“Hello, I’m Jeannette Tibbetts of JTypePlus.  I provide administrative support to small businesses from my location, using my computer and equipment.”

Ummm…not quite right…I’m preparing for an upcoming networking event. I found that I really need to say my speech quickly because there are constant interruptions.

“Hi, Jeannette Tibbetts, JTypePlus. I’m a virtual assistant and I provide administrative support to small businesses like yours.”

Not bad…one more sentence…

“Generally, I work out of my location and use my computer and equipment.”

Now, what does one do when, right after one’s elevator speech, the potential client asks about one’s prices?

I ask this because it’s happened twice–right after I gave my “speech,” I was asked how much I charge…I guess that’s normal, but I didn’t have that part prepared!

[qi:gigaom_icon_geolocation] Google (s Goog) yesterday evening launched My Location for iPhone 3.0, which returns search results relevant to a user’s current location. The feature, which only works in conjunction with the Safari browser, helps to narrow down results when looking for stuff on the go. Previously, this was possible using the Google Mobile App. Because of privacy concerns, Google says it has made My Location an opt-in service.

The new search capabilities leverage the HTML 5 Geolocation API support included with Safari in iPhone 3.0. (More details can be found on Apple’s web site.) I think in the not-so-distant future more and more developers will leverage this browser’s geo-location capabilities to build compelling applications.

I’ve often wondered what kind of applications would emerge as a result, and how the location information would make them different from previous generations of apps. Any thoughts?

Google ha appena aggiornato la sua piattaforma aggiungendo un nuovo servizio attualmente disponibile soltanto nella versione Americana (US) ed inglese (UK) del sito. Si tratta di “My Location“, una nuova opzione che permette di essere localizzati tramite Safari e di trovare una serie di strutture pubbliche nelle nostre vicinanze:

Se volete provare questa funzione, entrate in Google.it e cliccate sulla voce in basso “Google.com in English”. A questo punto entrate nelle “Preferences” e spuntate l’ultima etichetta “Allow use of device location?”, dopodichè salvate.

La pagina verrà automaticamente ricaricata e vi ritroverete con una scritta “Last Location: Unknown”. Non dovrete fare altro che cliccare su “update” e vi appariranno 2 pop-up nei quali verrà richiesta l’autorizzazione per utilizzare le API relative alla geolocalizzazione.

In pochi istanti verrà mostrato il nome del vostro paese o della vostra città e le ricerche terranno sempre conto di questo valore. Ad esempio, se cercate “Pub” su google, troverete una serie di Pub nel giro di pochi kilometri dalla vostra posizione attuale, con tanto di numeri di telefono e direzioni stradali per arrivarci. E’ molto utile se non sapete dove andare!

O serviço de localização móvel My Location, do Google, acaba de ir para o desktop. A companhia anunciou na quinta-feira (9/7) que o recurso que mostra a localização do usuário nas buscas móveis estará disponível também no Google Maps tradicional, por meio dos navegadores Google Chrome 2.0 (incluindo a ferramenta Google Gears) e Firefox 3.5, da Mozilla.

Ao visitar Google Maps, o usuário verá um botão “My Location” ou “Mostrar meu local” no canto esquerdo superior do mapa. Basta clicar nele e um círculo azul aparecerá no local aproximado do mapa onde o usuário está.

Para fazer essa localização, o My Location usa o padrão W3C Geolocation API, funcionalidade oferecida recentemente nos novos navegadores que permite a qualquer site descobrir a localização geográfica do usuário.

O Geolocation API pode usar a conexão Wi-Fi ou mesmo o endereço IP (Internet Protocol) para determinar a localização. O Google alerta, porém, que algumas vezes a localização não é precisa – e algumas vezes o serviço simplesmente será incapaz de determinar onde o usuário está.

Uma vez localizada a região do usuário, as buscas por qualquer tipo de estabelecimento começarão a oferecer resultados baseados em endereços próximos.

Em um post publicado no blog do Google Maps e Earth, a companhia frisa que respeita a privacidade e apenas compartilha a localização dos usuários após autorização deles. Além disso, a configuração de privacidade pode ser alterada sempre que o usuário quiser.

Fonte: IDGnow

English | Español

Google recently launched the latest version of its Toolbar for Internet Explorer (and soon for Firefox). Among its most outstanding features there is one that makes translations (though not perfect ones) almost instantly to 40 languages. Google has had this feafure before, but not like it works now. Usually, users visit Google’s translation site in order to write the URL (internet address), select the language theywant to translate it to, and then wait for the test to appear to read it. If you’ve had previous versions of Toolbar, you just had to click at the Translate icon to do it. Google, however, wasn’t completely satisfied.

On this particular occasion , this new update makes it even easier. After starting IE along with the new Google Toolbar, you’ll see a bar on top of the page of each page indicating the language it has been written and if you wish to read in another language. After making your choice, you’ll notice the only thing that changes is the text. The page and its images remain instact. Google will keep translating the pages of the web site you are at until you visit another site.

There are also two additional versions of this Toolbar. One of them comes with My Location to facilitate your search for a place to go around your area. And if you are familiar with Simplified Chinese (the one language used in mainland China and other countries), there is a customized version of  the Toolbar just for you (Google 工具栏简体中文版).

For some of you, using the latest Toolbar will seem like magic. It really does. If only Google could translate text within images in the near future or make perfect translatios. Download the new Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer at http://toolbar.google.com.

Source: Toolbar, now with advanced translation [http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/toolbar-now-with-advanced-translation.html]. Google Toolbar Labs: Google Toolbar with My Location & Google Simplified Chinese Toolbar (Google 工具栏简体中文版) [http://toolbar.google.com/labs/intl/en/#tbbrand=].

Español | English

Google recientemente lanzó la más reciente versión de su Barra (Toolbar) para Internet Explorer (y pronto para Firefox). Entre sus funciones más sobresalientes se encuentra una que realiza traducciones (aunque no perfectas) casi al instante a 40 idiomas. Google ha tenido esta función antes, pero no como funciona ahora. Usualmente, los usuarios visitan el sitio de traducción de Google para que luego escriban la URL (dirección en Internet), seleccionen el idioma al que quieran traducirlo,  y esperen por el texto a que aparezca para leerlo. Si han tenido versiones previas del Toolbar, solo han tenido que hacer clic en el icono de traducción para realizarlo. Google, sin embargo, no estaba completamente satisfecho.

En esta ocasión, esta nueva actualización lo hace aún más simple. Luego de iniciar IE junto con el nuevo Google Toolbar, verán una barra en la parte superior de cada página indicando la lengua en que ha sido escrita y si desea leerla en otra lengua. Luego de hacer su selección, se darán cuenta que lo único que cambia es el texto. La página y sus imágenes se quedan intactas. Google seguirá traduciendo las páginas del sitio web de las que están hasta que visiten otro sitio.

También hay otras dos versiones de esta barra de herramientas. Una de ellas viene con My Location (Mi ubicación) con el fin de facilitarle su búsqueda de un lugar a donde ir alrededor de su área. Y si están familiarizados con el chino simplificado (la lengua que se usa en la China continental y en otros países), hay una versión personalizada de la barra de herramientas sólo para ustedes (Google工具栏简体中文版).

Para algunos de ustedes, el uso del más reciente Toolbar parecerá arte de magia. De veras que sí. Si solo Google pudiese traducir texto dentro de las imágenes en un futuro próximo. Descarguen el nuevo Google Toolbar para Internet Explorer en http://toolbar.google.com.

Fuente: Toolbar, now with advanced translation [http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/06/toolbar-now-with-advanced-translation.html]. Google Toolbar Labs: Google Toolbar with My Location & Google Simplified Chinese Toolbar (Google 工具栏简体中文版) [http://toolbar.google.com/labs/intl/en/#tbbrand=].

Con quest’applicazione avrete a disposizione in un unico accesso i migliori servizi Google che come sappiamo il colosso statunitanese è riuscito ad ottimizzare brillantemente anche per il mondo mobile.

Con Google Mobile App, parola d’ordine: immediatezza.

1. Accesso Immediato

Perchè perdere tempo a passare per i menù con lo scopo di lanciare applicazioni e funzioni?. Il meccanismo chiave lancia l’applicazione direttamente sulla schermata Home, da cui si può dunque fare ricerca e accedere ai servizi Google Maps, Gmail, e altri servizi Google mobile. Avviare la pagina principale di google Mobile App con il tasto rapido “C” o “Matita”.

2. Localizzazione Immediata

Google Mobile App ricerca la posizione attuale del dispositivo grazie alla rete cellulare. Se si attiva dunque la funzione “My Location” si potranno avere risultati di ricerca relativi alla posizione attuale (es. punti ristoro).

3. Formulazione Immediata

Questa applicazione adotta due sistemi per garantire una rapida formulazione della domanda di ricerca: cronologia delle ricerche e suggerimenti sulla base di ciò che è stato scritto finora per arrivare ai risultati.

E’ possibile effettuare il download delll’applicazione puntando il web browser presente di default sul dispositivo all’indirizzo m.google.com. Trattasi di un file sisx, dunque applicazione scritta in linguaggio nativo Symbian, tuttavia 5800 e piattaforma S60 5th edition, al momento non supportata.

Fonte Google Mobile Blog.

Andaba yo perdida, hace un tiempo, y para salir del laberinto en el que me encontraba me instalé en el móvil la aplicación de GoogleMaps para consultar un mapa; esto fue antes de recordar mi completa ineptitud a la hora de interpretarlos.

Con más fe en el Street View que en mi sentido de la orientación para alejarme del Minotauro, no desistí y me lo instalé

Cual fue mi sorpresa cuando apareció un puntito azul en la pantalla…era yo, bueno, mejor dicho la señal de mi móvil que triangulada con las antenas de telefonía móvil resolvía mi ubicación en el mapa.

Me pareció fantástico! Aunque ayer practicando running por caminos manchegos, eché de menos que dicha señal “GPS” se pudiera registrar en un histórico o similar para hacer rutas con el Google Maps.

En fin, toca esperar:

“Advertid, hermano Sancho, que esta aventura y las a esta semejantes no son aventuras de ínsulas, sino de encrucijadas (…). Tened paciencia, que aventuras se ofrecerán donde no solamente os pueda hacer gobernador, sino más adelante.”

(fuente: Wired)

Un poco de J.G. Ballard, otro poco de Philip K. Dick, una pizca de Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury y Arthur C. Clarke. El resultado tiene que ser fantástico. El verdadero susto llega cuando la realidad es el escenario de la ciencia ficción.

Google lanza Latitude: “Encontrá a tus amigos en tiempo real”. Se trata de un servicio para celulares que permite transmitir la ubicación geográfica de un teléfono a otros -amigos, conocidos o enemigos- para que éstos sepan dónde, exactamente, se está en determinado momento (minuto-a-minuto, segundo-a-segundo). La salida amistosa, una convocatoria: se puedan poner tags (etiquetas) tales como un aviso para “salir a almorzar” por la zona.

Así es. Latitude comparte la ubicación de quien lo desee con sus amigos a través de Google Maps, “My location”. El programa utiliza las señales de las torres telefónicas cercanas para obtener las coordenadas.

Al fin -¿con qué fin?-, la respuesta de Google a los menos famosos BrightKite y Loopt. En Latitude el usuario puede seleccionar quién accede a la información, así como cuánto de esa información quiere compartir.

El debate: los límites de la seguridad y la privacidad de los usarios.

Links. Youtube. “Google Latitude” y “Google Latitude privacy tips“

As of 9:00pm CDT I am officially back in LA. I will be repping Senator Landrieu, Barry Obama and perhaps even Don Cazayoux.

I will also be using my time in country to attend not one but two LSU football games, starting with UGA this weekend, updates to follow.

The Google Mobile Team has introduced ‘My Location’ for searching on your mobile phone. When you are in London and feel like a beer, you just have to type ‘beer’ in the Google search button and not ‘beer London’. In other words: with My Location, Google knows where you are.

According to the Google Mobile Blog, it works this way:

“Previously, when you went to google.com from your phone’s browser and performed a local search, the results were tailored to the last location you entered. Now, using the Gears Geolocation API, Search with My Location approximates your actual location using the same Cell ID technology used by Google maps for mobile.”

At he moment, ‘My Location’ only works in the UK and the US. More information via the blog post of the Mobile Team. As usual, a funny film accompanies the introduction:

…Google has officially posted the inner details of the My Location API, explaining the fact that they rely on Cell ID (and not triangulation) and crowdsourcing from GMM users with GPS-enabled phones (and not contracts with operators). Well, dear readers, you knew it all along (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Despite the (IMO) suggestive title of the blog post (“Google enables Location-aware Applications for 3rd Party Developers“) and a few words on the Google Gears Mobile and Android Location APIs, I just don’t see how 3rd party app developers can make use of Google’s cell ID data right now. Come on, where’s the usual, plain & simple Google-style HTTP API for querying cell ID locations? Thank god there’s OpenCellID

Vejam este vídeo explicando o serviço My Location do Google Maps. A idéia é a mesma do iPhone, usando uma triangulação das bases da rede celular da para saber aproximadamente a posição.

This is a Locative Mobile Phone Game (LMPG). A game for iPhone and Android, which uses either GPS or the My Location feature of Google Maps on the iPhone:

“According to its description, Parallel Kingdom places the virtual world on top of the real world using the GPS inside your phone. You can attack, dance, hug or team up with anyone around you. Set up trade routes, craft items or even create your own kingdom.
You can mine resources, build buildings, craft items, trade goods, meet people, start kingdoms, lead wars, and explore the world. Wherever you are, you can open your phone and play, whether you’re on the bus, walking down the street, or at home. Anywhere in the world, any time of the day. Parallel Kingdom never stops, you play it when you want and where you are.”

Source: iPhone World

Pocketgamer.co.uk published an interview with the CEO of Parallel Kingdom, Justin Beck:

Pocketgamer: How do the GPS aspects work? How are you tackling the problem that people might not be within range of anyone else who owns the game?

Justin Beck: We want to find some balance between leveraging the location game play of Parallel Kingdom without forcing players to move to do every little thing, which could get annoying quickly.

The GPS controls what part of a neighbourhood you are in and from that location you can then move your character within a couple block radius of your actual location. Giving you the freedom to explore while still being completely location based.”

From: Google Android and iPhone get their first MMORPG

Videos by Parallel Kingdom:

Google map + Cell phone photos + Dumpster diving = Awesome

Last night I was reading TeachCrunch blog and I found this article interesting Google Gears Goes Mobile. This article has talked about Google’s various tools and techniques, but I feel interested about Google Map in handsets and I decided to bring it here.

Recently Google has introduced version 2.0 (v2.0) of Google Maps for cell phones. This mobile mapping and local search is a beta version of Google “My Locations”. It is a device with GPS built and a new feature which uses data from cell phone towards to provide an approximation of your location on a Goolge Map. But it does not work for every cell phone unfortunately.

Which phones does Google Maps support?

Google Maps works with the following devices:

• Most Java-enabled (J2ME) mobile phones.
• Palm devices with Palm OS 5 and above.
• All color BlackBerry devices.
• Windows Mobile devices with Windows Mobile 2003, 5.0 and above.
• Symbian Series 60 3rd edition devices.
• Some recent Motorola devices
• Some recent Sony Ericsson devices

Visit here for How do you start using Google Maps once I’ve installed it onto my phone?

Another one: Take the power of Google Maps with you on your mobile phone.

Is it free?

Google is providing free of cost for Maps for cell phones. It is free of cost if you have Windows Mobile and then just visit the site and download the CAB file. But you have to pay the costs of contract net. So to make sure you have to contact with cell phone provider about your plan and monthly fees.

Does Goolge Map work everywhere?

Currently Goolge Map for cell phones is available for just over 20 countries. They are still working on to spread it all over the world.

I think it is really cool and easy to install. It is a great innovation from Google and so much better than map search function anyone have it before. In overall, Goolge Map for mobile is a pretty efficient program, it’s free and very simple to use/settings and there is no reason you should not have it on your phone.

Ένα εκπληκτικό χαρακτηριστικό για το Google Maps για κινητές συσκευές είναι το My Location. Ακόμα και αν η συσκευή σας ΔΕΝ έχει ενσωματωμένο δέκτη GPS μπορεί να σας εμφανίσει το σημείο που βρίσκεστε στο χάρτη! Ανιχνεύει την κοντινότερη κεραία κινητής τηλεφωνίας και εμφανίζει τη θέση σας στο Google Maps.

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This advertisement from Google via YouTube serves as a handsome explanation on what location-based services are and “The new ‘My Location’ (beta) feature on Google Maps for mobile helps you know where you are on the map, even if your phone doesn’t have GPS. Just press [0] to move the map to your approximate location. Save time and tedious keystrokes finding where you are, what’s around you, and how to get there.”

Via UBIKWITUS

Thanks to Paul for pointing out the new GPS-less My Location feature in Google Maps for Mobile (yet another milestone in the history of human technological evolution I would have missed due to my almost total absence from the blogosphere lately).

The geek in me secretly hopes that if applications like GMM become more and more popular, handset manufacturers will be incited to provide APIs to cell tower information on a broader range of handsets; and also offer more detailed cell tower measurement information. (Currently I’m only aware of APIs that provide the ID of the serving cell, no neighbour cells, no timing advance i.e. distance estimates; the only noteworthy exception seems to be – I hate to say it – the iPhone).

I wonder if Google has any plans to open the cell-ID geocoding service to the general public, so that we can all use it for our own apps? I mean, it’s not that they need to spend a lot of money collecting that data: after all its those Google Maps for Mobile users with GPS enabled phones out there who unknowingly collect the data for them! Well, ok, not really unknowingly since the info screen states it clearly every time you switch the My Location feature on, but hey who’s reading the manual, anyway Come on Google! Give us an API!

Američki Internet pretraživač Google uvodi uslugu za lokalizaciju preko mobilnih telefona koji mogu da se priključe na Internet – My location.

Ova usluga nalazi se još uvek u beta verziji, a slična je sistemu za globalno pozicioniranje GPS (Global Positioning System).

Usluga će biti dostupna u više zemalja, uglavnom evropskih i američkih.Za tu uslugu će biti korišćene karte iz Google Maps, a njen domet će biti do 500 metara.

Lokalizacija će, za razliku od GPS-sistema, biti moguća i u unutrašnjosti zgrada. Ona će moći da se koristi na mobilnim telefonima pod softverskim sistemima Symbian, Windows Mobile i Java.

Google tvrdi da neće zloupotrebljavati informacije o položaju gde se određene osobe nalaze, preneli su francuski mediji.

Hablábamos en una entrada anterior del servicio My Location de Google Maps Mobile, que permite localizar un móvil sin GPS con un margen de error variable.

Sobre las formas que tiene Google de averiguar la localización del móvil, un ingeniero de Vodafone UK apunta que en el Reino Unido es la propia Vodafone quien proporciona a Google la información sobre la celda en la que se encuentra el usuario, así como una distancia aproximada y una orientación con respecto a la celda. La ventaja que poseen las operadoras es que saben no sólo en qué celda se encuentra el móvil, sino qué otras celdas están cerca, y en el caso de las antenas direccionales conocen la dirección aproximada respecto a la antena (esta información se indica esquemáticamente en un foro de yahoo que exige registro).

Así, para los teléfonos Vodafone UK se utilizaría una versión de Google Maps Mobile que enviaría la información necesaria para identificar en qué red funciona y localizar al dispositivo dentro de esa red (quizás todas las versiones de GMM lo hagan y sólo se aproveche cuando se pueda), y se enviaría esa información a Google para que la convirtiese en una ubicación en el mapa.

Decía también que Google tenía una base de datos con ubicaciones de las celdas de telefonía móvil propia con datos conseguidos de distintas fuentes. Lo que no sabía es que esa información es pública en algunos países. Podemos consultar algunos de ellos (no España, ni ningún país hispanohablante) en el Mobile Manufacterers Forum.

Vía:
Mobile Phone Development: Google MyLocation: How Does it Work?