Abaq.us Blog

January: myGeoDiary News

Greetings! Hope that your new year has been off to a great start. In this month's newsletter, we will highlight some of the new features at myGeoDiary and also recap some of its existing powerful features.

Basic Features

1. You can upload your GPS tracks through a PC or via a direct connection with your Garmin.

2. For users with a GPS enabled Blackberry and Windows Mobile phones, we provide a GeoRecorder application which can be downloaded from here

for $4. We also have an application on the Where.com platform which runs on Java phones, Nokia smart phones etc. on networks such as Sprint, Helio, ATT et al. You can access Abaqus widget on the WHERE platform here for FREE !!

3. Uploading pictures to creating a geotagged slide show is easy! * Use a phone (e.g. BB), take photos, record tracks, upload to myGeoDiary. The service will geotag the photos and directly post to any photo service (e.g. Flickr)

• Geotag photos with PND: Use a PND (e.g. garmin) to record tracks, use a camera to take photos, upload separately to myGeoDiary. The service will automatically geotag the photos, and directly post the original photos to Flickr!  

4. As a user of myGeoDiary, you have a personalized 'myGeoDiary' page where your fiends and family can see your Public tracks. e.g. Steve's Page:http://www.mygeodiary.com/geo/pub/glog/sbursley.

5. You can also create a public page for any single tracks e.g. Ridges on a Muir Trail.  All of these public pages allow your friends and family to comment on your tracks.

Advanced Features

1. Linking your myGeoDiary account with Blogger and Flicker: If you have an existing account at these services, simply click on the activation link in the Profile Tab and follow the steps. Once authenticated, you can directly post your geotagged content to there websites. * tag "Flickr": to post photos to Flickr * tag "blogspot": to post gps tracks to blogspot e.g. Steve's myGeoDiary Blog post

2. Creating your own personal geoRSS feed: Click on the Feed tab and follow the instructions on the panel. You can create a feed and set it to be automatically updated anytime you upload a track with a certain 'tag' to myGeoDiary.

3. Attaching videos to your tracks and use HTML to format your track descriptions: Simply edit an annotation and add a YouTube video embed code in the description box.

4. Adding your Comments to Public Tracks: You can add your own annotation comments on any public track. Simply right click on the track name and choose 'Add Annotation.' The annotations will then be visible to the entire MyGeoDiary community. This forms a great way to collaborate with the community on interesting GPS trip reports.

We appreciate all your feedback on ways to improve the service.  So keep them coming. Also, if you are interested in joining our beta program where you get access to our latest phone applications, Web features & API use, please contact us at support@abaq.us.

Cheers

Recording your Tracks with Abaqus' GeoRecorder

You can use our GeoRecorder software on a Blackberry device (with embedded GPS) to record your tracks, take pictures and directly upload the tracks to your MyGeoDiary account. To set this up, pls follow these steps:

• Launch GeoRecorder application
• Click on the menu button and choose Abaqus setup options
• Enter your account name / pwd.
• Pls check to see that the server URL points to: http://www.mygeodiary.com/geo/upl/uploadskychunk . Save these options.
• Configure your Track recording parameters (frequency of recording, photo directory, geotrack directory etc.
• Start your recording (pls make sure that a good GPS signal is available)
• You can take photographs while recroding your tracks. These photos will be geotagged and placed at the right spot on the track.
• The photos will also be directly posted to your Flickr account if you have authorized your account to link to Flickr.
• After you have finished recording, the application will ask you to directly upload the track to your MyGeodiary account.
• You can give the Track a title, tags. 
• You can also choose to directly post the track to your Blogspot blog (if you have authorized MyGeoDiary to link to your Blogspot account).

p.s. Every once in a while, the upload may fail because the mobile operator drops the Internet connection. Please try to upload again and it should work. Good day

MyGeoDiary: How to Upload, Annotate & Organize your GeoTracks?

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by shaili

MyGeoDiary Introduction

Uploaded on authorSTREAM by shaili _______________________________________________________________________
Shailendra Jain
Abaqus Inc.
www.abaq.us
+1-801-231-9076 (mobile)
+1-800-507-1673 (fax)

GeoTrack Recording Devices

A. Ways to record your GeoTracks using a variety of devices:   

There are various types of GeoData formats e.g. NMEA, GSD, TCX and GPX, KMZ, KML.  You can use the following types of devices to record your GeoData.

1.  GPS Phone with a geotracks recorder application (upto 30 min of geodata recordings per session;  Batteries may last for a day):  

• Abaqus currently provides a GeoTrack Recorder application for Blackberry devices.  
• Nokia S60 phones are pre-installed with a Sportstracker application which records tracks in KML and GPX format.   
• Application for Windows Mobile phones can be downloaded from our partner sites

In the near future, we will be releasing GeoTrack recorders for major Smartphones & feature phone brands.

2.  Personal Navigation Device (upto 4 hrs of geodata recording per session.  Batteries may last for a few months):  You can use PND such as a Garmin (e.g. 350/360, nüvi 660, StreetPilot c550, the zumo etc.), Tom Tom, Magellan, QStarz (e.g. BT-1000), GlobalSat DG-100 etc to record your geodata.   Most of these devices will behave as a USB mass storage device and store track, routes or points-of-interest data in the aforementioned formats.   There are some PNDs that need special handling in order to allow users to access their data.  For such devices, we are working on providing plugin support to seamlessly read and upload data into your GeoDiary e.g. Garmin eTrax, Forerunner, 60CSx etc. 

3. GPS Consumer Electronics devices (10 hrs or more of geodata recording per session;  Batteries may last for 12 hrs or more):  There is a new class of Consumer Eleectronics devices with embedded GPS & other types of positioning functionality.   Abaqus will continue to build support for prominent CE devices.  E.g.

• Geotate Snapper (www.geotate.com):  Battery lasts for months
  
• Sony Logger (GPS-CS1, SONY GPSCS1KA)

If your device does not produce NMEA, GSD, TCX and GPX, KMZ & KML format geotracks, you can use the GPSBabel service to convert to GPX or KML which you can then upload on this page to your GeoDiary.

B. Ways to upload your data to the GeoDiary:

• Using the website, you can upload & geotag pictures from your PC that were taken at the time of the track recording. Your GeoDiary will automaticaly place them on your track
• You can upload your GeoTracks from your phone’s browser using the following URL: http://www.abaq.us/geo/upl/wupload
• To upload more than one file at a time, download the For files from devices such as Garmin & Sony etc. Please download our Uploader application from the downloads page. This provides you features such as:
  • uploading more than one file at a time
  • uploading very large files that can be created by devices such as Garmin, Sony and GPS navigation devices
    
  • uploading data to your account without logging into your GeoDiary

Geotagging pictures & uploading to Flickr

We, at Abaqus are regularly adding 3rd party web sites to our GeoDiary service. For our latest addition, we now allow users to upload their pictures to Abaqus web site, geo-tag them and then move the pictures to their Flickr account.  Flickr is a world class photo-sharing service which allows users complete control on how their social-networks access their photo data. 

In order for your GeoDiary to be seamlessly integrated to the Flickr service, you have to give your permission to allow Abaqus to access your photos (both public & private). 

The steps to authorizing the Flickr link are:

• Go to the Abaqus Profile tab and click on the link to 'Authorize your Flickr Account. This will send you to the Flickr site where they will explain how you can give your permission for Abaqus to connect to your Photo account. 

• You will also need to specifically set permissions on your Geo profile on Flickrs.
  • http://www.flickr.com/account/geo/privacy/

• The process to do this very simple and secure and your password always remains private. The permission can be revoked at any time from your Flickr Account page.
  • http://www.flickr.com/account/?tab=extend

• After giving your permission, you will be returned to the Abaqus site where you can continue using the GeoDiary service.

• Following the Flickr Account setup, you are now ready to use your geotracks uploader with our photo service.

Once you have configured your profile, you are now ready to upload your geotagged photos to your Flickr account.  The steps are:

• Upload your KML, GPX etc tracks to your GeoDiary account via the Upload page.
• Simultaneously, add pictures that you want to geo-tag and annotate your tracks.
• The service will try to align the photos with your geo-track and display the tracks in your geodiary.
• If your Flickr account is pre-authorized, the pictures will be geo-tagged & meta tagged (title, description, tags) and then uploaded to your Flickr Account.
• The pictures will be private by default unless you manually make them public.
• The tracks on your GeoDiary account will have a link to Flickr so that you can easily reference the pictures for future use.

Watch this space for additional Flickr features & links to other cool Web Service in the future!!

Devices: Garmin

Our site will let you upload tracks from any GPS device that can produce a GPX, KML, WGS, TCX format file (e.g. Abaqus GeoRecorder for Blackberry / Windows Mobile, Sony logger, Garmin, Tom Tom etc.).

There are some PNDs that need special handling in order to allow users to access their data (tracks, routes, waypoints). For such devices, we are working on providing plugin support to seamlessly read and upload data into your GeoDiary.

In the meantime, you can use PND devices which function as USB mass storage devices. For e.g. Garmin lists a suite of such devices that can be easily accessed as USB drive e.g. the nüvi 350/360, nüvi 660, StreetPilot c550, and the zumo. These PND devices function as a USB mass storage device and do not need a Garmin protocol plugin or Garmin SDK Application. Simply connect your Garmin device to the PC, and directly upload the tracks to MyGeoDiary Service.

www.abaq.us

Easy way to upload your GeoTracks & Pictures

Abaqus PC Uploder can be used to upload geo-track files of various formats to the GeoDiary Service. 

Recently we have extended our web form uploader to similarly support any GPX, KML, KMZ, TCX, WGS track.

The form also allows you to upload picture (s) that can be aligned with the geo-track.  

Geotrack & Video

Here's a sample of a trip recorded using the Abaqus Blackberry GeoRecorder while driving from Palo Alto to SF.   Work and a Friiends ... sushi at Ozumo, discussions on hyper-local ads, drinks at Vitale.   You can add Pictures, Video, Audio clips as annotation on a track. 

Sample Video Annotation:  Simply add a new annotation to track and add the following YouTube Widget code in the Description text box.

<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TUn03nXccII&rel=1"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TUn03nXccII&rel=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> 
San Franscisco Video

 

The Result will be the following map widget which can be embedded into any website, blog etc.

View Larger Map