Tuesday, March 9. 2010

Podcast: Platial Shuts Down while Microsoft Opts in to User Generated Location Data from Navizon

This week we look at two news items connected at least superficially by reliance on crowdsourced geospatial data. Platial, one of the early players to offer a simple way to customize Google Maps, announced it was ceasing operations. Microsoft announced a contract with Navizon, a company that crowdsources the data collection of Wi-Fi access points. Why did small but clever Platial not make it? Why is Microsoft turning to small, less familiar Navizon and crowdsourcing over a well-known player like Skyhook?

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Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Microsoft, Yahoo, Directions on the News Podcast, Wi-Fi, Satellite Navigation, Geospatial Business, Data at 01:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Monday, March 8. 2010

Yahoo Disbands Mobile Group in Reorg

The group is being disbanded and its members re-assigned across the organization. This is part of Carol Bartz reorg aimed at having fewer silos in the company. The folks being reassigned do not include Yahoo’s Mobile General Manager Mitch Lazar, who resigned this past week. Spreading this folks out might help managers: "General mangers for Yahoo’s top properties will be held accountable for not just web traffic, but also the growth in mobile." Yahoo Mobile, is second only to Google, in mobile user visits.

- PaidContent

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Yahoo at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, February 16. 2010

Podcast: Microsoft Uses TED as a Platform to Announce Bing Maps Update

Last week Microsoft used a talk at TED to unveil some new features for its Bing Maps platform. Goodies included slicker zooming, live georeferenced video feeds, integration of Flickr photos, Worldwide Telescope....a sort of "kitchen sink" of eye candy. But of course it's only eye candy until professional and consumer focused developers tune it to solve specific problems for work and play. Our editors share what impressed them and consider how this enhanced platform might be used.

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Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Microsoft, Yahoo, Directions on the News Podcast, Satellite Imagery, 3D Perspective, Augmented Reality at 01:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Thursday, February 11. 2010

Yahoo Sketch a Search - Draw on Your Phone with Your Finger!

There was a Yahoo press event today (I didn't know about that or the Google one yesterday...). There were no big announcements, but attendees suggest the goal was simply to note that the company was not "out" of search. The one cool demo, per Harry McCracken: a "draw your area of interest" tool to define where to search for results on a map. There were no plans disclosed about when it might be available on cell phones. Hard to believe we don't have this yet; once I have a touch screen phone I know I'll like it. I used to use my finger on my Palm Pilot.

-
PC World

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Yahoo at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, February 3. 2010

Yahoo's location-based social, augmented reality patent app

The patent app is titled Virtual Notes in a Reality Overlay and describes the idea of notes left at a location "for you" by your friends - combined with advertising and a few other things including " social graph analysis, permissioning, expiration dates, contextual advertising and more. It's not just text notes, it includes methods of augmented reality with photos, videos and more."

Remember it was filed in July 2008, so much of this stuff, individually, already exists in some apps.

- ReadWrite Web

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Yahoo, Patents, Augmented Reality at 07:57 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Thursday, January 28. 2010

New Cartifact CEO

Cartifact, the company behind MapQuests and Yahoo's recent style updates (APB posts 1, 2), got a new CEO. J. Fred Baca was President of Colliers International in Houston, Texas (2001 - 2009), a brokerage house. But he was in geo before that: "In the 1990s Mr. Baca, as Baca Landata, a co venture with Houston based Stewart Title Company, purchased both the Wilson Maps and Zingerey Map Company, making Baca the sole provider of Houston parcel and ownership mapping services. Baca Landata developed the first Internet "smart" map of The Greater Houston Area and the first Internet distributed GIS mapping product for the Harris County Appraisal District."

- press release

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Yahoo, MapQuest at 06:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |