As the title says, im simply wondering if it is possible to use the GPS tracking and POI part of junaio, and att the same time use the scan functionality to scan and recognize images. Im working with a group at a project which demands that we use both functionalities, and we are at the moment stuck on trying to send 2 XML documents, causing the server to return nothing at all. I simply want to know if it is possible to use both functionalities in the same channel, and I would greatly appriciate if someone would point me in a direction which could help me solve our problems, since I've been able to find absolutley nothing on my own. Thanks beforehand!
Scan + GPS/compass is not possible at the moment.
However, it's possible to use GPS/compass tracking and continuous visual search at the same time. This might be the closest thing to your requirements.
You might find more information on http://helpdesk.metaio.com
I'm writing a Rails backend for a mobile project and I've come across a pretty interesting problem.
I want to calculate the time of arrival between two points by car (with given points A and B) in what time A could arrive to point B. The reason why I do not take distance as a metric is because in terms of bird's eye view, the shortest distance doesn't always give you an accurate answer. Since traffic rules apply the vehicle A might be real close to point B but due to the available turns and etc. the vehicle C that is actually far more behind than the C could have a less time of arrival.
Of course using Google Maps API is the first and a pretty neat solution, however I consider that constantly querying the maps API could slow down the server, making my backend solution in efficient.
Would there be an alternative solution in order to provide an accurate time of arrival considering the real life complications such as turns, traffic and etc.
The directions service is included in the google maps API, just like geolocation. IF you can use one, you can use the other. From a google serach : https://developers.google.com/maps/documentation/directions/
I'm working on a project that returns information based on the user's location. I also want to display the user's town in text (no map) so they can change it if it's not accurate.
If things go well I hope this will be more than a small experiment, so can anyone recommend a good reverse geocoding service with the least restrictions? I notice that Google/Yahoo have a limit to the number of daily queries along with other usage terms. I basically need to take latitude and longitude and convert them to a city/town (which I presume cannot be done using the HTML5 Geolocation API).
Geocoda just launched a geocoding and spatial database service and offers up to 1K queries a month free, with paid plans starting at $49 for 25,000 queries/month. SimpleGeo just closed their Context API so you may want to look at Geocoda or other alternatives.
You're correct, the browser geolocation API only provides coordinates.
I use SimpleGeo a lot and recommend them. They offer 10K queries a day free then 0.25USD per 1K calls after that. Their Context API is what you're going to want, it pretty much does what is says on the tin. Works server-side and client-side (without requiring you to draw a map, like Google.)
GeoNames can also do this and allows up to 30K "credits" a day, different queries expend different credit amounts. The free service has highly variable performance, the paid service is more consistent. I've used them in the past, but don't much anymore because of the difficulty of automatically dealing with their data, which is more "pure" but less meaningful to most people.
Let's say I'm just wondering around with my cellphone and I want to know exactly which place of business I'm in. This would seem to be easy, but I don't see away to do it. It's possible to reverse geocode but this gives an address range. Google doesn't seem to have http base local search using local information, because you could kind of guess from the local search or points of interest. It needs to be through an http API, not an ajax driven map. Is there a way to do this?
You might look at GeoAPI, which lets you search for businesses near a particular lat/lon coordinate and returns detailed information about the business (name, type, hours, etc.). It's a simple JSON API with good documentation and examples.
There's likely more APIs out there for local business data -- which I personally would love to hear about if people want to add them as answers to this question or comments on my answer. What's your favorite? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
I've worked with folks who are chatting online with their peers, constantly batting around ideas. I've also worked with folks who adamantly refuse and think it's a waste of time.
Are online live chatting forums of particular use to you? Why or why not?
Internal to your company, or external and world-wide?
Does your employer encourage or discourage their use?
Update: I see some people are voting this question down, yet so far all the answers have been positive, if with some reservations. If someone has a strong negative opinion (I hate online chatting and think it should be banned etc.) I'd really like to hear why.
If you have telecommuters, not chatting online will be the death of you.
Without chat, there is no interaction.
Without interaction, there is no problem solving.
Without problem solving, the code will suck.
The chatting part does waste a lot of time and I often wish I could just pull them out and just WriteSomeCode, but yeah, trade off scenario.
There's an additional benefit to using online converstations, in that it doesn't /have/ to be an interruption. If your working on something you can ignore them till you're done and they just have to deal with it. In real life you have a talking face to try get rid of. ( And the cool thing here is you can ignore them and they still get heard, have your cake and eat it too! )
I've used IM at the last three places I have worked. Currently the building that I am in is so large that it takes a couple of minutes just to walk to my managers office. Then there are the days that we work from home (1-2 days a week). Email for some purposes just doesn't cut it and the phone can be too disruptive and all encompassing for some tasks.
When I was doing consulting work I would give my IM contact information to my clients. About 25% of them would use it to contact me and I am still in contact with them to this day which opens up the possibility for future work! The clients that used IM felt that they had a better connection with me because they could see when I was online and available to talk.
I'm still in contact with old work colleagues through IM and this allows me quick access to their knowledge base as well.
My suggestions for using IM in the workplace are:
Use a client that supports multiple
protocols (MSN, Yahoo, AIM, Jaber,
etc)
Setup and use personal accounts for
each of the networks you are on
(i.e. don't use accounts tied
directly to your work)
Make sure your IM client records a
history of all of your conversations
Always be available but minimize
personal conversations
Provide your IM information freely
to friends, clients, and colleagues
Add appropriate groups (i.e.
friends, family, work) and filters
to reduce undesired interruptions
while still being available if
needed
Don't feel that you have to
respond to every chat request. Let
it set until you are ready to deal
with it
One other trick I use is to use text to speech software so that when a chat message comes in it is read allowed. When I am at home (or preoccupied away from the computer in the office) the message is automatically read allowed (I liken it to a ringing phone call) in order to get my attention. But, I don't have to stop what I am doing in order to know what the message is.
I used to. I found it a great resource to chat with people I used to work with. In our business I find that we tend to network alot and using that collective knowledge is awesome. Of course my company turned that off so they lose.
I know that a certain large Bank hasd an internal AIM setup so that they can IM each other. That was refreshing and dang useful. They also allowed some external access. Talk about getting the value of IM!
Yes, absolutly, I work with most of my employees, and employers via MSN/Yahoo/Skype/.../ it makes the work easier, because I can hire the better people without having to pay them to move to me.
When I need to collaborate with someone in another office, it's great ... when I'm deep in thought, I have to turn it off (just like e-mail).
It depends on the group dynamics and personal preferences. Personally, I have enjoyed my work groups that use chat to feed on each other's ideas and troubleshoot without as much walking around. If you are geography dispersed, its almost a necessity.
I find online chatting invaluable in many cases, but not normally instant messaging. Since I use many open source technologies at work, I tend to join the respective IRC channels, both to ask questions there, and sometimes to help others if I know the answer offhand.
It may depend on the work environment. As a self employed consultant, I'm always in chat - it's my primary communication to the world, along with emails for more official type communications.
Being able to converse with others creates synergy, but it also can cause distractions. A good manager can tell the difference.
At my last workplace, we used IM extensively for collaboration. Not so much at my present workplace. Infact, i have not once had to do that here in 6 months. But i do look around on the net for answers and sometimes i have posted queries on forums too. IM is a nice tool to have, but its also a time sink. Also, dont underestimate the lost focus. Its particularly hard to concentrate on getting that algo implemented right if someones constantly pinging you about how to establish a connection to an oracle database.
I work at home 2 to 3 days a week. I mainly use MSN to stay in touch with my coworkers. It's pretty useful to ask short questions quickly. If we find ourselves typing whole conversations we often agree to continue the conversation by phone.
I use IM to communicate with colleagues in other offices when it replaces a face-to-face chat. I turn off notifications in all my comms apps at work though, because they distract me otherwise.
I telecommute from California to Colorado and never have used chat. We do have daily SCRUM meetings and constant email threads. When I first started working remotely, we did try it but it seemed intrusive to several co-workers so we stopped using it, that was 4 years ago, I probably should give it another try.
It seems I have nothing to really add to what hasn't already been written.
I use it extensively, especially when remote people are involved in development. Without it your real time communication dies. It is the only viable method of communication that isn't as interruptive as phone calls or something of that nature. As we all know we can't just sit on the phone the whole time when developing, so chat is the next best thing for real time communication.
I personally don't like it. I think email allows you to take a little time to compose your thoughts.
IM seems to work for other people though. Whatever works!
Our entire business unit telecommutes. Only us first years are required to be in the office, so our enterprise IM solution is vital to staying in touch and on task. Its how my manager lets me know what project I'm working on, if I need to bill my time to another customer, or if I need to bounce ideas around. So yes, I do. Is it open for anyone to get on? No, not at all. You have to be on the intranet to access the system, and it is closed to any and all outsiders.
Out of the four professional jobs I've had over the past 8 years or so, I've only worked at one place that did not allow any type of instant messaging. All the other companies had at least some type of setup for intranet instant messaging.
I think that IM is almost necessary in today's business environment. I don't IM very much, but it's nice to have it available. Especially when I just need a quick answer to a question - like "Where is this file located?" and then boom I have a link to the file pop up right in front of my face.
I use IRC at work - it's almost a requirement for all of us who interact remotely (workign from home, different offices, and client sites) to be able to get help on problems fast.
Yup. It's actually required here. But only MSN though. We use it for development/task related communications with the team... which also help minimize noise since this company I'm currently working in is a big one where 90% are developers so utter silence is a MUST...
But if I've got questions to other members of the team, I prefer asking it personally though because I find it hard to explain some things when just chatting...
I've had to use it in my last job as my co-workers lived in the UK and my boss worked in California whereas I'm in Atlanta. It was used for quick questions and when it was "whenever you get the chance to respond" type thing. I could be on the phone and an IM pop-up and they would get an automatic message telling them that. Longer discussions were done with web cam and telephone and the ability to share a desktop to view code, data, etc.
My company won't allow it. Even if we run a IM server in house (so we aren't wasting time chatting with friends). I've tried to convince them, I find it really useful for knowing if someone is at their desk or not. The phones don't do that so well since if you don't pick up it redirects to a secretary that will get pissed if you are checking if someone's back every 5 min...
So I run a IM client on my phone so I can at least chat with a few people through out the day. (Less interrupting to others if my wife IMs me vs calls me and also easier to ignore if I need to).