NCS Product Synopsis
«©NCSX» Sony and Zenrin collaborate to produce software titled Minna no Navi that maps the entirety of Japan from the urban jungle to the uncluttered expanse of the countryside. According to the product specs, detailed maps of over 1,100 cities are included. Utilizing Sony’s NAV-U software engine which is used in Sony’s pwn personal navigation devices, Minna no Navi provides a user-friendly menu system that allows anyone (well, most anyone) to use Sony’s PlaceEngine software to figure out where he/she is and what’s nearby. A social utility called PetaMap can also be accessed to share information on hotspots and places of interest with other PSP users. For example, if you’ve just enjoyed a really mediocre beef bowl at a Yoshinoya in Osaka, simply mark the location on the map so that others can also enjoy some really mediocre beef bowl. The software may also be used to map out routes from point A to point B and view detailed 2D and 3D street maps of Japan. In essence, the software turns the PSP into a full-featured personal navigation device at a reasonable cost.

The Minna no Navi bundle package includes the navigation software and a Sony PSP GPS Receiver so users can get their bearings. Once the bearings have been gotten, the PSP may be used to play a game or watch a movie UMD. Versatility, that’s what the PSP is all about.

The first production of Minna no Navi includes a bonus bottle holder that’s being given away in 100% ratio.

Can’t really post anything new and exciting ’cause there ain’t anything new and exciting!! We did, however, at least receive one out of four Christmas lists we’ve been waiting on from our grandkids. Bridget emailed us a list as long as my arm and she included everything, literally!! She’s got a kitten or a puppy listed, a pool table, an air hockey table, an iPod, digital camera, cell phone, games, DVDs and even a camera case (in case she gets the camera!). We had plenty to choose from and it made a big difference.  So we trotted down the road to Niagara Square Saturday afternoon to have a look around for a couple of the items listed. As luck would have it we ended up buying more than we went for – so what else is new????

We headed into Future Shop and as soon as we walked in the door there was a big floor display with Garmin GPS systems on special. Again, as luck would have it, Nat and I have been kind of  keeping our eyes open on the pretext that we might decide to get one sometime in the future.  I guess the future just arrived because we ended up getting one. The price was right, and this particular model had all of the features we were looking for. We really, really didn’t want to spend the money on ourselves this month, but we’ve been there before where something we were looking for goes on sale, we decide to wait awhile and next thing you know when the time comes that we have to have that item, we end up paying full price. So this time around we decided to once and for all take advantage of a good sale. And a good deal it was, we checked online and we really did save a fair bit of money.

Our Christmas morning came today. We had put the Garmin package under the tree (unwrapped) and being a cold, blustery and snowy day there was no where we wanted to go and decided to stay home and keep warm and cosy. Right after lunch I told Nat to rip, cut, tear away or smash the shrink wrap around the GPS unit and check it out. So, Nat sat quietly in his chair as he opened the box and began to play with his new toy. As I was in the office he had me register it and get our account set up, so he could continue to delve deeper and deeper into “satellite space” – you know, “where no man has gone before”, except this time we’re one of the late comers to GPS systems, so I’m thinking “satellite space” is getting a little full by now!!! What the hell, let others do the space walking, so they can come back and tell us what wonders to behold!!!

You could tell by the look on his face and the quiet contemplation while checking his new little friend out, that he was pleased with the ease of use, the styling and the contents. So now I’m thinking I’ve officially lost my  navigating job. And I was good at it too, but must admit that the little grey cells can’t retain maps, restaurants, hotels, etc. like the GPS can. However, you can play games with my memory and brain – mind games, that is!!!! Being a mere mortal I have to carry around maps of different Provinces and States, along with whatever books and pamphlets I can gather from the CAA., as I sit in the passenger seat enveloped in paper, eye glasses, sun glasses, a drink and a highlighter (just in case we need to “go back”)!!! 

I’m now willing to sit back, relax and enjoy any trip we may decide to go on and let the GPS do the work. I’ve earned it!!! Our trips to Florida, across Canada and even to the East Coast have all been successful because of my navigating skills. We’ve only been turned around once going through Spokane, Washington (in noon hour traffic) – and if you’ve ever been there you know it’s bloody easy to get turned around in Spokane!!! But I managed to get us back on track and none the worse for wear. I’ll now be able to listen to my iPod, watch a movie on my portable DVD player, muck about on my laptop or just watch the world go by heading down the highway. Nat and Garmin can have their time alone and talk amongst themselves!! Just let me know when we’ve arrived!!!

Linden Lab chairman Mitch Kapor and developer Philippe Bossut today demonstrated a camera-based motion recog system that controls your avatar’s movements in Second Life. Looks good on the video, below…

With a 3D viewing headset (such as the augmented reality headset imagined here), you would have your own at-home 3DVR “cave” for exploring the metaverse.

Incredibly, we are just years, perhaps only months, away from very discreet (i.e., they won’t take over your livingroom), immersive experiences, at home.

And it will cost a fraction of what 3DVR caves, such as the one at Brown University (an elaborate mix of multiple projectors, hand and head tracking devices, and a stack of Linux servers).

Of course, the more seamless metaversal interfaces become, the more likely people will start forgetting where they really are.

A bumpy ride ahead for sats and power grids. (Image: NASA)

NASA today published a forecast for a “big and intense” new solar cycle in 2011 or 2012, which its suggests will wreak havoc on satellite GPS and telecommunications, power grids and air traffic.

NASA says the next solar cycle, Solar Cycle 24, “could make itself felt as never before.”

We are now at the end of Solar Cycle 23 (see graphic, and excerpts, below), according to the U.S. space agency.

clipped from science.nasa.gov Is a New Solar Cycle Beginning It may not look like much, but “this patch of magnetism could be a sign of the next solar cycle,” says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

Homeland Security

Originally uploaded by markbaard.

Eyeballing federal offices and sensitive sites around Boston, courtesy of Google Street Views, which Google launched here today.

More images, here

– Mark Baard

Service leaves city’s toughest neighborhoods off the map

Not for everybody: Street views highlight downtown, business districts.

Google today added Boston to its growing list of U.S. cities featuring on-the-ground, street level views of people and places.

You can eyeball Newbury Street fashionistas dining alfresco.
But Boston’s roughest neighborhoods, in Mattapan and Dorchester, are not included in Street Views. Those are the areas in which most of the city’s homocides took place in 2007.

– Mark Baard

Service leaves city’s toughest neighborhoods off the map 

Not for everybody:  Street views highlight downtown, business districts.

Google today added Boston to its growing list of U.S. cities featuring on-the-ground, street level views of people and places.

You can eyeball Newbury Street fashionistas dining alfresco.
But Boston’s roughest neighborhoods, in Mattapan and Dorchester, are not included in Street Views. Those are the areas in which most of the city’s homocides took place in 2007.

– Mark Baard

Don’t bother running. You can’t hide from Google’s cameras.

The Boston Globe is jazzed about Google Maps’ new “street view” feature (see clip at the end of this post).

But I’m thinking of the chilling effect–knowing that your picture, taken on the street and posted to Google Maps, will link your identity with the locations you happen to be passing through.

I think of all the strip joints and porno shops that people pass as they walk and cycle around San Francisco, New York and Boston. (Boston street views are not yet available.)

Google’s street views sends a clear message: If value your reputation, you will now have to watch where you are seen.

It is also conceivable that Google’s unwitting subjects (considering that Google is using their images for profit), will flood the internet giant with lawsuits. Parents of children caught up in the dragnet, clergy and officials snapped in their cities’ red light districts, where they might be working legitimately–all might find cause to bring action against Google.

Meanwhile, be on the lookout for this van (immediately below), which is reportedly carrying the cameramen for Google…

And here’s a quick shot of my old First Avenue digs in Manhattan, courtesy of the new Google feature:

clipped from www.boston.com Google Maps’s new “Street View” feature, announced earlier this week, is pretty amazing. The feature, which uses vehicle-cameras to take 360-degree street level views, allows users to virtually navigate the only five American cities that matter: New York, Las Vegas, Denver, Miami, and San Francisco.

Satellites, maps, keep you connected

Sprint this week announced a fairly cheap subscription plan that will make you completely trackable via the satellite global positioning system (GPS). No doubt, this will have teenagers wrapping their phones in foil to dodge their parents. But seniors and caregivers may appreciate the piece of mind that comes with knowing where everyone is.

For about ten bucks a month, the Sprint Family Locator allows to track up to four GPS phones. You can also send and receive alerts when your family members arrive at school or the doctor’s office.