The Earth Is Square

Well.. can't believe the move day is almost here.  Seems like it has been a long uphill climb to get to this point.. much stress, much anxiety, a couple of minor nervous break downs.. but tomorrow I pick up the moving trailer and Saturday it gets loaded and off I go to Pennsylvania.

Hitchhikers will be considered...

Well, Patrick Murris is at it again.  This time in response to a forum post about the Mars and Moon data, he has created two layers for WWJava so that you can add the Moon and Mars imagery to your WWJava project.  This does not yet include the elevation data though, just the imagery.

What_Nick has been in a coding mood and has been working on WorldWind's KML support by adding in the time feature of KML.  This will be a nice addition to the KML Importer.. though I am still waiting for multiple KML file support

Ok, Antonio has just created the coolest thing I have seen to day for WWJava. He latest addition to the WWJava code base is Moveable SurfaceImages. Meaning you have a image or more on the globe and you can click on them and drag them around the globe to any location.

Check Antonio's post to see a video of the layer in action and to get the code for your WWJava project.

This opens up a lot of ideas for things to do with WWJava in the games and education department.  But think of all the ways you could visualize data and information and be able to interact with it as well in "real time".

Ok, I have a new item on my Christmas Wish List.. the Bushnell ONIX400.

This is Bushnell's latest GPS product in their line and offers some interesting features such as Trueview Navigation, Satellite Imagery, SafeTrack and XM Weather / XM Radio.

The XM features aside, I would like it just for the imagery overlay as well as the satellite imagery, that combination would really nice with navigating unknown areas.  

The price is a little steep though, average price is $500 right now.

 
ONIX400's Main Menu

Trueview Navigation, screen layering
Layering a satallite image, aerial photo, or topographic map and all navigational aids on a single screen.

Satellite Imagery
This is the first handheld GPS that downloads, displays and georeferences satellite images and aerial photography for navigation.

You won't find this technology anywhere else. Our site is the only source for satellite photography for your Bushnell GPS. This ensures every image available for download is the highest quality and is compatible with your unit. No surprises.

Now, what I am wondering is if I would be able to use my own imagery that I can get through WorldWind.  Would be nice to not have to pay for every image i would want to download and use.

XM Weather and XM Radio
The ONIX400 is also the first GPS unit with XM Weather subscriptions and XM Radio subscriptions.  $9.95/mo for weather, $12.95/month for radio or $16.95/mo for both.  I can't really see the point of the radio.  But the weather can be very useful though at a monthly rate, unless you are using it almost daily it can be a costly feature.

The most important feature though of this: Threatening Weather Notifications - for near term (1/2 hour) Warnings and Watches are also included as part of the service.

XM Weather display

XMRadio display

SafeTrack
It looks like SafeTrack is a nice power saving feature.  It is a sleep mode that will make the GPS unit last 25-30 hours on one set of batteries. 

Looking through the Black Friday Ads and it looks like this is a good year to get a GPS unit for your vehicle.  You can get a GPS unit ranging in price from FREE to "You Paid Too Much".  The free units I have seen you need to buy something else first... like a $3000 TV.  The average looks to be about $130 for a TomTom ONE unit.  I have seen that price at several stores for Friday Morning.

If I didn't know where I was driving 96% of the time.. I would look at getting one this week.

Does my crotch look funny?