Sunday 27 August 2006 by Edward.

Unfamiliarity with an area can lead you into a traffic quagmire. Web tools are emerging to help you avoid a potential nightmare.

TRAFFIC CAMS

Typical of many traffic cams around the world is the I-264 @ NSU between Ballentine and Brambleton traffic cam in Norfolk, Virginia, accessed via the WVEC webcam map. One navigates each webcam to see what traffic is like.

GOOGLE TRAFFIC CAMS

Quebec traffic can be viewed very efficiently via Google Earth Traffic Cams and Google Maps Traffic Cams. Multiple images are shown simultaneously, along with warning icons of different colours. I expect to see sites like this to grow in number.

INTERACTIVE TRAFFIC MAPS

Less efficient to navigate visually, but quite detailed is the UK traffic map. Coloured dots show location of traffic problems, and the severity of the problem.

I also anticipate traffic cam mashups tied to your GPS location in future.

Roger A. Brooks Rule 6 “The Rule of Wayfinding” suggests that ‘Real men don’t ask for directions.’ For tourists, good signage can lead the way to a great time. Sometimes , however, even these great signs don’t help if you encounter a traffic jam. That’s where online traffic signs (traffic webcams) can lead the way out and around — so you can still have a great time.

Posted in Webcam, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Saturday 29 July 2006 by Edward.

USB WebCam with telescope from Hong Kong. Is this the “killer tool” for the birder that wants to report the rare bird or nesting site over the internet, or the tourist that wants to relay a close up of the running of the bulls, the sports event, or the town across the river?

Selected specifications and features: US$26.00, 7×18 telescope, adjustable focus 50mm to infinity, adjustable mini-tripod, built-in image email, VGA 800×600, video 30fps 320×240 up to 15fps 640×480, Windows 98SE/Me/2000/XP, USB 1.1 and 2.0 compliant.

Posted in Gadget/Idea/Webtool, Multimedia, Webcam, DURING the visit | No Comments »

Saturday 22 July 2006 by Edward.

National Geographic Interactive is a great place to visit online. Be prepared, however, to upload recent media files at this site, such as RealMedia, to experience video and sound. The Grizzly WildCam on 22 July 2006, at Alaska’s McNeil River Falls, showed several bears fishing for salmon. This sanctuary has the world’s highest concentration of grizzlies. The website has been put together through the partnerhip of the US National Park Service and the Pratt Museum in Homer, Alaska, to provide “what many visitors consider one of the richest experiences of their lives”.

The Grizzly site has a narrated video gallery, a great grizzly photo gallery, notes about bears, a grizzly blog, links to other resources, bibliography and related links, and technical notes on the WebCam.

The live video signal is recorded from a camera embedded in a fake boulder on the river bank. The signal is transmitted via wireless microwave technology and relayed over about 165 km to the Pratt Museum where the cameras are controlled. The video feed is then relayed to servers at RealNetwork in Seattle, WA, then posted to the internet at National Geographic.

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Thursday 6 July 2006 by Edward.

Drag Google Earth to your area of interest then click on one of the available webcams listed for the area of the globe. You will see, live, the webcam scene, courtesy of Live Map from Geocoder of Argentina. A quick look, for example, at the Charles Bridge in Praha, Czech Republic shows there must be festival going on. It’s a busy spot!
This seems to be another tool to link tourists to your destination.

Roger A. Brooks‘ Rule 3 ‘The Rule of Billboards and Exits’ requires you “Put your bait out on the highway”.