Archive for Web Applications
Windows Virtual Earth
Posted Friday, December 9th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
Though I remain impressed with both Google Maps and Google Earth, Microsoft released Windows Live Local (powered by Virtual Earth) that offers web-based 45-degree views of the world. More so, Windows Live Local actually works in browsers other than IE (I tested Firefox, Opera, and Flock for Windows).
Analyze This
Posted Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005 at 3:04 pmI’ve been using Goole Analytics for about a week now. I’m testing it on this site, as well as on a few Lambda Chi Alpha sites.
Though there have been several bumps, it’s a handy service; as it should be, considering it’s a free offspring of Urchin, a web statistics service that cost $200 a month before Google bought the company in March.
I’m getting some great stats on the websites I’m testing, despite Goolge Analytics telling me I’ve installed their tool incorrectly.
I understand they closed registration for new accounts, citing heavy demand. But I’m still able to add new sites to my account without an apparent limitation.
I can see this becoming a popular tool for both webmasters and managers alike.
Google Maps API Video Tutorial
Posted Thursday, September 1st, 2005 at 8:54 amWayne Lambright from sfSurvey.com has created two instructional videos on how to use Google Maps’ API to intergrate dynamic maps into your website.
How to make Google Maps™ using ASP Classic when you don’t have the longitude or Latitude by Wayne Lambright
I’m beginning to make some tutorial videos myself on Lambda Chi Alpha’s iMIS software. I’ve been a longtime fan of Lynda.com’s videos and thought I could create some for our staff.
Video Flickr
Posted Sunday, July 31st, 2005 at 5:09 pmIf you haven’t figured it out by now, I’m a big fan of Flickr.com - a photo-sharing website. I have pro accounts for myself, Lambda Chi Alpha, and CFEA; and I also set up a Third Goal section to pool Peace Corps photos.
When it comes to managing and sharing photos, there is nothing better than Flickr. I just wish they’d offer the same features and service for video.
If your cell phone or digital camera takes photos, there’s a good chance it is also capable of recording small videos. If Flickr added a video-sharing service, then it could become the single best consumer image sharing repository.
Alas, there are more complexities regarding sharing videos than there are sharing photos. Bandwidth aside, there are so many video formats. Some formats can only play in Quicktime, others in Windows Media Player, and many in both or neither.
For example, my Treo 650 captures video in the 3g2 format, which plays back via Quicktime, while my new Casio Exilim EX-S500 uses MPEG-4, which defaults to Windows Media Player.
I have found a few sites that are creating a Flickr-like service for video and tested three of them out.
- Vimeo takes the easiest approach. It simply stores your videos in their native format, leaving playback compatibility up to its visitors.
- YouTube attempts to convert all of your videos to Flash files. For my MPEG-4 test, it did just fine. As for my unsupported 3g2 format, it converted the video but lost the audio.
- JussPress required me to download some software to use their site. Since I didn’t quite trust ‘em, I decided to pass on testing their service. If you were bolder, feel free to tell me about it here.
In time, either Flickr will jump into the video-sharing market, or some other player will figure out the best formula for sharing video snipits.