- The Myth of Scientific Literacy — I’d love it if there was a simple course we could send our elected officials on which would guarantee future science policy would be reliably high quality. Being educated in science (or even “about science”) isn’t going to do it. It’s social connections that will. We need to keep our elected officials honest, constantly check they are applying the evidence we want them to, in the ways we want them to. And if the scientific community want to be listened to, they need to work to build connections. Get political and scientific communities overlapping, embed scientists in policy institutions (and vice versa), get MP’s constituents onside to help foster the sorts of public pressure you want to see: build trust so scientists become people MPs want to be briefed by. (via foe on Twitter)
- Three Papers on Load Balancing (Alex Popescu) — three papers on distributed hash tables.
- Meridian — iPhone app that does in-building location, sample app is the AMNH Explorer which shows you maps of where you are. Uses wifi-based positioning. (via raffi on Twitter)
- Fixing What Apple Won’t — the jailbreakers are releasing security patches for systems that Apple have abandoned. (via ardgedee on Twitter)
"geolocation" entries
Geolocated images reveal a place's visual identity
Cartagr.am taps geolocation to create a unique mapping layer.
Cartagr.am uses Instagram's new API to create maps out of geolocated images. The resulting visualizations reveal a location's different sides.
ePayments Week: How big a bite will Apple take?
Is iTunes PayPal on steroids? Also, walled gardens clamp down, and data geeks discuss privacy
In the latest ePayments Week: With contactless payments coming to an iPhone near you, analysts wonder whether Apple will share its 160 million iTunes customers.
The "dying craft" of data on discs
Urban Mapping's Ian White on the shift toward data as a service.
Urban Mapping CEO Ian White discusses the changing way that data is being sold, and the move to providing data as a service.
The “dying craft” of data on discs
Urban Mapping's Ian White on the shift toward data as a service.
Urban Mapping CEO Ian White discusses the changing way that data is being sold, and the move to providing data as a service.
New geolocation app connects citizen first responders to heart attack victims
Connected citizens trained in CPR now have a new tool to help them save lives.
A new iPhone app will dispatch trained citizens to help others in cardiac arrest. The app is the latest evolution of the role of citizens as sensors, where resources and information are connected to those who need it most in the moment.
Toward a local syzygy: aligning deals, check-ins and places
Check-ins are only the beginning. Here's what lies ahead for local.
The check-in is hardly the apogee of the local consumer experience. It works, for now, but it won't be the long-term solution for customer/business relationships and physical point of presence. So what will replace it? Here's a look at the local sector's near-term future.
Four short links: 13 August 2010
Scientific Literacy, Load Balancing, Indoors Geolocation, and iPhone Security
Brian Aker on post-Oracle MySQL
A deep look at Oracle's motivations and MySQL's future
In time for next week’s MySQL Conference & Expo, Brian Aker discussed a number of topics with us, including Oracle’s motivations for buying Sun and the rise of NoSQL.
APIs launched at Where 2.0: a pocket guide
Where 2.0 has become a launch-pad for new geo products. As a sign of the times, these announcements focus on APIs rather than the usual feature-increments or partnership propaganda (we geo folk always prefer the Walk over the Talk). Here's a handy reference list in no particular order: Placecast Match API The free service "simplifies the process of de-duplicating and…