Embracing geotagging: how to journal your trips (and contribute to Google Earth) with snapshots

Geotagging. It's not exactly a long, lost art, but it's certainly not something most folks bother to do after a trip. Avid travelers, hikers and the general outdoorsy crowd have been embracing the feature for years, though, and it's actually seeping into the mainstream without most individuals even noticing. How so? Smartphones. Given the proliferation of iPhones, Android handsets and Windows Phone devices making their way onto the market -- coupled with the explosive use of geo-minded social networks like Path, Instagram and Foursquare -- an entire generation is now growing up in a geotagged world. Phone users have it easy; so long as there's a data connection and an embedded GPS module (commonplace in modern mobile devices), there lies the ability to upload a photo with a patch of metadata embedded. Snap a shot at a national park, upload it, and just like that, viewers and friends from around the world now have an idea as to what a specific place on the Earth looks like.

Solmeta N3 geotagging module review

Columbia's GPS Pal app for Android and iOS

Casio Exilim EX-H20G (with Hybrid GPS) review

For travel hounds like myself, that's insanely powerful. I'm the kind of person that'll spend hours lost in Google Earth, spinning the globe around and discovering all-new (to me, at least) locales thanks to the magic of geotagging. It's sort of the photographic equivalent to putting a face to a name. By stamping latitude, longitude, altitude and a specific time to any given JPEG, you're able to not only show the world what you saw, but exactly when and where you saw it. It's a magical combination, and with GPS modules finding their way into point-and-shoot cameras -- not to mention external dongles like Solmeta's magnificent N3 (our review here) -- there's plenty of opportunity to start adding location data to your photos. For more on the "Why would I want to?" and "How would I best display 'em?" inquiries, let's meet up after the break.

Gallery: Embracing geotagging: iPhoto, Picasa and Panoramio

Continue reading Embracing geotagging: how to journal your trips (and contribute to Google Earth) with snapshots

Filed under: Digital Cameras, GPS

Embracing geotagging: how to journal your trips (and contribute to Google Earth) with snapshots originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/TfviaqVa__o/

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Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment

Nostalgia is a powerful force. It's driven some to search Google through a Bulletin Board System-like interface or, in the case of programmer Peter Nitsch, it's compelled him to graft ASCII art onto the physical world. Simply plug an address into his project's website and you'll be able to pan through an ASCII facsimile of a real-world Street View vista. Leveraging WebGL and Javascript, the system samples the search giant's images and generates text art using the appropriate characters and hues. Nitsch's fondness for retro visualizations don't end there, however, he also created a system that superimposes a gaggle of characters in the wake of a physical paintbrush using a Kinect and a projector. Built as a plugin for the openFrameworks toolkit, the code relies on a GPU for the real-time image conversion and is freely available for tinkering. Hit the source link below to see the modified Street View in action or head past the break for a video of the ASCII painting. For some of the technical nitty-gritty, tap the more coverage link.

Continue reading Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment

Filed under: Internet

Google Street View goes retro with unofficial ASCII treatment originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 06:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/02/google-street-view-ascii/

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Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies

Denon's got a snazzy new pair of iPhone speaker docks to show the world -- the Cocoon Home and Cocoon Portable. The Home features AirPlay streaming from iPhones, iPods, Mac and PCs through 100 watts of total power. Its 25-percent smaller sibling has 50 watts of power and battery life of up to five hours. Both docks will be hitting this summer for $599 and $499, respectively. We're crossing our fingers for a Steve Guttenberg spokesman deal. Full press details after the break.

Continue reading Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies

Filed under: Home Entertainment

Denon intros Cocoon Home and Portable AirPlay docks, will transform songs into musical butterflies originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 12:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/emOoUxbSLzE/

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Nexus Q preorders shipping

This will affect, oh, maybe five or six of us, if our un-scientific poll is any indication, but it appears that preorders of Google's Nexus Q are now shipping.

The flip side to that, of course, is that Google has delayed the retail release of the Nexus Q to add some more functionality. But if you did slap down $299 -- which Google's not even going to charge you now -- look for your Nexus Q to be headed your way directly.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/Xg4adH0_KGQ/story01.htm

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What's Apple Doing With This Mystery Building? [Mysteries]

North Carolina: home of BBQ, beaches, and Apple's gi-freaking-normous data center. It's where iCloud lives, and maybe Siri! And now the company is putting the finishing touches on a new center. Why? Nobody really knows. So Wired checked it out. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/v9TP4yivuhQ/whats-apple-doing-with-this-mystery-building

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Tiny Hotel Hypercubus Is a Modular Dwelling for the Modern Traveler [Design]

Just because there isn't a four-star hotel located in every lushly landscaped region of the world doesn't mean we shouldn't be able to visit and vacation anywhere other than Paris and Hong Kong or Kauai. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/zPbbnV4AK90/tiny-hotel-hypercubus-is-a-modular-dwelling-for-the-modern-traveler

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NSA to Hackers: A Little Help?

United States National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander has urged hackers to contribute to securing cyberspace. Speaking at the DEFCON 2012 security conference, Alexander said the hacker community and the U.S. government cybercommunity share some core values. "At DEFCON 20, Gen. Alexander discussed shared challenges and shared responsibilities in cyberspace," NSA spokesperson Vanee Vines said.

Source: http://ectnews.com.feedsportal.com/c/34520/f/632000/s/21dec2ab/l/0L0Stechnewsworld0N0Crsstory0C757770Bhtml/story01.htm

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