We’re trying something different and embedding the UStream.tv feed of the Podcast right on the homepage. Let us know what you think in comments. Topics include 1-year ago on TE, Palm announcing the Foleo, Microsoft unveild the surface computer, 10 great job markets for techies, Zooomr Mark III almost went live and the future of Apple TY.

Make sure to join us every Sunday through Thursday live at 10:00pm EDT, 9:00pm CDT, 7:00pm PDT (that’s -0600 GMT for those around the world) right here on TechnologyEvangelist.com.

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We’re back after Memorial Day break. Ed Kohler joins us via Gizmo to talk about Apple blocking MySpace.com in their retail stores.

Make sure to join us every Sunday through Thursday live at 10:00pm EDT, 9:00pm CDT, 7:00pm PDT (that’s -0600 GMT for those around the world) right here on TechnologyEvangelist.com.

Total Run Time 27:03 | Direct Download | Non-Explicit

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Clifford Clarke is the chief technology officer from Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is as the mayor calls him the chief innovation officer for the city. He works on finding new technology for the city and helping figure out what is the best direction for Fort Wayne.

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Google announced the launch of a new way to customize your Google Maps at Where
2.0 called
Mapplets.



Mapplets allow you to personalize your
Google Maps experience
by overlaying data that is of interest to you. That could be anything from homes
for sale, to photos of beautiful beaches, to weather reports. For a list of the
most popular mapplet’s to date,
check
out this link. Here is an example mapplet that publishes photos and
interviews along the length of Route 66. While this same information could be
subscribed to through your favorite RSS reader like Google Reader or Bloglines,
the same information comes alive when presented in appropriate geographic
context:

The data overlayed on the maps resides on the publisher’s server, so the data
will change whenever the publisher makes an update to their content. It’s
basically RSS for Maps where people subscribe to content that interests them,
and the content changes whenever the publisher changes it.



Real estate seems like an
obvious
category for this type of content, but it may be a while before you see a
mapplet with a comprehensive set of homes for sale in your neighborhood due to
constraints imposed by MLS systems on sharing their data.



This is a great way for sites to get their content in front of people who are
using Google Maps all day already. Are there certain types of stores you
frequent enough to warrant inclusion on your Google Map? Apple Stores, perhaps?
It looks like that particular mapplet doesn’t exist quite yet.



This is different from the similar sounding Widgets, where small web pages or
web applications are embedded into other sites. Mapplets are all about
customizing your Google Maps experience. However, it’s probably possible - or
will be soon - to make a widget out of a Mapplet version of a Google Map.

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Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC) works with communities to try to help them with their connectivity goals. They were at the Killer App Expo showing off some of the services they have and the communities they have helped.

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The city of Minneapolis is in the process of rolling out a city-wide WiFi-based
Internet service that will provide wireless access from anywhere in the city
starting at $20/month. During the bidding phase, which was eventually won by a
local ISP, US Internet, a group met to create a Community Benefits Agreement to
tie into the contract.
Here
is a previous post from 14 months ago regarding a CBA meeting I attended where things were still in a brainstorming phase.



CBAs are a relatively new phenomenon where community members work with
developers or contractors to proactively create business relationships that are
healthy for both the business and the community.



In the case of the Minneapolis WiFi contract, community members were interested
in increasing access to the Internet to a larger percentage of Minneapolis
residents by closing what is often referred to as the, “digital divide.” Below
is a list of criteria that made it into the final agreement between the city and
US Internet:

Minneapolis WiFi Community Benefit requirements
include: *

1. $500,000 up front to a new Digital Inclusion Fund (to be administered by
   the Minneapolis Foundation).  The Fund will be used to promote
   affordable Internet access, low-cost hardware, local content and training.

2. Annual contribution of 5 % of ongoing pre-tax net income to the Fund (this
   Fund is estimated to grow to as much as $11 million over the 10 year life
   of the vendor contract).

3. 2 % of additional profits from adjacent community contracts to the Fund

4. Subsidized services to over 100 nonprofit agencies, and vouchers for trial
   accounts to CTC’s to distribute to constituents & volunteers 

5. Free limited-time service will be available in some public locations, such
   as parks and plazas in Minneapolis (5% of city area will be designated
   “free hotspot zones”)

6. A free “civic garden” level of wireless service will be available to all
   city residents featuring  important neighborhood, government, and
   community services information – such as neighborhood portal pages, city
   web sites, and public safety information

7. 100 % of portal page advertising revenue will be directed to the Fund

8. A content management system, and community server, for use by
   neighborhoods and community groups

9. A guarantee of network neutrality (fair access to the system for all
   ISP’s)

* from the Wireless Minneapolis web site; the Digital Access web site
(www.digitalaccess.org);
and from the “Digital Justice” report by the Institute on Race & Poverty,
December 2006

The benefits of the CBA are closely tied to the success of Minneapolis’ new
network. I’ve mentioned before that it may be a
tough
sell to current cable Internet subscribers who’ll give up a lot of speed to
save $20/month while gaining portability. It’s an obvious upgrade for people
still on dial-up who happen to have a computer capable of using the WiFi signal,
but they’re clearly not first movers when it comes to technology. It will be
interesting to watch US Internet sell a techie service to non-techies without
endorsements from their techier friends who’ve experienced the service. This
feels a bit like WebTV’s challenges to me.

Share This

The city of Minneapolis is in the process of rolling out a city-wide WiFi-based
Internet service that will provide wireless access from anywhere in the city
starting at $20/month. During the bidding phase, which was eventually won by a
local ISP, US Internet, a group met to create a Community Benefits Agreement to
tie into the contract.
Here
is a previous post from 14 months ago regarding a CBA meeting I attended where things were still in a brainstorming phase.



CBAs are a relatively new phenomenon where community members work with
developers or contractors to proactively create business relationships that are
healthy for both the business and the community.



In the case of the Minneapolis WiFi contract, community members were interested
in increasing access to the Internet to a larger percentage of Minneapolis
residents by closing what is often referred to as the, “digital divide.” Below
is a list of criteria that made it into the final agreement between the city and
US Internet:

Minneapolis WiFi Community Benefit requirements
include: *

1. $500,000 up front to a new Digital Inclusion Fund (to be administered by
   the Minneapolis Foundation).  The Fund will be used to promote
   affordable Internet access, low-cost hardware, local content and training.

2. Annual contribution of 5 % of ongoing pre-tax net income to the Fund (this
   Fund is estimated to grow to as much as $11 million over the 10 year life
   of the vendor contract).

3. 2 % of additional profits from adjacent community contracts to the Fund

4. Subsidized services to over 100 nonprofit agencies, and vouchers for trial
   accounts to CTC’s to distribute to constituents & volunteers 

5. Free limited-time service will be available in some public locations, such
   as parks and plazas in Minneapolis (5% of city area will be designated
   “free hotspot zones”)

6. A free “civic garden” level of wireless service will be available to all
   city residents featuring  important neighborhood, government, and
   community services information – such as neighborhood portal pages, city
   web sites, and public safety information

7. 100 % of portal page advertising revenue will be directed to the Fund

8. A content management system, and community server, for use by
   neighborhoods and community groups

9. A guarantee of network neutrality (fair access to the system for all
   ISP’s)

* from the Wireless Minneapolis web site; the Digital Access web site
(www.digitalaccess.org);
and from the “Digital Justice” report by the Institute on Race & Poverty,
December 2006

The benefits of the CBA are closely tied to the success of Minneapolis’ new
network. I’ve mentioned before that it may be a
tough
sell to current cable Internet subscribers who’ll give up a lot of speed to
save $20/month while gaining portability. It’s an obvious upgrade for people
still on dial-up who happen to have a computer capable of using the WiFi signal,
but they’re clearly not first movers when it comes to technology. It will be
interesting to watch US Internet sell a techie service to non-techies without
endorsements from their techier friends who’ve experienced the service. This
feels a bit like WebTV’s challenges to me.

Share This

The city of Minneapolis is in the process of rolling out a city-wide WiFi-based
Internet service that will provide wireless access from anywhere in the city
starting at $20/month. During the bidding phase, which was eventually won by a
local ISP, US Internet, a group met to create a Community Benefits Agreement to
tie into the contract.
Here
is a previous post from 14 months ago regarding a CBA meeting I attended where things were still in a brainstorming phase.



CBAs are a relatively new phenomenon where community members work with
developers or contractors to proactively create business relationships that are
healthy for both the business and the community.



In the case of the Minneapolis WiFi contract, community members were interested
in increasing access to the Internet to a larger percentage of Minneapolis
residents by closing what is often referred to as the, “digital divide.” Below
is a list of criteria that made it into the final agreement between the city and
US Internet:

Minneapolis WiFi Community Benefit requirements
include: *

1. $500,000 up front to a new Digital Inclusion Fund (to be administered by
   the Minneapolis Foundation).  The Fund will be used to promote
   affordable Internet access, low-cost hardware, local content and training.

2. Annual contribution of 5 % of ongoing pre-tax net income to the Fund (this
   Fund is estimated to grow to as much as $11 million over the 10 year life
   of the vendor contract).

3. 2 % of additional profits from adjacent community contracts to the Fund

4. Subsidized services to over 100 nonprofit agencies, and vouchers for trial
   accounts to CTC‚Äôs to distribute to constituents & volunteers 

5. Free limited-time service will be available in some public locations, such
   as parks and plazas in Minneapolis (5% of city area will be designated
   “free hotspot zones”)

6. A free “civic garden” level of wireless service will be available to all
   city residents featuring  important neighborhood, government, and
   community services information – such as neighborhood portal pages, city
   web sites, and public safety information

7. 100 % of portal page advertising revenue will be directed to the Fund

8. A content management system, and community server, for use by
   neighborhoods and community groups

9. A guarantee of network neutrality (fair access to the system for all
   ISP’s)

* from the Wireless Minneapolis web site; the Digital Access web site
(www.digitalaccess.org);
and from the “Digital Justice” report by the Institute on Race & Poverty,
December 2006

The benefits of the CBA are closely tied to the success of Minneapolis’ new
network. I’ve mentioned before that it may be a
tough
sell to current cable Internet subscribers who’ll give up a lot of speed to
save $20/month while gaining portability. It’s an obvious upgrade for people
still on dial-up who happen to have a computer capable of using the WiFi signal,
but they’re clearly not first movers when it comes to technology. It will be
interesting to watch US Internet sell a techie service to non-techies without
endorsements from their techier friends who’ve experienced the service. This
feels a bit like WebTV’s challenges to me.

Share This