Archive for December 1, 2008

PointAbout to Power MyTalk

December 1, 2008 at 10:32 pm · Filed under News Flash

yahoonewsMyTalk has selected PointAbout to power its service.  Full press release below, or click here to see the actual release.

Mytalk Selects PointAbout To Power Proximity Aware Mobile Networking Services

 

Firm to leverage PointAbout’s thin client applications for social network and mobile advertising platforms

Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) November 26, 2008– Mytalk, an early stage mobile networking firm, today announced that it has selected PointAbout’s thin client mobile device applications to power Mytalk’s proximity aware social networking service and opt-in mobile advertising platform.

Mytalk is developing a proximity aware services portal with powerful and easy-to-use mobile networking capabilities, including the ability to identify other members from closest to furthest based on proximity, and communicate via text or voice – quickly, easily and safely. PointAbout’s thin client applications provide location and user profile data for each mobile device user, which translates into a more robust experience for Mytalk members while creating new proximity based revenue streams for businesses seeking to engage with mobile consumers.

“By partnering with PointAbout, Mytalk can seamlessly extend its Web-based mobile networking service to millions of users in a short period of time,” said Michael Hodge, founder and CEO of Mytalk. “And because PointAbout handles the heavy lifting by providing location and user profile data for each mobile device user, Mytalk can focus its efforts and resources on designing a feature-rich, proximity-aware mobile social networking application.”

Mytalk will also offer an opt-in mobile advertising platform and other strategic partner services for businesses to connect and engage with mobile consumers based on the proximity and personal preferences of each Mytalk member.

“Mytalk is building a truly innovative location-based services portal, one that is poised to change the way consumers and businesses utilize and benefit from proximity social networking,” said Daniel Odio, co-founder, PointAbout. “PointAbout’s thin client springboard will enable Mytalk to mobilize its brand across multiple phone platforms efficiently and cost-effectively.”

The Mytalk portal is currently in development with an anticipated launch planned for January 2009. Individuals interested in joining the MyTalk community or receiving email or sms updates on participating in our upcoming beta launch can visit http://www.mytalk.mobi. To receive more information on Mytalk and its service, please contact info@mytalk.mobi.

About Mytalk
Bethesda, MD-based Mytalk is developing a proximity aware services portal with powerful and easy-to-use mobile networking capabilities, including the ability to identify other members from closest to furthest based on proximity, and communicate via text or voice – quickly, easily and safely. In addition to Mytalk’s social networking application for mobile users, the firm is also developing an opt-in mobile advertising platform and other strategic partner services for businesses to connect and engage with mobile consumers based on the proximity and personal preferences of each Mytalk member. For additional information visithttp://www.mytalk.mobi.

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PointAbout Extends iPhone Accelerometer to Web

December 1, 2008 at 9:14 pm · Filed under Development, Technology

PointAbout just announced today that it has extended the functionality of the iPhone’s accelerometer to the web.

This means that clients who use PointAbout to distribute their web applications as native iPhone applications will have access to the accelerometer functionality of the phone. (To learn more about private-labeling PointAbout’s springboard for your mobile website click here.)

This is quite significant because the accelerometer information is not typically accessible to websites. However, with PointAbout acting as the “bridge” between the phone itself and the web, clients are now able to do all types of innovative things, such as:

- determine where the user is physically standing (latitude & longitude, or we can reverse-geocode to the nearest physical mailing address)

- determine the unique device ID of the phone (so you’ll know when a phone is returning to your site after having been away; this can also be used as log-in credentials)

- phone vibration feature; allows you to make the phone vibrate when certain actions are taken by the user

- accelerometer functionality, as shown in the video above, from the user’s phone to your website, wrapped with PointAbout’s thin-client springboard!

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Example of Source used for apps for democracy submission

December 1, 2008 at 7:48 pm · Filed under 1

Its a fairly simple implementation of a xml reader combined with a

distance calculator. Once the current location of lat long is passed

to this code from the PointAbout mobile software. It is an example of how basic code and location information can completly change the use and power of simple data streams and web sites.

An example xml doc is also appended to the bottom of this post for testing.

 

—-EXAMPLE OF DISTANCE FORMULA—-

 

def getDistance(fromLat, fromLong, toLat, toLong ):

  lat1 = float(fromLat)

  lon1 = float(fromLong)

  R = 6371; # km

  lat2 = toLat

  lon2 = toLong

  dLat = math.radians(lat2-lat1)

  dLon = math.radians(lon2-lon1)

  a = math.sin(dLat/2) * math.sin(dLat/2) +

math.cos(math.radians(lat1)) * math.cos(math.radians(lat2)) *

math.sin(dLon/2) * math.sin(dLon/2)

  c = 2 * math.atan2(math.sqrt(a), math.sqrt(1-a))

  d = R * c

  return d

 

——EXAMPLE OF XML TO ORDERED BY DISTANCE———–

 

  #logging.info(file_xml.toxml())

  listings = {}

  for item in itemNodeSub:

      try: name = item.childNodes[1].childNodes[0].data

      except: name = None

 

      try:

          html = item.childNodes[2].childNodes[0].data

          p = re.compile(“ADDRESS:</td><td>(.*?)</td>”)

          m = p.search(html)

          address = m.group(1)

          city = “Washington”

          state = “DC”

          address = address + ” ” + city + “, ” + state

      except:

          address = “No Data”

          logging.debug(“Error”)

 

 

      data = {

              ”name”:name,

              ”address”:address,

 

      }

 

      distance = 0.0

      try:

          lng, lat, alt =

item.childNodes[4].childNodes[1].childNodes[0].data.split(“,”)

          distance = getDistance(currLat , currLng,

float(lat.strip()), float(lng.strip()))

      except:

          lat = None

          lng = None

      search = requestHandler.get(“search”)

      if search == None or name.lower().find(search.lower()) >= 0:

          listings.update({distance:[data, round(distance,2)]})

 

  orderedListing = sortedDictValues1(listings)

 

 

——-SAMPLE OF XML FEED—–

 

<kml xmlns=”http://earth.google.com/kml/2.2″

xmlns:atom=”http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom”>

<Document>

<open>1</open>

<name><![CDATA[Layers]]></name>

<Folder><name>Legend</name><visibility>0</visibility><ScreenOverlay><name>Legend</name><visibility>0</visibility><overlayXY

x=”0″ y=”1″ xunits=”fraction” yunits=”fraction” /><screenXY x=”0″

y=”1″ xunits=”fraction” yunits=”fraction”

/><Icon><href>legend.png</href></Icon></ScreenOverlay></Folder>

<Folder><name><![CDATA[Banks]]></name>

<visibility>1</visibility>

<open>1</open>

<Folder><name>Data</name><visibility>1</visibility>

<Placemark id=”pm5504″ ><Snippet

maxLines=”0″>empty</Snippet><name><![CDATA[Adams

Bank]]></name><description><![CDATA[<b><font size="4"face="Arial">Bank

Locations</b><p></p><table cellpadding="1"

cellspacing="1"><tr><td>NAME:</td><td>Adams

Bank</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS:</td><td>1729 Wisconsin Ave,

NW</td></tr><tr><td>ZIPCODE:</td><td>20007</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS_ID:</td><td>275259</td></tr></table><p></p><b><font

size="4" face="arial"><form>Provided by:  </form></b><a

href="http://dcgis.dc.gov/">District of Columbia

GIS</a>]]></description><styleUrl>#Style_92</styleUrl><Point

id=”g7177″><altitudeMode>clampedToGround</altitudeMode><coordinates>-77.0668994099031,38.9145339105088,1

</coordinates></Point></Placemark><Placemark id=”pm5505″ ><Snippet

maxLines=”0″>empty</Snippet><name><![CDATA[Adams

Bank]]></name><description><![CDATA[<b><font size="4"face="Arial">Bank

Locations</b><p></p><table cellpadding="1"

cellspacing="1"><tr><td>NAME:</td><td>Adams

Bank</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS:</td><td>1501 K Street,

NW</td></tr><tr><td>ZIPCODE:</td><td>20006</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS_ID:</td><td>279201</td></tr></table><p></p><b><font

size="4" face="arial"><form>Provided by:  </form></b><a

href="http://dcgis.dc.gov/">District of Columbia

GIS</a>]]></description><styleUrl>#Style_92</styleUrl><Point

id=”g7178″><altitudeMode>clampedToGround</altitudeMode><coordinates>-77.0351181683022,38.9029520625695,1

</coordinates></Point></Placemark><Placemark id=”pm5506″ ><Snippet

maxLines=”0″>empty</Snippet><name><![CDATA[Adams

Bank]]></name><description><![CDATA[<b><font size="4"face="Arial">Bank

Locations</b><p></p><table cellpadding="1"

cellspacing="1"><tr><td>NAME:</td><td>Adams

Bank</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS:</td><td>50 Massachusetts, Avenue,

SE</td></tr><tr><td>ZIPCODE:</td><td>20002</td></tr><tr><td>ADDRESS_ID:</td><td>293243</td></tr></table><p></p><b><font

size="4" face="arial"><form>Provided by:  </form></b><a

href="http://dcgis.dc.gov/">District of Columbia

GIS</a>]]></description><styleUrl>#Style_92</styleUrl><Point

id=”g7179″><altitudeMode>clampedToGround</altitudeMode><coordinates>-77.0061791229437,38.8975384697844,1

</coordinates></Point></Placemark></Folder></Folder>

<StyleMap id=”Style_92″

><Pair><key>normal</key><styleUrl>#Style_92n</styleUrl></Pair><Pair><key>highlight</key><styleUrl>#Style_92h</styleUrl></Pair><BalloonStyle><color>ffdcf5f5</color><textColor>ff000000</textColor><text><![CDATA[

$[description] ]]></text></BalloonStyle></StyleMap><Style

id=”Style_92n”><IconStyle><scale>0.5</scale><Icon><href>Style_92n.png</href></Icon></IconStyle><PolyStyle><fill>1</fill><color>ff00a838</color><outline>0</outline></PolyStyle><LabelStyle><scale>0</scale></LabelStyle><BalloonStyle><color>ffdcf5f5</color><textColor>ff000000</textColor><text><![CDATA[

$[description] ]]></text></BalloonStyle></Style><Style

id=”Style_92h”><IconStyle><scale>0.5</scale><Icon><href>Style_92h.png</href></Icon></IconStyle><PolyStyle><fill>1</fill><color>ff00a838</color><outline>0</outline></PolyStyle><LabelStyle><color>ffffffff</color><scale>1</scale></LabelStyle><BalloonStyle><color>ffdcf5f5</color><textColor>ff000000</textColor><text><![CDATA[

$[description] ]]></text></BalloonStyle></Style>

</Document></kml>

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