Maps

Facebook Places takes aim at Google

If Facebook Places catches on with the company's 500 million users, Facebook could be sitting on a gold mine of local business listings that advertisers and users will love and Google will hate.

As part of Google's quest to pack useful answers into search results pages, it has built out a database of local business listings tied to its Google Maps service that gives someone searching for "pizza san francisco" a wealth of results to browse. Businesses are encouraged to claim their listings in Google Places to add their Web sites, hours, menus, or other information … Read more

Track Russian forest fire data online

Gone are the days of having to rely on carefully chosen statistics doled out by a government agency or news reporter in the event of a crisis.

Readily available satellite data and visualization tools online have made it possible for anyone to observe massive changes happening on a global scale. Of course, that data is only available insofar as government agencies with satellites have made their data available.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the USDA Forest Service provide information for interested people looking to see the latest on U.S. wildfires.

Now the European Space Agency is … Read more

U.S. contracts fund next-gen satellite imagery

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, an arm of the U.S. government that oversees satellite imagery collection for military and intelligence work, has awarded two satellite imagery companies contracts worth more than $3 billion each.

The two 10-year contracts are part of a program called EnhancedView to produce a new generation of satellite imagery. GeoEye, based in Dulles, Va., was awarded $3.8 billion, and DigitalGlobe, based in Longmont, Colo., was awarded $3.55 billion.

Each contract is paid annually, subject to congressional approval, and can be canceled annually. The long-term funding paves the way for development of next-generation satellites with … Read more

Big data in context

A few weeks back I attended venture firm Accel Partners' New Data Workshop event and learned quite a bit about the state of what we are now commonly referring to as "big data" and the challenges that await the vendors trying to target this new way of slicing and dicing vast amounts of information.

One of the big takeaways for me was the realization that even with all of the processing power available nowadays, the amount of data is growing at such a rapid pace that people are simply looking to cope with the problem, rather than facing it head on.

The issue of processing large amounts of data is not necessarily new--most developers and IT staff can tell you about having too much information to deal with--but, the big difference is that there are new approaches, tools and technologies that can help alleviate the difficult in processing.

Over the course of the last 30 years or so the way that machines process transactions has changed, but so too has the vast amount of data that is being processed and collected, now with an eye toward real-time analysis of information.

This has led to the advent of a number of technologies that allow for data processing to be offloaded and managed in both structured and unstructured ways--examples include open-source projects like Memcached and Hadoop as well as NoSQL data storage mechanisms like Cassandra.… Read more

Android Atlas Weekly 9: Data theft disguised as a wallpaper (podcast)

A wallpaper app that steals your personal info, piracy controls coming to the Android Marketplace, and a look into the world of Android gaming. Plus, Jeff Bakalar shares an awesome tip on creating itineraries for Google Maps Navigation, and Jessica Dolcourt helps us pronounce the death of the Android phone that started it all.

Updated: The wallpaper app discussed in this episode has since been cleared of any wrong-doing by Google itself. More details on that here.

Microsoft's 'Street Slide' takes aim at StreetView

Google's StreetView technology, which is embedded into the Google Maps product on the browser, and on mobile phones like the iPhone and Android, has long wowed users with its option to view the road inside a 360-degree panorama. But Microsoft Research's latest effort, which is being unveiled at this week's Siggraph computer graphics conference, approaches viewing streets from a different direction. Literally.

Instead of having users venture from one "bubble" of captured imagery to the next, as is done in Google's StreetView and Microsoft's Streetside, the new technology, called "Street Slide," … Read more

Google and gaming

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Google wants to create a social network to compete with Facebook Yahoo Japan chooses Google for internet search engine and advertising Facebook is testing a new instant account destruction feature Google Maps for Android updates to 4.4 with helpful new features Amazon connects with Facebook for gift recommendations Gamestop acquires Kongregate to enhance the gaming experience

Buzz Out Loud 1278: Pad, mouse, or nubbin? (podcast)

Who knew -- Apple still makes computers, and today launched a bunch of new ones, plus a ginormous desktop trackpad to go with them. Also: The robot that will make you breakfast. Eventually. Guest: Darren Kitchen of Hak5.org!

Google updates Maps for Android, adds Yelp-like interface

Business-ratings app Yelp just got a massive dose of competition from a much larger source.

Google updated its Maps for Android (version 4.4) on Monday in the Android Market to make its Place Pages business listings more usable. In doing so, Google's solution for taking business listings mobile resembles Yelp's Android feature set more than it ever has before.

Once you install the update (and in our case, reboot your Android phone), you will see a new Places icon in your list of applications. Tapping the icon pulls up a finger-friendly interface with icons for seven categories … Read more

Subway finder for iPhone

NYC Subway 24-Hour KickMap is an around-the-clock interactive guide to the New York City subway system. It combines the clean, easy-to-read design of the popular KickMap (an alternative print map beloved by cartography and design nerds) with excellent Google Maps integration.

The app's primary interface is the attractive, five-borough KickMap that lists every line and stop, along with a one-touch toggle between night and day maps (since the lines can change significantly after hours). While navigating NYC, you'll mostly touch and drag to find your location or destination on the KickMap--which is available offline, even when you're … Read more