Not much going on here, is there...

When I'm not brewing up a long-form post, most of my blog-like activities have shifted over to Google+. That's why you haven't really seen much here this year. The mobile G+ client is far from perfect, but it is light years ahead of the mobile Blogger clients.

My take on the Nexus One "Google Phone"

I think it's an experiment to test the American consumer's tolerance to a more open model for mobile telecommunications. Right now, we generally begrudgingly accept the subsidized phone hardware with a two-year expensive contract model. But, there are already a couple of other similar experiments going on:

• T-Mobile has introduced an alternative set of plans (Even More Plus) wherein you pay more up front for the device,  but get a cheaper monthly rate for the same services. If they would extend the lower pricing but allow you to "bring your own device", that would be nice.
• Nokia is offering their N900 only as  fully unlocked and completely un-subsidized device.

I see this as a way to test the waters and see if we are willing to look to a model more akin to how we deal with our computers and ISPs. Most of us would think it was completely ludicrous if Apple would only sell us a Macbook for $899 with a two-year contract from Time-Warner's Roadrunner division. But somehow we have allowed this business model to prevail for the devices that are always with us. Just replace Macbook with iPhone, $899 with $199, and TW/RR with AT&T if you doubt that statement.

If all of this had been imminent 6 weeks ago, I probably wouldn't have purchased the Droid. I really do like the device, but now I'm stuck with Verizon for 2 years and will have to deal with crazy stuff if my hardware fails during that time. I was also glad that there was no VCast NASCAR that I can't remove from my phone's ROM. That would actually have been a deal-breaker, despite the other compelling features and functionality.

Having a model where I can pick the "best of breed" for the device and the carrier independently -- while finding a way to not get reamed on the price of both -- seems like a fundamentally good thing to me. If this is indeed Google's intent, then I certainly hope it proves to be successful. Outside of things that are essential for functionality, I would prefer if this model also means that no "crap" will be installed on the ROM -- giving the device's owner more control.

Things Google Search can do...

Nice link that covers some functions you may not know about... I knew about the calculator and conversions, and recently discovered the localized "movies" search on Android. Would never have thought to try the package tracking (I still prefer going directly to the shipper's site)...

Google Voice out-dialing with Windows Mobile

While it isn't super polished, and certainly does not support SMS (or other features / configuration options whatsoever), there is a work-around for dialing entries from your WinMo contacts via Google Voice.

The premise is simple:

• You can out-dial through GV by logging into your account through the telephone interface (e.g. calling your GV number and supplying your PIN -- exactly as if you were trying to access the voice mail), then selecting option 2 to place a call, supplying the desired number, and then pressing #.
• This requirement for dialing an access number, supplying a PIN, passing a target number, and then sending a "suffix" is functionally identical to what you would need if you were using a calling card.
• Microsoft had a demo of a calling card app in the WinMo 5.0 SDK / dev site, but it was rather weak.
• That code has been enhanced by other developers, and the improved version can be found here.
• After that, all you have to do is configure your default "calling card" with the appropriate parameters for your Google Voice account. [These are mostly obvious, just be sure to add an extra pause ("p") after your PIN.] 
• The calling card app adds a contextual menu in the Contact application, allowing you to successfully dial out to a contact via Google Voice in a manner that is convenient enough...

NOTE: I wanted to try GV Dialer (link omitted on general principle), but they expect you to enter a veritable crapload of personal data (all of which you should be able to configure directly within the app) before they will even send you a download link for the trial version. Two words: %@#$ THAT!

iCal <3's Google Calendar

...and there's an easy-import app to prove it...

Coords Clipboard (Adding RMNP to my Photo Map)

Chapin Creek Trailhead on Old Fall River Road will be the designated set of coordinates by which the Rocky Mountain National Park photo gallery shall be identified.
According to Google Earth, that's here (DMS format):

• 40°26'5.14"N
• 105°43'46.67"W

Or, in photo map friendly terms, converted courtesy of the FCC:

• 40.434761
• -105.729631

Le Tour with a Google Spin yet Again

The Calendar Page Turneth off of June and onto July:

• Fourth of July - Check
  
• Wimbledon Finals - Check
  
• Tour de France - Check
• Google Maps tie-in - Check
  
• Bastille Day - Later in the Month
  

Gmail, IMAP, and Windows Mobile - Fixed

I've been using IMAP to get my Google Mail on my WM6 phone since I got the phone, and when I first set it up, there was a note on the Google Help page that explained that some HTML-formatted messages might not render properly. Well, that was true at the time, but I also noticed a couple weeks ago that it had been fixed (no more blank messages that I have to go look at in the browser!), and finally found the Gmail blog post that confirms that the fix is official.

Finally added latest placemark to Photo Gallery Map

Having just received my new copy of CoPilot Live 7 for my new WM6-Pro phone, I had GPS on the brain again. This caused me to recall that I hadn't added a Tampa-related placemark to my map of photo galleries. So, as the screen grab below indicates (if you have super-human eyes with action-movie approved secret government fractal-based near-infinite real-time zoom capabilities), I picked a spot near the pier @ Clearwater Beach to receive the "honor." I have also downloaded a couple of geo-coding toys, and realized that my Garmin Edge 305 bicycle GPS device can also serve quite nicely as a datalogger... Watch out for a future geo-coded project of some sort...

GigaPan-tastic

Hopefully, the consumer GigaPan robotic mount will come out of beta soon, but will have a cost similar to its sub-$300 beta price. Sure, you can accomplish the same thing manually, but having a motorized automated mount would be pretty darn wicked! It's also pretty cool that you can browse a growing library of these interactive images not only on the GigaPan site, but also in Google Earth (minimum version 4.2).

Photo Map Updates

Added a few gallery links to my (Google) photo map:

• Glacier National Park (Placemark @ Logan Pass)
• Saint Louis (Placemark @ The Gateway Arch)
• West Virginia (Placemark @ The New River Gorge Bridge)
  

Google Broke the Hike and Bike Trail!

There's a Google satellite image tiling glitch on Austin's Town Lake Hike and Bike Trail. Either that, or the Balcones Fault is way more active that we thought...

Well, we got newer, higher-res images, and this problem no longer exists...  C'est la vie.

Google Maps API Update

Well, I got bitten by the Google Maps API update that happened on Wednesday. The code for my Photo Gallery Map used several conventions that were rendered obsolete. So, I employed my not-so-mad programming skills, looked at the API Reference, and managed to "H4X0R" my map back into operational status.

The good news -- it works again, and I'll be OK until API version 2 is made obsolete at some undisclosed future date. The other good news, there was an upgrade cheat-sheet that made my life easier.

What did I have to change in my simple page code:

In addition to the trivial required change from GMap to GMap2, GPoint now refers to a location on the bitmap, and not a geographical location. I was using it "the old way." A new GLatLng class was introduced to reference geographical points. This new version also swaps the position of the Latitude and Longitude data with respect to the old convention (Gee, imagine that Lat/Long specified in that order...). So, all references that used to look like this:
new GPoint(-115.173019, 36.095472)
now look like this, instead:
new GLatLng(36.095472,-115.173019)

Also, the zoom factor got reversed, so my old zoom factor of 13 is now a zoom factor of 4 to display the same view (it's more intuitive now, bigger number=more zoom).

Finally, the "Map Type" convention changed. What used to be _HYBRID_TYPE is now known as G_HYBRID_MAP... This was also made easier, as setCenterAndZoom and setMapType have been combined into a single setCenter operation.