Now everyone is aware on how the iPhone tends to continuously track your geographic location, some new ideas have been initiated to actually make good use of that data, before it will be too late. One important caveat: you need to be fast, and certainly participate before downloading the ±660MB iOS 4.3.3 update, which regardless of its huge size, is just meant to remove this feature by making the tracking timeframe smaller, and encrypting the resulting backup file.

Two services now encourage you to share the data anonymously for posterity, promising open access to the resulting aggregated dataset.

OpenPaths [openpaths.cc] collects the personal location data files recorded by iOS devices. It allows users to securely store and manage this data, and grant researchers access to specific portions of that data. OpenPaths is initiated by NYTLabs, the Research and Development Lab at the New York Times Company, known from their recent visualization Cascade. As it allows users to access their data after submission, it requires registering first.

Alternatively, one can use CrowdFlow [crowdflow.net]. This service also attempts to combine as many of these log files as possible, in an aim to create an open database of WiFi and cell networks worldwide. CrowdFlow is driven by many of the same people who brought you the compelling story Tell-All Telephone visualization, which demonstrated how much can be revealed by a provider’s log files. CrowdFlow gives users less control, but the upload process is quick and smooth. They now possess about 700 iPhone logs, resulting in about 2.1 million mobile phone network cells and a set of great maps.

So, what are you waiting for?

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Number Picture [numberpicture.com] is a web application that enables the creation of custom-made visualizations and infographics through the (re)coding of a collection of open templates. In a way, it takes the concept of social visualization (e.g. Many Eyes) one step further, as it goes beyond offering powerful tools to visualize data to the masses, and instead attempts to crowd-source the creation of the visualization tools themselves, here through the use of templates.

According to the ‘About‘ page, the goal of the service is to provide a ‘refreshing change to all the millions and billions of bar graphs and pie charts that we see in our everyday lives‘ and to increase the usage of other visualization techniques outside of the pie chart, which was invented in 1801 (‘Yes, that’s right, he [William Playfair] invented the Pie Chart‘).

Data that can be copied and pasted into the template from Excel, while custom-made templates can be added through the use of Processing.js programming. Few examples are available at the moment, but that should be solved shortly, I guess.

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www.unitedcreatives.com”

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ein sehr netter Abend!

article: http://art-sponge.com/?p=1390

http://www.markwarrenjacques.com/“

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via http://blog.iso50.com/print/post-mammal/

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via http://setediasete.blogspot.com/

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