How Augmented Reality Browsers Stack Up For Navigating London 32
We've mentioned the tantalizing possibilities of augmented reality here several times, including Microsoft's stab (using scene recognition) as an information overlay for cell phones, and some display technologies that could make a Terminator-style information overlay on the real world possible without even looking down at a screen, including both glasses with microdisplays and contact lenses. An anonymous reader points to this two-part review of several cell phone apps, in which the writer has "tested several mobile augmented reality browsers and their ability to find places to eat and function as a tourist guide by identifying tourist attractions in London," writing, "This is the first review I have seen where all the browsers have been compared together; what's interesting is all the browsers use different data sources, and so either miss popular locations or give the wrong location."
Greed Strikes again! (Score:3, Interesting)
Obviously. This is what happens when a bunch of separate teams all determined to own ALL the pie reach for it at the same time. Everyone gets a part but they also all leave some filling behind in the pan in the rush.
Imagine how much more complete the picture would be if the children all cooperated and worked together on the database content, developed the communication protocols for that database together, and gave each other free license to use them. Then differentiated themselves from the competition with the interface, hardware (if applicable), price, etc.
I wouldn't start there (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Greed Strikes again! (Score:3, Interesting)
Go back and read what I said again.
The interface and features were where they would be competing on. It's the basic listings of stuff and the communication method to this information that would be shared. Something as simple as "where is this business actually located" or even "does it really exist" are not things that should vary from company to company. If they want to cross-reference to their own personal listings of reviews for restaurant x or a movie ticket purchasing portal for theater y they can still do that. The simple nuts and bolts of what is what can be shared for more accurate information though, and that benefits all parties involved.
It's the separate companies' pigheaded insistence they can reinvent the map in a way where they get to own it that is keeping this from happening.
Explanatory paraphrase (Score:2, Interesting)
I've done the same thing myself writing a lot of code. Debugging was not easy and keeping it current is a constant struggle. I tell you what, after I did all that work tracking down bugs, doing QA, removing obsolete features, adding new ones, I don't want anyone taking my hard work and applying it to their product. Fuck them, they can pay me. A lot. Would it be nice if everyone cooperated and shared and it was caring time all day long? Sure. Is it going to happen? No.
Yet some businesses, in certain circumstances, believe it is beneficial to them to publish their work as open-source. You should make a better argument than "in my personal case I didn't think it was worthwhile". It's obvious in your case that there wasn't any upside to you. Wouldn't you have reconsidered sharing your data with someone who had the capability of publishing in a way you couldn't (easily, at least; perhaps, say, on the iPhone?) and having him share profits with you?
The cooperation proposed by the poster you replied to wasn't necessarily based on businesses getting in touch with their spiritual/sharing/whatever side. If you wanted to refute his argument, you should have said that "maintaining the data is much harder than generating better interfaces or hardware devices, so there is little incentive for the companies to cooperate in this way". That's actually what you meant, right?
The visual clue (Score:3, Interesting)
The machine would just "know" the stuff shown, without having to use a visual overlay..
The machine will know but the audience won't.
That's why HUDs are used in Wall-E - and - more subtly - one of the reasons why Auto has to work the bridge controls manually.
The Captain needs to know what he is doing. The audience needs to know what he is doing.