Friday, December 28, 2012

Data Science books

Free books on Data mining, statistics and related areas:


Introduction to Information Retrieval, by Manning, Raghavan, and Schütze

A first encounter with machine learning by Welling

Gaussian processes for Machine Learning by C.E. Rasmussen

The Elements of Statistical Learning, by Hastie, Tibshirani, and Friedman

Introduction to Machine Learning by Smola, Vishwanathan

Think Bayes by Downey

Mining of Massive datasets by Rajamaran, Leskovic, and Ullman

Bayesian Reasoning and Machine Learning by D. Barber

Information Theory, Inference, and Learning Algorithms by D.Mackay

Foundations of Statistical Natural Language Processing by Manning and Schütze

Data Jujitsu by D.J. Patil

Building Data Science Teams by D.J. Patil

Network Science by A.-L. Barabasi.

Comments and new titles are more than welcome. I would like to collect this list for my students.

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Spot Expert papers

Sunday, December 23, 2012

Two years

Two years ago I've posted a bug in Android browser with parsing SMS URI. This issue is still open: "Come on guys. 10 year old phones support this but not Android?"

P.S. answering to "security reasons" questions: SMS URI does not send SMS actually. It opens SMS client only. We've used it in Geo Messages (add location link to the messages)

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Visual QR-code

Testing Visual QR-code creator Visuallead. You can use your own image as a background for your QR-code.

Here is a link to our Local tube mashup (local video from YouTube):

Visual QR Code Graphic QR Code

About Wi-Fi fingerprints

How to use Wi-Fi fingerprints for indoor mapping. Found it here. There is a good intersection with ideas we are developing in SpotEx

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Web pair: from one screen to another

Our web pairing for mobile phones has been updated. This basic service lets you connect two smart phones so you will be able to transfer data from one to another. More precisely – it links two browsers. Actually, you cal link mobile to desktop, desktop to desktop, mobile to smart TV, etc. The key idea is that internet connection should be enough for passing data from one browser to another (from any screen to another screen). There is no need to download applications. Everything should work in the browser.

How does it work? Point two browsers (two phones, for example) to the same URL: http://pair.linkstore.ru

You can use the following QR-code:

QR code
 

You can see the following:


The picture will be the same in the second browser. Just a code should be different:


This random code will be used for pairing two devices. It is the schema similar to Bluetooth pairing. On the screen (phone) that should display the data (be linked to another phone/screen in slave mode) type the code presented on the second phone. You do not need to type anything on the second (master) phone.


Now our slave screen is ready to accept data:


As soon as the code in entered, the second screen (master) will be updated automatically:


Type any text and press Push button on the master screen. You (your pal) will see data on the slave screen:


It is a basic example that transfers text data. Technically it is possible to pass any data available in the browser. Try to type some email address, phone number or URL in the master mode. You will see appropriate links on the slave screen. Stay tuned for more ...

What are the prototypes? There are two componets in Coldtags suite. Both controls are pre-ajax and use frames but they work. They are Cobrowse and Slide.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Innovations in Telecom

"Telco Innovation Toolbox showcases 10 economic models on how Telcos can manage disruption and reinvent themselves. This report, produced in association with Ericsson, disseminates critical issues for Telcos, such as the OTT landscape and asymmetric business models, explaining how your company can make the right innovation investments and avoid costly mistakes." - from here

Monday, December 17, 2012

Search in your social graph

Our social directory mashup has been updated. It lets you find the right people in your social graph: http://servletsuite.com/fbdir/ See your connections to companies, schools, cities via your friends. It is like your own Linkedin on the base of your Facebook.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

HTTP Proxy

One of the most popular components in our servlets suite has been updates. HTTP Proxy servlet lets you transparently pass all the incoming requests to the some predefined host. Servlet simply performs a role of HTTP proxy for your requests.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Mobile Geo Chat

QR code
Our mobile mashup Geo chat has been updated. HTML5 mobile web application lets you chat with people nearby. Anonymously, you do not need any special account. Just a text chat with people nearby (e.g., in the same café, in traffic jam etc.) Check out it from iPhone, Android, Samsung or Opera 10.1 mobile browser.

http://geochat.linkstore.ru

(it is a mobile site).

You can copy link right to your phone with QR-code above. Or use the following short URL http://bit.ly/gCbzm3.

You can use this chat in your own mobile web applications. The basic URL accepts the following optional parameters: lat - latitude for place
lng - longitude for place

for example: Palo Alto, University Avenue, Starbucks

There is the similar mobile mashup City chat - the dialogues there are connected to some place from Foursquare. Geo chat is almost the same but implemented for any geo place without the connection to some predefined place

Technically it is a web mashup that uses chat engine from Coldbeans.

As per similar "city-level" applications check out also City forums or City Guide

P.S. as per hyper-local chat see also WiFi chat application

Mobile Loco conference


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Mobile Loco, San Francisco 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   Mobile Loco

Friday, December 07, 2012

Thursday, December 06, 2012

Voice requests

Nice hack: Quin allows you to ask your phone questions about your Facebook friends using your voice, and returns you graphs showing various attributes (e.g. gender, popularity, relationship status). It visualizes data in a way that normal Facebook search can’t. If you’re curious, you can check out the source for the hack on GitHub.

from here.

P.S. technically, the same task for work related aspects of social graph could be solved with Directory for Facebook

Wednesday, December 05, 2012

Web pairing for mobile and Smart TV

Our web pairing for mobile phones has been updated. This basic service lets you connect two smart phones so you will be able to transfer data from one to another. More precisely – it links two browsers. Actually, you cal link mobile to desktop, desktop to desktop, mobile to smart TV, etc. The key idea is that internet connection should be enough for passing data from one browser to another (from any screen to another screen). There is no need to download applications. Everything should work in the browser.

How does it work? Point two browsers (two phones, for example) to the same URL: http://pair.linkstore.ru

You can use the following QR-code:

QR code
 

You can see the following:


The picture will be the same in the second browser. Just a code should be different:


This random code will be used for pairing two devices. It is the schema similar to Bluetooth pairing. On the screen (phone) that should display the data (be linked to another phone/screen in slave mode) type the code presented on the second phone. You do not need to type anything on the second (master) phone.


Now our slave screen is ready to accept data:


As soon as the code in entered, the second screen (master) will be updated automatically:


Type any text and press Push button on the master screen. You (your pal) will see data on the slave screen:


It is a basic example that transfers text data. Technically it is possible to pass any data available in the browser. Try to type some email address or phone number in the master mode. You will see appropriate links on the slave screen. Stay tuned for more ...

What are the prototypes? There are two componets in Coldtags suite. Both controls are pre-ajax and use frames but they work. They are Cobrowse and Slide.

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Directory of mashups

Our mashups directory has been updated. A huge collection of applications: Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, LBS, QR-codes, mobile HTML5 etc.

The latest release includes for example our new mobile web mashup Find a buddy.

LeWeb 2012


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is LeWeb, Paris 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   LeWeb

Monday, December 03, 2012

Chat Roulette for Twitter

We have many projects that search Twitter for interesting data. For example, food in Twitter, buy-sell, local photos, day in photos from Twitter, Eurovision, etc.

And here is another idea. How to find a buddy in Twitter? Look at Twitter those who might be looking for some help. For example, look at those who asked questions. Look at those who want to buy or sell something. Look who is looking something. Alternatively, just simply see all local tweets.

It is our new mobile web application:

Tweet them

You can use the following QR-code for loading:

QR code

It is for NY. You can use the following short URL too: http://bit.ly/11AViZu

You can run this project for any city. Basic URL accepts the following parameters: city - city for search. For example:

Tweet them in SF - for San-Francisco. Here is an appropriate QR-code:

QR code
It is chat roulette for Twitter.

Monday, November 26, 2012

Places from Facebook


You are welcome to check out a new version of our mashup Places from Facebook.

Mashup lets you search for places, show them on the map, copy locations to mobile, see friends activity, check-in anywhere as well as prepare mobile web pages for customized check-ins. By default mashup shows places for the local area. But it could be used for any geographical area.

You can directly pass the following parameters to the basic URL:

lat - latitude
lng - longitude
q - query for search
lang - language code for the map (E.g.: lang=en or lang=de etc.

For example, Facebook in London

For customized check-in place owner (or advertising/marketing agency, for example) can define all the aspects of check-in - data to be posted on user's wall, data to be returned as a confirmation, Google Analytics code for stats monitoring etc. This version provides own analytics for check-ins too. And of course you can still use Facebook’s dashboard for places pages - mashup creates standard check-ins for Facebook.

Instead of customized check-ins you can create customized Like buttons for your pages

In other words – any small business can create public (or private) "Foursquare-like" system for own visitors. Using all the power of Facebook’s user base.

Also this version supports the newest API from Facebook - geo-coded postings. Now you can write reviews for Places.

P.S. And here you can see a mobile version for this mashup.

P.P.S. See also QRpon – customized check-ins for Facebook

P.P.P.S. and here you can see Places from Google for the same area.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Popularity versus Similarity in Growing Networks

"Preferential attachment is a powerful mechanism explaining the emergence of scaling in growing networks. If new connections are established preferentially to more popular nodes in a network, then the network is scale-free. Here we show that not only popularity but also similarity is a strong force shaping the network structure and dynamics. We develop a framework where new connections, instead of preferring popular nodes, optimize certain trade-offs between popularity and similarity." - an interesting article about social networks

Friday, November 23, 2012

Forum Oxford


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is ForumOxford Conference, Oxford 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   ForumOxford Conference

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Useful bookmarklets

"Bookmarklets are special links that users can add to their browser’s favorites. These special links include code (i.e. not just a target URL), and they trigger various kinds of useful functionality, allowing you to modify and extend any web page." - it is what they typically do.

Check out our updated directory of bookmarklets. The latest version includes building Custom Like pages for any opened URL, for example.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

See, who is coming

"Cisco on Thursday announced new location-based analytics technology intended to help retailers better understand consumer behavior and deliver more compelling experiences, including personalized advertising. The new offering is also designed to help businesses and institutions capitalize on existing infrastructure by transforming the Wi-Fi networks they already maintain into revenue-generating vehicles." - from here. Here is a link to Cisco blog.

So, we were right with our SpotEx approach.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Likenomics

Sure, you’ve seen advertising campaigns asked you to Like some resource (e.g. Facebook Page) in exchange for some benefits.

Now you can do it yourself. Our mashup Like Me has been updated. It lets you define your own reactions for Like buttons. More precisely, this mashup creates mobile web page that shows your own content to the visitors liked some predefined resource.

The usage model is obvious: ask visitors to like your resource and show something interesting after that (e.g. coupon, discount info) or let him download some file (report) or simply redirect user to any web resource by your choose.

Mashup lets you customize all the aspects for such usage: what should be on the original site, what resource (URL) should be liked as well as define your "after like" actions.

Mashup creates mobile web page (could be opened in any HTML5 mobile web browser). You can use link to that page in your own mobile sites (portals) or present it directly to your mobile visitors (e.g., via QR-code). You can track the perfomance for this page with Google Analytics.

Like button on the generated pages shows also the list of friends liked the selected resource. So, this system works automatically as a simple recommendation system too.

Here is an example of custom page created with this mobile web sites generation tool: 2 for 1 tasting coupon. You can check it out right from your mobile:
QR code

P.S. from the similar projects:

how to customize check-ins
how to customize data sharing in Facebook
Like for real objects

AllFacebook Marketing Conrefence


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is AllFacebook Marketing Conference, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   AllFacebook Marketing Conference

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Asterisk Web Gate

Our Asterisk stuff has been updated. See here a new approach for telecom services development in Asterisk. Code (LGPL) is hosted on Google projects.

Asterisk web gate lets you turn telecom services development into an ordinary web development. Any telecom service there is just a CGI script.

See also the previous posting about new approach for telecom services development

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Open Government


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is OpenUp 2012, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   OpenUp Conference

Attract more likes

Sure, you’ve seen advertising campaigns asked you to Like some resource (e.g. Facebook Page) in exchange for some benefits.

Now you can do it yourself. Our mashup Like Me has been updated. It lets you define your own reactions for Like buttons. More precisely, this mashup creates mobile web page that shows your own content to the visitors liked some predefined resource.

The usage model is obvious: ask visitors to like your resource and show something interesting after that (e.g. coupon, discount info) or let him download some file (report) or simply redirect user to any web resource by your choose.

Mashup lets you customize all the aspects for such usage: what should be on the original site, what resource (URL) should be liked as well as define your "after like" actions.

Mashup creates mobile web page (could be opened in any HTML5 mobile web browser). You can use link to that page in your own mobile sites (portals) or present it directly to your mobile visitors (e.g., via QR-code).

Like button on the generated pages shows also the list of friends liked the selected resource. So, this system works automatically as a simple recommendation system too.

Here is an example of custom page created with this mobile web sites generation tool: 2 for 1 tasting coupon. You can check it out right from your mobile:
QR code

P.S. from the similar projects:

how to customize check-ins
how to customize data sharing in Facebook
Like for real objects

Thursday, November 08, 2012

Open Mobile Summit


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Open Mobile Summit, San Francisco 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   Open Mobile

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

NOAH Conference


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is NOAH 2012, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   NOAH Conference

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

iPhone and context aware applications

A great letter to Apple about opening IOS for context-aware applications:

"Developers don't have real access to the radios. That means that developers can't build systems like Tawkon can: that see radiation or energy levels used by the device, but it also doesn't let developers build real indoor navigation apps. You do realize that if you had access to the radios you could tell exactly where in a room you were standing, right? (Wifi is like light, it sprays across a room, and if you can triangulate its strength you'll know where in your house you are standing)."

Really, for network-proximity applications like our SpotEx it would be good.

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Tablet & App Summit 2012


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is 5th Tablet & App Summit 2012, Frankfurt 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   5th Tablet & App Summit 2012

Geo Trace - visualize traceroute

Our Geo Trace mashup has been updated. This web tool lets you visualize the results for traceroute command.

traceroute is a well known network diagnostic tool for displaying the route (path) and measuring transit delays of packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

Simply perform traceroute from your own computer, copy results into web mashup window and click Show button. You will see the intermediate nodes right on Google Maps.

Technically is is a practical example for our GeoIP component as well as for Ajax taglibs from Coldtags suite

Monday, October 29, 2012

Place Card - Like button for real objects

Our mashup Place card has been updated again. Lets you place Facebook Like button on the physical object.

Mashup creates QR-code for mobile page (and the page itself, of course) with Facebook's Like button. As soon as QR-code (e.g. placed on the product's wrap) is scanned and an appropriate URL is opened in the mobile browser we can show Like counts. And of course, mobile user will see who from his/her friends likes that too. As a result – we have a simple recommendation system on the basic elements from Facebook.

You can define your own URL for redirection as soon as mobile user hits Like button.

And it is possible also to check out stats for created pages (we are using FBstat here)

For the similar projects see also:

mobile discussions for real objects
customized reactions for Like buttons

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

W3G Conference


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is W3G, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   W3G

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Customized Like buttons

Sure, you’ve seen advertising campaigns asked you to Like some resource (e.g. Facebook Page) in exchange for some benefits.

Now you can do it yourself. Mashup Like Me lets you define your own reactions for Like buttons. More precisely, this mashup creates mobile web page that shows your own content to the visitors liked some predefined resource.

The usage model is obvious: ask visitors to like your resource and show something interesting after that (e.g. coupon, discount info) or let him download some file (report) or simply redirect user to any web resource by your choose.

Mashup lets you customize all the aspects for such usage: what should be on the original site, what resource (URL) should be liked as well as define your "after like" actions.

Mashup creates mobile web page (could be opened in any HTML5 mobile web browser). You can use link to that page in your own mobile sites (portals) or present it directly to your mobile visitors (e.g., via QR-code).

Like button on the generated pages shows also the list of friends liked the selected resource. So, this system works automatically as a simple recommendation system too.

P.S. from the similar projects:

how to customize check-ins
how to customize data sharing in Facebook
Like for real objects

Monday, October 22, 2012

Directory of mashups

Our mashups directory has been updated. A huge collection of applications: Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, LBS, QR-codes, mobile HTML5 etc.

The latest release includes for example our new web mashup Like maker.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Aggressive wi-fi names

From BBC News article: "Some wireless internet users have been setting their network names to send snide messages to their neighbours. Why?

Predominantly, it's about noise. And sex. Well, noisy sex. That, and "stealing" broadband.

Wireless internet users are typically asked to assign names to their networks when installing new routers. These names can be seen by anybody within range who searches for networks.

Many stick to mundane options like "Home" or "Wireless01". The more adventurous may even use their surname or address.

But this is an era of bite-sized self-expression. It's possible to see names like "Drop it like it's hotspot", "Terror network", and "Virus Detected Shutting Down". Or witticisms like "Pretty fly for a Wi-Fi" and "Wi Believe I Can Fi".

It looks like a yet another perfect use case for our SpotEx. It lets distribute user-defined hyper-local data depends on the visible Wi-Fi networks.

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Dublin Web Summit


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Web Summit, Dublin 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   Web Summit

Places and custom check-ins for Facebook


You are welcome to check out a new version of our mashup Places from Facebook.

Mashup lets you search for places, show them on the map, copy locations to mobile, see friends activity, check-in anywhere as well as prepare mobile web pages for customized check-ins. By default mashup shows places for the local area. But it could be used for any geographical area.

You can directly pass the following parameters to the basic URL:

lat - latitude
lng - longitude
q - query for search
lang - language code for the map (E.g.: lang=en or lang=de etc.

For example, Facebook in London

For customized check-in place owner (or advertising/marketing agency, for example) can define all the aspects of check-in - data to be posted on user's wall, data to be returned as a confirmation, Google Analytics code for stats monitoring etc. This version provides own analytics for check-ins too. And of course you can still use Facebook’s dashboard for places pages - mashup creates standard check-ins for Facebook.

In other words – any small business can create public (or private) "Foursquare-like" system for own visitors. Using all the power of Facebook’s user base.

Also this version supports the newest API from Facebook - geocoded postings. Now you can write reviews for Places.

P.S. And here you can see a mobile version for this mashup.

P.P.S. See also QRpon – customized check-ins for Facebook

P.P.P.S. and here you can see Places from Google for the same area.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Share location info via Twitter

Our mobile web-mashup (HTML5) Geo Twit has been updated too. It lets you publish a link to your current location in Twitter timeline right from the phone (iPhone, Android, Samsung etc). In other words, without the changing your account settings (enabling location) you can simply publish once a link to your location. It is some form of mobile check-in for Twitter. Mobile site:

http://servletsuite.com/geotwit

You can use also the following short URL http://bit.ly/dCnvBj, or load it via the following QR-code:

QR code

You can use this mashup in your own mobile portals too (just place a link to Geo Twit). It accepts the following optional parameters:

t - text for your message (status)
u - Twitter user for sending message to

For example: Geo Twit

Our mashup Twitter location has been updated again. It lets you publish geo-related information to Twitter. It is not about geo tagging in Twitter. Actually users do not need to geo-enable their accounts. Twitter location is just a way for publish messages (statuses) with some geo-related data. Click on the map and mashup will prepare for you a link to appropriate Google Map.
The goal is very clean – simplify Twitter publishing for messages (statuses) where location info (place) is important.
Mashup does not request any authorization, the actual publishing will be performed via the standard Twitter client.

You can pass the following optional parameters to the basic URL:

lat - an initial latitude (where to show the map)
lng - an initial longitude
zml - an initial zoom level
t - a message that will be added to any published status

For example, suppose we are creating some information system that collects information for discounts. We can choose a hash tag #discount and use the following URL for publishing locations with discounts:

http://twitloc.linkstore.ru?t=%23discount

(%23 – is just encoded #).

Etc.

A reference to the map will be published in the mobile-friendly format. We are using Mobile map here.


P.S. check out also Geo Messages for Facebook

/via Geo Messages

Monday, October 15, 2012

Geo Mail

Our mashup Geo Mail has been updated. It is a mobile web application (HTML5) that lets you add a digital signature (link) with your location info to email messages on your mobile platform. It works on any mobile platform with HTML5 support: iPhone, Android, Samsung etc.


You can load and bookmark mobile URL with the following short link: http://bit.ly/a52Ta1 or with the QR-code below:
Geo Mail QR code

You can use this mashup in your web applications via adding links for Geo Mail to your web pages too. The basic URL accepts the following optional parameters:

to - email (list of emails) for sending
сс - СС header
bcc - BCC header
subject - subject for your letter. By default it is: I am here
body - an initial text for sending
lat - a latitude for sharing
lng - a longitude for sharing

For example: Mail to developers

P.S. btw, there is a useful trick with mobile email. You can send email message not only to some person, but to service too. For example, Facebook lets you update status info by email (see https://m.facebook.com/upload.php regarding service email for your account). The same is true for Blogger, etc. If you send status mail via Geo Mail mashup than you can share your location info with your Facebook social graph. It is yet another implementation for Places.

/via Geo Messages service

Sunday, October 14, 2012

City Guide - all the places

QR code
You are welcome to check out an updated version of our mobile web mashup - FrontPlace. Lets you see nearby places and get info about them from Facebook, Google, Bing and Yandex (russian search engine) as well as the nearby photos. Check it out from your HTML5 browser: iPhone, Android, Samsung Bada or Opera 10.1+

http://linkstore.ru/frontplace

(it is a mobile site).

You can copy link right to your phone with QR-code above. Or use the following short URL http://bit.ly/xbf3uc.

Technically this implementation uses location data from Facebook. You can run this mashup for any geographical area. Just use the following parameters for the basic URL:

lat - latitude for your area
lng - longitude for your area
q - query string

For example: Pizza in London



P.S. check out also Mobile geo chat for quick communications

P.P.S. and here you can get a desktop version of Places for Facebook mashup.

Friday, October 12, 2012

API Mashup Contest

4th round of API Mashup Contest kicks off. API Mashup Contest, the biggest API playground in the world, is here again! Register your API mashup before NOVEMBER, 30, 2012. Your mashup will be assessed by experienced Jury members. The contest is open to developers from any part of the globe. See more details here.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

QR codes for maps

Our mashup QR maps has been updated. It lets you create QR-codes for loading mobile maps. Any map here is either static picture (you can use it for any mobile phone) or dynamic web mashup (it could be used for Android, iPhone or any another HTML5 browser – we are using our tools from инструменты от Geo Messages)

Mashup let you create QR-code for direct map loading and HTML fragment for placing that QR-code on site (blog, etc.) So, it is a tool that helps you create and distribute mobile maps. Type (size) for map could be configured.

By default, mashup will ask about location for the map (area that should be used for creating QR-codes). You can directly describe geo area you are interested in. The basic URL can proceed the following optional parameters:

lat - latitude
lng - longitude
zml - a zoom for the map (by default it is 14)

For example: Mobile Maps for San Francisco

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

WebIt Congress


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Webit Congress, Istanbul 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   WebIt Congress

Context-aware data discovery

Our presentation for ICIN-2012. It is devoted to SpotEx and related products


Monday, October 08, 2012

Discussions in Twitter

You are welcome to check out an updated version for our Twicus - discussions in Twitter mashup.

Discussion here is a flow of messages (statuses) with some hash tag. Mashup lets users add a special status for the own timeline during the first visit. It is like check-in. This check-in record contains hash tag for the discussion. So, user can switch to search right with one click right from your new post. Additionally, user's timeline will keep check-in record (read - description to hashtag), so it is easy to return back to that discussion. For subsequent visits mashup simply redirects user to Twitter search page for the given hash tag.

You can set your own parameters for the discussion. Basic URL proceeds the following parameters:

tag - tag for discussion
title - explanation for your discussion
checkin - check-in message to be published in user's timeline
via - Optional. Twitter's account to follow for the check-in message

For example: http://twicus.linkstore.ru?tag=mytag

Such way you can add links to your site/blog: 'Discuss in Twitter'

How it could be used? For example, second screen application for social TV.

Friday, October 05, 2012

Thursday, October 04, 2012

Mobile & retail

An interesting presentation from Deloitte:


Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Screen Sharing

Mersive - lets you share smartphones screens. We do that much simpler via мobile web pairing.

Monday, October 01, 2012

Geo Discussions

Our mashup Geo Talk has been updated. It lets you create forums (discussions) linked to the particular place on the map. Cloud forums on the map.

Just mark a place, type a question (suggestion, information etc.) – in other words create an initiation for the discussion and get unique link for the map with embedded forum. After that you can share this link with your partners/colleges, print in your blog / twitter etc. – it depends on your own decision only – who you want to see among readers. And after that you can just follow to the discussion.

No registration required. Technically it is Google Maps + cloud forums from Disqus.

You can discuss some geo points, POI’s (points of interests – shops, bars etc.) or, for example, create a private forum devoted so some meeting in the selected place.

Any discussion could be copied right to your mobile phone as HTML5 mobile web application via QR-codes.

Just for example – forum for Golden Apple bar in Moscow

Initially mashup ( http://geotalk.linkstore.ru ) is trying to detect your location (as per W3C spec). If you know that forums should be created in some particular area just set additional parameters for the above-mentioned URL:

lat - a latitude
lng – a longitude
zml – an initial zoom level

E.g. create forums in London

P.S. check out also similar mashups: City forums and Mobile forum

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Social links

Our mashup Social links has been updated.

Lets you search for the links (recommendations) in the social networks.

You can directly set your URL in the request too. For example:

news.ycombinator.com - links to Y-combinator

Friday, September 28, 2012

Map with recommendations

Our geo-browsing mashup ForumSquare has been updated. It is some kind of city-forums. Tips from Foursquare mashed up with cloud forums (from Disqus):



You can move map (walk in) from one tip to another, ask questions, see discussions, respond etc.

Right from the map you can see venue page in Foursquare as well search related data in Google blogs and Twitter (via search mashup Got)

In the latest version you can also copy any location you are interested in right to your mobile phone (via QR-code). Just click on the phone-icon near the POI name. QR-code lets you load a mobile map (from Geo Messages project) right to your mobile browser. You can simply bookmark it there for example.

You can use mashup on your own sites (portals). The basic URL accepts the following parameters:

lat - latitude
lng - longitude
hl - language for the Map (e.g. hl=en )

E.g. recommendations in Palo Alto

P.S. See also our previous posts about ForumSquare.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Mobile web pairing

Web pairing for mobile phones. A basic service. It lets you connect two smart phones so you will be able to transfer data from one to another. More precisely – it links two browsers. Actually, you cal link mobile to desktop, desktop to desktop, mobile to smart TV, etc. The key idea is that internet connection should be enough for passing data from one browser to another (from any screen to another screen). There is no need to download applications. Everything should work in the browser.

How does it work? Point two browsers (two phones, for example) to the same URL: http://pair.linkstore.ru

You can use the following QR-code:

QR code
 

You can see the following:


The picture will be the same in the second browser. Just a code should be different:


This random code will be used for pairing two devices. It is the schema similar to Bluetooth pairing. On the screen (phone) that should display the data (be linked to another phone/screen in slave mode) type the code presented on the second phone. You do not need to type anything on the second (master) phone.


Now our slave screen is ready to accept data:


As soon as the code in entered, the second screen (master) will be updated automatically:


Type any text and press Push button on the master screen. You (your pal) will see data on the slave screen:


It is a basic example that transfers text data. Technically it is possible to pass any data available in the browser. Subscribe to updates :-)

What are the prototypes? There are two componets in Coldtags suite. Both controls are pre-ajax and use frames but they work. They are Cobrowse and Slide.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Mobile Media Strategies


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Mobile Media Strategies, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   MMS 2012

Monday, September 24, 2012

Directory of mashups

Our mashups directory has been updated. A huge collection of applications: Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, LBS, QR-codes, mobile HTML5 etc.

The latest release includes for example our new web mashup Twicus and TV communication tool based on discussions in Twitter.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

SeedCamp


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Seed Camp, London 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   Seed Camp

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

About TV communication tools

As Google explained, TV no longer commands our undivided attention, with 77% of viewers watching TV with another device in hand. In many cases people search on their devices, inspired by what they see on TV. So, TV applications are opening up a new business frontier for the mobile industry.

For example, TV related Communications tools give users a way to engage with others in social networking conversations or activities related to a program while it is airing on the TV screen, are the most common types of companion products and the easiest to implement. The device and app complement the TV but do not interact with it.

Here is a model example for TV related Communication tool: Second Screen TV. It is a mobile web application that let organize discussions about TV programs. What is inside it? Discussion here is a collection of tweets around some selected hash-tag. Everything starts with TV Guide labeled with hash-tags:

As soon as some program is selected, we can see program related page:

It is a place for program related content, advertising, etc. And this page contains Discuss button. But how our potential user can remember our hash-tag? Here we can use an idea described in the model example for Twitter discussions. He does not need to remember has-tag. During the first visit to that page hash-tag could be printed right in his own timeline. Together with the explanation what is it and what this tag devoted for. It is an analogue of check-in. And for the each subsequent call our application will directly move user to the twitter search for an appropriate hash-tag.

Because tag’s description was published in user’s timeline he will be able find it and return back to that discussion any time later even without visiting our TV guide again.

It is a very simple and easy reproducible way to maintain discussions about TV content, sports events etc.

You can copy sample link to your mobile with the following QR-code:
QR code

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Big data center

an interesting article: How Disney built a big data platform on a startup budget. The Disney platform has a foundation of Hadoop, Cassandra and MongoDB complemented by a suite of other tools for particular use cases.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Context-aware applications

A good comparison for context-ware app development on iPhone vs. Android. Simply: there are many things that not available for developers on iPhone. That is, for example, why our SpotEx is Android based.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Ask friends: socialize your mobile search

Our mobile web mashup - Ask friends has been updated. HTML5 mobile web application presents a wrapper for Google (Bing or Yandex) search and lets you share your search query with your friends in Facebook. Mashup simply posts your query on Facebook's wall and redirects you to the search engine. Who will help you the most - search engine (SERP) or your social graph from Facebook?



Mobile site: http://askfriends.linkstore.ru

You can use also the following QR-code:

QR code

You can use mashup for creating links in your mobile web pages and directly provide your own query:

http://askfriends.linkstore.ru?q=your_query

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Data widgets on Twitter

A couple of examples for data informers based on Twitter: Eurovision and H1N1 (swine flu)

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Your own LinkedIn

Our social directory mashup has been updated. Find the right people in your social graph: http://servletsuite.com/fbdir/ See your connections to companies, schools, cities via your friends.

Monday, September 10, 2012

TC Disrupt


We continue to share links for monitoring the interesting events in Twitter. Now it is Techcruch Disrupt, SF 2012



/via Geo Messages

P.S. and the same in Twi-gazeta:   TC DIscrupt
P.P.S. trends for hackaton: food and photo. Check out our Food from Twitter for example.

Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Photo puzzle for Facebook

Our mashup Puzzle for Facebook has been updated. Lets you create a puzzle with photo from profile.

For example, Mark Zuckerberg

Btw, you can copy puzzle to your mobile phone (via QR-code) and play it there (it is HTML5 and works in mobile browsers)

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Social Graph Directory for Facebook

Our mashup Social Graph Directory has been updated. It lets you present your Social Graph data (friend’s data) in the simple tabular form. Answers to the following typical questions: do you have contacts in a particular company, city etc.? Also it lets you see additional info about your friends (like WHOIS for Facebook).

The latest version lets you find classmates and common interests too.

Monday, September 03, 2012

Directory of mashups

Our mashups directory has been updated. A huge collection of applications: Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, LBS, QR-codes, mobile HTML5 etc.

The latest release includes for example our new web mashup Twicus. It lets you organize discussions in Twitter.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Discussions in Twitter

You are welcome to check out our new mashup Twicus - discussions in Twitter

Discussion here is a flow of messages (statuses) with some hash tag. Mashup lets users add a special status for the own timeline during the first visit. It is like check-in. This check-in record contains hash tag for the discussion. So, user can switch to search right with one click right from your new post. Additionally, user's timeline will keep check-in record (read - description to hashtag), so it is easy to return back to that discussion. For subsequent visits mashup simply redirects user to Twitter search page for the given hash tag.

You can set your own parameters for the discussion. Basic URL proceeds the following parameters:

tag - tag for discussion
title - explanation for your discussion
checkin - check-in message to be published in user's timeline

For example: http://twicus.linkstore.ru?tag=mytag

Such way you can add links to your site/blog: 'Discuss in Twitter'

How it could be used? For example, second screen application for social TV. Follow to our announces.

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Friday, August 24, 2012

Thursday, August 23, 2012

London illustrated

Our London on Twitter mashup has been updated. See the latest illustrated city news in the real time. Web mashup: Google Maps, YouTube, Twitter, Flickr, Foursquare

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

On my way

Our mashup On my way has been updated. Need to find something on your way to home, to work or to school? Mashup MyWay lets you combine the driving directions on Google Maps and local search together. So, you will see points of interest as well as driving directions on the same map.

What is new in this version:

- see Wikipedia / Panoramio data on your way
- use walking routes
- set "Via" point when you need pass through the particular address
- get any address just by the click on the map (reverse geocoding)

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Directory of mashups

Our mashups directory has been updated. A huge collection of applications: Facebook, Twitter, Google Maps, LBS, QR-codes, mobile HTML5 etc.

The latest release includes for example our new Geo Message application and mobile web mashup Local tube

Monday, August 20, 2012

Local tube

You are welcome to checkout a new mobile web mashup - Local tube. Lets you see local videos from YouTube.
QR code

You can copy URL to your phone with QR-code above. Or use the following short URL: http://bit.ly/QOPROA

It is possible also to directly set locations. Here are the parameters for the basic URL:

lat - latitude for place
lng - longitude for place

For example: London

P.S. And here you can create own mobile web site from YouTube's video: Mobile video.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Bookmarks for locations. QR codes practice.

Our mashup Location bookmark has been updated. It is a practical use case for QR codes. Mashup lets you create two things:

1) QR code for mobile map associated with the given address
2) HTML for putting that QR code on your site

So with this tool you can place on your own site (blog etc.) – e.g. somewhere in Contacts or About page QR code for any given address (e.g. address of your company, office etc.). And any visitor of your site will be able simply to scan this code and load that map right into own phone. So they (visitors) do not need to write/print/remember your address/driving directions etc. Just load an appropriate mobile map right from your site. Loaded map could be simply bookmarked on the phone (loaded map is just URL).
And driving directions as well as many other interesting things will come automatically with the mobile map (we use Geo Messages here).

Of course, QR code created with this mashup could be placed anywhere. E.g. add it to some article in your blog, print and place it on the wall etc.

P.S. similar projects:

QR map - lets you create QR code right from the map. Also can create a link to mobile friendly map (iPhone, Android, Bada – any phone with HTML5 browser).
Mecard - lets you create QR code for loading address data (contact info) right from your site
QR-code FAQ - QR codes use cases and how-to.

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Local news: Geo Search

Our mashup Geo search has been updated. Lets you see local news from Google illustrated by the local photos from Twitter. Just click on the map for the place you are interested in.

You can provide the following optional parameters for the base URL:

lat - initial latitude for the map
lng - initial longitude
zml - zoom level

For example: London

Also mashup supports language settings for the map. Parameter's name is - hl. For example:

http://geo.linkstore.ru?hl=ru
http://geo.linkstore.ru?hl=en etc.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

About the good scientific papers

The classic mistake that engineers make is to talk about features, not benefits. Engineers will talk about the technology and assume that people will know why it's important and believe that it works. But it doesn't work that way. ... It's not very difficult -- it's trivial compared to the technology stuff. But inventors need to have absolute clarity about what their message is: what's the benefit, what's the reason to believe, what's the dramatic difference.

Doug Hall, Inventor IEEE Spectrum, August 2006, p. 46

Saturday, August 11, 2012

Trajectory-Aware Mobile Search

An interesting article about mobile search: "Most location-aware mobile applications only make use of the user’s current location, but there is an opportunity for them to infer the user’s future locations. We present Trajectory-Aware Search (TAS), a mobile local search application that predicts the user’s destination in real-time based on location data from the current trip and shows search results near the predicted location. TAS demonstrates the feasibility of destination prediction in an interactive mobile application. Our user study of TAS shows using predicted destinations to help select search results positively augments the local search experience" - from here