March 19th, 2010, No Comments »
Last night I was at a client event, and some developers were demonstrating applications they’d built on top of the City of Vancouver’s Open Data catalogue.
The app I really liked is called VanPark 2010, and overlays metered parking rates on top of a map of downtown Vancouver.
Lots of geeks abstractly advocate the power of open source and open data, but this seems to be a great example of how opening up data can help the average citizen. I requested a feature where the user enters an address, and the app highlights the cheapest parking within, say, 500 meters.
And can we take a moment to recognize the awesomeness of Bing Maps’ Birds eye view functionality. It truly is the eye of God.
No Comments »
March 26th, 2008, 8 Comments »
Over the past few days, I’ve taken a number of rides in taxis. In every case, after I specified where I want to go, they clarified the route with me. That is, they asked me how I wanted to get from point A to point B.
This strikes me as a little odd. After all, they’re the experts in getting around. They traverse the city on a daily basis. Surely they know all the optimized routes. I don’t tell my dentist how to clean my teeth. So, I always answer their questions with “whatever route you think is best”.
This morning I asked a driver why he asks about the preferred route. He replied that he wants to avoid arguments with customers. That’s a bit tragic, isn’t it?
It’s kind of de rigeur in our culture to mock taxi drivers for their crappy navigation and lousy driving. I always feel really safe in a cab. Not only do they drive all day, but they’re motivated to, you know, stay alive and keep their car unharmed.
8 Comments »
