Mobile, utility and server-side development will define the future of maps.
by Adam DuVander
| @adamd
| 7 September 2010
Map APIs took off in 2005, and during the ensuing years the whole notion of maps has changed. Where once they were slick add-ons, map functionality is now a necessary -- and expected -- tool. In this piece, Adam DuVander looks at the current state of mapping and he explains how mobile devices, third-party services and ease of use are shaping the map development world.
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Crowdsourced Climate Science, Underground Map of Science, Programming Clue, and Great Molbio Writing
by Nat Torkington
| @gnat
| 7 September 2010
- GalaxyZoo for Climate Science? -- GalaxyZoo is the crowdsourced physics research. A group of climate scientists want the same, to help predict "weather events". See also the Guardian article. (via adw_tweets on Twitter)
- Crispian's Science Map -- gorgeous Underground-style map showing scientists and their contributions. (via arjenlentz on Twitter)
- Programming Things I Wish I Knew Earlier (Ted Dziuba) -- opinionated piece, but boils down to "keep it simple until you can't", and "the more you know about the actual hardware, the better you can code". With EC2, when Amazon says "I/O performance: High", what does that even mean? Is that suitable for a heavy random read scenario? (via Hacker News)
- The Molecular Biology Carnival, 2ed -- collection of excellent blog writing about molecular biology. (via BioinfoTools on Twitter)
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Harlan Yu on how "privacy by obscurity" in court records is changing.
by Alex Howard
| @digiphile
| 6 September 2010
An interview with Princeton computer scientist Harlan Yu is a reminder that the state of open government in the U.S. court system is both further advanced and more muddled than the public realizes.
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Game Engine, Enterprise Twitteralike, Open Microbiome, and Good Mental Habits
by Nat Torkington
| @gnat
| 6 September 2010
- Akihabara (Github) -- open source (GPL2 and MIT dual-licensed) HTML5/Javascript engine for classic arcade games. (via chadfowler on Twitter)
- Eureka Streams -- open sourced Java app for enterprise Twitter-like activity: build a profile, join groups, post updates, subscribe to updates from individuals or groups. (via dlpeters on Twitter)
- Open Microbiome -- hoping to build open tools, standard samples, data, and metadata for analysis of the microbiome (all the microorganisms that live in, on, and with macroorganisms like us). Early days, but glad to see people are already thinking of building this research open from the ground up. And if you think sequencing the human genome gave us a lot of data we struggle to find patterns in, wait until you start including microorganisms: we have 10x as many bacteria in us as we have cells and the species variety is vast. (via phylogenomics on Twitter)
- Habits of Mathematical Minds -- fantastic list of skills and approaches that are hallmarks of many successful minds, not just in mathematics. (via ddmeyer on Twitter)
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Design Principles, Mario AI, Open Source Wave, and 3D Google Earth Sound
by Nat Torkington
| @gnat
| 3 September 2010
- Arranging Things: The Rhetoric of Object Placement (Amazon) -- [...] the underlying principles that govern how Western designers arrange things in three-dimensional compositions. Inspired by Greek and Roman notions of rhetoric [...] Koren elucidates the elements of arranging rhetoric that all designers instinctively use in everything from floral compositions to interior decorating. (via Elaine Wherry)
- 2010 Mario AI Championship -- three tracks: Gameplay, Learning, and Level Generation. Found via Ben Weber's account of his Level Generation entry. My submission utilizes a multi-pass approach to level generation in which the system iterates through the level several times, placing different types of objects during each pass. During each pass through the level, a subset of each object type has a specific probability of being added to the level. The result is a computationally efficient approach to generating a large space of randomized levels.
- Wave in a Box -- Google to flesh out existing open source Wave client and server into full "Wave in a Box" app status.
- 3D Sound in Google Earth (YouTube) -- wow. (via Planet In Action)
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FCC managing director Steven VanRoekel on participation and building platforms.
by Alex Howard
| @digiphile
| 2 September 2010
The Federal Communications Commission is prepping a significant reboot of its website. In this interview, FCC managing director Steven VanRoekel explains how citizen participation and open government are shaping the new FCC.gov.
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