Hasta La Gadget!

Not that we condone it, but we assume this is what a Google Map would look like if you were on some sort of psychedelic drug. Referred to as “cartographic navel-gazing,” the Rorschmap was created by James Bridle, a writer, publisher, artist, and coder living in London. Bridle says on his site that the Rorschmap […]

You can do a lot in seven hours — fly coast-to-coast, slow-cook a pot roast, create a Google Maps-navigating, Wii Fit-controlled virtual Segway. Wait, what? Yes, that Nintendo-branded, dust-collecting relic of holidays past has been given a new lease on life thanks to an intrepid troop of Ivy-educated geeks, and a seven-hour hackathon. The marathon modding session, held by Stanford University’s SVI Hackspace, banded together a like-minded set of overachieving modders to produce a balance board-guided Street View romp through Google Maps. The students’ hack connects the Wii Fit board to OS X via the Osculator app, with a Node.js server processing the data and Socket.io handling board-to-browser communication. A Google Earth plug-in and pre-rendered Segway were all that was left to complete this foot-mapped joy ride through our digitized world. Video demo awaits you after the break.

Continue reading Wii Fit balance board hack takes a virtual Segway ride around Google’s mapped world (video)

Wii Fit balance board hack takes a virtual Segway ride around Google’s mapped world (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google Maps brings live traffic coverage to 13 European countries, makes work weeks even shorter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:49:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Good news, jetsetters — those of you relying on Google Maps Navigation will now find it even harder to wean yourself off of it. Not like we’d ever recommend that, though. The navigators in Mountain View have just updated Google Maps for Android to v5.7, and while it’s just a point update in terms of numbers, there’s a healthy chunk of new material here. For starters, there’s the addition of added Transit Navigation (Beta), which brings GPS turn-by-turn (or in this case, stop-by-stop) navigation to public transit systems in 400+ cities worldwide. It’ll tap into your GPS module to determine your current location, and then alert you when it’s time to get off or make a transfer — downright invaluable in a place where you don’t speak the language. After starting your trip with Transit Navigation, you can switch to another app or holster your mobile altogether, as an alert will still pop up in the notification bar (as well as a vibration) when the next stop is coming up. Google doesn’t say specifically, but it sure sounds as if it caches things before you head into the tunnel, nixing that whole “underground service” problem.

Moving right along, users will also find improved directional services for driving / walking as well as a streamlined direction acquisition system within a Place page. There’s also a couple of new improvements in search suggestions, with the addition of category icons and auto-insertion of places you got directions to into Places. Finally, the addition of the Photo viewer for Place pages should help you better visualize what you’re about to walk (or drive, we guess) into. Head on down to the Market link below if you’re down to try something fresh, but make sure you’re rocking an Android 2.1+ device. Wouldn’t want to crush your dreams, G1 owners.

Update: Android Central spotted a huge, huge inclusion to this build: the ability to download maps for offline usage. Check out a video just after the break.

Continue reading Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions

Google Maps 5.7 for Android brings Transit Navigation beta, updated access to directions originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:10:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Poor France. The nation known mostly for its food and wine only has a few major sporting events to call its own, yet we — great, fat and lazy America — have pwned its most iconic one for seven years. That legacy could still live on — if you don’t mind shelling out $1299 and sweating all over your living room floor, that is. Powered by Google Maps and touted as the official trainer of Le Tour de France, comes a Pro-Form training bike so hardcore, it even simulates potholes. Ok, we made that last part up, but it does allow you to feel the burn of 24 pre-set courses, or one of your own punishing design. For the ultra-committed indoor enthusiast, there’s also Intelligent Wind Resistance and a 20 percent incline / decline feature that’ll match the ups and downs of real life outdoor cycling without the hassle of the actual outdoors. Honestly, it’s a bit much and we can’t really see this thing taking off with the New Year’s Eve resolution set, but if you’ve always wanted that biker’s derriere, this is your trainer.

Google Maps-powered training bike simulates Tour de France, refuses to speak English originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 05 Jul 2011 07:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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