
UpNext is the future of Local - the 3d map is amazing - moses1400
http://www.centernetworks.com/ny-spotlight-upnext-local-web-app
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jkush
There's also <http://www.zvents.com/>

Jesus, this is ANOTHER idea I didn't implement (I had this same idea 2 years
ago) I was too worried about the details and ran out of steam when I should
have just cranked out the code.

~~~
kirubakaran
The _real_ question is, what is the idea that you have _NOW_ that you are not
implementing and you are too worried about the details and might run out of
steam when you should be just cranking out the code?

~~~
jkush
The idea I have now is the one I'm pursuing full tilt with a cofounder. At
least I have learned something!

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radvani
Linux support is coming very soon, we're just having a hard time finding
enough computers to test on. Thanks for trying it out,

Raj Advani Lead Engineer, UpNext

~~~
jkush
In my opinion, using a map as an event calendar is fantastic (I was working on
this exact thing 2 years ago). The idea is good but your maps are what makes
this REALLY good.

EDIT: Spotlight mode is a GREAT feature. Very nice!

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neilk
Why is 3D better? I'm not Superman. When I want to go to a local business, I
don't _fly_ there.

It always amazes me how geeks will ooh and aah over any 3D interface. But the
three-dimensional world is extremely inconvenient for conveying most sorts of
information -- there's occlusion and perspective, which hide and distort
information. The one thing a 3D map does convey is the height of buildings,
and sometimes the shape, but it's not clear that this is worth the costs.

Even if it were true that 3D gave you more useful information, there are no
interface standards for 3D navigation.

Full disclosure: I work for Upcoming (<http://upcoming.yahoo.com/>), also in
the events and local search business. But honestly, this isn't me slamming the
competition; I have ranted about 3D interfaces for years. I think UpNext is
impressive, but maybe there's more appropriate uses for this technology than
local search.

~~~
radvani
UpNext and other map-based systems offer one significant advantage over text-
based interfaces: geospatial search. When people are looking for something to
do, they usually know the general area where they want to go before-hand, but
don't know exactly what they're looking for. A keyword based system is only
efficient when you already know what you want to do. It doesn't help the
process of discovery.

The second advantage of UpNext is an improvement over current 2D search
offerings, which are usually based on Google maps, Yahoo maps, or MapQuest.
While most people focus on the 3D, the other enhancement of UpNext is real-
time rendering. Other map-based systems use static images or photos; they're
unable to change on-the-fly to better highlight information. Our spotlight
feature showcases the advantages of real-time rendering in search: buildings
of interest glow, and others become transparent. In the future we plan to have
the map do a number of interesting things in real-time to give people a feel
for the neighborhood they're in.

Then there is 3D, the topic of the comments above. Yes, 3D doesn't convey
mounds of information, but if you're doing real-time rendering, you might as
well do it in 3D. Beyond looking compelling, the perspective information does
convey a feel for the area you're looking at, and we hope to further improve
this in the future to attain a stylistic impression of each area of Manhattan.
That 3D contains occlusion is easily mitigated by simply rotating to a birds-
eye view.

Finally, that there is no standard for 3D navigation is simply because the
technology is only recently breaking out of the gamer universe. Regardless, if
everyone waited for standards before innovating, the internet would be in a
very sorry state.

Thanks for the comments! Raj Advani, UpNext

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dam00n
Actually, you don't have to register. Just click the "Enter Now" button at the
top of the entry page.

~~~
edw519
So sorry. Once I saw the textboxes, I didn't even bother looking for a one
time entry. Any way to avoid this for idiots like me?

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bootload
_"... he map stays current in three ways (maybe more but this is what I get):
data feeds supplied to UpNext, manual entry by the UpNext team and by user
updates. Did you notice that the pizzeria on 48th and 2nd avenue is closed? Go
edit the record which creates a community of users to help keep the tool
updated. ..."_

One area where this application kills printed maps is a concept called
_"ground-truth"_. Ground truth is where you manually check that what is on the
map really exists on the ground. It's boring, time consuming but imperative to
get right to make something useful. The web2 interaction, "Oh this shop has
shut-down, I better add a tag and new description" solves this problem
somewhat.

Nicely executed Rav.

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asmosoinio
Very cool! Can't wait to have Turku in there ;)
<[http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&t...](http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=turku,+finland&ie=UTF8&ll=60.456879,22.2686&spn=0.082611,0.238266&z=12&iwloc=addr&om=1>);

What I was immediately missing was better keyboard navigation -- how about
copying something like Doom (or whatever the kids are playing these days)? I
mean a way to at least "turn your head" and go up/down directly from the
keyboard.

Maybe it's just me though -- might be that people prefer mouse navigation.

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DanielBMarkham
Didn't work with my video card.

Interesting that you chose Java. I haven't looked at web 3-d technologies in a
while, but was the thought that VRML was too clunky or outdated for the users
to like? I guess you could also create micro-videos and serve them up and
cache them a la google maps, but that would require a real google-like file
system.

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plusbryan
Um, yeah. So I granted the thing trust and it CRASHED my computer. As in,
mouse froze, then unfroze, but one of my video cards was down (2 screens
blank) - nothing ever appeared in the window. And both monitors stayed blank
until a restart. Not ever going _there_ again.

~~~
radvani
Sorry about your experience. Unfortunately our resources are limited and we
haven't been able to access all videocard combinations on which to test (but
we're trying every chance we get!). We'd like to able to sort out remaining
hardware conflicts, though; to that end, would you be willing to email me what
videocard and OS you're using? You can reach me at radvani7 -at- hotmail dot
com. I'd greatly appreciate that!

Raj Advani, UpNext

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pankaj_kumar
Are we back to 1999? A Java program that needs full trust to do whatever it
wants on my computer! They will lose 95% of the visitors at that stage.

~~~
radvani
We only use the trust for browser-based 3D acceleration (a concept most people
would attribute to the 21st century). The applets of 2007 are going to be far
different than what you saw in 1999. Java may seem like an old beast but Sun
has some really nice things in store with their latest Update N release.
Thanks for trying it out!

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comatose_kid
This is really cool! Nice job guys. Now bring it to the west coast, okay?

And add some fun stuff like a godzilla mode a la sim city.

~~~
dam00n
We were thinking Pac Man but I like the Godzilla idea also.

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fauigerzigerk
I like the idea, but one problem I have is that they require me to give the
applet full trust on my system.

~~~
radvani
Granting the applet trust on your system allows us to access your video card,
enabling hardware accelerated 3D graphics. Essentially to use 3D acceleration
you have to trust the applet to the extent that you trust any desktop
application you install on your computer. Perhaps in the future Sun will
introduce a more rigorous permission system where you can grant only what you
choose, instead of all or nothing.

Raj Advani, UpNext

~~~
fauigerzigerk
Why didn't you use Flash? I doubt that many people will give a website they
have never used before permission to access all their files.

~~~
radvani
I misspoke above: we're rendering up to 100K+ polygons per frame, not per
second (and hopefully > 30 FPS on most computers)

~~~
fauigerzigerk
Thanks for your explanation. I agree with you that Sun should do something
about the permissions model. It seems unnecessary to put access to 3D
acceleration in the same security box as unrestricted file access.

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jsmcgd
This concept has big potential. I'll be eagerly following your progress. All
the best!

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as
Doesn't run on Linux.

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edw519
Another site I have to register to use. Forget it.

~~~
jsmcgd
You can try it without registering.

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cavenhaus
It crashed my FireFox, but is working in IE.

