Linked by Thom Holwerda on Fri 11th May 2012 20:42 UTC
"Between 2009 and 2011, Apple acquired three mapping companies in quick succession: Placebase, in 2009; 3-D mapping outfit Poly9 in 2010; and in 2011, C3 Technologies, a second 3-D mapping company. Three mapping-company acquisitions in as many years. But for good reason: Apple has been hard at work developing its own in-house mapping solution for iOS, and now it's finally ready to debut it." I'm probably crazy, but I've never used the map applications on my mobile phones, so it's difficult for me to get excited about this.
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Member since:2005-07-06
EDGE data connections are too slow (and 3G is too power-hungry*)
Which is a bit sad, in the sense that we mostly don't bother to make something like map data working nicely over EDGE... while, few years back, I successfully did Diablo II online gaming over EDGE.
Anyway, maps should be normally fully precached in such applications (like Nokia does it), with only some realtime info relying on data connection.
BTW, EDGE is 3G
(as defined by International Telecommunication Union). Too bad Evolved EDGE doesn't see deployment, it would be quite decent (and quite desirable, seeing how GSM will probably remain the "baseline" worldwide standard for a long time - I wouldn't be surprised if it effectively outlives 3G) I don't feel very comfortable with telling megacorps where I am and relying on their instructions for my everyday life.
OTOH, I do see the utility of not only "places which I have never gone to", but also of optimising our daily routes ...on a large scale, it should also end up "green".
Anyway, GPS is not so bad... check out how this Chinese navigation system functions, it's simply wonderful when it comes to ~surveillance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beidou_navigation_system#Position_calc...
* Seriously, the next generations of mobile networks should focus more on power consumption on the terminal side IMO. Speed is pretty much good enough now
Individual theoretical speed yes, but not the overall capacity of networks.
Edited 2012-05-19 00:17 UTC
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
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2010-03-08
Well, I tend to use GMaps occasionally to find places which I have never gone to, without solely relying on the awkwardly complicated explanations that people give me when I ask.
I wouldn't use it for anything else though. Phone screens are too small, EDGE data connections are too slow (and 3G is too power-hungry*), and I don't feel very comfortable with telling megacorps where I am and relying on their instructions for my everyday life.
* Seriously, the next generations of mobile networks should focus more on power consumption on the terminal side IMO. Speed is pretty much good enough now, considering that carriers let you do nothing bandwidth-hungry on their data connections, but the way 3G multiplies battery drain by two when doing nothing (no, not even moving) is unacceptable.
Edited 2012-05-12 07:25 UTC