FlightService 1.1 (iTunes link) went live on iTunes last night. The big news in this update is that it now contains runway information for over 10,000 airports worldwide.
Information available for each runway includes length and heading. If there is an ILS available, then that information (frequency, identifier and ILS heading) is also included.
This update also contains some database revisions. So if you are a 1.0 user, the first time you launch 1.1, the database on your iPhone will be updated with the new and updated data.
Much progress has been made on version 1.2 which I hope will be released sometime in September.
Tech, Third Coast
FlightService (iTunes link) our latest application for iPhone/iPodTouch is now available on iTunes.
While definitely not for everyone, this app is a great help or reference for the Pilot or even Sim Pilot. It contains important information for over 13,000 airports and navigation aids.
Name, Frequency, Latitude/Longitude are all included for VORs and elevation and ATIS frequency is also included for airports. There is also an option to maintain a list of favorites for information that you plan on accessing frequently.
There are two features that set FlightService apart from other apps that provide a similar service:
- All the information is stored on your device. Unlike some programs, no Internet connection is required to access the information via a web service of other lookup.
- Our unique free-text search allows you to quickly find the information you are looking for whether searching by name, identifier or combination of both.
We’ve already received some requests to add runway/ILS frequency information and that will definitely be included in the next update.
Tech, Third Coast
A lot has been written about Amazon’s recent release of the Kindle iPhone App and comparing it to the other readers available for the device.
My personal favorite is Stanza. There are a lot of reasons, but the main ones include the ability to choose whatever font I want, variably set the font size and text alignment. There’s more but those are the big ones that, to me, make reading text in Stanza a much more enjoyable experience.
But the question that I’m thinking about now is whether or not that clarity is worth the significantly higher book cost.
Read more…
Tech
I just dumped Missing Sync for Blackberry in favor of Spanning Sync. It may sound strange to switch from software meant to sync with a mobile device in favor of one that syncs with the Gooleverse, but I had a plan.
I’m basically now using the Google cloud as the intermediary for syncing between my BlackBerry and my computer. So, I’m using Spanning Sync for the sync between my Mac and Google and then Google Sync for Blackberry to handle the syncing between Google and my BlackBerry.
Read more…
Tech
Version 1.1 of My Pace (iTunes link) went live in iTunes yesterday.
The big change is that pace can now be entered and calculated as minutes per kilometre or minutes per mile. Previously, users were limited to minutes per mile.
The next version will add at least one and hopefully two language localizations as well as allow for custom entry of distances instead of have to select from a preset list.
Tech, Third Coast
I’m happy to announce that My Pace (iTunes link) – the iPhone/iPod Touch version of Race Pace is now available on the iTunes App Store. It’s 99 cents.
There are two main differences between My Pace and Race Pace. The first (and this is the biggest limitation of My Pace) is that you have to choose from a preset list of distances as opposed to being able to enter a custom distance as you can in Race Pace. The second is that pace is automatically calculated as “minutes per mile”.
We hope to remedy both of those differences in an update already under development.
In the meantime and please let us know what you think.
Tech, Third Coast
So, I’ve long suspected iTunes of being not truly random when put into any kind of shuffle especially Party Shuffle mode. This morning, though, something happened that I can’t believe.
To preface this, here’s a screen shot of the details of my iTunes library:
So, you can see with almost 30,000 songs and 87 days worth of music that chances of two even remotely related songs coming up next to each other should be relatively slim.
But, check this out shot from my iTunes Party Shuffle window:
The same song played twice in a row! Now granted, it’s a great song that should be played multiple times, but still. I guess the odds of the same song playing twice are about 1 in 29,029 (the same as any specific song playing right after the first Karen), but still very surprising.
In iTunes preferences under the Playback tab, there is an option for “Smart Shuffling” that supposedly reduces the chances of songs from the same artist or from the same album being played sequentially. I have that setting all the way to “less likely” but not only did we get the same album and the same artist, but the same song too.
The fact that I’ve just written this much about the occasion probably means that I spend a little too much time obsessing about my music collection (or maybe that I Party Shuffle a little too often).
Music, Tech
After 561.88 miles of running spread across 151 separate runs, the sensor in my Nike + iPod Sports Kit has bitten the dust. It gave me a warning before beginning my last run.
It didn’t say “I’m dead, don’t use me.” It just said, the sensor’s battery was very low and replace it soon.
Well, I didn’t replace it soon enough, because it didn’t even make it through that run. Is there any worse feeling of futility as finishing a good run and finding out that it will not become part of your Nike+ running log?
If it weren’t for the nagging pain behind my right kneecap, it would be like the run never happened.
Spring can’t get here soon enough; I hate the treadmill life.
Personal, Tech
I just can’t excited about the Amazon Kindle.
My gadget addiction really wants to, but I can’t convince myself. I think that the reason is the idea of buying a book and not getting . . . an actual book.
I was able to make the jump a lot easier when it came to music. For me, the “physical aspect” of music has been shrinking my entire life. I grew up in the vinyl age which is just about when music packaging peaked. From there it shrunk down to cassettes and finally CDs. Now 80% of the music that I buy is digitally and it doesn’t bother me at all. It somehow seems like a natural progression (unless you want to talk about music fidelity, but that’s a whole other conversation).
Unfortunately, I just mentally can’t get to that place with books. I’m not ready to give up the physical thing to throw in my backpack, to put on a bookshelf when I’m finished.
I’d be far more likely to already own a Kindle if Amazon offered something like “Buy the book, get the Kindle version for a $1.00″ or something like that.
Another difference is that with music is that I can create the physical CD if I ever need to. The same can’t be said for books. It’s not like the Kindle has a Print or even better Print & Bind button.
Of course the one thing that the Kindle can offer that buying books at Amazon can’t is the instant gratification factor. Those “get the book in less than a minute” tags when browsing books are might effective. For now though, at least there is Schulers when I need it now.
Tech
For the third time in 5 years, we will be moving into new offices again. Also for the third time, we will be staying in the same building. Those of you may remember back in the spring of 2006 when we moved into our current suite it was an “involuntary” move due to the building’s leasing agent leasing our then current suite to some mortgage company (who have since gone out of business, by the way) who needed the space.
So, we persevered and tried to exist in the office suite formally known as a hallway for a larger company. To make a long story short, it just wasn’t working. We needed more space. We needed better shaped space.
Here’s a recap of our history in 3680 44th St.
- Suite 100: April 2003 – May 2006
- Suite 145: May 2006 – November 2007
- Suite 275: December 2007 – ???
Next week as we prepare to move, we’re switching phone companies as well as ISPs, so it should be interesting. More as things progress.
Tech