Tag archive for ‘Gadgets’ at bioneural.net

Tag archive for 'Gadgets'

Dropbox and iPhone sitting in a tree

Published by Bruce on February 15, 2009 in Mobile. 5 responses

It's amazing how easy it is to fill an 8GB iPhone. While apps like FileMagnet (using a proprietary protocol & desktop companion app) and Air Sharing (WebDAV via your desktop or web browser) provide "documents to go" functionality, this only works if your phone is on the same WiFi network as your desktop—and providing you've enough space left after syncing that episode of Battlestar Galactica! Since the iPhone does not offer expandable storage there are two alternatives. The first is to stream media content to the device (e.g. via BBC iPlayer, Internet radio, or DRM-free iTunes tracks). Alternatively, you could temporarily cache and view a limited range of file types via mobile Safari, or download and store various documents retrieved from your FTP server (e.g. via FTP On The Go, MobileStudio)—or make use of the cloud (e.g. via Dropbox or Box).
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Know your waypoints from your track points

Published by Bruce on August 26, 2008 in Gadgets. 1 response

Geotagging photos can be done manually or automatically. When using a GPS data logger in automatic mode your position at each point in time (intervals vary) is recorded as a track point. The collection of track points recorded during a logging session is called a track log. Some devices (e.g. GlobalSat DG-100, Holux M-241) feature a button for manual entry of a specific GPS location as a waypoint, which you can match to the corresponding photo(s) by hand. That all sounds pretty straight forward doesn't it? Well it's not, because some GPS devices can't tell their waypoints from their track points. Thankfully the aptly-named GPSBabel can translate us a way out of this misunderstanding for the DG-100, and an update to BT747 means you can now download waypoints from the M-241 to your Mac.
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First track logger for iPhone released

Published by Bruce on August 2, 2008 in Quicklinks. 5 responses

Hot on the heels of the first geocaching tool for iPhone, iTrail by Justin Davis (£1.80) records your position and altitude over time to calculate speed and distance (horizontal and vertical) travelled during sports activities—a great addition to the growing list of fitness-related apps for the device. Tracks are stored locally for comparison, but GPX and KML export is planned (and should permit use for geotagging with a "real" camera). Meantime you can graphically plot distance vs. speed or altitude (preview) and view your tracks on a Google Map (preview) within this very cool app.

GiSTEQ loggers now Mac-compatible

Published by Bruce on July 29, 2008 in Quicklinks. 1 response

Richard notes the release of GiSTEQ Mac software (free or $US25—which still doesn't buy raw support), derived from the basic JetPhoto app (listed in my geotagging ABC here). I suggest the free version for log access (via GiSTEQ drivers) and using other Mac tools for geotagging. Compatibility includes the DPL700 PhotoTrackr Lite and the CD111. Alternative Mac-compatible loggers include the Holux M-241, the GlobalSat BT-335, and the AMOD AGL3080.

iPhone geotagging good for a laugh only

Published by Bruce on July 21, 2008 in Mobile. 10 responses

Geotagging outdoors with the original iPhone—which uses triangulation of cell tower signals—seems to be as entertaining as some of the "productivity tools" in the App Store. In other words, laughably useless. While the iPhone did somewhat erroneously relocate a pavement sign to the North Sea shipping lanes, it also managed to pin a photo of a rose to within 1.4km of the actual location. How can it be so inconsistent, and are things really as bad as they seem?
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Restore itinerary planning to TomTom ONE v6

Published by Bruce on June 27, 2008 in Gadgets. 29 responses

Hot on the heels of the "latest" map debacle, I've another bone to pick with TomTom. My TomTom ONE 3rd Edition (v6) came with customizable menus which permitted use of the itinerary planning functions. Did you know RouteBuddy could upload, download, modify, and re-upload TomTom Itineraries (routes)? Great—except that TomTom HOME didn't tell me it would remove the itinerary code when "updating" the ONE's software. I was, however, able to roll back from NavCore 8.010 to 7.166 and regain that lost itinerary planning functionality.
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