Wordpress 1.0 for iPhone and iPod Touch was just released on iTunes. So far, it seems to be working well. I’m composing this post on my 8gb iPod touch. The installed app had no problem interfacing with the XML-rpc of my wordpress 2.6 blog backend. Additionally, it gives me full access to all of my old blog posts… A nice touch.
For version 2.0, I would love to see integrated, optional GPS location posting, comment moderation, and link creation - with URL copy/paste from Safari!
Over on pagetable.com, they managed to pull the original Apple I Basic off of its uber-old school cassette tape, and re-compile a working version of the code. And… it works! I managed to run it on my own computer, and re-write my first program. I actually remember writing this program, and many other similar programs back in 4th and 5th grade, in the elementary school computer lab filled with Apple IIe’s. Those Apple IIe’s managed to follow me up until about 8th grade, at which point they started being replaced by Apple Quadras etc.
This Photo Safe II from Digital Foci sounds like nifty gadget..especially for traveling. I’d use it to backup pictures on my memory card, and not necessarily to offload the pictures…. ie not deleting memory cards after copying to the it. That way,the camera is lost or stolen while traveling, there’s still a backup of the pictures, and vise versa. I feel like very very quickly, the value of the photos your shooting far outpaces the value of the gear you’re using.. in many many situations.
Also, this could prevent you from having to do the “many smaller cards” scheme of data protection, and instead shoot with that whopper 32b card, and just back it up from time to time in the field.
Digital Foci didn’t go out of its way to drastically redesign the original Photo Safe, but we ’spose that’s alright in the grand scheme of things. Essentially, the Photo Safe II picks up where its predecessor left off by including a multicard reader (now with 100% more MS Duo and miniSD support) which automatically transfers photos from your flash card onto the built-in 80GB / 160GB hard drive. The integrated display tells you at a glance how much space is remaining and how much battery life is left, though it won’t show your stored photos in slideshow (or any other) fashion. A touch steep at $139 (80GB) / $189 (160GB), but that’s convenience for you.
Wordpress.org just released, ahead of schedule, the 2.6 version of Wordpress - the backend that runs this blog. Some of the new features are much appreciated - live preview of themes, wordcount, post revision history, and a more robust image control box.
I just did the upgrade, which went smoothly, for the most part. The only hitch I encountered was re-activating plugins. After re-activation, the whole admin backend crashed and started giving code errors. To fix it, I had to re-name the plugins folder (thereby deactivating all), and go through one by one and re-activate plugins, and upgrade them to the latest version.
One of the coolest features in 2.6 is the new usage of Google Gears. Gears is an add on for IE and Firefox, which lets wordpress store core files locally on the computer, instead of needing to load them up from the web for every page. This significantly increases interface responsiveness, especially for new AJAX’y features.
I’m glad to see that Google Gears is starting to gain a little bit more traction. Before this, my only regular usage of gears was with Google Reader, which will let you cache rss feeds for offline viewing. I always use this feature, especially when flying - hop on the web in the airport terminal before I board my flight, sync up with the latest news in reader, piece through it all on the plane, and re-sync when I land.
Tonight, between the GawkerMedia Meshing situation and dinner, I randomly met up with a friend and checked out sunset from the top of the New Museum in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. I think we got there just at the right time, because the sun was just below the horizon, giving great light. This little panorama is quick and dirty, as you can see, and shot with a 16mm lens. You can see at the edges the distortion is very pronounced, especially where building elements join at the end of one frame into the middle of another frame - the differences in magnification is intense.
Just unearthed Lemon Jelly’s 1999 Breezeblock, originally broadcast on BBC Radio One. I’m a huge fan of this mix, and of Lemon Jelly in general - give it a listen - uplifting and fun.
I recently took a vacation to Alaska. It was a great escape from the city, and an awesome return to the backcountry for my Brother and I, who have both spend time backpacking there. There are a few photos in this blog post, and the rest of them, including captions describing most of the trip, can be found over on flickr. Check out all the Alaska photos.
The view from our kitchen in the backcountry of Denali State Park
During the trip, I took about 700 pictures, along with a few videos. My father also took a couple hundred, as did my brother. I actually uploaded all the photos to flickr, but I think for the sake of time and giving you a good overview of the trip, I’m only making the top 50 or so publicly accessable. If you would like to see more photos from a particular section of the trip, or if you’re planning a trip to the AK and want to know more about any particular section of it, just let me know. I’d be happy to open up more photos and videos.
Throughout the trip, I carried my Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS with me, with rechargeable batteries and a 1gb micro SD Card. It was set to record a track log every 30 seconds, and was on for most of the trip. Additionally, for road navigation, I as using Garmin’s US Road Atlas 2008. The whole system worked very well. I made sure to synchronize the clock in my camera, as well as my fathers and brothers cameras to the clock in the gps, so that all time stamps line up.
We took a flight with Talkeetna Air Taxi around the mountains in Denali National Park. The maximum altitude for the plane was 10,000 feet, but Denali tops out around 20,000 feet. The whole flight we were flying very very close to the steep walls of the mountains.
When I got home, I successfully merged the GPS track log with the EXIF data on the photos, and Geotagged each photos. If you go to the flickr photo set, you’ll see a map link on each photo, which will show you on a map approx where the photo was taken. The gps is typically accurate to about 7 feet, and since it takes a track log recording every 30 seconds, if i was moving while shooting, depending on how fast i was moving (500+ mph in the air, 2mph hiking, etc), the location could be off a bit.
Extending the geocoding of the pictures a little further, I used Jet Photo studio to create this interactive photo gallery, with the Google Maps API. Each photo is placed on the map at around where it was taken. Additionally, all the (public) photos have map links, which will place them on the map.
These flowers were blooming in a recently burned down forest. Regrowth and renewal.
Media Links:
Flickr photoset of Alaska 2008. If you’re a friend of mine on flickr, you should be able to see slightly more pictures than what I’ve made public.
During the backcountry portion of the trip, my brother and I found a crashed NOAA Weather Balloon with an attached Radiosonde. I’m writing about that in a separate post.
We made a bunch of friends in Alaska. Here’s the blurbs on a few of them…
Andy Morrision runs Alaska Backcountry Access, his own outdoor guide company. Andy is a great guide, and does a ton of trips. We went jet boating up the river, and kayaking with him
Rachel Drinkard lives in Girdwood, and works as a reporter and writer. Her blog, Anarchy in the AK, covers all sorts of Alaskan issues and stories. She came boating and kayaking with us.
Ron Tenny and his wife Michelle run the Hidden Creek Bed and Breakfast, and were very hospitable to us. We had a great time staying there, an awesome breakfast, and fun discussing the area, and the industry with Ron and his son and daughter.
In Girdwood, we grabbed a relaxing dinner and felt like locals at Chair 5.
The marina in Seward, Alaska. The Chugatch mountains are jutting out in the background.
And for the videos - I’m posting up two videos to this post, but there are many more - including the full footage from the weather balloon. Those will go up in a bit, after I’m done editing them together etc.
Ermine Hill, Denali State Park, Alaska
Taking a break on after hiking to the top of Ermine Hill, a small peak within the Kesugi Ridge, in Denali State Park, Alaska. The view up there was incredible, and the terrain made us feel like we were on another planet. After finding a weather balloon crashed, I kept on expecting to find a lunar rover or something.
Flying Next To Denali
During our flight with Talkeetna Air Taxi, we flew right next to Denali, making sharp turns to weave in and out of the peaks, and through the clouds.
RSS Feed of photo set
