bioneural.net » gps

Evaluating the Holux M-241 data logger

Bruce — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:35:02 +0000

After David rekindled my interest in geotagging blog posts with Google Map integration, and Dave's photo tracking experiences convinced me to revisit geotagging photos, I posted An ABC of geotagging photos on the Mac. In that article I considered questions relevant to selecting an automatic geo-location system, naming most of the few Mac-compatible devices available. I recently purchased a data logger to overcome the pain of manual photo geotagging and dispense with the hassle of a DIY solution. There's lots to like about the Holux M-241 on paper—despite some concerns as noted in Richard's detailed review. The device's appetite for AA batteries will be the decider for some people. We usually pack a recharger for my wife's noise-cancelling headphones when we travel anyway, so using rechargeables is no big deal. In fact I prefer something I know I can replace, as I don't want to end up with yet another working but unusable device due to a tired non-replaceable lithium battery (like my 1st iPod, Palm, mobile phone). The Qstarz BT-Q1000P was my original choice and could be obtained in the UK via eBay, but at nearly twice the price of the Holux. I have to say I like having a built-in display on the logger very much. This gives access to the M-241's 6 operating modes: Track Log Mode (the default; use Start and Stop (Enter button) to begin/ end a track logging session); Time Mode (useful display of UTC time for camera sync; can specify UTC offset for your time zone); Show ...

In-car GPS + Palm = DIY photo tracker

Bruce — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 16:00:50 +0000

From bioneural.net:

If I told you I was using a GPS photo tracking system for geotagging photos from my Nikon D70 that stored track logs and waypoints to 1GB of memory, exported in GPX format, and connected to my Mac via USB or Bluetooth—you'd be right to wonder if I was making it up. It's not fiction, and nor is it new tech either. It's a "make do" solution I put together from gear I'd already been using for several years and with £0 new investment. Given poor Mac support in the data logger market, such a system is surely a good way to experiment on the cheap before shelling out on yet more battery-operated gadgetry. A DIY photo tracking kit A Nikon D70 I shoot in raw, meaning my D70 saves images in Nikon's NEF format. Although finding Mac OS X software that can write geo-location data to EXIF in raw is not difficult, getting that data in the first place is somewhat more involved. The D70 is neutered when it comes to support for on-camera fully automated geotagging (I'm still not entirely clear whether this is a physical hot shoe issue, or a firmware deficiency—anyone?) The upshot is that my only choice, other than the tiresome manual method, is automatic geotagging using a standalone data logger (aka photo tracker). A Navman 4470 "But why do you need another GPS?", my wife justly asked. Indeed I do have a GPS device equipped with Bluetooth, the Navman 4470, which I use for in-car navigation. Navman make great ...

GPS data logger for iPhone looks doubtful

Bruce — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 00:08:36 +0000

From bioneural.net:

The iPhone SDK is out in beta, and a GPS module for iPhone and iTouch from gomite is "pending". However, as Wired observe the ban on background processes for third-party apps "eliminates the possibility of a geo-data updater running in the background, reporting your location back to a web service". This might also make it impossible to use the iPhone's camera app in conjunction with data logging software for geotagging if they can't run simultaneously. What happens if you need to take a call—would the logger have to quit?

An ABC of geotagging photos on the Mac

Bruce — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 19:30:54 +0000

From bioneural.net:

This article considers geotagging photos from a Mac perspective, looking at automatic and manual methods, and explaining terms such as data loggers, track points, waypoints, and routes. It lists OS X software options for connecting to data loggers, converting track log formats, geo-locating photos, and writing that data to EXIF for both raw and JPEG images. It also covers the importance of time synchronization, what you can do with geotagged photos, workflow, choosing a data logger and controlling it from your Mac. Introduction With my blog articles geotagged and mapped, and the launch of geotagicons.com behind me, the next challenge was to consider geotagging my photos in future. Some time ago I blogged about doing this in iPhoto, and although workable for a small selection of images this manual/ best guess option doesn't scale well to 2-3 week vacations when you return with several hundred images and a poor recollection of what was taken exactly where. Before getting started on something (i.e. spending money!) I like to try and gain a reasonable overview of what I'm about to get into. What follows is a summary of my research into the terminology, technology, hardware and software that a budding Mac photo geotagger will want to get to grips with. If you also like to look before you leap then this article may be of service to you. Although written with fellow Mac users in mind, if you're afflicted with Windows much of the article is still relevant. What is geotagging? In a photographic context, geotagging ...

A web standard icon for geotagging

Bruce — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 13:35:39 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Geotagging (or geocoding if you prefer) is the act of associating your content (blog posts, photos, feeds, etc.) with a geographic location (e.g. via latitude and longitude co-ordinates). Thus tagged authors can "mash" their content together with the likes of Google Maps, or the Flickr Map if photography is your thing. However, co-ordinates are typically encoded within metadata (or microformat) tags making them visible to machines but hidden from people. We have de facto web standard icons to help identify feeds, OPML, and sharing—so why not for geotagged content? Update 29.02.08: Thanks to everyone who gave feedback or otherwise contributed to the process of taking this proposal forward. Comments are now closed and further feedback should now be directed to geotagicons.com, where you can now download the new community-designed geotag icon. The goods I propose a web standard Geotag Icon, to be used freely by any geotagger or geotagging service. Here is what it looks like at 128px: At 32px: And at 16px: Important: These images are not final; this is a proposal. Please do not hotlink to these images. You can download them individually by right-clicking the one you want, or as part of the draft Geotag Icon Development Kit here. Family line-up The family resemblance is obvious: Why not complete the set? Grab the Feed icon, the OPML icon, and the Open Share icon. Update 27.03.08: The Open Share Icon Project offers a free, open, community-driven alternative to the trademarked and brand-linked ShareThis.com icon. Icon specification It should be similar in style to existing de facto web standard icons (hereafter ...

Mac-friendly alternatives to Apple's 1G iPhone

Bruce — Fri, 29 Jun 2007 12:04:28 +0000

From bioneural.net:

The iPhone has arrived in the US. Even if it were available in New Zealand I still wouldn't buy one. I'm happy to wait for the large beta-test program (i.e. 1 in 5 US adults) to refine the product first. That said, I've been looking for a way to converge my mobile devices (phone, PDA, iPod) for some time. Sadly the 1st generation iPhone does not look like the device to fill this need. Relative to other Mac-friendly alternatives it comes up uniquely short in a number of areas on my feature wish-list. But of course I haven't seen or held it in the "flesh", and it is only a 1G device—so I can't be overly critical. Or can I? Most of the pre-launch focus has been on iPhone's interface (not unimportant), but what about comparative features? It's clear that while the iPhone offers few unique features (iTMS DRM playback, bookmark syncing) it's also immediately apparent that, relative to comparable products, the iPhone has the most limitations. I've been a Palm user since 1999, owning a Palm V, an m505, and (currently) a Tungsten T3: I also use an ageing Sony Ericsson T610 and an iPod (1G deceased; currently an iPod Photo). It would be nice to carry around one device instead of three (ditto on the chargers); I had hoped that device might be the iPhone: So the iPhone has arrived. I posted on the perfect PDA + phone back in 2005—it still hasn't arrived. With Palm OS so obviously stagnating ...

Geotagging your images in iPhoto

Bruce — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 10:04:38 +0000

From bioneural.net:

When writing about geocaching I mentioned that I'd heard of geotagging—but I hadn't made use of it. I've also posted about various ways to keep track of places you've been, including utilising Google Maps. I like to catalogue my travel pictures in iPhoto, but know of no way to integrate iPhoto and Google Maps. But you can use Google Earth to display geotagged photos in your iPhoto Library—even if you don't have a GPS device to record coordinates. Add GPS coordinates via Google Earth Download Craig Stanton's Geotagger (freeware, Universal) and install it in your OS X Dock; Open Google Earth and centre the map on the area with which you wish to associate the photo(s); Open iPhoto and drag the photo(s) for tagging onto Geotagger's icon in the dock; Geotagger should launch then quit; To check that the coordinates were applied drag the photo from iPhoto to Preview in the Dock and use Command-I or the Tools menu to Get Info (Get Info in iPhoto is too limited); In the details pane you should now see a GPS Properties section with coordinates. Note: iPhoto is optional as Craig's app works with photos dragged from anywhere. The GPs coordinates are approximate. If you zoom in using Google Earth to get as "close" as possible to your location at ground level accuracy should improve! It also helps if you can search Google Earth for a specific location e.g. ""Guilin, China". But wait: there's more. Now that your images are geotagged you'll want to share them, right? Craig's got that covered too. Upload ...

Navigating in New Zealand

Bruce — Sat, 18 Mar 2006 12:50:53 +0000

From bioneural.net:

We're going to want to see New Zealand when we get there and I can vouch that an in-car GPS system takes some of the stress out of driving in unfamiliar places. Although I prefer and currently use TomTom in the UK, they don't offer NZ maps. Navman have discontinued SmartST for Palm and New Zealand maps for this software appear to be out-of-stock. However, I wondered if SmartST 2005 for Pocket PC with New Zealand map data would install onto my Axim x50v and then communicate with my "Palm-specific" Navman 4470 hardware. Navman have no idea I asked Navman-store.com Support (Europe) if I bought the NZ maps would they run on my Dell Axim x50v. They said: Unfortunately we do not have those maps available at present only the European maps. Which is odd, because I added the maps to my basket and bought them; they arrived two days later! I also asked if SmartST 2005 would recognise my Navman 4470 Bluetooth GPS receiver. The Store responded: The compatibility for the maps is attached, this does not unfortunately include the 4470. Actually nothing was attached, but the product page does not list compatibility with the 4470 nor the Dell Axim x50v. There were two things that made me suspicious I was being misled. Firstly they sell the software for generic Pocket PCs—not explicitly for Navman brand devices; somewhere else I'd seen the system requirements as "Windows Mobile 2003" (as on my Axim). Secondly, if TomTom was happily running with my Navman hardware, surely Navman software would ...

Geocaching with TomTom: a Mac/ Palm solution

Bruce — Fri, 13 Jan 2006 10:05:47 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Jeff Fort read my post concerning the installation of TomTom POI from a Mac. Jeff is into geocaching, and asked if I knew a way to get waypoints into TomTom Navigator 5 on his Palm from his Mac. While I'd heard of Geotagging (with reference to tagging images with GPS co-ordinates), my first step was to find out something about geocaching. Then I could start looking at the problem... According to Wikipedia: Geocaching is an outdoor activity that most often involves the use of a Global Positioning System ("GPS") receiver or traditional navigational techniques to find a "geocache" (or "cache") placed anywhere in the world. A typical cache is a small, waterproof container containing a logbook and "treasure", usually trinkets of little value. Participants are called geocachers; those not familiar with geocaching are called geo-muggles or just muggles, a term borrowed from the Harry Potter series. Geocaching is similar to a much older activity called letterboxing. The major difference is its use of the GPS and the Internet. Err... interesting! The Geocaching.com website has a great tagline: "The sport where You are the search engine". An exchange of e-mail determined Jeff had the following requirements: To download a geocaching.loc file from http://www.geocaching.com; To use GeoNiche, a Palm app, to view the data when walking; To get the data in the .loc file into .pdb format for GeoNiche using the Java applet EasyNiche); To use the same waypoints in the file from 1. with TomTom maps in order to find the locations in the car. As Jeff explains ...

TomTom vs. Navman: I backed the wrong horse

Bruce — Mon, 14 Nov 2005 14:56:47 +0000

From bioneural.net:

Some 8 months ago I chose Navman over a TomTom GPS solution for Palm for several reasons that seemed valid at the time. Since then TomTom have released Navigator 5, and Navman have discontinued support for Palm. Curiosity got the better of me, and now that I've tried TomTom I've come to realise the true extent of the Navman's failings. I bought Navigator 5 and Great Britain maps (i.e. software only) on eBay, and used this with my existing Navman 4400 GPS Bluetooth receiver. For Palm or Pocket PC—not both Navigator 5 is not platform-specific: it will work out of the box on Palm and Pocket PC devices. According to TomTom: This TomTom License Agreement ("License") permits you to use the TomTom computer program and the digital (map) data included in the accompanying package acquired with this License on any single computer, provided the Software is installed on only one computer at any time and provided the Software is combined only with one (1) navigation system. This License is non-exclusive and non-transferable. To activate a map on a different device you must change the registered device code. However: Please note that you can only change your device code once within 6 months. Please contact Customer Support if this results in any issues for you. Install to Palm from a Mac This isn't actually a well-supported option, but it can be done whereas Navman requires a Windows PC. I found this page very helpful. There are three steps: Download the TomTom setup Application for Mac OS X here, then ...