Google Earth has agreed to distort building plans of sensitive Indian establishments by adding structures where none existed or masking certain aspects of a facility. This is to address India’s concerns that images of sensitive military and scientific establishments available on the Web could either allow unauthorised snooping or become a ready reckoner for terrorists.
According to Economic Times, the government list of sensitive sites would be accepted by Google Earth and images of these locations will not be of more than 25-50 metre resolution. This is believed to be better than an outright blackout as blacking out key installations would only attract attention to their locations.
I bet there are some funny user generated images of what a "greyed" out image might look like. Maybe a greyed out target symbol?
From Franson - GPSGate Server - this was posted up mid Dec 06.
GpsGate Server - Coming soon...
1. Introduction
GpsGate Server is a new product from Franson Technology. It is designed for mobile business use.
2. Typical things you can do using GpsGate Server
Track your vehicle fleet. Send and receive information from the drivers.
Broadcast a boat race with live position tracking over the Internet
Extend your current business system with position aware functionality.
Integrate mapping and live position functionality to your homepage.
And more...
3. Technology
The server is built around .NET, you can use MySQL or MSSQL as database. GpsGate Server can be installed on a standard shared web hosting account as well as your own dedicated server.
Clients are built around .NET CF and J2ME. Since you can access the server functionality with web services, other languages can be used as well.
View maps, tracks, reports and live objects in a browser using AJAX technology. For none commercial project you can use Google Maps as map database, for commercial projects (which Google prohibits) you can use GpsGate Server's web control which works the same way as Google's.
You can also use GpsGate 2.0 to send your live position to GpsGate Server.
My understanding is that this is NOT the Superbowl commercial but a funny music video made from bits and pieces. I'm pretty sure that the Super Bowl commercial is being kept locked up in a cellar somewhere, being fed gruel and water so as to look its best for the big launch whenever the game is on - Feb 4th? There is a competition here.
OLATHE, Kan., Jan. 24 -- Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) , today announced that it will air a 30- second television commercial during Super Bowl XLI on February 4th in Miami. The spot airs midway through the Super Bowl's second quarter.
The commercial is Garmin's first Super Bowl ad and the first-ever for any consumer electronics manufacturer that specializes in GPS navigation -- and is the company's latest effort to expose a global audience to the Garmin brand. Garmin is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of GPS enabled devices for consumers.
"The Super Bowl showcases some of the world's most recognizable brands, and our participation demonstrates Garmin's desire to be counted among them," said Jon Cassat, Garmin's director of marketing communications. "The popularity of GPS navigation is expected to continue growing rapidly in 2007, so we felt it was important to further establish Garmin as the market leader in this important and increasingly ubiquitous consumer technology."
The theme of the commercial is "Grab your Garmin, Take on the World" - demonstrating how Garmin personal navigation devices can save the everyday consumer time, money, and hassles. Taken to the extreme, the commercial is a humorous 1960s-style sci-fi piece. The commercial's quirky low-tech production treatment is in playful contrast to Garmin's cutting edge GPS technology and other advertisers' use of complex computer effects.
The spot begins with an "Average Joe" finding himself lost and unfolding a road map for help. The map continues to unfurl and expand -- quickly taking over the car -- eventually turning into the dreaded "Maposaurus." Thankfully, another motorist -- armed with his Garmin nuvi(R) -- morphs into a superhero who battles and defeats the dreaded map monster. An earnest yet over-the-top heavy metal band adds narration to the epic battle.
Garmin's nuvi line of Personal Travel Assistants was introduced in late 2005, and has quickly become the standard by which other personal navigation devices are judged -- thanks to its elegant design, simple user interface, and rich set of features.
The project was conceived and produced with the help of Minneapolis-based Fallon Worldwide, one of the world's most critically acclaimed, creatively driven branding ad agencies which was also responsible for Garmin's infectious and highly successful "Give a Garmin" 2006 holiday campaign.
"To an engineer, these devices are literally rocket science, but in the hands of the consumer, they're anything but," said Fallon group creative director Brian Tierney. "We purposely went for a look and feel that would make the technology approachable and the brand likeable to the consumer-all while communicating the core idea that in the arena of personal navigation, Garmin is the no-holds-barred champion.
I hope they release the ad as a viral marketing campaign as well. Superbowl ads are notorious for their flops as well as their successes - think back to Napster's ad last year...
From Australian Mobile Telecommuncations Association AMTA:
3G.co.uk reports that after years of eagerly anticipating video would be the "killer application" for 3G, a new survey from In-Stat finds that existing and potential 3G customers are much more interested in high-quality mapping and navigation services. However, 3G carriers that want to capture that market will have to expand the availability of compatible handsets.
"Expanding the number of Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) or Assisted-GPS (A-GPS) handsets from today's levels will be an important step for 3G carriers to provide the applications their customers really want," says David Chamberlain, In-Stat analyst. "Unfortunately, technology choices left over from the 1990s make this difficult but carriers and handset vendors are starting to provide an increasing flow of products that better meet the 3G customers' needs."
In addition, the In-Stat report "3G and Mobile Multimedia," based on a survey of over 1000 mobile users, found the following:
Current 3G users are very enthusiastic about the service, which is in marked contrast with other customers who have expressed dissatisfaction with premium applications. Customer awareness of 3G is not particularly strong, with over half the respondents indicating they don't know whether their carrier offers 3G. An unprecedented number of respondents - nearly half - indicated that they would consider changing carriers in order to get 3G. The research, "3G and Mobile Multimedia", covers carrier initiatives and marketing of 3G services in North America, Europe and Asia, and includes the results of In-Stat's survey of North American mobile phone users. The report explores the survey's results to gauge users' awareness of 3G, particularly their own carrier's 3G plans; uptake of 3G services, both to the handset and using a 3G wireless modem with a laptop computer; and interest in a variety of applications that have been considered important to 3G's future.
They didnt' have a date on the article, but the interest in LBS and maps as opposed to video is intriguing.
