UpNext is the future of Local - the 3d map is amazing

http://www.centernetworks.com/ny-spotlight-upnext-local-web-app

by moses1400 • 19 years ago

19 30 19 years ago

centernetworks.com

edw5192• 19 years ago

Another site I have to register to use. Forget it.

jsmcgd2• 19 years ago

You can try it without registering.

dam00n2• 19 years ago

Actually, you don't have to register. Just click the "Enter Now" button at the top of the entry page.

edw5192• 19 years ago

So sorry. Once I saw the textboxes, I didn't even bother looking for a one time entry. Any way to avoid this for idiots like me?

as• 19 years ago

Doesn't run on Linux.

fauigerzigerk3• 19 years ago

I like the idea, but one problem I have is that they require me to give the applet full trust on my system.

radvani7• 19 years ago

Granting the applet trust on your system allows us to access your video card, enabling hardware accelerated 3D graphics. Essentially to use 3D acceleration you have to trust the applet to the extent that you trust any desktop application you install on your computer. Perhaps in the future Sun will introduce a more rigorous permission system where you can grant only what you choose, instead of all or nothing.

Raj Advani, UpNext

fauigerzigerk3• 19 years ago

Why didn't you use Flash? I doubt that many people will give a website they have never used before permission to access all their files.

radvani7• 19 years ago

Linux support is coming very soon, we're just having a hard time finding enough computers to test on. Thanks for trying it out,

Raj Advani Lead Engineer, UpNext

jkush3• 19 years ago

In my opinion, using a map as an event calendar is fantastic (I was working on this exact thing 2 years ago). The idea is good but your maps are what makes this REALLY good.

EDIT: Spotlight mode is a GREAT feature. Very nice!

jkush3• 19 years ago

There's also http://www.zvents.com/

Jesus, this is ANOTHER idea I didn't implement (I had this same idea 2 years ago) I was too worried about the details and ran out of steam when I should have just cranked out the code.

kirubakaran• 19 years ago

The real question is, what is the idea that you have NOW that you are not implementing and you are too worried about the details and might run out of steam when you should be just cranking out the code?

jkush3• 19 years ago

The idea I have now is the one I'm pursuing full tilt with a cofounder. At least I have learned something!

plusbryan• 19 years ago

Um, yeah. So I granted the thing trust and it CRASHED my computer. As in, mouse froze, then unfroze, but one of my video cards was down (2 screens blank) - nothing ever appeared in the window. And both monitors stayed blank until a restart. Not ever going there again.

radvani7• 19 years ago

Sorry about your experience. Unfortunately our resources are limited and we haven't been able to access all videocard combinations on which to test (but we're trying every chance we get!). We'd like to able to sort out remaining hardware conflicts, though; to that end, would you be willing to email me what videocard and OS you're using? You can reach me at radvani7 -at- hotmail dot com. I'd greatly appreciate that!

Raj Advani, UpNext

jsmcgd2• 19 years ago

This concept has big potential. I'll be eagerly following your progress. All the best!

comatose_kid• 19 years ago

This is really cool! Nice job guys. Now bring it to the west coast, okay?

And add some fun stuff like a godzilla mode a la sim city.

dam00n2• 19 years ago

We were thinking Pac Man but I like the Godzilla idea also.

pankaj_kumar• 19 years ago

Are we back to 1999? A Java program that needs full trust to do whatever it wants on my computer! They will lose 95% of the visitors at that stage.

radvani7• 19 years ago

We only use the trust for browser-based 3D acceleration (a concept most people would attribute to the 21st century). The applets of 2007 are going to be far different than what you saw in 1999. Java may seem like an old beast but Sun has some really nice things in store with their latest Update N release. Thanks for trying it out!

cavenhaus• 19 years ago

It crashed my FireFox, but is working in IE.

bootload• 19 years ago

"... he map stays current in three ways (maybe more but this is what I get): data feeds supplied to UpNext, manual entry by the UpNext team and by user updates. Did you notice that the pizzeria on 48th and 2nd avenue is closed? Go edit the record which creates a community of users to help keep the tool updated. ..."

One area where this application kills printed maps is a concept called "ground-truth". Ground truth is where you manually check that what is on the map really exists on the ground. It's boring, time consuming but imperative to get right to make something useful. The web2 interaction, "Oh this shop has shut-down, I better add a tag and new description" solves this problem somewhat.

Nicely executed Rav.

DanielBMarkham• 19 years ago

Didn't work with my video card.

Interesting that you chose Java. I haven't looked at web 3-d technologies in a while, but was the thought that VRML was too clunky or outdated for the users to like? I guess you could also create micro-videos and serve them up and cache them a la google maps, but that would require a real google-like file system.

neilk• 19 years ago

Why is 3D better? I'm not Superman. When I want to go to a local business, I don't fly there.

It always amazes me how geeks will ooh and aah over any 3D interface. But the three-dimensional world is extremely inconvenient for conveying most sorts of information -- there's occlusion and perspective, which hide and distort information. The one thing a 3D map does convey is the height of buildings, and sometimes the shape, but it's not clear that this is worth the costs.

Even if it were true that 3D gave you more useful information, there are no interface standards for 3D navigation.

Full disclosure: I work for Upcoming (http://upcoming.yahoo.com/), also in the events and local search business. But honestly, this isn't me slamming the competition; I have ranted about 3D interfaces for years. I think UpNext is impressive, but maybe there's more appropriate uses for this technology than local search.

dfens• 19 years ago

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thinks this is unnecessary. I agree that the 3D looks quite cool, but doesn't fit with local search/events. When I want to explore my local area in 3D I look for a pair of shoes, not a Java applet.

radvani7• 19 years ago

UpNext and other map-based systems offer one significant advantage over text-based interfaces: geospatial search. When people are looking for something to do, they usually know the general area where they want to go before-hand, but don't know exactly what they're looking for. A keyword based system is only efficient when you already know what you want to do. It doesn't help the process of discovery.

The second advantage of UpNext is an improvement over current 2D search offerings, which are usually based on Google maps, Yahoo maps, or MapQuest. While most people focus on the 3D, the other enhancement of UpNext is real-time rendering. Other map-based systems use static images or photos; they're unable to change on-the-fly to better highlight information. Our spotlight feature showcases the advantages of real-time rendering in search: buildings of interest glow, and others become transparent. In the future we plan to have the map do a number of interesting things in real-time to give people a feel for the neighborhood they're in.

Then there is 3D, the topic of the comments above. Yes, 3D doesn't convey mounds of information, but if you're doing real-time rendering, you might as well do it in 3D. Beyond looking compelling, the perspective information does convey a feel for the area you're looking at, and we hope to further improve this in the future to attain a stylistic impression of each area of Manhattan. That 3D contains occlusion is easily mitigated by simply rotating to a birds-eye view.

Finally, that there is no standard for 3D navigation is simply because the technology is only recently breaking out of the gamer universe. Regardless, if everyone waited for standards before innovating, the internet would be in a very sorry state.

Thanks for the comments! Raj Advani, UpNext

asmosoinio• 19 years ago

Very cool! Can't wait to have Turku in there ;) <http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&t...;

What I was immediately missing was better keyboard navigation -- how about copying something like Doom (or whatever the kids are playing these days)? I mean a way to at least "turn your head" and go up/down directly from the keyboard.

Maybe it's just me though -- might be that people prefer mouse navigation.

UpNext is the future of Local - the 3d map is amazing

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