Google Maps Mobile v2 - using Cell ID #
Google have just released Version 2 of their Google Maps Mobile, with the most obvious feature being the ability to locate the user even if they don't have GPS - using the current Cell ID.
From the press release "[GPS technology] is supported on fewer than 15 percent of the mobile phones expected to be sold in 2007"
Go get it now, point your phone to google.com/gmm
Mind the Gap on your Way Out #
Emma Clarke, the voice of the Underground for eight years has been dropped by TfL after a number of parody 'Mind the Gap' announcements were found on her website.
"Here we are crammed again into a sweaty Tube carriage ... If you're female smile at the bloke next to you and make his day. He's probably not had sex for months."
Despite TfL's apparant lack of humour, a spokesperson told the Evening Standard "London Underground is sorry to have to announce that further contracts for Miss Clarke are experiencing severe delays"
[Reuters] [via UK Mobile Report]
Update: While the Reuters article picked the spoof messages as the reason for dismissal, BBC News are claiming that the reason was "... because she has criticised the Underground system."
LU said it would not be offering her further work but Ms Clarke said she had been "wildly misquoted".
"[Ms Clarke] said she was "disappointed and perplexed" that LU had not contacted her but instead had decided to dismiss her via the media."
Tiny Calendars #
Design brief: develop a calendar to fit on a business card, avoiding small type as much as possible. There are some cracking designs on here (and some really obscure ones). I love the first design by Jan-Willem Doornenbal - it's a very clever design once you get used to the layout [via kottke.org]
Virtual CD #
Microsoft have a free, unsupported tool for using ISOs as CD ROM drives. Very handy, and it's available here from microsoft.com [found via tech-recipes.com]
Bikes on Trains #
This morning: "Good morning Ladies & Gentlemen, this is your on-board steward. Due to the number of bicycles on this morning's train I am unable to pass through the train."
This is the South West Trains' 06.15 from Portsmouth Harbour, arriving at London Waterloo at 07.56, so it's very definitely a commuter train. Haslemere and beyond is standing-room only.
I have two questions, and this isn't a cyclist-bashing post. I genuinely would like to know the answers:
1) I thought bikes were discouraged, if not banned from peak-hour trains into London?
2) How much extra do cyclists have to pay to carry their bikes on the train?
OpenStreetMap Talk #
OpenStreetMap talk, London Knowledge Lab, 1 Nov 2007
A little while ago I heard of a small but growing mapping movement called OpenStreetMap. The principle was simple enough: large mapping companies like Ordnance Survey hold the copyright to the thousands of maps that make up the country. Anybody wanting to use these maps face an often substantial fee, and the derivation licenses on these are apparently quite strict too, so the entire environment is rather closed and makes it difficult for small business, individuals and organisations to provide map-based data.
OpenStreetMap can be compared to the Wikipedia of geography: a collaborative environment where the users of the data are also encouraged to contribute to it, update it and reuse it as they prefer. The licenses attached to OSM are from the Creative Commons, essentially allowing for reuse provided attribution is provided, and the derivate data is similarly licensed in the same way.
This evening, the founder of OpenStreetMap Steve Coast talked about his creation at the London Knowledge Lab in London. He discussed the current status of the site, the commercial interest in the project, and issues encountered while defining the site (whether to use strict taxonomies or free-text tags).
Steve also talked about the sources of data for OSM, whether it be individuals with their GPS, government-available data (such as the TIGER set in the USA), contributed tracks from courier services, or from Yahoo! satellite imagery.
However the data is collected and managed, the outcome is a pretty comprehensive detail of the major cities and transport links of the UK, and increasingly - the world.
OSM now has over 15,000 members and is growing, both in its user-base and the coverage. The maps also contain diverse information, such as pubs, paths and landmarks.
Steve also spoke about some more obscure issues arising from worldwide mapping. For example, in Baghdad each road may have multiple names, be they Sunni, Shia or named by the US Government.
One of the first 'complete coverage' areas of the UK was the Isle of Wight, which was the focus of an intensive collaborative mapping team over several days. The island now boasts complete road and rail mapping, ferry links to the mainland and many landmarks & paths useful to more than road users. At least one property website, Nestoria, now uses the data from OpenStreetMap on its website.
After Steve's talk a group of us moved over to the local pizza restaurant, with a meal kindly paid for by our hosts, MySociety. With olives and wine flowing, I had some interesting chats with several others at the table (Ben, Francis, John, Alex in particular - apologies if I missed anybody else).
OpenStreetMap is an interesting and engaging project, and there are certainly plenty of bright ideas about how to use this mapping data in a variety of commercial and non-profit environments - it'll be interesting to see what develops over the coming months and years as OSM continues toward 100% national (and international) coverage.
There are certainly a few fundamental hurdles still to jump - in particular licensing of the data was cited several times as an outstanding issue, with Steve regarding it as 'not perfect'. Presumably any change of license would need the concensus of the project's many contributors - not a small task.
Common Errors in English #
Common Errors in English
Nice little site that lists hundreds of common language errors, including some lesser-known common mistakes. It also aims to confirm usages that the pedants are normally 'correcting':
Till vs 'til
Since it looks like an abbreviation for “until,†some people argue that this word should always be spelled “’til†(though not all insist on the apostrophe). However, “till†has regularly occurred as a spelling of this word for over 800 years and it’s actually older than “until.†It is perfectly good English.
Wiki clicking #
Sometimes Wikipedia can be an utterly absorbing website. After reading a bit about the phrase "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" (did you know it's a grammatically correct sentence?), I ended up at the article on John Cage's famous piece 4'33", which saw its first major performance in 1952 by David Tudor in New York. He played it on a piano, although naturally most instruments will work just fine.
From there I discovered that you can download the piece in (amongst others) MIDI format... great.
Finally, on to Uncyclopedia* for an alternative view of things. Apparently, "Several remixes of 4'33" have been produced, including one in 7.1 surround sound, and the extended dance remix, 9'42"." - fascinating :-)
Buffalo... link found via Simon Willison
* If you weren't aware, Uncyclopedia is a parody of Wikipedia. Where Wikipedia might not always be correct, Uncyclopedia goes out of its way to tell nothing but lies ;)
Exciting new art software #
Ah cool - looks like Microsoft are bringing out some smart new photo software to really rival Photoshop.
Surveying Van in the UK #
Seen today on the A27 in Portsmouth: a white American (I think) van with "Surveying" written on the front and a LOT of external gadgets and antennae. I'd love to think they're doing Google Street View UK. Didn't see anything that looked specifically like a set of cameras on top, although there was a large unit housing something or other on the roof. Unfortunately my view was limited to glances in the rear view mirror while trying to get through the roadworks and narrow lanes, and it turned off onto Eastern Road. In all probability it was a private survey using expensive imported kit, but it's nice to think that my grotty old Passat might one day make its way onto Google Maps.
The Great Facebook Debate - Sold Out #
British Interactive Media Association | Event | The Great Facebook Debate
Darn it. I missed this one in my regular blog reads, and it's sold out already - by the looks of things quite a while ago too.
Hope they offer another one like this in the UK soon. I'm gearing up to spend more time on ideas and developments with 'social networking portability', and will be aiming to build some useful tools shortly. It would be nice to get more in touch with other like-minded people.
Amazon.co.uk: Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity: Books: David Allen #
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity: Books: David Allen
Been reading this book after a couple of recommendations. The tips are nothing new or extraordinary, but are presented in a clear and concise way, with methods and anecdotes to encourage the reader to manage their workload efficiently.
I'm about halfway through, and am already feeling better about the way I work.
Flash Earth #
Flash Earth ...satellite and aerial imagery of the Earth in Flash
I think I saw this briefly before and simply forgot to note it down. Flash Earth is a nice Flash based implementation of the various AJAXy maps we've come to know, love and expect. It gives a full-window view of the area, with panning and scrolling controls and a little search box. The images are sourced from a variety of tile providers, and the user can choose from Google, Microsoft, NASA, and others. Interestingly, I never knew that Ask is also in on the mapping game, and their images (of Gosport at least) appear far more recent than the other offerings.
Freelancing, Contracting Notes #
Ian Ozsvald has just published his second article in a series (first one here) about his experiences as a freelance programmer, moving from a full-time software position into his own one-man company focusing on applications of AI.
Ian's articles are a valuable and interesting read, useful for anybody starting up as a freelance consultant.
Facebook Friends' Birthday Thingymajig #
http://dev.svenlatham.com/friendcal/
Finally, I've found a use for Facebook :-) This little tool will take all your friends' birthdays and create an iCal file from them. The resultant URL can then be put into your favourite calendar program (I use Google Calendar), so you can see all your friends' birthdays in one place.
This is very basic at the moment and I can't guarantee it'll be up and running for long (but I'll try). It's also very hacky, so expect nasty errors if something goes wrong!
Please give it a go if you have a Facebook account, and let me know if it works.
After this, FOAF extraction.... :-)
Links - Sun Sep 23 2007 02:55PM #
Latest shared items from my Google Reader account:
Links - Fri Sep 21 2007 02:55PM #
Latest shared items from my Google Reader account:
Confusion Abounds #
Filling out a car insurance quote recently: 'Is your car left- or right-hand drive?'
This question always stumps me. We drive on the left here in Blighty, my car is designed for UK driving, so surely it's a left-hand drive? Nope. apparently it's where the driver sits (as viewed from behind); it's a right-hand drive car.
I also tend to get confused by 'the inside lane' on a motorway. Surely the inside lane is the one nearest the central reservation (aka median)... It is, after all, on the 'inside' of the road. Turns out though, that this is the outside lane; the inside is the one on the left.
Please comfort me by confirming I'm not the only one perpetually confused by definitions like these!
Quick Thinking #
I'm currently managing a friend's WordPress blog while they bugger off on a round-the-world trip. Goodness me they get a lot of spam.
Within a minute or so of turning off Spam Karma (it causes problems with the comment count, apparently) I/he had 15 new comments, all spam. So, without FTP access I quickly put in a hack to the comments page thusly:
<textarea name="quack" id="comments"></textarea>
<script type="text/javascript">
document.getElementById('comments').name = 'comments';
</script>
Nice and simple - a bit of Javascript that renames the comments field so it can be submitted correctly (if you fail to run the script, the comment fails). I know there are accessibility issues and all the smartarses who turn off their Javascript are stopped from commenting, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It's quick & dirty, and for most people (this guy doesn't get a massive amount of traffic) it works OK.
Anyway, I went to bed last night feeling smug that I'd robbed a load of spammers of their precious links. This morning I took a look: 38 new comments. They've already made their way around it.
This suggests one of three things:
- The spammers caught the error and changed their behaviour to suit. Doubt it, it'd be easier for them to move onto other blogs.
- They execute Javascript (maybe it's a full-on Firefox session with a plugin script?. Likely, and rather smart!
- My code is rubbish and never worked in the first place. Never impossible.
Anyway, kudos to those guys for not being thwarted by a simple script! Now, let's see what happens when I get Spam Karma re-enabled or I activate Akismet...
Update 22 Sept: Ignore the above. My code is rubbish. If the spammers do a simple POST to the server they will succeed, since I'd never updated the server-side code to match the client. Best bet for this hack would've been to rename the field both on the form and in the server code to something unpredictable ('quack' is just fine...) and not bother with the Javascript, Spammers would ignorantly continue to assume the field is 'comments' and their posts would fail. Thanks Brian and Neil T
A while ago I wrote a blog host service which included a more sophisticated spam filter. It would scramble all the fields client-side, include a couple of hashes and would only accept the comment as-is if all the hashes matched the server's own records. It stopped blind POSTs and bots that did not use Javascript. It also cleverly spotted genuine users who might not have been able to run the Javascript (since there was a larger platform accessibility was a concern), and used timing information to identify real users (who take their time) versus bots (who tend to write/post immediately or in a regular pattern).
It worked for nearly 2 years without a single automated spam comment getting through (many tens of thousands were stopped; no false positives either). Manual spam got in, but was minimal. Finally the spammers changed their ways and (I guess) began using full browser sessions to post their spam - once they do that you need to start looking at content analysis or other methods.
Links - Tue Sep 18 2007 02:55PM #
Latest shared items from my Google Reader account:
- Microsoft have just given Windows users concerned about [from Tom Morris]
- Two kinds of 'don't know' [from Seth's Blog]