Slashgeo

The GeoThought blog starts with an entry on the new iWeb, part of Apple's iLife, supporting Google Maps mashups directly. Meanwhile, The Map Room links to a MacWorld article on GPS software for the Mac. Finally, the High Earth Orbit blog wonders if the iPhone really needs GPS capabilities. From this entry: "Geolocation does not mean GPS. GPS is a specific technology implementation of getting a location fix. It is also frought with complications that are most apparent in areas that people may use a mobile phone to find out what’s going on around them - that being urban areas, indoors, or anywhere that doesn’t have good sky coverage. [...] In fact, one of the most complained about features in the N95 has been it’s slow to fix GPS. Nokia finally got it better, from 74 seconds to 57 seconds, with their firmware upgrade. [...] Another problem with GPS - it’s a battery hog. [...] My point is, geolocation does not mean having a GPS. There are numerous methods of automatically locating yourself that doesn’t require listening to satellites 24,000 miles away. [...] So I hope to hear less of people bemoaning the iPhone’s lack of a GPS chip - and instead ask the more reasonable question “Why doesn’t the iPhone do geolocation by cell or WiFi?”" See also related stories below.

Poly9 Free Earth is a cross-browser, cross-platform 3-D globe using Adobe Flash. I gave the site a quick run-through, and it looks like they're off to a good start in providing an alternative to the Google offerings. If you're used to the Google controls, you'll be familiar with the controls provided by Poly9. One really cool feature is ability to view in full-screen. The imagery is a little dated for my area, but it's better quality than I get with Google.

Of particular interest to me was the integration with the Garmin Communicator plugin, allowing you to import waypoints, routes and tracks from your Garmin device. I loaded up a weekend excursion to a nearby park and gave it a whirl. My tracks, routes and waypoints loaded up without a hitch. I had only one route, and found that I was unable to select for display in the map. Waypoints and Tracks gave me no trouble because I had several of each.

In all, not a bad start for Poly9. The addition of Communicator Plugin support is a great way to begin to differentiate themselves from Google.

Garmin has made another good step toward assisting developers by providing a centralized location listing the various XML formats used in data transfer with Garmin devices.

"General introductions, FAQs, and schema documentation are provided for the various formats."

Formats include Garmin-specific formats (TCX, AXM) as well as formats created by others (GPX, KML).