I wanted to do something interesting with the data I had, and generating some kind of image sounded like a fun idea.

I started by writing some PHP code to accept a range of X / Y points and use the GD library to plot them on a blank image. If the same pair of points appeared more than once, the plotted point would increase in size. This way, the size of a point would indicate how much time was spent there.

Once the basic point plotter was working, I wrote some additional code to parse the KML files and interpret the GPS coordinates as points. I fed in the data from Florida and got this image back:

Pretty cool. The large point is the rented accommodation and the pockets of points are theme parks.

I put the code up on GitHub. Feel free to experiment with it.

* Except for when GPSLogger just stopped working for no reason.

Where other services include an address, phone number, map and possibly a few customer reviews, ours would function as a mini-website that could be tailored to any business type.

I spent a couple of weeks looking at existing business directories and websites business owners had set up for themselves to figure out how I would combine the functionality of both into one package.

We spoke to a few business owners as well as some ordinary people who were just frustrated with existing big-name business directories. We received mostly positive responses and that was enough for us to push forward with the project.

After a few weeks of coding, I had a system that functioned like a regular business directory, but with a unique feature. Industry specific components, which I called "modules," could be installed into a business listing to display information specific to that particular industry.

If you owned a car dealership, you could install the car dealer module and be displaying your vehicle listings on your listing in minutes. If you had a hotel, there was a module to display available hotel rooms. I also built modules for general retail merchandise, restaurant menus, events, coupons and more. Anything that I had seen business websites displaying online had the potential to become a module in our business directory.

Each module would ask the user to fill in some predetermined fields and that data would be formatted and displayed to anyone visiting their listing in the directory.

While the directory was really cool from a programming perspective, it was, unfortunately, a commercial failure.

After pitching to local businesses, it become obvious that the features I had thought were useful were either too complicated for our target audience or offered more functionality than they needed. Despite the original idea receiving positive feedback, it just didn't work in practice.

Lessons Learned

Don't over-complicate

I got caught up in creating cool features that were a little too complicated for our target audience. Even people I'm related to still don't really know what the business did.

Launch early

I didn't launch the website until it was almost entirely complete. If I had launched earlier with a cut down version, I could have better judged the response and either moved on to another project or taken a different direction. I'm almost certain that launching much earlier would have enabled me to predict the failure of the project.

Do create something just because you think it's cool, but don't try to make a living off it

You definitely shouldn't avoid a programming project simply because you're the only person interested in it. Even if it doesn't become a sustainable business, it'll still be fun and you'll learn something from it.

These are a few tweaks I normally make after setting up a Linux desktop. Gnome ships with a handy configuration editor, which can be accessed via the terminal command gconf-editor.

List-View by Default

Nautilus, Gnome's file manager, displays files as large icons by default. That's difficult to work with, but can be easily changed with the configuration editor.

Applications can be found in the configuration editor's tree-style navigation pane. To tweak the file manager, browse to apps/nautilus/preferences. Find the option named "default_folder_view" [view screenshot] in the key pane and change it's value to "list_view." The file manager will be configured to display a list of files by default.

Editing Executable Files

When you attempt to open an executable file, otherwise known as a script, you'll be asked if you want to edit or execute the script. I spend a lot of time editing scripts, so prefer to have Nautilus open the file in the text editor by default.

This option can be found in the configuration editor under apps/nautilus/preferences. The option is named "executable_text_activation" [view screenshot] and there are three possible values; "launch," "ask," and "display." Enter "display" to have scripts open in the text editor.

Make Gnome Faster

You can speed Gnome up by turning off animations and non-essential display features such as redrawing windows as you drag them around your desktop.

This time you will be editing the window manager, Metacity. Find the configuration options under apps/metacity/general.

To speed up Gnome, just check the "reduced_resources" option [view screenshot].

Fix the Window Button Positions

For years the standard in designing window decoration has been to place the minimize, maximize and close buttons in the same place. It doesn't make sense to group the close button in with minimize and maximize, but there is a very easy way to fix it.

In the configuration editor, under apps/metacity/general, find the option named "button_layout" [view screenshot] and note the option value. It will look something like this:

menu:minimize,maximize,close

Everything on the left of the colon appears on the left of the window decoration, everything on the right appears on the right.

I recommend experimenting to find a configuration that works for you. I prefer this:

close,menu:minimize,maximize

Just for fun I've written a small PHP class to allow PHP applications to interface with the Nabaztag API.

Get the code on GitHub.

The example script demonstrates all the functionality, but for quick reference:

Create a new nabaztag object:
$nab = new nabaztag($your_serial_number, $your_api_token);

Speak using text-to-speach:
$nab->speak("that rabbit's got a vicious streak a mile wide");

Move ears:
$nab->move_ears($left_ear_position, $right_ear_position);
Provide an integer between 0 and 16 to move the ears through their cycle.

Wake up or put to sleep:
$nab->set_wake_status($status);
Passing a 1 to this function wakes the Nabaztag, 0 puts it to sleep.

The Nabaztag API will send a response to acknowlege a successful request or point out any errors made. The response is stored in the class and can be accessed via this function:
$nab->display_api_response();

There is another diagnostic function that will list the parameters being send in an API request:
$nab->display_api_params();

Feel free to expand on this class. There is plenty of information in the official API docs.

What I found really interesting about Dvorak is the way common keystrokes are designed to flow from the outside to the middle of the keyboard. It allows for a very natural hand movement similar to idly tapping on a table.

I made the change to Dvorak on my laptop because the keyboard I have for my desktop has curved keys that don't lend themselves well to rearrangement. My laptop, an older Toshiba Satellite A135-S2276, has a keyboard that can be easily rearranged to Dvorak. I run Ubuntu Linux and changing the keyboard layout on the software side was no trouble at all. In GNOME, the layout dialog can be found in the System menu, under Preferences and Keyboard. Google will turn up instructions for other operating systems.

I've been touch-typing QWERTY for many years and there was a significant learning curve with Dvorak. After a week, however, I really could see how it would be more comfortable for typing long sentences. Typing emails was fine, but typing PHP code, something I spend most of my time doing, wasn't as easy.

Writing code uses a lot of punctuation symbols and with all the punctuation keys in new positions, the flow I previously had while programming was gone. Mistyping and having to locate keys was damaging my productivity.

I found Dvorak difficult for programming because it was designed to making typing sentences easier. The punctuation keys I need to use often have been pushed off into awkward places to make way for letters, making the chances of reducing my risk of RSI little to none.

I switched back to QWERTY and have been happily touch-typing since. I like the idea of an alternative keyboard, and Dvorak might be an excellent choice for anybody writing a novel, but I've decided against it for programming.

Ambient sounds include wildlife, environmental, human and mechanical sounds. Just a few examples are birds, frogs, wind, rain, river, jungle, city, subway, the sound of typing on a keyboard, machine and fan sounds.

I use Ambiance with ear-buds to tune out background noise when coding. The rain sound effects are great at blocking out other sounds without being too distracting.

In the unlikely event of not finding a sound you like in the huge collection provided, you also have the option of selecting up to three sounds to mix together. If you want to hear frogs typing on a keyboard while being cooled by an oscillating fan, Ambiance is the app for you.

Exactly how to mix sounds is not immediately obvious when you start the app. To play several sounds at once, make sure both "Combination Mode" and "Show Front Controls" are enabled in the "Advanced" tab of the options screen.

A timer is available in the options screen, which is handy if you use any of the sound effects to help you get to sleep.

The amount of sound effects makes Ambiance a bulky application, which can cause slow syncing with iTunes. An update to Ambiance made it possible to delete sounds from the application, so you can remove sounds you don't use and cut down on the size. A fresh install of the app will return all the original sounds.

Because the iPhone currently doesn't support running apps in the background, you can't have Ambiance playing while you read your email or do anything else on the iPhone. This isn't a flaw in the application, of course, just a restriction of the platform.

Ambiance is a great app to have if you work anywhere with distractions that you'd prefer to tune out. It works wonders for my concentration when coding.

You can get Ambiance for $0.99 in the Apple App Store.

Race tracks span the Globe and are as varied as the vehicles. You can race through tracks themed on a desert, jungle, glacier, the island of Crete, the Great Wall of China, Egypt as well as Medieval and Viking towns. An underwater location themed on the city of Atlantis makes use of submarines and expands on the accelerometer-based controls to account for changing depth.

The Atlantis track seems detached from the rest of the game and feels a bit experimental, but it's a fun track to play.

Power-ups can be collected by driving into them on tracks. Power-ups enhance your vehicle with "sticky tires" or improved suspension for a limited period of time.

Weapons can be collected in the same way as power-ups and work in a similar way to Mario Cart games. You can launch bones, firecrackers, homing pigeons and oil slicks either forwards or backwards to cause trouble for the other racers.

Overall the game feels very polished. The occasional 3D dinosaur passing over a menu screen shows the attention to detail that has gone into the design. The on-screen controls fit the caveman theme, appearing as arrow heads.

In addition to well-done visuals, sound in Cro-Mag is excellent. Each track has its own music and events like collecting a power-up are accompanied by professional-sounding announcements.

There are only a couple of negative aspects of the game. Once you get the hang of the controls, the AI racers aren't much of a challenge. It's very easy on some tracks to get so far ahead that you're almost coming up behind them.

The game lacks any kind of career mode, so there are no extra tracks or vehicles to unlock as you progress. Not even your vehicle selection is remembered between racings, forcing you to choose again before playing another track. This makes Cro-Mag create for casual gaming but looses some of its appeal to players who like to work towards goals in games.

Cro-Mag Rally is $1.99 in the Apple App Store.