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Wired News editor Michael Calore spent a month using Google’s web applications instead of Microsoft Office. Overall, it worked for him, but he had to jump through hoops to translate files for Microsoft users.

I’ve written about Google apps in my March 7 and February 23 posts. Web-based apps make sense for businesses, as long as employees have plenty of bandwidth and IT is aware of the security issues.

While Calore wasn’t able to use a Google presentation app in his experiment, Google is releasing one this summer according to Google’s blog, eWeek and Wired News. It looks like Google’s slideshow app will import and save PowerPoint (PPT) files. Compatibility with the market leader is a key success factor.

I won’t miss PowerPoint at all.

I just hope TurnItIn.com and WebCT start supporting Google document formats soon.

In last Thursday’s IS 6100 class, I mentioned that some graduate students at the University of Washington who had tested an exploit to track Nike+ devices. Wired mentioned that exploit on November 30. Nike+ devices are small bean sized sensors that can be placed inside or on a shoe. As the wearer walks or runs, the devices relay speed and distance data to a wireless sensor that the user snaps onto an Apple iPod Nano. The students set up a network of wireless receivers that can track and record data from any Nike+ device within range.

The UW hack was easy to implement because Nike+ devices transmit unencrypted data. Several web sites have popped up to discuss how users can hack the data recorded by their Nike+ device, including Runometer, a web mashup site that combines Nike+ and GPS data with Google maps. The site was mentioned by Engadget last month.

The Nike+ device is just an RFID device that uses a wireless connection to relay data from the shoe to an iPod. After the run, the user can upload the data to a slow, Flash-based Nike web site for further analysis. This site is a good example of how customers can extract more value from a product or service.

Kelli Kennedy of the AP reports that a company will market GPS-equipped sneakers. Isaac Daniel developed the shoes after his son was reporting missing for a few hours.

The Compass Global shoe has two buttons - one to activate the GPS transmitter in the sole, and one to cancel. The cancel button is important, as the GPS device is meant for use in an emergency. One the activate button is pressed, the shoe will find its position using up to 4 GPS satellites, and then transmit the location and other data to a monitoring service. The beacon will run about 6 hoursQuantum Satellite Technology charges a US$20 monthly subscription fee for the tracking service. 

Like any GPS device, the shoe requires a clear view of the sky in order to find the GPS satellites. The shoe can tell when a person has entered a building or a tunnel, but won’t know where that person is in that structure.

Men’s and women’s sizes are available. The shoes look like ordinary US$350 shoes. A children’s line is coming this summer, including non-GPS shoes that can communicate with video game consoles. There are military applications, of course, and the company is already putting the devices in military boots for potential sales to Ecuador and Colombia.

Here are two web mashups that I really enjoy using.

Google has teamed up with The Bus to offer Google Transit at http://google.com/transit or http://snurl/.com/gbushnl. This is an “official” mashup,  as TheBus is providing data directly to Google for use in this web app.

Type in your starting point and final destination, and choose the time that you’d like to catch a bus or arrive. Google uses TheBus’ actual scheduling data along with Google Maps to offer several routes, along with walking directions, bus numbers, timetables, and a cost calculation. I discussed this app on my old blog at http://www.bloglines.com/blog/wsodeman/2006_9_26

Of course, it would be handy to know if it’s raining at your destination. Try Weatherbonk! This link will open a window that combines real-time weather data around Honolulu with a  Google Map.
This last link has nothing to do with Honolulu, but it is a nice example of an web app I mentioned in class last week. Wayfaring allows users to plot a route on a Google map, and associate text and photos with that map. It’s a great way to show someone a running or bicycling route that you like.

It’s also an excellent way to see where Jack Bauer has been during Season 6 of 24.
 http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/28904

I was a DJ at two college radio stations, WCWM-FM and WPRK-FM, and I’m still interested in music that isn’t in the mainstream. More and more songs on my iPod are mashups – combinations of two or more recordings that sometimes sound completely different when they are mixed together. bootiesf.com is one site where I’ve found some good music machups.
We’re seeing more web mashups, or combinations of Web data into new and interesting formats. Google has provided API support for these applications for a couple of years, and now Yahoo is trying to play catch-up.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/web-apis-web-mashups-and-accessibility.html

I found several sites when I searched for “google maps pedometer”. These sites let users draw a path on a map, and the app provides an estimate of the distance. This could be handy for bikers and walkers, although I like to use the Nike+ iPod accessory.

FireTree combines Google Maps’ data and interface with NASA climate data to forecasts the effects of global warming. For example, this map shows areas of downtown Honolulu that might flood if the ocean level rises one meter. It’s not the most dramatic demonstration. Try adjusting the flood level and zooming out to get a better view, or scroll over to your own neighborhood.

The maps of Europe and North America are interesting, and the results are easier to see on a continental basis. The creator of this map admits that the NASA data he’s using isn’t that accurate. He can always rewrite his app to use better data sets when they’re available. Because these apps are hosted on web sites, it’s easy to deploy an update on a web server.
One app that doesn’t use maps is RoboCal, a Web service that speaks Google Calendar appointments to the user through Skype or a telephone.

http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-6157508.html

Yahoo Pipes can be used to combine RSS feeds into new applications. For example, the RSS feed from my blog, which is available in several formats including e-mail at http://rss.billso.com/billsocom/, could be compared against several RSS news feeds to suggest related stories.

Security and privacy are two areas where web mashups have problems, as discussed in this New Scientist article. Users can’t be sure where their personal data is used or saved in a mashup app. Most mashup apps don’t use encryption or certificates, so users might be sure they are using a “real” Google Maps site, for example.