LBS Apps for Android Run Into Delays

The Wall Street Journal today cited delays in the delivery of Android-based mobile phones due mostly to the carriers themsleves. But some of the issues relate to changes that Google is making to the code while it puts the finishings touches to the final release. Two LBS applications developers, Buzzd and the Weather Channel Interactive, were mentioned as running into problems. Nihal Mehta from Buzzd said that since there weren’t any Android phones on the market that it was difficult to test their software. Louis Gump from the Weather Channel had basically good things to say about Android but that because of the revisions that Google was making that there would be some rewrites to his code that would have to be made.

Everyday Geography at the Green Mountain Relay

When I first started studying geography in school my family and friends were perplexed. “What exactly is geography?” So as we went about our daily lives, I’d point out situations that highlighted geographic thinking and perspectives - the map of tables in the restaurant and how wait staff were assigned, how exits were named on the highway, how we pick out landmarks, the countries of origin of our fruits and veggies… Once they “got it” I tried to stop pointing out those things because it got annoying.

Still, that “everyday geography” pops up now and then in my life and gets me thinking. This past weekend was a great example. I was involved in a relay race across the state of Vermont. Teams of 2 to 12 travelled the 198 miles on foot over the weekend. It involved lots of vans, signs, flashlights, cheers and geography! The event, at least for my team was decided low tech, at least as far as geography goes. Some geographic items that popped out for me:

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Moving the 45 Parallel (but not really)

The AP reports (have you been tracking the latest from the AP on quoting it on blogs???) that officials at Yellowstone have moved a sign indicating the location of the 45 parallel to make it closer to its true location and to improve traffic and safety. Visitors love to take their picture at the sign, so moving it to a turnout provides more and safer parking. It also moves the sign a bit closer to its true location which may be have been further off since those who planted it may have believed the state border between Wyoming and Montana is coincident with the parallel; it is in many spots but not in this area.

Quote of the Week

“GIS data tracks every single latitude in any given city.”

NewsChannel 34 in Binghampton, NY describing GIS and its use by local company Diamond Visionics for 3D visualization and simulations. Clients of the company include a trucking company, the Navy and Lockheed Martin. The other note on this story, which is apparently a transcript of a video piece to the website: how the website is written out: “If you want more information about Diamond Visionics, go to diamond visionics dot com.”