Author

Sean Chin

Technology

Apple Maps 2.0

Apple is not giving up and is heading in the right direction in the future of it’s built-in iOS Maps app.

More people today, especially those in big cities, are having to rely on third-party apps (on any OS) for their local transit and walking routes.

Today, Apple Inc. has formally announced the acquisition of two mapping companies.

The first one mentioned by AllThingsD is Toronto-based startup Locationary.

Not only does Locationary ensure that business listing data is positionally accurate (i.e., the restaurant I searched for is where Apple said it would be), it ensures that it is temporally accurate as well (i.e., the restaurant I searched for is still open for business and not closed for renovation or shuttered entirely). And that sort of clean location data could go a long way toward improving Apple Maps and distinguishing it from rivals

Next is Hopstop.

Hopstop shows users in more than 500 cities the fastest way to travel by foot, bike, subway and car.

Personally, I’ve never had any problems with Apple’s native Maps app but do notice Google still has more data. But remember that it took Googles a significant amount of time and years to get to where they are today. Even though Apple got off to a rocky start, I am confident to say that within the next year or two, I will be solely using the iOS app.

2013/07/19
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LINKS

Hyperloop, Reddit Pizza and Design

Elon Musk to unveils details about Hyperloop

I’ve been pretty excited about the concept and idea of being able to travel a distance such as from L.A. to San Francisco in just 30 minutes. This is precisely what Tesla Motors CEO and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk wants to do next. “Imagine a concord and a rail-gun” he proposed at D11.

Child cancer patient receives pizza from Reddit

Being someone who has worked in a children’s hospital, this story hits close to home. Health care professionals would do anything to help kids in need. “The flow of deliveries — more than 20 pizzas in total — overwhelmed the hospital staff.”

“Authentic design”

A very well written and researched article by   on the evolution of user interface designs on modern operating systems such as OSX and Windows.

2013/07/15
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Photographer Notes

Photographer Notes: Taylor Swift

Many people who enjoy my concert photography work like to ask “How do you prepare for each musician you shoot?”

My answer usually involves a little research online with YouTube clips of recent live performances and even other publication reviews.

But before I grab my gear and head to the venue, I typically have a summarized post-it note of what I can expect and will be doing.

However, things do not always go 100% as planned. You will notice that I made notes about Swift doing a duet at the end, but I almost forgot that! By the time I realized and made it to the end of the stage, she was done that brief segment. C’est la vie.

Excerpt:

Photographing Swift was a little crazy as all of the accredited media were put into the pit just left of the main stage with all of her most adrenaline-fueled fans. Trying to take an exceptional photo while avoiding all of the glittered waving hands and signs was tricky yet fun as I could really see how much these people loved her. We were allowed to photograph her during “Holy Ground” and “Red”. In the first song, Swift was sprinting spontaneously around the stage and onto the narrow bridges bringing her even closer to the crowd. She picked up her sparkling red guitar for the feature song “Red” and hair-rocked out with it while working her charm on with everyone holding a camera. She is incredibly photogenic I must say.

You can read my full review with photos on Live in Limbo.

2013/06/17
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