Tag Archives: blackberry

Google Walk

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No it is not the swagger of a recently bought out start-up founder, it is the very cool new feature google map just threw in.

Normally, when you get directions on google maps it assumes you are in a car, so shows you the fastest route as if you are driving. This means that it takes detours around one way roads and the like.

Now, there is a “walking” function so google maps computes the fastest route as though you are on foot. Very cool. Now, what would be really nice is if it “balanced” distance with vertical height so you could pick the flattest walking route. I tend to gravitate to railway tracks. Cool thing about railways is that they can never exceed a 3.5 degree grade (or so I read somewhere once) so I always like walking tracks cause it means I know I’ll never hit too steep a hill.

Very excited to try this feature out. For an avid walker like me having this feature in my blackberry is key. Very psyched.

H/T to Jeremy V for emailing me the link.

FireFox 3 Beta and other cool gadgets

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If you aren’t technically inclined, but are interested in impressing your co-workers, consider downloading the recently released beta version of FireFox 3.

This is your chance to look cooler than everybody else in your cubicle farm… pimping out your computer with the latest in open-source coolware.

And since we are speaking of gadgets… Gayle D. recently gave me this very cool pedometer. As some of you know, I try to walk at least one direction to all my meetings. This little device isn’t radically radically changing my life… but it is keeping me aware of my decision to walk everywhere. More importantly it’s enabled me to both set a target of taking 10,000 steps and given me the capacity to measure my progress. This is definitely pushing me make better, healthier decisions.

I’d heard a while back that Ontario Health Promotion Minister Jim Watson pitched to Research in Motion the idea that Blackberry devices should have an integrated pedometer.

I thought was a fantastic idea. Obviously it hasn’t gone anywhere – and to be fair, these advanced pedometers would add to the size of any Blackberry device… but I hope RIM hasn’t dropped the idea altogether.