael Safronick (of Michael Safronick Tree Care Limited) have been charged with violating an old tree bylaw. Although Burnyeat received a permit to remove two trees back in May, penalties in excess of the two permitted trees will run her anywhere between CA$500 and CA$20,000 (approximately $468 to $18,715). So, how did Google help the Canadian city fight this crime?

Well, it was actually just an unintentional coincidence. The city was notified of the offense by several neighbors and a competing tree removal company. But, Google was able to provide them with photographic evidence of the crime. It just so happened that big brother, I mean, a Google Street Views vehicle was driving by and mapping the area. The Google camera caught a couple of work vehicles parked near the house where a stunned-looking workmen stand next to a line of stumps. City official Theresa Beer notes that although the city’s legal department is aware of what Big Brother Google has captured, “how they will use that as evidence, I’m not clear.”

Sorry, I know… a string of robberies or murders would have been more gripping than a mass axing of trees. But hey, the listing for the house states, “no big trees.” That makes it a premeditated murder, uh, crime, right?

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Continue reading »]]> Apple’s press event wrapped up not too many hours ago announcing the official release of its tablet device: the iPad! Before Business Insider, Gizmodo, Engadget or any other tech blogs got a hold of the rumors, could you believe that MadTV was the first? Check out the 2006 episode below. Be forewarned that this is not a clip for the conservative viewer…

Okay, tell me that ad won’t run through your head every time you hear “iPad” from now on?! iPad is a HORRIBLE name!! But the product itself is pretty snazzy, I admit.

The press event, held at Yerba Buena Center in San Francisco, lasted about two hours. And to my slight disappointment, only included a long presentation about the the tablet. I was looking forward to hearing about the iPhone 4 and possible Verizon ventures, but I guess that will be later down the line. Nevertheless, my highlights for today’s event as follows…

“We call it the iPad.”

Basically, it looks like an over-sized iPod touch.

Maps. Address book. Calendar. iTunes, YouTube. Also syncs to iTunes like an iPod touch or iPhone. “More intimate than a laptop” and “more capable than a smartphone.”

Photo scrubber bar at the bottom is awe-some. And built-in slideshows!

It’s 0.5 inches thin, 1.5 pounds and green tech evolving. There’s a “9.7 inch IPS display.” 10-hour battery life (a month on standby) with the “latest in wireless: 801.11n, WiFi and Bluetooth 2.1 plus EDR.”

Fancy apps, just like iPhone and iPod.

iBooks app that will give Kindle a run for its money.

AT&T team-up for a $14.99 250mb per month data plan or $29.99 unlimited data plan.

It starts at only $499. Not bad.

Thoughts? Comments? Let us know; we want to hear your comments! For more thorough coverage of today’s event, check out gdgt.com or engadget.com‘s live blogging coverage.

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Continue reading »]]> As rumors and suspicions prove true, the Google Nexus One phone was announced today at the Android event. Already available sans service or with T-Mobile (but both seemingly unlocked), it will also soon be available for CDMA carriers (Verizon Wireless in the United States and Vodafone in Europe) in Spring 2010. AT&T users are able to use the unlocked Nexus One phone, but will not be able to use the radio feature trhough AT&T’s 3G network.

The Nexus One, closely designed in partnership with HTC, resembles an iPhone. Okay, maybe it looks a lot more like the DROID ERIS by HTC…

The Nexus One is 4.68″ (119mm) in height, 2.35″ (60mm) wide, no thicker than a No. 2 pencil (11.5mm) and weighs under 5 ounces (130 grams), or approximately 53 pennies. It features a high-resolution 3.7 inch 480×800 pixel AMOLED touchscreen. And it’s built with a second microphone for active noise cancellation, 3.5mm stereo headphone jack (eliminating the need for an adapter, as such with my LG), compass, Micro SD slot, light and proximity sensor, 5 megapixel camera with LED flash and it’s Teflon coated (interesting). TechCrunch praises that this “is the best mobile phone display on the market today, blowing away the iPhone’s 480 x 320 display.” On top of being pretty, it’s also fast — the Nexus One, which runs the new Android 2.1 platform, is powered by a 1GHz snapdragon processor. This updated processor allows upped capabilities to handle 3D graphics and ability to run multiple applications simultaneously — less lag time and what not. Amped for more? Read more fancy tech spec stuff at Google.

Wait! There’s more cool stuff…

Google Maps Navigation, voice recognition, Facebook sync/widget, one-click YouTube upload, quick contacts, live wallpaper (there’s a wallpaper that pumps to your MP3s!), weather and a very cool new gallery app also come on the Nexus One. So that makes the phone… a weatherman, Rolodex, media library, GPS and social life manager all rolled into one, eh. And that wasn’t even a full list of everything the Nexus One has to offer! The new gallery app, a team-up with Cooliris, sounds will be awesome. Scroll and tip the phone to show a 3D layout of images? Awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Then it syncs to Picasa! Awesome Bad ass! Get a taste for Cooliris by downloading their browser extension for FireFox or Chrome. I already use it and feel like I’m pulled into another dimension each time I search images through the 3D portal.

Mashable has a quick comparison chart if you want to make a more informed smartphone choice. But, I am psyched! Aren’t you? Verizon. Spring 2010. I’m ready.

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Continue reading »]]> Behind the times I know, but my days of road tripping with a two-year-old, coffee-stained atlas are sadly and finally over.

My recent stint to Oregon to visit Crater Lake, the Pacific coast, and on up to Portland, was my first road trip complimented by the presence of a GPS Navigation System. And what a comforting presence it was – I cannot even begin to tell you. It sat there, in its windshield holder, eye level and reassuring me with its soft black gaze of maternal vigilance, consoling me in times of doubt with almost-instant knowledge of my exact location (give or take a few meters) of the rather complicated back-road system of the Northwestern United States.

My customary poor preparation has never been so inconsequential. No addresses, directions, or calculations, and only the vaguest semblance of an itinerary, I nevertheless was easily able to find my way to the nearest local whatever-pops-into-my-head: that is, camping sites, restaurants, grocery stores, and recreation spots. I always knew how far I was from where I wanted to go, and approximately how long it would take to get there. And the result was one of the least stressful road trips I have ever taken.

Since the late 90s, when the very first handheld GPS receivers for civilians were introduced, the GPS market has exploded into all kinds of devices, add-ons, hookups, upgrades, in all shapes and sizes and for a variety of applications. Initially targeted for outdoor activities, the GPS market has since been overwhelmed by what has become the ideal roadway navigator.

The most popular GPS manufacturers today are Garmin, Navigon, Magellan, Mio, and TomTom. Inundated with features, Garmin’s Nuvi 880 is the fancy choice. And with a list price of 599.99, it is also the most expensive. It’s most impressive feature is its highly accurate speech recognition system — incidentally doubling as its most prominent safety feature, as anyone foolish enough to dink around with a touch screen at 80 mph can tell you.

Also with limited speech recognition is the Navigon 7200T, and with a more affordable price of 289.99. Although it sometimes is faulted for its complicated interface, it offers an impressive variety of navigation features, and reports roadway directions with precise accuracy.

Still, GPS’s are expensive no matter what. A budget-kind alternative to these pricey devices is your very own laptop, which can be turned into a GPS with a USB device such as the DeLorme Earthmate LT-40.  Or, if you are comfortable without assistance from satellites, the GPS map atlas software alone, such as DeLorme Street Atlas USA, will give you up to date info, map routing, and street-level detail. Check on prices on different packages here: SoftwareMedia GPS.

For full reviews and comparisons of other popular GPS navigation systems, visit GPS systems at Cnet.com.

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Continue reading »]]> Google’s appetite for ambitious innovation has been put in check, but not by industry competitors. Citizens around the world have complained that Google Street View, a function of Google Maps that offers 360 degree views of city streets, has invaded their privacy. With this feature, a user is able to “drive” around downtown city blocks and nearby neighborhoods, zooming in and out, looking all around and even up and down, at anything that catches the eye.

To create this feature, Google equips cars with mounted cameras, GPS units, laser range scanners, and even an antenna for detecting Wi-Fi hotspots. The car then drives around the city, taking “city samples.” The ambitious research has spawned some interesting stories, in one instance, capturing a photo of a Dutch boy right before he was allegedly robbed. Authorities were then able to use these photos to arrest the suspects.

In Broughton England recently, the driver of a google car was questioned for nearly two hours after suspicious residents called police. Similar privacy concerns has disrupted the launch of the program in countries throughout Europe who maintain tighter laws concerning privacy and online data than the U.S.. Many countries, including Greece, Germany, and Switzerland, have put Google on hold until they can ensure their citizens’ privacies will be protected.

In one instance, a Swiss politician was photographed with a woman who was not his wife, forcing him to release a public statement explaining that the woman was his secretary.

In response, Google has promised to improve technology that automatically scramble faces and liscence plate numbers. They also ensure that any problematic images reported will be taken down within hours. In Japan, they agreed to reshoot all photos after complaints that shots taken peeked into people’s yards.

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Continue reading »]]> This week the 5th annual O’Reilly Where 2.0 Conference is taking place in San Jose, California. This gathering brings together some of the newest technologies that utilize location aware software and hardware. Web applications, mobile devices, and laptops are increasingly integrating location information to customize user experiences, and the Where 2.0 conference gives us a glimpse at what’s next in this industry.

There is plenty of new software being showcased at this year’s Where 2.0 Conference. The main goal of many companies presenting this years seems to be seamlessly integrating geo-data into our everyday lives. Just a few years ago, location aware technology was mostly the stuff of GPS devices and mapping applications. Now, with the recent explosion of mobile applications on smartphones, location aware software has broken into the mainstream. If you have an iPhone, you probably have noticed just how many applications ask you if they can access your current location when you first run the program.

One of the coolest new applications unveiled this year is called Glympse. This mobile application software is a new way to share your current location with anyone you choose, for a specified period of time. For instance, you could share your location with your friends for a night out in the city so that they could find you, no matter where you decide to go that night. You could then set your location tracking to expire when you head home for the night, maintaining your privacy.

This software could also be used to let clients know your whereabouts on your way to a meeting, or for a teenagers to let their parents know they’ve arrived at their road-trip destination. The first public beta of Glympse was released for the G1 phone, but it will soon be available on the iPhone and Blackberry.

As geo-tracking technology becomes easier and easier to implement with tools like the the Google Maps API, we will be seeing more software applications that customize the user experience in unique and creative ways. The number of location-aware software companies has exploded this year, creating cutting edge tools and innovative technologies. The real question is, what types of software will we be seeing at the 10th annual Where 2.0 Conference?

You can keep up with all of the latest coference news by following the News & Coverage page on the O’Reilly website, or you can subscribe to their Twitter feed @where20.

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