V-ENABLE Launches Developer Program for Integrating Voice Search into Mobile Applications
location based services
San Diego, CA - May 31, 2006 - V-ENABLE, Inc., the worldwide leader in delivering mobile voice- and text-based search solutions, today launched the first partner program empowering companies to take advantage of the growing demand for voice-enabled mobile search applications from carriers, application developers and publishers using BREW, JAVA, SYMBIAN, WAP and xHTML platforms. Ideal for technology providers who have strong relationships with major carriers and who share a vision for greater revenue opportunities offered by voice-enabled applications, the program targets content providers committed to offering search solutions for the following types of mobile applications:
Local search, such as location-based services and mapping
Downloadable content catalogues, including ringtones, wallpaper and games
Information such as movie listings, weather and shoppingV-ENABLE's Developer Program participants will share revenue generated from V-ENABLE's mobile search technology. They will receive extensive support from its technical team, as well as access to the company's marketing group for joint marketing initiatives. They will also have access to versions of V-ENABLE customized products and testing materials for development of their own applications. Companies currently using or evaluating V-ENABLE's technology include ClearSky Mobile Media, go2, RockeTalk, SavaJe Technologies, Tele ATLAS, and Xringer Inc.Simon JC Nash will be responsible for managing the Developer program.Recently appointed as Director of Partnerships and Business Development, Nash will be responsible for attracting and maintaining relationships with technology partners, educating industry players on the value of integrating voice into existing mobile applications, and working with content partners.Prior to V-ENABLE, Nash was with Reakosys Wireless, Korea's leading mobile marketing solutions and 3D game development company, for which he helped launch its US operations."We invite leaders in the mobile content market to become V-ENABLE partners," said Nash. "Our data shows that users prefer voice search over text by over 2:1 in multimodal search applications. The voice search feature offers a better customer experience and increases product adoption, subsequently boosting revenue for the content provider. V-ENABLE is dedicated to helping companies take advantage of demand for this latest technology. It's time for developers to integrate voice with their mobile application services to grow their businesses and stay ahead of the competition."V-ENABLE recently announced its sub-second mobile search technology with an accuracy of better than 90 percent, which makes it the fastest, most accurate mobile search technology available. Mobile voice search applications powered by V-ENABLE technology are currently available through Verizon, ALLTEL, U.S. Cellular and Cricket.V-ENABLE's Web site (www.v-enable.com) will serve as an interactive hub for discussion and education in the area of voice-enabled application development. The site has information on mobile speech recognition applications, products, development tools and tutorials, and provides a forum for the exchange of information among voice-enabled application developers. For more information on V-ENABLE's Developer Program, please contact Simon JC Nash at simon.nash@v-enable.com / 858-824-1888 or 858-692-7626 to schedule an appointment to speak with V-ENABLE during the BREW Conference in San Diego, May 31 - June 2, 2006.About V-ENABLEV-ENABLE is the leading provider of mobile search solutions optimized for accessing and presenting content and information over mobile networks. V-ENABLE's patent-pending mobile voice search allows mobile users to simply search using their voice and receive personalized content and information in a visual format on their mobile phone. The V-ENABLE mobile voice search interface software is a unique client-server solution, available for carriers, application developers and publishers using BREW, JAVA, SYMBIAN, WAP, xHTML platforms.Mobile voice search applications, powered by V-ENABLE technology, are currently available on Verizon Wireless, ALLTEL, U.S. Cellular, and Leap Communications. The company, founded in 2001, is headquartered in San Diego, CA. VENABLE was founded by wireless experts from Nokia, Motorola, PacketVideo and Cisco. For more information, visit www.V-ENABLE.com.About ClearSky Mobile MediaClearSky Mobile Media powers the wireless entertainment initiatives of wireless carriers and other consumer-oriented companies. ClearSky's complete portfolio of content and hosted delivery platforms produces unparalleled speed to market and ongoing customer satisfaction. ClearSky's customer base spans North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. ClearSky is privately held and headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Learn more at www.ClearSkyMobileMedia.com.About go2 go2 owns and operates the go2 network of mobile, local search and directory websites containing Yellow Page, movie guide and other local information. go2 directories have industry-leading distribution through one-of-a-kind multi-category placements on the wireless Web menus of most major U.S. carriers. With millions of businesses listed in go2's database, go2's local search directories provide fast, convenient access to local information, including movie theater show times and customer specials and promotions. All go2 directories are fully integrated and feature one-touch calling and turn-by-turn directions together with detailed information on many U.S. businesses, including products and brands carried, hours of operations, etc
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Saturday, June 03, 2006
Traffic.com Launches Real Time Traffic on Windows Live Local
location based services
Traffic.com is working hard to make sure you know what traffic is like on the roads you travel. Their site has real-time traffic feeds, and now their feeds are featured on Windows Live Local. Windows Live Local users can view interactive maps, obtain driving directions, and create customized lists of local points of interest. Enhancing this relatively static location-based content, Traffic.com’s dynamic traffic information provides up-to-the-minute flow and incident updates displayed on interactive maps for 35 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. Geographic expansion will continue with future version releases. The speed data is limited to a few cities, so while you may be able to see that there are accidents in Cincinnati, OH, you will actually be able to see color coded speed indicators on highways in Boston.
“Windows Live Local provides an immersive real-world view of the places people want to go and couples that information with the driving directions they need to get there,” said Stephen Lawler, general manager of the Virtual Earth business unit at Microsoft Corp. “Bringing reliable, highly accurate traffic information into Windows Live Local helps increase the site’s utility for users, and furthers our goal of helping people experience ‘what it’s like there.’”
Another interesting feature that Traffic.com is working is the Jam Factor feature available at their site and numerous websites across the country (TV and radio stations most commonly). This Jam Factor gives you an easy read on a 1-10 scale of how bad the traffic is. Within the display they also give you an estimation of when an accident is going to clear. So, a nice view into the immediate future. Ultimately, it will be up to the GPS manufacturers to come up with an easy to use interface that routes you areound accidents based on this data. The hard thing though will be to know that the accident is stopping traffic on the interstate, but what happens to the traffic on the alternate route when that happens? At rush hour it's not going to be totally clear and you might be headed into a mess there.
With its network of wireless, sensor-based data collection and advanced processing technology, Traffic.com provides real-time traffic information to XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. navigation systems in the Acura RL and the Cadillac CTS. Motorola incorporates Traffic.com data into its VIAMOTO solution, a suite of location software for cell phones utilized by Avis Assist. Aftermarket navigation systems, such as the Pioneer AVIC-N2, are also taking advantage of Traffic.com’s continuous, highly accurate data and broad coverage.
See the working Microsoft Live site: local.live.comSee what Traffic.com has to offer: http://www.traffic.com/
Read More in: GPS News
Related Articles:
location based services
Traffic.com is working hard to make sure you know what traffic is like on the roads you travel. Their site has real-time traffic feeds, and now their feeds are featured on Windows Live Local. Windows Live Local users can view interactive maps, obtain driving directions, and create customized lists of local points of interest. Enhancing this relatively static location-based content, Traffic.com’s dynamic traffic information provides up-to-the-minute flow and incident updates displayed on interactive maps for 35 major metropolitan areas across the U.S. Geographic expansion will continue with future version releases. The speed data is limited to a few cities, so while you may be able to see that there are accidents in Cincinnati, OH, you will actually be able to see color coded speed indicators on highways in Boston.
“Windows Live Local provides an immersive real-world view of the places people want to go and couples that information with the driving directions they need to get there,” said Stephen Lawler, general manager of the Virtual Earth business unit at Microsoft Corp. “Bringing reliable, highly accurate traffic information into Windows Live Local helps increase the site’s utility for users, and furthers our goal of helping people experience ‘what it’s like there.’”
Another interesting feature that Traffic.com is working is the Jam Factor feature available at their site and numerous websites across the country (TV and radio stations most commonly). This Jam Factor gives you an easy read on a 1-10 scale of how bad the traffic is. Within the display they also give you an estimation of when an accident is going to clear. So, a nice view into the immediate future. Ultimately, it will be up to the GPS manufacturers to come up with an easy to use interface that routes you areound accidents based on this data. The hard thing though will be to know that the accident is stopping traffic on the interstate, but what happens to the traffic on the alternate route when that happens? At rush hour it's not going to be totally clear and you might be headed into a mess there.
With its network of wireless, sensor-based data collection and advanced processing technology, Traffic.com provides real-time traffic information to XM Satellite Radio and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. navigation systems in the Acura RL and the Cadillac CTS. Motorola incorporates Traffic.com data into its VIAMOTO solution, a suite of location software for cell phones utilized by Avis Assist. Aftermarket navigation systems, such as the Pioneer AVIC-N2, are also taking advantage of Traffic.com’s continuous, highly accurate data and broad coverage.
See the working Microsoft Live site: local.live.comSee what Traffic.com has to offer: http://www.traffic.com/
Read More in: GPS News
Related Articles:
Map firm navigates road to keep drivers on right path
location based services
Do you print out driving directions from MapQuest or Google for trips?
If so, there's a good chance the cartoonish-looking maps you pull up on your computer screen come from Tele Atlas NV, a Boston-based company trolling roads to update the maps it sells to Web companies like MapQuest, Google and Yahoo so they won't send you in the wrong direction.
The maps also show up in navigation systems built into cars and in portable devices, and more recently in wireless phones equipped with Global Positioning System technology.
"Navigation is here and now and the popularity is increasingly very rapidly," says Phil Magney, principal analyst at Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
Magney estimates that the number of navigation systems, whether in cars, portable devices or in cell phones, sold in North America will increase nearly 50 percent from 4.5 million in 2006 to 6.7 million next year and to 25 million by 2011. The growth is showing up in the revenue figures of Tele Atlas, which grew 57 percent last year, and of its main competitor, Chicago-based Navteq Corp., where revenue grew 26 percent last year.
Growing demand for digital directions makes the trips to update maps all the more important.
Tele Atlas is in the midst of driving all of the nation's highways, taking an orange Toyota Sienna with four white video cameras and a GPS antenna perched on its roof.
The van takes video footage as it drives up and down highways to capture things including exit signs, new construction, speed limit signs and street names.
That information updates a database that spans 7.3 million miles in North America.
The video footage is among the many ways the company builds its maps.
Digital mapping - which in its infancy in the 1980s consisted of people in vehicles jotting down information about the roads - now also uses sources including satellite images, city tax maps and calls to construction firms working on new developments, says Jon Husby of Tele Atlas.
These are maps many drivers rely on, including Sonya DeVoir, 23, of Detroit.
DeVoir turns to Google Maps at least once a week to find grocery stores or coffee shops near her home.
"I really depend on looking up where I'm going," she says.
DeVoir says she has considered a GPS device, but they can run up to $1,000 and are out of her price range.
With advances in mapping, Husby says more navigation devices will be able to tell drivers to turn at a landmark, like a fast-food restaurant, instead of at just a street name where the sign might be too small to read from the road.
Eventually the technology will give drivers a snapshot of the intersection a driver should turn out of so they know what it looks like before getting there.
"We continue to build more accurate and more lifelike information," into the maps, says Jennifer Winter, a Southfield, Mich.-based account manager with Tele Atlas.
That kind of information could be headed to your cell phone.
More cell phones contain GPS technology - an estimated 15 percent of those shipped by manufacturers in 2006, reports Framingham, Mass.-based tech research firm IDC.
Wireless phones are doubling as navigation devices that give you directions and tell you about where you're headed.
Magney estimates that the number of GPS-equipped phones sold in 2007 will double compared with 2006 to 2.6 million.
Eventually this technology will be everywhere, says Jay Benson, Tele Atlas' vice president of business planning.
Now, Internet-capable phones can give you directions.
But with GPS technology, "it's going to be much more oriented to finding things of importance around you," Benson says.
Future devices
GPS in cell phones: Already offered by some providers, including Sprint and Verizon. Prices top out at $10 a month for services that can tell you, turn-by-turn, directions and find businesses.
Turn left at Taco Bell? Instead of directional turning, navigation systems are starting to use landmarks, like restaurants, in addition to street names to tell people where to go.
Picture your intersection: Eventually navigation systems will show you a photo of the intersection where you need to turn.
Up to the minute: Real-time traffic data delivered to Web sites and wireless phones.
Distracted driving
AAA reminds drivers not to fiddle with phones or portable navigation devices while driving.
• Get directions before you start driving.
• Pull over to use the direction features on your navigation device or wireless phone.
• Leave the navigation to a passenger.
location based services
Do you print out driving directions from MapQuest or Google for trips?
If so, there's a good chance the cartoonish-looking maps you pull up on your computer screen come from Tele Atlas NV, a Boston-based company trolling roads to update the maps it sells to Web companies like MapQuest, Google and Yahoo so they won't send you in the wrong direction.
The maps also show up in navigation systems built into cars and in portable devices, and more recently in wireless phones equipped with Global Positioning System technology.
"Navigation is here and now and the popularity is increasingly very rapidly," says Phil Magney, principal analyst at Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
Magney estimates that the number of navigation systems, whether in cars, portable devices or in cell phones, sold in North America will increase nearly 50 percent from 4.5 million in 2006 to 6.7 million next year and to 25 million by 2011. The growth is showing up in the revenue figures of Tele Atlas, which grew 57 percent last year, and of its main competitor, Chicago-based Navteq Corp., where revenue grew 26 percent last year.
Growing demand for digital directions makes the trips to update maps all the more important.
Tele Atlas is in the midst of driving all of the nation's highways, taking an orange Toyota Sienna with four white video cameras and a GPS antenna perched on its roof.
The van takes video footage as it drives up and down highways to capture things including exit signs, new construction, speed limit signs and street names.
That information updates a database that spans 7.3 million miles in North America.
The video footage is among the many ways the company builds its maps.
Digital mapping - which in its infancy in the 1980s consisted of people in vehicles jotting down information about the roads - now also uses sources including satellite images, city tax maps and calls to construction firms working on new developments, says Jon Husby of Tele Atlas.
These are maps many drivers rely on, including Sonya DeVoir, 23, of Detroit.
DeVoir turns to Google Maps at least once a week to find grocery stores or coffee shops near her home.
"I really depend on looking up where I'm going," she says.
DeVoir says she has considered a GPS device, but they can run up to $1,000 and are out of her price range.
With advances in mapping, Husby says more navigation devices will be able to tell drivers to turn at a landmark, like a fast-food restaurant, instead of at just a street name where the sign might be too small to read from the road.
Eventually the technology will give drivers a snapshot of the intersection a driver should turn out of so they know what it looks like before getting there.
"We continue to build more accurate and more lifelike information," into the maps, says Jennifer Winter, a Southfield, Mich.-based account manager with Tele Atlas.
That kind of information could be headed to your cell phone.
More cell phones contain GPS technology - an estimated 15 percent of those shipped by manufacturers in 2006, reports Framingham, Mass.-based tech research firm IDC.
Wireless phones are doubling as navigation devices that give you directions and tell you about where you're headed.
Magney estimates that the number of GPS-equipped phones sold in 2007 will double compared with 2006 to 2.6 million.
Eventually this technology will be everywhere, says Jay Benson, Tele Atlas' vice president of business planning.
Now, Internet-capable phones can give you directions.
But with GPS technology, "it's going to be much more oriented to finding things of importance around you," Benson says.
Future devices
GPS in cell phones: Already offered by some providers, including Sprint and Verizon. Prices top out at $10 a month for services that can tell you, turn-by-turn, directions and find businesses.
Turn left at Taco Bell? Instead of directional turning, navigation systems are starting to use landmarks, like restaurants, in addition to street names to tell people where to go.
Picture your intersection: Eventually navigation systems will show you a photo of the intersection where you need to turn.
Up to the minute: Real-time traffic data delivered to Web sites and wireless phones.
Distracted driving
AAA reminds drivers not to fiddle with phones or portable navigation devices while driving.
• Get directions before you start driving.
• Pull over to use the direction features on your navigation device or wireless phone.
• Leave the navigation to a passenger.
Map firm navigates road to keep drivers on right path
location based services
Do you print out driving directions from MapQuest or Google for trips?
If so, there's a good chance the cartoonish-looking maps you pull up on your computer screen come from Tele Atlas NV, a Boston-based company trolling roads to update the maps it sells to Web companies like MapQuest, Google and Yahoo so they won't send you in the wrong direction.
The maps also show up in navigation systems built into cars and in portable devices, and more recently in wireless phones equipped with Global Positioning System technology.
"Navigation is here and now and the popularity is increasingly very rapidly," says Phil Magney, principal analyst at Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
Magney estimates that the number of navigation systems, whether in cars, portable devices or in cell phones, sold in North America will increase nearly 50 percent from 4.5 million in 2006 to 6.7 million next year and to 25 million by 2011. The growth is showing up in the revenue figures of Tele Atlas, which grew 57 percent last year, and of its main competitor, Chicago-based Navteq Corp., where revenue grew 26 percent last year.
Growing demand for digital directions makes the trips to update maps all the more important.
Tele Atlas is in the midst of driving all of the nation's highways, taking an orange Toyota Sienna with four white video cameras and a GPS antenna perched on its roof.
The van takes video footage as it drives up and down highways to capture things including exit signs, new construction, speed limit signs and street names.
That information updates a database that spans 7.3 million miles in North America.
The video footage is among the many ways the company builds its maps.
Digital mapping - which in its infancy in the 1980s consisted of people in vehicles jotting down information about the roads - now also uses sources including satellite images, city tax maps and calls to construction firms working on new developments, says Jon Husby of Tele Atlas.
These are maps many drivers rely on, including Sonya DeVoir, 23, of Detroit.
DeVoir turns to Google Maps at least once a week to find grocery stores or coffee shops near her home.
"I really depend on looking up where I'm going," she says.
DeVoir says she has considered a GPS device, but they can run up to $1,000 and are out of her price range.
With advances in mapping, Husby says more navigation devices will be able to tell drivers to turn at a landmark, like a fast-food restaurant, instead of at just a street name where the sign might be too small to read from the road.
Eventually the technology will give drivers a snapshot of the intersection a driver should turn out of so they know what it looks like before getting there.
"We continue to build more accurate and more lifelike information," into the maps, says Jennifer Winter, a Southfield, Mich.-based account manager with Tele Atlas.
That kind of information could be headed to your cell phone.
More cell phones contain GPS technology - an estimated 15 percent of those shipped by manufacturers in 2006, reports Framingham, Mass.-based tech research firm IDC.
Wireless phones are doubling as navigation devices that give you directions and tell you about where you're headed.
Magney estimates that the number of GPS-equipped phones sold in 2007 will double compared with 2006 to 2.6 million.
Eventually this technology will be everywhere, says Jay Benson, Tele Atlas' vice president of business planning.
Now, Internet-capable phones can give you directions.
But with GPS technology, "it's going to be much more oriented to finding things of importance around you," Benson says.
Future devices
GPS in cell phones: Already offered by some providers, including Sprint and Verizon. Prices top out at $10 a month for services that can tell you, turn-by-turn, directions and find businesses.
Turn left at Taco Bell? Instead of directional turning, navigation systems are starting to use landmarks, like restaurants, in addition to street names to tell people where to go.
Picture your intersection: Eventually navigation systems will show you a photo of the intersection where you need to turn.
Up to the minute: Real-time traffic data delivered to Web sites and wireless phones.
Distracted driving
AAA reminds drivers not to fiddle with phones or portable navigation devices while driving.
• Get directions before you start driving.
• Pull over to use the direction features on your navigation device or wireless phone.
• Leave the navigation to a passenger.
location based services
Do you print out driving directions from MapQuest or Google for trips?
If so, there's a good chance the cartoonish-looking maps you pull up on your computer screen come from Tele Atlas NV, a Boston-based company trolling roads to update the maps it sells to Web companies like MapQuest, Google and Yahoo so they won't send you in the wrong direction.
The maps also show up in navigation systems built into cars and in portable devices, and more recently in wireless phones equipped with Global Positioning System technology.
"Navigation is here and now and the popularity is increasingly very rapidly," says Phil Magney, principal analyst at Telematics Research Group in Minnetonka, Minn.
Magney estimates that the number of navigation systems, whether in cars, portable devices or in cell phones, sold in North America will increase nearly 50 percent from 4.5 million in 2006 to 6.7 million next year and to 25 million by 2011. The growth is showing up in the revenue figures of Tele Atlas, which grew 57 percent last year, and of its main competitor, Chicago-based Navteq Corp., where revenue grew 26 percent last year.
Growing demand for digital directions makes the trips to update maps all the more important.
Tele Atlas is in the midst of driving all of the nation's highways, taking an orange Toyota Sienna with four white video cameras and a GPS antenna perched on its roof.
The van takes video footage as it drives up and down highways to capture things including exit signs, new construction, speed limit signs and street names.
That information updates a database that spans 7.3 million miles in North America.
The video footage is among the many ways the company builds its maps.
Digital mapping - which in its infancy in the 1980s consisted of people in vehicles jotting down information about the roads - now also uses sources including satellite images, city tax maps and calls to construction firms working on new developments, says Jon Husby of Tele Atlas.
These are maps many drivers rely on, including Sonya DeVoir, 23, of Detroit.
DeVoir turns to Google Maps at least once a week to find grocery stores or coffee shops near her home.
"I really depend on looking up where I'm going," she says.
DeVoir says she has considered a GPS device, but they can run up to $1,000 and are out of her price range.
With advances in mapping, Husby says more navigation devices will be able to tell drivers to turn at a landmark, like a fast-food restaurant, instead of at just a street name where the sign might be too small to read from the road.
Eventually the technology will give drivers a snapshot of the intersection a driver should turn out of so they know what it looks like before getting there.
"We continue to build more accurate and more lifelike information," into the maps, says Jennifer Winter, a Southfield, Mich.-based account manager with Tele Atlas.
That kind of information could be headed to your cell phone.
More cell phones contain GPS technology - an estimated 15 percent of those shipped by manufacturers in 2006, reports Framingham, Mass.-based tech research firm IDC.
Wireless phones are doubling as navigation devices that give you directions and tell you about where you're headed.
Magney estimates that the number of GPS-equipped phones sold in 2007 will double compared with 2006 to 2.6 million.
Eventually this technology will be everywhere, says Jay Benson, Tele Atlas' vice president of business planning.
Now, Internet-capable phones can give you directions.
But with GPS technology, "it's going to be much more oriented to finding things of importance around you," Benson says.
Future devices
GPS in cell phones: Already offered by some providers, including Sprint and Verizon. Prices top out at $10 a month for services that can tell you, turn-by-turn, directions and find businesses.
Turn left at Taco Bell? Instead of directional turning, navigation systems are starting to use landmarks, like restaurants, in addition to street names to tell people where to go.
Picture your intersection: Eventually navigation systems will show you a photo of the intersection where you need to turn.
Up to the minute: Real-time traffic data delivered to Web sites and wireless phones.
Distracted driving
AAA reminds drivers not to fiddle with phones or portable navigation devices while driving.
• Get directions before you start driving.
• Pull over to use the direction features on your navigation device or wireless phone.
• Leave the navigation to a passenger.
Where in the world am I? Your phone might know
location based services
NEW YORK — Jacqui Fahrnow used to worry when she couldn't reach her teenage boys on the cellphone.
"My oldest son wouldn't answer because he was playing basketball and left the phone in his duffle bag," says Fahrnow, a single mom in Shawnee, Kan. "It was a point of contention."
Now, Fahrnow has signed up for Sprint Family Locator by WaveMarket, a wireless location-based service — or LBS — launched in April by Sprint Nextel. From her own cellphone or the Web, Fahrnow can track the whereabouts of her kids' cellphone in real time on an interactive map, without them having to take a call.
The $10-a-month Sprint service, and most other emerging LBS technologies that work on wireless phones, use the same Global Positioning System satellites that keep car navigation systems on course. Fahrnow says Family Locator has been accurate within 11 yards.
Since the late '90s, LBS has been linked to a host of intriguing, yet somehow not-quite-ready-for prime time, mobile scenarios involving local search and advertising, gaming, dating and perhaps most promising, safety and security.
Yet, despite mounds of hype, few companies rolled out services, and LBS has mostly been lost on regular consumers. LBS is the killer application "that got killed on the way to mainstream," says Joe Astroth, vice president of the Location-Based Services division at Autodesk, which provides the technology to wireless phone carriers.
Now, there's evidence that LBS might have a pulse with the masses, after all. Market researcher Frost & Sullivan forecasts the total LBS market in the USA to exceed $600 million in 2008, up from about $90 million at the end of 2005. "There seems to be a fair level of commitment to the technology now, giving a big sigh of relief that it is finally happening," says Ken Hyers, an analyst at ABI Research.
Several services recently made their debut or are coming soon. A sampling:
• When it arrives this month, Disney Mobile-branded phone service will include a family finder capability akin to what Sprint is offering. Verizon Wireless is about to launch a service called Chaperone. For $20 a month, parents can establish a virtual fence around a child's school during set hours and receive a text message when a kid goes outside the boundary. Similarly, Wherify Wireless is planning to peddle a locator phone in the back-to-school timeframe.
• Verizon's Networks in Motion VZ Navigator service transforms certain LG or Motorola phones into portable navigation systems for $10 a month, or $3 for a day. The phone tells you where you are and which restaurants, hotels and shops are nearby, and provides turn-by-turn directions to get you to those destinations. Sprint offers a similar navigation service through TeleNav.
• Sprint and InfoSpace recently launched a $3-a-month subscription-based LBS search engine, InfoSpace FindIt, that lets you find local businesses and services, and click to call them without dialing the number.
There are a raft of other offerings, from friend and pet finders to lifestyle applications. In business, LBS has been used for managing fleets and tracking mobile workers. Researcher In-Stat predicts growth on the business side from 582,000 to 1.1 million subscribed devices by the end of 2010.
Tech tools in place
Why now? For one thing, the technological infrastructure is largely in place. Wireless carrier networks are faster and more robust. More phones have decent color screens and extra horsepower to run LBS applications.
What's more, many cellphones, mostly those that work with Sprint Nextel and Verizon networks, now incorporate GPS chips, partly as a response by carriers to a government-mandated Enhanced 911 program that was phased in at the end of last year. Uncle Sam wanted emergency workers to find folks who dial 911 from their cells.
(Other companies met the E911 mandate through "triangulation" methods that measure the time it takes signals to bounce off cell towers, or the angle of those signals.)
Brent Iadarola, industry research manager at Frost & Sullivan, expects the LBS market to get an additional boost in a couple of years when carriers such as Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile add GPS capabilities.
Once companies know where a handset is, they can construct applications that build on that knowledge. "If you're traveling on the interstate, you don't (necessarily) want to find the nearest gas station if it's by the exit you just passed," says Mike Gerling, president of map provider TeleAtlas North America. "You want to find the next one."
Having the proper technology in place is only half the battle. Reaching consumers and getting them to pay for services might be a bigger roadblock. "I don't think the average consumer knows what location-based services means," Gerling says.
The good news for the industry is that people are increasingly familiar with in-vehicle and portable navigation systems. Based on its monthly online survey of 50,000 U.S. households, market researcher Synovate says about 20% more Americans bought a GPS system in 2005 than 2004.
Many people are comfortable using Google Maps and MapQuest. Israel's Telmap and MapQuest introduced MapQuest Navigator, a cellphone service coming this summer. Carriers have not been announced.
In a survey of more than 4,000 consumers 18 and older, the C.J. Driscoll & Associates market research firm found that about one-third of U.S. cellular subscribers expressed a strong interest in cellphone-based navigation assistance services. That was greater than their interest in cellphone-based e-mail, photos, video-downloads or live TV viewing.
More than 80% said they'd pay either a monthly fee for the service or on a per-transaction basis for driving directions. Social applications such as locating nearby friends and finding close bars and clubs tested well with survey participants under 35.
A Starbucks sniffer?
But LBS can also smack of Big Brother. Marketers banking on LBS have to step gingerly. "LBS is technically feasible today. It's more a matter of trust and privacy (among consumers)," says Deep Nishar, director of product management at Google, which has yet to provide a mobile LBS offering.
One scenario bandied about for years involves consumers getting text alerts on their cellphones for discounted coffee as they wander near a Starbucks. "Having a pop-up every time you pass by a store may be what advertisers want, but it's not what users want," says Dan Gilmartin, who runs consumer LBS marketing for Sprint.
Verizon Wireless COO Lowell McAdam agrees: "It would annoy me to no end if every time I passed by a Starbucks, (the phone says) I got 20 cents off."
AstroLeap has developed a location-based couponing system called Eureka Mobile that would require consumers to actively opt in, then expressly seek out coffee (or whatever). Only then would they be notified of nearby coffeehouses and possible discounts. The San Diego company hopes to launch with major carriers in the next three to six months, says co-founder Dan Bailey.
"I do think there's a mass-market opportunity for (location-based) advertising," says Astroth. "But it has to be personalized, permission-based and in the context of the activity you're participating in."
Consumers attending a baseball game might not mind receiving a downloaded ring tone of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. In another context, they'd the find the sudden arrival of such a ring tone intrusive.
For now, navigation and local search seem to be the furthest along with additional services such as traffic monitoring starting to emerge. TeleNav in Santa Clara, Calif., helps subscribers find nearby gas stations with the cheapest fuel prices.
"The big applications we expect to drive LBS adoption are those services that have already succeeded in some capacity but are enhanced and become more compelling by integrating location," says Iadarola of Frost & Sullivan.
Rod Diefendorf, a vice president at mobile search provider InfoSpace, says that eventually, consumers will be able to search beyond general categories — such as finding a seafood restaurant — to satisfy particular cravings for lobster or other menu items.
Photography is another emerging area. Digital snapshots typically capture information, including the time and date an image was taken, and the kind of camera used. Now, companies are starting to add "location stamps."
Otherwise, "one year down the road, you have no idea where those pictures were taken," says Kanwar Chadha, founder of LBS chipmaker SIRF Technology. Location-stamped pictures might also help you resolve insurance disputes, or locate all the vacation pictures you took by the Eiffel Tower.
Disney's presence and the peace of mind that comes with making sure loved ones are safe would seem to be a big driver toward ensuring LBS' success. But Allyn Hall, the director of the wireless practice at the In-Stat research firm remains skeptical: "When I call my wife and want to know where she is, I ask her," he says.
Still, Ben Starkey uses TeleNav on his Nextel cellphone to keep on top of his pregnant financée's whereabouts. "It's a comfort thing," says Starkey, a data technician in Roanoke, Va., who jokes that the phone best not be turned off or he'll be in the doghouse.
"We've been saying LBS is coming since 1999," says Sal Dhanani, senior marketing director of TeleNav. "This time, it feels a little more real."
Posted 6/1/2006 9:41 PM ET
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location based services
NEW YORK — Jacqui Fahrnow used to worry when she couldn't reach her teenage boys on the cellphone.
"My oldest son wouldn't answer because he was playing basketball and left the phone in his duffle bag," says Fahrnow, a single mom in Shawnee, Kan. "It was a point of contention."
Now, Fahrnow has signed up for Sprint Family Locator by WaveMarket, a wireless location-based service — or LBS — launched in April by Sprint Nextel. From her own cellphone or the Web, Fahrnow can track the whereabouts of her kids' cellphone in real time on an interactive map, without them having to take a call.
The $10-a-month Sprint service, and most other emerging LBS technologies that work on wireless phones, use the same Global Positioning System satellites that keep car navigation systems on course. Fahrnow says Family Locator has been accurate within 11 yards.
Since the late '90s, LBS has been linked to a host of intriguing, yet somehow not-quite-ready-for prime time, mobile scenarios involving local search and advertising, gaming, dating and perhaps most promising, safety and security.
Yet, despite mounds of hype, few companies rolled out services, and LBS has mostly been lost on regular consumers. LBS is the killer application "that got killed on the way to mainstream," says Joe Astroth, vice president of the Location-Based Services division at Autodesk, which provides the technology to wireless phone carriers.
Now, there's evidence that LBS might have a pulse with the masses, after all. Market researcher Frost & Sullivan forecasts the total LBS market in the USA to exceed $600 million in 2008, up from about $90 million at the end of 2005. "There seems to be a fair level of commitment to the technology now, giving a big sigh of relief that it is finally happening," says Ken Hyers, an analyst at ABI Research.
Several services recently made their debut or are coming soon. A sampling:
• When it arrives this month, Disney Mobile-branded phone service will include a family finder capability akin to what Sprint is offering. Verizon Wireless is about to launch a service called Chaperone. For $20 a month, parents can establish a virtual fence around a child's school during set hours and receive a text message when a kid goes outside the boundary. Similarly, Wherify Wireless is planning to peddle a locator phone in the back-to-school timeframe.
• Verizon's Networks in Motion VZ Navigator service transforms certain LG or Motorola phones into portable navigation systems for $10 a month, or $3 for a day. The phone tells you where you are and which restaurants, hotels and shops are nearby, and provides turn-by-turn directions to get you to those destinations. Sprint offers a similar navigation service through TeleNav.
• Sprint and InfoSpace recently launched a $3-a-month subscription-based LBS search engine, InfoSpace FindIt, that lets you find local businesses and services, and click to call them without dialing the number.
There are a raft of other offerings, from friend and pet finders to lifestyle applications. In business, LBS has been used for managing fleets and tracking mobile workers. Researcher In-Stat predicts growth on the business side from 582,000 to 1.1 million subscribed devices by the end of 2010.
Tech tools in place
Why now? For one thing, the technological infrastructure is largely in place. Wireless carrier networks are faster and more robust. More phones have decent color screens and extra horsepower to run LBS applications.
What's more, many cellphones, mostly those that work with Sprint Nextel and Verizon networks, now incorporate GPS chips, partly as a response by carriers to a government-mandated Enhanced 911 program that was phased in at the end of last year. Uncle Sam wanted emergency workers to find folks who dial 911 from their cells.
(Other companies met the E911 mandate through "triangulation" methods that measure the time it takes signals to bounce off cell towers, or the angle of those signals.)
Brent Iadarola, industry research manager at Frost & Sullivan, expects the LBS market to get an additional boost in a couple of years when carriers such as Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile add GPS capabilities.
Once companies know where a handset is, they can construct applications that build on that knowledge. "If you're traveling on the interstate, you don't (necessarily) want to find the nearest gas station if it's by the exit you just passed," says Mike Gerling, president of map provider TeleAtlas North America. "You want to find the next one."
Having the proper technology in place is only half the battle. Reaching consumers and getting them to pay for services might be a bigger roadblock. "I don't think the average consumer knows what location-based services means," Gerling says.
The good news for the industry is that people are increasingly familiar with in-vehicle and portable navigation systems. Based on its monthly online survey of 50,000 U.S. households, market researcher Synovate says about 20% more Americans bought a GPS system in 2005 than 2004.
Many people are comfortable using Google Maps and MapQuest. Israel's Telmap and MapQuest introduced MapQuest Navigator, a cellphone service coming this summer. Carriers have not been announced.
In a survey of more than 4,000 consumers 18 and older, the C.J. Driscoll & Associates market research firm found that about one-third of U.S. cellular subscribers expressed a strong interest in cellphone-based navigation assistance services. That was greater than their interest in cellphone-based e-mail, photos, video-downloads or live TV viewing.
More than 80% said they'd pay either a monthly fee for the service or on a per-transaction basis for driving directions. Social applications such as locating nearby friends and finding close bars and clubs tested well with survey participants under 35.
A Starbucks sniffer?
But LBS can also smack of Big Brother. Marketers banking on LBS have to step gingerly. "LBS is technically feasible today. It's more a matter of trust and privacy (among consumers)," says Deep Nishar, director of product management at Google, which has yet to provide a mobile LBS offering.
One scenario bandied about for years involves consumers getting text alerts on their cellphones for discounted coffee as they wander near a Starbucks. "Having a pop-up every time you pass by a store may be what advertisers want, but it's not what users want," says Dan Gilmartin, who runs consumer LBS marketing for Sprint.
Verizon Wireless COO Lowell McAdam agrees: "It would annoy me to no end if every time I passed by a Starbucks, (the phone says) I got 20 cents off."
AstroLeap has developed a location-based couponing system called Eureka Mobile that would require consumers to actively opt in, then expressly seek out coffee (or whatever). Only then would they be notified of nearby coffeehouses and possible discounts. The San Diego company hopes to launch with major carriers in the next three to six months, says co-founder Dan Bailey.
"I do think there's a mass-market opportunity for (location-based) advertising," says Astroth. "But it has to be personalized, permission-based and in the context of the activity you're participating in."
Consumers attending a baseball game might not mind receiving a downloaded ring tone of Take Me Out to the Ballgame. In another context, they'd the find the sudden arrival of such a ring tone intrusive.
For now, navigation and local search seem to be the furthest along with additional services such as traffic monitoring starting to emerge. TeleNav in Santa Clara, Calif., helps subscribers find nearby gas stations with the cheapest fuel prices.
"The big applications we expect to drive LBS adoption are those services that have already succeeded in some capacity but are enhanced and become more compelling by integrating location," says Iadarola of Frost & Sullivan.
Rod Diefendorf, a vice president at mobile search provider InfoSpace, says that eventually, consumers will be able to search beyond general categories — such as finding a seafood restaurant — to satisfy particular cravings for lobster or other menu items.
Photography is another emerging area. Digital snapshots typically capture information, including the time and date an image was taken, and the kind of camera used. Now, companies are starting to add "location stamps."
Otherwise, "one year down the road, you have no idea where those pictures were taken," says Kanwar Chadha, founder of LBS chipmaker SIRF Technology. Location-stamped pictures might also help you resolve insurance disputes, or locate all the vacation pictures you took by the Eiffel Tower.
Disney's presence and the peace of mind that comes with making sure loved ones are safe would seem to be a big driver toward ensuring LBS' success. But Allyn Hall, the director of the wireless practice at the In-Stat research firm remains skeptical: "When I call my wife and want to know where she is, I ask her," he says.
Still, Ben Starkey uses TeleNav on his Nextel cellphone to keep on top of his pregnant financée's whereabouts. "It's a comfort thing," says Starkey, a data technician in Roanoke, Va., who jokes that the phone best not be turned off or he'll be in the doghouse.
"We've been saying LBS is coming since 1999," says Sal Dhanani, senior marketing director of TeleNav. "This time, it feels a little more real."
Posted 6/1/2006 9:41 PM ET
E-mail Save Print
Microsoft in India
location based services
But a presence in India may be especially important for Microsoft. Not only does the company hope to put its Windows and Office software on a larger share of computers in India -- where desktop PC sales grew more than 20 percent between March 2005 and March 2006 -- but it sees the country's billion-plus population as a market for future Microsoft products, such as educational software specialized for schools in poor, rural communities.
Last week, MSR India's assistant managing director, Kentaro Toyama, was in Berkeley, CA, coordinating an international conference on information and communications technology for developing economies. Technology Review Senior Editor Wade Roush caught up with him there.
Technology Review: Why is it important to Microsoft to have a software lab in India?
Kentaro Toyama: India provides a unique environment for certain kinds of research. It has a booming IT economy while at the same time having a large percentage of the population still in poverty. So there are certain kinds of research that would be difficult to do in the United States that we can do there, particularly with respect to the role of computing in poor communities. And there is a well-educated base of computer scientists and engineers, including a returning diaspora, if you will, of Indians who have worked overseas.
TR: What kinds of research are you starting with?
KT: The six research areas we're currently focusing on are photography; digital geographies, which includes any kind of digital map or location-based services and software; multilingual systems, including speech recognition, natural language processing, and building systems that interact across different languages; hardware for communications, including distributed sensor networks; software engineering, which looks at creating tools that make software development easier; and emerging markets, or how computing will impact social and economic development......Posted by Rene at juin 2, 2006 07:42 PM
Comments
location based services
But a presence in India may be especially important for Microsoft. Not only does the company hope to put its Windows and Office software on a larger share of computers in India -- where desktop PC sales grew more than 20 percent between March 2005 and March 2006 -- but it sees the country's billion-plus population as a market for future Microsoft products, such as educational software specialized for schools in poor, rural communities.
Last week, MSR India's assistant managing director, Kentaro Toyama, was in Berkeley, CA, coordinating an international conference on information and communications technology for developing economies. Technology Review Senior Editor Wade Roush caught up with him there.
Technology Review: Why is it important to Microsoft to have a software lab in India?
Kentaro Toyama: India provides a unique environment for certain kinds of research. It has a booming IT economy while at the same time having a large percentage of the population still in poverty. So there are certain kinds of research that would be difficult to do in the United States that we can do there, particularly with respect to the role of computing in poor communities. And there is a well-educated base of computer scientists and engineers, including a returning diaspora, if you will, of Indians who have worked overseas.
TR: What kinds of research are you starting with?
KT: The six research areas we're currently focusing on are photography; digital geographies, which includes any kind of digital map or location-based services and software; multilingual systems, including speech recognition, natural language processing, and building systems that interact across different languages; hardware for communications, including distributed sensor networks; software engineering, which looks at creating tools that make software development easier; and emerging markets, or how computing will impact social and economic development......Posted by Rene at juin 2, 2006 07:42 PM
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New Platform to Revolutionize Location Based Services
location based services
Corporations, institutions, agencies and even individuals today want to know the status of people and objects that are important to them - from the location of a sex offender to a valuable asset. Now, the ability to know with certainty, in real-time, is available through new technology from Atlanta-based Omnilink Systems, Inc. The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds. This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more. "We have put together an optimal mix of the right technologies to create a first-of-its-kind location platform," said Steve Aninye, Omnilink Systems' president and CEO. "For example, a teenager carrying an Omnilink-activated cell phone who comes within a certain range of a sex offender's home will receive an automatic alert, allowing him or her to proactively modify his/her behavior. The system, if setup to do so, could also notify the parents. In addition, this technology can alert victims, witnesses, judges, etc., when an offender of interest comes within a specified proximity," he added. Omnilink's VSS technology platform also brings unprecedented levels of efficiencies to mobile resource management (MRM) applications, which analysts predict will benefit workforce management by integrating multiple technologies for monitoring people, places and things. Omnilink's scaleable software application provides management by exception, in which users define the monitoring criteria and if any exceptions occur, automated alerts are sent to designated users through a range of options including fax, email, pager, text message or voice call. Omnilink has formed key strategic partnerships with numerous companies that have licensed and are reselling its technology for use in their respective markets - such as the financial industry, healthcare, logistics, real estate security, construction site security and transportation. The company has been in limited beta tests with select companies and agencies for over a year and will roll out the solution commercially in June 2006.
location based services
Corporations, institutions, agencies and even individuals today want to know the status of people and objects that are important to them - from the location of a sex offender to a valuable asset. Now, the ability to know with certainty, in real-time, is available through new technology from Atlanta-based Omnilink Systems, Inc. The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds. This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more. "We have put together an optimal mix of the right technologies to create a first-of-its-kind location platform," said Steve Aninye, Omnilink Systems' president and CEO. "For example, a teenager carrying an Omnilink-activated cell phone who comes within a certain range of a sex offender's home will receive an automatic alert, allowing him or her to proactively modify his/her behavior. The system, if setup to do so, could also notify the parents. In addition, this technology can alert victims, witnesses, judges, etc., when an offender of interest comes within a specified proximity," he added. Omnilink's VSS technology platform also brings unprecedented levels of efficiencies to mobile resource management (MRM) applications, which analysts predict will benefit workforce management by integrating multiple technologies for monitoring people, places and things. Omnilink's scaleable software application provides management by exception, in which users define the monitoring criteria and if any exceptions occur, automated alerts are sent to designated users through a range of options including fax, email, pager, text message or voice call. Omnilink has formed key strategic partnerships with numerous companies that have licensed and are reselling its technology for use in their respective markets - such as the financial industry, healthcare, logistics, real estate security, construction site security and transportation. The company has been in limited beta tests with select companies and agencies for over a year and will roll out the solution commercially in June 2006.
!!!New Version!!! - MapPoint 2006 & Virtual Earth Full Presentation - Download
location based services
Friends,
Here is the last version of my PowerPoint (surprising, isn't it? ;-)) presentation about Microsoft Location Based Services:
MapPoint 2006
MapPoint 2006 Fleet Edition
Pocket Street 2006
MapPoint Web Service 4.1
Windows Live Local powered by Virtual Earth
Feel free to download it and use it in your internal or external presentations :-)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION
location based services
Friends,
Here is the last version of my PowerPoint (surprising, isn't it? ;-)) presentation about Microsoft Location Based Services:
MapPoint 2006
MapPoint 2006 Fleet Edition
Pocket Street 2006
MapPoint Web Service 4.1
Windows Live Local powered by Virtual Earth
Feel free to download it and use it in your internal or external presentations :-)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE PRESENTATION
Thursday, June 01, 2006
The easy ride for navigation products is over.
According to a report from Strategy Analytics, cellular phone companies and traditional automotive system suppliers are now well-positioned to present a serious competitive response to the low-cost, well-branded navigation products from TomTom, Garmin, Magellan and others. Indeed, the firm predicted that cell phones will take a 30 percent slice of 88 million unit navigation market by 2010.
In the report, "Portable Navigation: Vendors Face Consolidation and Automotive Fightback," the firm concludes that investment and competitive pressures are also expected to drive consolidation among portable navigation vendors in the next 12 months.
"There are now indications that portable navigation device (PND) growth is slowing, and the demand from the smaller but highly significant segment of consumers who require route guidance on a regular basis has practically been met by low-cost PNDs," said Joanne Blight, director of the firm’s automotive practice, in a statement.
Strategy Analytics noted that its Q4 2005 survey of new car buyers across the United States and Europe indicated that at least 18 percent of drivers require maps or directions more than 20 percent of the time. The vast majority of consumers, however, more than 60 percent according to the data, only spend 5 percent of their travel time going beyond familiar destinations.
"The next challenge is to meet the needs of the much larger consumer segment who require route guidance on a far less regular basis,” Blight continued. “These consumers will require products that combine and integrate navigation with a range of other features, starting with road traffic information, but increasingly requiring entertainment and innovative location-based applications. The automotive and wireless companies are very well positioned to mount some serious competition in this section of the navigation market."
Article Letter to the Editor
location based services
According to a report from Strategy Analytics, cellular phone companies and traditional automotive system suppliers are now well-positioned to present a serious competitive response to the low-cost, well-branded navigation products from TomTom, Garmin, Magellan and others. Indeed, the firm predicted that cell phones will take a 30 percent slice of 88 million unit navigation market by 2010.
In the report, "Portable Navigation: Vendors Face Consolidation and Automotive Fightback," the firm concludes that investment and competitive pressures are also expected to drive consolidation among portable navigation vendors in the next 12 months.
"There are now indications that portable navigation device (PND) growth is slowing, and the demand from the smaller but highly significant segment of consumers who require route guidance on a regular basis has practically been met by low-cost PNDs," said Joanne Blight, director of the firm’s automotive practice, in a statement.
Strategy Analytics noted that its Q4 2005 survey of new car buyers across the United States and Europe indicated that at least 18 percent of drivers require maps or directions more than 20 percent of the time. The vast majority of consumers, however, more than 60 percent according to the data, only spend 5 percent of their travel time going beyond familiar destinations.
"The next challenge is to meet the needs of the much larger consumer segment who require route guidance on a far less regular basis,” Blight continued. “These consumers will require products that combine and integrate navigation with a range of other features, starting with road traffic information, but increasingly requiring entertainment and innovative location-based applications. The automotive and wireless companies are very well positioned to mount some serious competition in this section of the navigation market."
Article Letter to the Editor
NAVTEQ expands relationship with AAA Car Club
location based services
NAVTEQ, has been selected by AAA (the travel club folks) as its preferred digital map provider for the United States and Canada. AAA already utilizes NAVTEQ maps for its Internet TripTik, an online travel planning, mapping and routing tool which allows AAA members to plan trips and acquire directions to and from specific destination points.
AAA has now also chosen NAVTEQ to provide the critical street and highway data network that powers AAA’s successful D/2000 Roadside Assistance application. The D/2000 Roadside Assistance application provides AAA and CAA clubs with a location-enabled roadside assistance system for call taking, dispatching and service delivery management that includes integrated mapping and mileage calculation. NAVTEQ’s reliable map data is important to AAA’s Roadside Assistance software applications to provide that its member vehicles can be located and serviced quickly and efficiently.
“AAA has worked with NAVTEQ for years, and is the only mapping company that meets our strict standards for accuracy and reliability. NAVTEQ shares our desire to provide AAA members the highest level of service that they have come to expect,” said Rick Rinner, Executive Vice President at AAA. “Utilizing NAVTEQ as our preferred map data supplier in the US and Canada was a logical choice for AAA.”
“AAA provides an invaluable service to its members, and D/2000 Roadside Assistance is a fundamental example, “ commented Winston Guillory, Senior Vice President – Consumer & Business Sales, NAVTEQ. “NAVTEQ is pleased to continue and enhance our relationship with AAA. We strive to not only provide quality map data, but extend our value to AAA as an industry ally and expert.
Read More in: GPS News
Related Articles:
Video on your TomTom GO GPS from Makayama - Jun 01, 2006
TeleAtlas and TeleNav Sign Partnership - Jun 01, 2006
Garmin StreetPilot C550 available for Pre-Order - Jun 01, 2006
Came straight to this page? Visit GPS Lodge for all the latest news.Posted by Scott Martin at June 1,
location based services
NAVTEQ, has been selected by AAA (the travel club folks) as its preferred digital map provider for the United States and Canada. AAA already utilizes NAVTEQ maps for its Internet TripTik, an online travel planning, mapping and routing tool which allows AAA members to plan trips and acquire directions to and from specific destination points.
AAA has now also chosen NAVTEQ to provide the critical street and highway data network that powers AAA’s successful D/2000 Roadside Assistance application. The D/2000 Roadside Assistance application provides AAA and CAA clubs with a location-enabled roadside assistance system for call taking, dispatching and service delivery management that includes integrated mapping and mileage calculation. NAVTEQ’s reliable map data is important to AAA’s Roadside Assistance software applications to provide that its member vehicles can be located and serviced quickly and efficiently.
“AAA has worked with NAVTEQ for years, and is the only mapping company that meets our strict standards for accuracy and reliability. NAVTEQ shares our desire to provide AAA members the highest level of service that they have come to expect,” said Rick Rinner, Executive Vice President at AAA. “Utilizing NAVTEQ as our preferred map data supplier in the US and Canada was a logical choice for AAA.”
“AAA provides an invaluable service to its members, and D/2000 Roadside Assistance is a fundamental example, “ commented Winston Guillory, Senior Vice President – Consumer & Business Sales, NAVTEQ. “NAVTEQ is pleased to continue and enhance our relationship with AAA. We strive to not only provide quality map data, but extend our value to AAA as an industry ally and expert.
Read More in: GPS News
Related Articles:
Video on your TomTom GO GPS from Makayama - Jun 01, 2006
TeleAtlas and TeleNav Sign Partnership - Jun 01, 2006
Garmin StreetPilot C550 available for Pre-Order - Jun 01, 2006
Came straight to this page? Visit GPS Lodge for all the latest news.Posted by Scott Martin at June 1,
Autodesk Partners with CustomWeather and Wcities to Offer Premium Content to Location Services
location based services
BREW 2006, SAN DIEGO, Calif., June 1, 2006 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced the addition of content from CustomWeather and Wcities to the Location Services Developer Program. Autodesk developers can now utilize this premium content in the development of their own cutting–edge location-smart services. With CustomWeather and Wcities, Autodesk is furthering its commitment to the developer community by offering the best tools available in the rapidly expanding location-based services market.
“By offering our local weather information with the highest level of detailed coverage, accuracy and customization, we provide developers a tremendous value-add,” said Murray Armstrong, vice president of Sales and Business Development at CustomWeather. “Not only does our weather information cover every corner of the globe in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Greek, Traditional Chinese and Japanese, but all of our content is location-tagged so it is easy to get the information that you need by simply knowing coordinate information, city names or postal codes.”
“With over 450,000 enhanced points of interest for 1,900 cities around the world, Wcities’ content provides relevant information on when, where and what you need,” commented Fraser Campbell, director of Business Development at Wcities. “We’re delighted to provide Autodesk’s developers in North America and Europe with access to information on attractions, restaurants, nightlife, hotels, shopping, events and much more in all 1,900 cities, in over 10 languages. This is powerful stuff.”
In addition to this value added content, the Autodesk Location Services Developer Program offers industry-leading geoservices and location privacy management platform architecture, a standards-based application programming interface (API) for the Web and handsets, as well as technical documentation and support.
How to Register
Developers can register for the Autodesk Location Services Developer Program at www.autodesk.com/locationservices/partners/developerprogram.cfm. Autodesk is committed to working with experienced developers to deliver compelling location-based applications and services to this emerging market.
About CustomWeather
CustomWeather, Inc. is a San Francisco based provider of syndicated weather content that combines the worlds of technology and weather. CustomWeather generates local weather forecasts for over 200 countries worldwide, establishing it as the industry leader for global location-based coverage at both the U.S. and International levels. CustomWeather provides sophisticated weather products to leading companies in a variety of industries including media, energy, travel, wireless and the Web. For more information visit www.customweather.com or check the weather at www.myforecast.com.
About Wcities
Wcities is the world's leading location-based information service provider with coverage of over 1,900 cities. Wcities provides multi-lingual destination and current event information to travel providers and mobile operators around the world. This content gives locals, business and leisure travelers all they need to know about a particular city. Finding what to do, see, eat and play has never been easier. Select clients include American Airlines, Orange, Orbitz, Sabre, Wind and Yahoo, For more information visit www.wcities.com .
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is a Fortune 1,000 company, wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, media and entertainment, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk’s solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency, and maximizing profits.
Autodesk Location Services, a division of Autodesk, Inc., provides platform software, application frameworks and professional services to deliver location-based services to wireless customers.
Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit http://www.autodesk.com.
Next >
location based services
BREW 2006, SAN DIEGO, Calif., June 1, 2006 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced the addition of content from CustomWeather and Wcities to the Location Services Developer Program. Autodesk developers can now utilize this premium content in the development of their own cutting–edge location-smart services. With CustomWeather and Wcities, Autodesk is furthering its commitment to the developer community by offering the best tools available in the rapidly expanding location-based services market.
“By offering our local weather information with the highest level of detailed coverage, accuracy and customization, we provide developers a tremendous value-add,” said Murray Armstrong, vice president of Sales and Business Development at CustomWeather. “Not only does our weather information cover every corner of the globe in multiple languages including English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese, Swedish, Greek, Traditional Chinese and Japanese, but all of our content is location-tagged so it is easy to get the information that you need by simply knowing coordinate information, city names or postal codes.”
“With over 450,000 enhanced points of interest for 1,900 cities around the world, Wcities’ content provides relevant information on when, where and what you need,” commented Fraser Campbell, director of Business Development at Wcities. “We’re delighted to provide Autodesk’s developers in North America and Europe with access to information on attractions, restaurants, nightlife, hotels, shopping, events and much more in all 1,900 cities, in over 10 languages. This is powerful stuff.”
In addition to this value added content, the Autodesk Location Services Developer Program offers industry-leading geoservices and location privacy management platform architecture, a standards-based application programming interface (API) for the Web and handsets, as well as technical documentation and support.
How to Register
Developers can register for the Autodesk Location Services Developer Program at www.autodesk.com/locationservices/partners/developerprogram.cfm. Autodesk is committed to working with experienced developers to deliver compelling location-based applications and services to this emerging market.
About CustomWeather
CustomWeather, Inc. is a San Francisco based provider of syndicated weather content that combines the worlds of technology and weather. CustomWeather generates local weather forecasts for over 200 countries worldwide, establishing it as the industry leader for global location-based coverage at both the U.S. and International levels. CustomWeather provides sophisticated weather products to leading companies in a variety of industries including media, energy, travel, wireless and the Web. For more information visit www.customweather.com or check the weather at www.myforecast.com.
About Wcities
Wcities is the world's leading location-based information service provider with coverage of over 1,900 cities. Wcities provides multi-lingual destination and current event information to travel providers and mobile operators around the world. This content gives locals, business and leisure travelers all they need to know about a particular city. Finding what to do, see, eat and play has never been easier. Select clients include American Airlines, Orange, Orbitz, Sabre, Wind and Yahoo, For more information visit www.wcities.com .
About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. is a Fortune 1,000 company, wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, media and entertainment, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk’s solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency, and maximizing profits.
Autodesk Location Services, a division of Autodesk, Inc., provides platform software, application frameworks and professional services to deliver location-based services to wireless customers.
Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit http://www.autodesk.com.
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Google Maps tool EarthTools intros contour maps
location based services
Jonathan Stott has been hard at work over at EarthTools.org writing a contour map overlay which looks pretty snazzy and compliments the height finder tool already on his site. Here's an example of Mount Saint Helens in the USA.. His coverage is growing all the time and he aims to cover the whole world at zoom levels 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6 and then selected areas at closer zoom levels. To see the areas of the world that have contour maps, check here. To use these maps from his main site toggle the "contour" map control when you're exploring.Jonathon explains some of the technical challenges in creating this additional mapping layer:
For example, I cover the whole of the western United States up to zoom level 13 as well as an area of the Alps in Europe. The United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Cyprus are covered up to zoom level 14. One limiting factor is the speed of my computer - it will take about a month to generate all the tiles for zoom level 10 for the whole world. The other is the space on my webserver - the maps currently take up about 20GB. Another slight problem is that I use an alpha transparency layer for the PNG images so that I can darken the satellite and still see the contours well enough. This doesn't work on Internet Explorer 6, so I have given people the option to install FireFox or people will have to wait for Internet Explorer 7 (the current beta shows the contour maps well).
location based services
Jonathan Stott has been hard at work over at EarthTools.org writing a contour map overlay which looks pretty snazzy and compliments the height finder tool already on his site. Here's an example of Mount Saint Helens in the USA.. His coverage is growing all the time and he aims to cover the whole world at zoom levels 10, 9, 8, 7 and 6 and then selected areas at closer zoom levels. To see the areas of the world that have contour maps, check here. To use these maps from his main site toggle the "contour" map control when you're exploring.Jonathon explains some of the technical challenges in creating this additional mapping layer:
For example, I cover the whole of the western United States up to zoom level 13 as well as an area of the Alps in Europe. The United Kingdom and Ireland as well as Cyprus are covered up to zoom level 14. One limiting factor is the speed of my computer - it will take about a month to generate all the tiles for zoom level 10 for the whole world. The other is the space on my webserver - the maps currently take up about 20GB. Another slight problem is that I use an alpha transparency layer for the PNG images so that I can darken the satellite and still see the contours well enough. This doesn't work on Internet Explorer 6, so I have given people the option to install FireFox or people will have to wait for Internet Explorer 7 (the current beta shows the contour maps well).
Omnilink Systems Introduces Innovative, Real-Time Vital Status Services Solution; New Platform to Revolutionize
Location Based Services
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2006--Corporations, institutions, agencies and even individuals today want to know the status of people and objects that are important to them - from the location of a sex offender to a valuable asset. Now, the ability to know with certainty, in real-time, is available through new technology from Atlanta-based Omnilink Systems, Inc.
The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds.
This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more.
"We have put together an optimal mix of the right technologies to create a first-of-its-kind location platform," said Steve Aninye, Omnilink Systems' president and CEO. "For example, a teenager carrying an Omnilink-activated cell phone who comes within a certain range of a sex offender's home will receive an automatic alert, allowing him or her to proactively modify his/her behavior. The system, if setup to do so, could also notify the parents. In addition, this technology can alert victims, witnesses, judges, etc., when an offender of interest comes within a specified proximity," he added.
Omnilink's VSS technology platform also brings unprecedented levels of efficiencies to mobile resource management (MRM) applications, which analysts predict will benefit workforce management by integrating multiple technologies for monitoring people, places and things. Omnilink's scaleable software application provides management by exception, in which users define the monitoring criteria and if any exceptions occur, automated alerts are sent to designated users through a range of options including fax, email, pager, text message or voice call.
Omnilink has formed key strategic partnerships with numerous companies that have licensed and are reselling its technology for use in their respective markets - such as the financial industry, healthcare, logistics, real estate security, construction site security and transportation. The company has been in limited beta tests with select companies and agencies for over a year and will roll out the solution commercially in June 2006.
About Omnilink Systems
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., Omnilink Systems, Inc. is the leader in Vital Status Services (VSS). Omnilink provides customers in a variety of industries with the ability to know the vital status of people or valuable assets, anytime, anywhere, in real-time. Omnilink's technology platform innovatively combines Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors. The company's 'management by exception' technology requires action only when a problem is detected, thereby increasing efficiency and productivity for clients. For more information, please visit www.omnilinksystems.com, or call 866-466-8113.
Contacts
For Omnilink Systems, Inc.communications 21Marlena Reed, 404-814-1330mreed@c21pr.com
Location Based Services
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 1, 2006--Corporations, institutions, agencies and even individuals today want to know the status of people and objects that are important to them - from the location of a sex offender to a valuable asset. Now, the ability to know with certainty, in real-time, is available through new technology from Atlanta-based Omnilink Systems, Inc.
The leader in the emerging field of Vital Status Services (VSS), Omnilink is the first company to use a combination of cellular technology, Global Positioning System (GPS), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors to determine the status of people and objects that can move, and inform clients immediately if relevant vital factors such as location, time, temperature, route, volume and pressure go outside predetermined thresholds.
This next generation location services technology allows the judicial system to enforce accountability and compliance among offenders in house arrest, and also can provide victims an additional sense of security. Omnilink's system uses Advanced Forward Link Trilateration (AFLT) technology, which can provide location information in the most impaired environments - inside buildings, buses, trains, containers (cartons, pallets) and more.
"We have put together an optimal mix of the right technologies to create a first-of-its-kind location platform," said Steve Aninye, Omnilink Systems' president and CEO. "For example, a teenager carrying an Omnilink-activated cell phone who comes within a certain range of a sex offender's home will receive an automatic alert, allowing him or her to proactively modify his/her behavior. The system, if setup to do so, could also notify the parents. In addition, this technology can alert victims, witnesses, judges, etc., when an offender of interest comes within a specified proximity," he added.
Omnilink's VSS technology platform also brings unprecedented levels of efficiencies to mobile resource management (MRM) applications, which analysts predict will benefit workforce management by integrating multiple technologies for monitoring people, places and things. Omnilink's scaleable software application provides management by exception, in which users define the monitoring criteria and if any exceptions occur, automated alerts are sent to designated users through a range of options including fax, email, pager, text message or voice call.
Omnilink has formed key strategic partnerships with numerous companies that have licensed and are reselling its technology for use in their respective markets - such as the financial industry, healthcare, logistics, real estate security, construction site security and transportation. The company has been in limited beta tests with select companies and agencies for over a year and will roll out the solution commercially in June 2006.
About Omnilink Systems
Founded in 2003 and headquartered in Alpharetta, Ga., Omnilink Systems, Inc. is the leader in Vital Status Services (VSS). Omnilink provides customers in a variety of industries with the ability to know the vital status of people or valuable assets, anytime, anywhere, in real-time. Omnilink's technology platform innovatively combines Global Positioning System (GPS) technology, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and situation-specific sensors. The company's 'management by exception' technology requires action only when a problem is detected, thereby increasing efficiency and productivity for clients. For more information, please visit www.omnilinksystems.com, or call 866-466-8113.
Contacts
For Omnilink Systems, Inc.communications 21Marlena Reed, 404-814-1330mreed@c21pr.com
Installing MapPoint Location Server for Development and Testing
location based services
Microsoft Corporation
Applies to: MapPoint Location Server 1.0
Summary: Learn how to deploy MapPoint Location Server on a single computer for development and testing. (14 printed pages)
Contents
IntroductionInstallation OverviewInstalling and Configuring Windows Server 2003Installing and Upgrading SQL Server 2000Generating and Installing an SSL CertificateInstalling MapPoint Location ServerResources
Introduction
In a production environment, Microsoft MapPoint Location Server components should be distributed among multiple computers. However, when you are developing and testing MapPoint Location Server applications, you may want to install all components on a single computer. This article describes how to set up your MapPoint Location Server environment and install MapPoint Location Server on a single computer for development and testing.
To download MapPoint Location Server, visit this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
To use MapPoint Location Server, you also need a valid MapPoint Web Service account. For more information about MapPoint Web Service or to sign up for a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, see the MapPoint Web Service Web site.
Installation Overview
This article assumes that you're installing Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition in a new Active Directory domain and that you'll be using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition for the MapPoint Location Server database. For more information about other supported operating systems and a complete list of MapPoint Location Server prerequisites, see "Prerequisites" in Chapter 2, Installing MapPoint Location Server, in the MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide.
The installation process consists of four primary tasks, each of which has a number of subtasks:
Install and Configure Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Installing and configure SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition and apply the latest service pack
Generate a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate and configure Internet Information Services (IIS) for SSL
Install and configure MapPoint Location Server and verify your installation
The following sections contain checklists that outline each subtask and provide links to more detailed information.
Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2003
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring the operating system.
Task
Install Windows Server 2003
Apply the domain controller role
Apply the application server role
Apply the mail server role
Install Certificate Services
Add Active Directory domain groups and domain account
Install Windows Server 2003
When you install Windows Server 2003, create a single NTFS partition. Do not join the computer to a domain—as part of the configuration process, you'll install Active Directory and create a new domain specifically for development and testing purposes. For more information about installing Windows Server 2003, see Installing and upgrading the operating system.
Apply the Domain Controller Role
MapPoint Location Server uses Active Directory as the master store for users and for authentication and authorization. The following procedure promotes the server to a domain controller in a new Active Directory domain.
Important You must apply the domain controller role before you apply the application server role.
To apply the domain controller role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, select Domain controller (Active Directory), and then click Next.
On the next page, do the following, and then click Next:
Type the domain name that you want to use; for example, MyDomain.com.
Leave the default for NETBIOS Domain Name.
On the Database and Log Folders page, leave the defaults and click Next.
On the Shared System Volume page, leave the default and click Next.
On the DNS Registration Diagnostics page, select I will correct the problem later by configuring DNS manually, and then click Next.
For permissions leave the defaults, and then click Next.
For Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password, type the password, and then click Next.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Restart the computer.
After you complete this step, you may want to verify the Active Directory installation. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article, How to Verify an Active Directory Installation in Windows Server 2003.
Apply the Application Server Role
MapPoint Location Server Web Service requires Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET, which are installed when you apply the application server role.
To apply the application server role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, click Application server (IIS, ASP.NET), and then click Next.
On the Application Server Options page, select Front Page Server Extensions and Enable ASP.NET, and then click Next.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Apply the Mail Server Role
MapPoint Location Server uses Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) to notify a user when another user attempts to locate him or her, or when another user adds the user to his or her contacts list.
To apply the mail server role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, click Mail server (POP3, SMTP), and then click Next.
On the Configure POP3 Service page, do the following, and then click Next:
Under Authentication method, select Active Directory-Integrated.
Under E-mail domain name, type your domain name; for example, MyDomain.com.
Note MapPoint Location Server does not use the POP3 service, but Windows requires this information to configure the server for SMTP.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Install Certificate Services
MapPoint Location Server requires Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for communications between the server and clients, and between the server and the MapPoint Location Server database. For MapPoint Location Server to function, you'll need to request and install a 128-bit SSL certificate on the server. You use Certificate Services to process your request.
Note When you install all MapPoint Location Server components on a single computer, you need only one certificate. For a production deployment, you need separate certificates for the Web server and for the computer running the MapPoint Location Server database.
To install Certificate Services
Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
Under Components, select Certificate Services, click Yes when prompted, and then click Next.
Make sure that Enterprise root CA (the default) is selected, and then click Next.
Enterprise root CA makes the certification authority (CA) the top-level authority for the enterprise. This option is available only if the server is part of a domain.
Under Common name for this CA, type the name of your domain in the format YourDomain.com, and then click Next.
On the Certificate Database Settings page, click Next.
When prompted click Yes to stop the IIS service, and then click Yes again to activate ASP.NET.
Click Finish, and then restart the computer to complete the installation.
Add Active Directory Domain Groups and Domain Account
MapPoint Location Server requires the following domain groups and domain account:
MlsAdministrators—Members of this domain group have full administrative privileges for MapPoint Location Server.
Security note Restrict membership in this group to key personnel. A malicious user who is a member of this group could modify the MapPoint Location Server Web Service Web.config file to point to a different instance of SQL Server, and then provision unauthorized users.
MlsUserAdministrators—Members of this domain group can add and remove MapPoint Location Server users and manage contact lists.
MlsWebService—MapPoint Location Server Web Service uses this domain account to access the MapPoint Location server database.
You must have administrator privileges to add, modify, or delete Active Directory users and groups.
To create the domain groups
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
In the console tree, right-click the Users folder, point to New, and then click Group.
In Group name, type MlsAdministrators, and then click OK.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 to add the MlsUserAdministrators group.
To create the domain user account
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
In the console tree, right-click the Users folder, point to New, and then click User.
In Full name and User logon name, type MlsWebService, and then click Next.
In Password and Confirm password, type the password for the account.
Important You must have the password for the MlsWebService account when you install MapPoint Location Server Web Service.
Select the Password never expires check box, click Next, and then click Finish.
Installing and Upgrading SQL Server 2000
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring SQL Server.
Task
Install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
Install SP3a
Install MDAC 2.8
Install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
When you install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition, accept all of the defaults except the following:
On the Services Accounts page, select Use the Local System account. Using the local system account simplifies the security model and prevents SQL Server from connecting to any resources beyond the local computer.
For more information about installing SQL Server, see Overview of Installing SQL Server.
Install SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a
You can download Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a (SP3a) from this page on Microsoft.com.
When you install SP3a, accept all of the defaults except the following:
On the Backward Compatibility Checklist page, select Upgrade Microsoft Search and apply SQL Server 2000 SP3 (required).
Note After you finish installing SP3a, you will be prompted to restart your computer. If you have not configured the SQL Server service to start automatically when the operating system starts (the default), restart the service before proceeding to the next task.
Install MDAC 2.8
SP3a installs Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7.1. However, MapPoint Location Server Web Service requires MDAC 2.8. You can download MDAC 2.8 from this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
Generating and Installing an SSL Certificate
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring an SSL certificate.
Task
Create and send a certificate request
Configure IIS to use SSL and 128-bit encryption
Verify that SSL is working properly
MapPoint Location Server requires SSL for communications between MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server database, and for communications between MapPoint Location Server Web Service and clients. In a production deployment you must install 128-bit SSL certificates on both the computer running MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the computer running the MapPoint Location Server database. However, if you're installing all MapPoint Location Server components on a single computer, you need only one certificate. You must install this certificate before you install MapPoint Location Server.
For development and testing purposes, you can generate your own certificate by using the procedures described in this section. However, when you deploy MapPoint Location Server in a production environment, you should obtain certificates from a trusted authority, such as VeriSign. For more information about obtaining certificates from a trusted authority, and for information about how to distribute test certificates to client devices and emulators for development purposes, see the MSDN article, Installing and Configuring SSL Certificates for Use with MapPoint Location Server.
Create and Send a Certificate Request
Because you have configured your server as a Certificate Server, the certificate is installed automatically after you send the certificate request.
To create and send the certificate request
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the tree view, expand the node that contains your Web server, and then expand the Web Sites node.
Right-click the Default Web Site node, and then click Properties.
Click the Directory Security tab, and then click Server Certificate. The Web Server Certificate Wizard starts, displaying a Welcome page containing text that indicates whether a certificate is already installed for the selected server and whether you have any pending certificate requests. Click Next.
Note If a certificate is already installed on the server, you must remove it before requesting a new one. To remove the certificate, select Remove the current certificate, click Next, and then complete the wizard. Restart the wizard to continue with your request. On the Server Certificate page, click Create a new certificate, and then click Next.
On the Delayed or Immediate Request page, click Send the request immediately to an online certification authority.
On the Name and Security Settings page, do the following, and then click Next:
Under Name, type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server.
From the Bit length list, select 1024 as the public key length of the certificate.
On the Organization Information page, type the name of your organization (for example, ABC Corporation) and organizational unit (for example, Product Development), and then click Next.
On the Your Site's Common Name page, type the FQDN of the computer to be certified, and then click Next.
On the Geographical Information page, select the name of your country/region, type the name of your state or province and your city, and then click Next. The state or province name must be complete, not an abbreviation.
Click Next until you last page of the wizard, and then click Finish.
Configure IIS to Use SSL and 128-bit Encryption
To configure the IIS
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the tree view, expand the node that contains your Web server, and then expand the Web Sites node.
Expand the Default Web Site node, right-click the MMLSService virtual directory, and then click Properties.
Click the Directory Security tab, and under Secure communications, click Edit.
Select Require Secure Channel (SSL) and Require 128-bit encryption, and then click OK.
Close Properties.
Verify That SSL Is Working Properly
To verify the configuration
In the address bar of Internet Explorer, type http:///iisstart.htm.
You should see the following message: "HTTP Error 403.4 - Forbidden: SSL is required to view this resource."
In the address bar, type https://.
When the Security Alert box appears, click Yes.
If the Under Construction page appears, you have successfully configured the server for SSL.
Installing MapPoint Location Server
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring MapPoint Location Server.
Task
Install the MapPoint Location Server database
Install MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console
Reset MapPoint Web Service URLs
Note This step is necessary only if you are using a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account.
Verify the installation
Important To use MapPoint Location Server, you need a valid MapPoint Web Service account. For more information about MapPoint Web Service or to sign up for a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, see the MapPoint Web Service Web site.
Install the MapPoint Location Server database first, followed by MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console. You can install both MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console by using a single setup program.
If you have a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, after you install MapPoint Location Server you must use the MapPoint Location Server management console to reset the URLs for the MapPoint Web Service find, render, route, and common services to point to the MapPoint Web Service staging environment.
Finally, you can use the demonstration location provider (demo provider) that is included with MapPoint Location Server and the sample programs, which are included with the MapPoint Location Server SDK, to verify that MapPoint Location Server is working properly.
Install the MapPoint Location Server Database
To install the MapPoint Location Server database
Double-click the file C:\InstallationFolder\Location Server\Database\Setup.exe.
After the InstallShield Wizard starts, click Next.
Accept the default installation folder, or click Browse to choose another folder, and then click Next.
In Account Information, type the names of the Active Directory domain groups and account that you created earlier, and then click Next:
For Administrative Group name type MlsAdministrators.
For User Administrator Group type, MlsUserAdministrators.
For Web Service Account name, type MlsWebService.
In SQL Server Information, type the name of the SQL Server instance or leave the Use default instance check box selected. Type a name for the database, or use the default name (LocationServerDB), and then click Next.
In SQL File Location, either leave the Use Default Paths check box selected or type the name of the data file and log file paths, and then click Next.
Note Place the data files and log files on a drive with enough space to allow the database to grow. The default paths are the locations you specified when installing SQL Server 2000 and are usually at: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data. It is generally accepted practice to place the database files on a separate drive and to place the database files and log files in separate directories or drives.
Review the information you've supplied, and then click Next.
When prompted to view the log, click Yes or No, and then click Finish to complete the installation.
Note The log file is named install.log. You should save this file for future reference because it contains each step performed by the installer.
Install MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server Management Console
To install the MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console
Double-click the file C:\InstallationFolder\Location Server\Web Service\Setup.exe.
When the InstallShield Wizard starts, click Next.
In the installation options, select Web Service and Management Console, accept the default installation folder or click Browse to choose another folder, and then click Next.
Note For Setup to continue installing MapPoint Location Server Web Service, SSL must be configured on the default Web site.
In SQL Server Information, type the name of the instance of SQL Server and the name of the MapPoint Location Server database (or accept the default database name), and then click Next.
In MapPoint Web Service Information, type your MapPoint Web Service SOAP ID and password, and then click Next.
Note Your MapPoint Web Service SOAP ID and password is sent to you in an e-mail message when you sign up for a MapPoint Web Service account.
In Web Service Information, do the following:
Review the default entry (the default FQDN of the Web server on which you are installing MapPoint Location Server Web Service).
Type the name of your domain and name of the MlsWebService account, type and confirm the password for the MlsWebService account, and then click Next.
In Server Setup Information, do the following, and then click Next:
In Contacts, type the maximum number of contacts with which each user can be associated (the default is 100).
In Cache Information, type the cache time-out in seconds (the default is 60).
In SMTP Information, do the following, and then click Next:
Type the FQDN of the SMTP server that you want MapPoint Location Server Web Service to use to send notifications.
Accept the default encoding character set (ASCII), or type another character set.
Type the From address; for example, mls@MyServerName.MyDomain.com.
Note Notifications can be sent only if the SMTP service is running.
Select the category region to use with the Find Nearby feature, and then click Next. The available options are North American categories, European categories, or Do not install any categories.
Setup begins copying files.
When the files have been copied successfully, click Finish.
Reset the MapPoint Web Service URLs
MapPoint Web Service maintains two environments: staging, which is used for testing and evaluation, and production, which is used for production applications. If you have a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, you can access only the staging environment. By default, a MapPoint Location Server installation contains URLs that point to the MapPoint Web Service production environment. To change this, use the MapPoint Location Server management console to change the URLs to point to the MapPoint Web Service staging environment. The URLs for the MapPoint Web Service staging environment are as follows:/p>
Find service: https://findv3.staging.mappoint.net/Find-30/findservice.asmx
Render service: https://renderv3.staging.mappoint.net/render-30/renderservice.asmx
Route service: https://routev3.staging.mappoint.net/Route-30/routeservice.asmx
Common service: https://findv3.staging.mappoint.net/Find-30/common.asmx
To reset the MapPoint Web Service URLs
Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Location Server Management Tool.
In the console tree view, expand the Global Settings node. In the details pane, double-click each URL, type the correct value, and then click OK.
Restart MapPoint Location Server Web Service by using the IISRESET command at the command prompt. For more information about IISRESET, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, Internet Information Services 5.0 Command-Line Syntax for Iisreset.exe.
Verify the Installation
The Setup program for MapPoint Location Server Web Service includes the demo provider, which you can use to verify the basic functionality of MapPoint Location Server without requiring a connection to a mobile operator.
The MapPoint Location Server SDK contains several sample applications that demonstrate MapPoint Location Server functionality. You can also use these samples to verify your MapPoint Location Server installation. The SDK is included with the MapPoint Location Server download, but you must install it separately. The Setup program for the SDK is installed in C:\InstallationFolder\SDK. The file SDKReadme.txt in the same folder contains instructions for installing the SDK. You can also download the SDK by itself from this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
Test Basic Functionality
The first steps to validate the installation involve provisioning a user for MapPoint Location Server and assigning the demo provider to the user. Provisioning a user grants the user access to MapPoint Location Server Web Service, so that the user can be located and notified as appropriate.
Important Users that you provision for MapPoint Location Server must already exist in Active Directory.
To test basic functionality
In the MapPoint Location Server management console, expand the Users node, add yourself as a user, and then click OK.
In Properties, click the Providers tab, do the following, and then click OK:
Choose Microsoft.MapPoint.LocationServer.DemoLocationProvider as your location provider.
Under Locatable phone number, type 1 in Country Code, 425 in Area Code, and 5550199 in Phone Number. This telephone number is mapped to the latitude and longitude of Redmond, Washington in the demo provider. For more information about the demo provider, see "Using the Demo Provider" in the Administering MapPoint Location Server chapter of the MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide.
Choose Microsoft.MapPoint.LocationServer.SMTPProvider as your notification provider.
Verify that this information was added to the MapPoint Location Server database correctly by exiting the management console, restarting it, and viewing the information displayed in the details pane when you expand the Users node.
Open Internet Explorer on your Web Server, and then navigate to the following URL:
https:///mmlsservice/locationservice.asmx
Type your domain credentials when prompted, click GetUserInfo, and then click Invoke.
An XML file containing your user information should be displayed.
Render a map
For this test, you'll use the Get a Map sample in the MapPoint Location Server SDK. The Get a Map sample is a Pocket PC application that shows how to find a location by using MapPoint Location Server Web Service and then render a map centered on that position.
This sample requires Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003, the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework version 1.0 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Pocket PC or a Pocket PC emulator. In addition, you must add the SSL certificate for the server to the Pocket PC emulator. For more information, see Installing and Configuring SSL Certificates for Use with MapPoint Location Server.
To run the Get a Map sample
In Visual Studio .NET, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Project.
In the left pane of the New Project dialog box, click Visual Basic Projects or Visual C# Projects, and then click the Smart Device Application template.
In Name, change SmartDeviceApplication1 to GetMap, and then click OK.
In the Smart Device Application Wizard dialog box, make sure the following settings are selected:
Platform must be set to Pocket PC
Project type must be set to Windows Application
On the Project menu, click Add Existing Item.
Navigate to the appropriate project subfolder in the GetMap folder, select All Files in the Files of type box, and then select all the available files.
The default location for Visual Basic .NET project files is Program Files\Microsoft MapPoint Location Server SDK, Version 1.0\Samples\Pocket PC Samples\GetMap\vb.
The default location for Visual C# .NET project files is Program Files\Microsoft MapPoint Location Server SDK, Version 1.0\Samples\Pocket PC Samples\GetMap\cs.
Note When prompted, replace any existing files.
Delete the default windows form, Form1, from the project.
On the Project menu, click Add Web Reference.
In Address, type the URL for the MapPoint Location Server Web Service WSDL (similar to https://your-domain/your-path/LocationServer.wsdl), and then press ENTER.
When the WSDL appears, click Add Reference.
In Solution Explorer, right-click the Web reference, click Rename, and then rename the Web reference to MapPointLocationServer.
Right-click the GetMap.cs or the GetMap.vb file, and then click View Code.
Search for and replace the following items with your personal information:
Search for user-name and replace it with your alias.
Search for user-password and replace it with your domain password.
Search for user-domain and replace it with your domain name.
On the Debug menu, click Start.
When the application is deployed and loaded onto your Pocket PC or Pocket PC emulator, click Map My Position!.
A map showing Redmond, Washington should appear on the Pocket PC or Pocket PC emulator.
Resources
For more information about MapPoint Location Server or to troubleshoot a MapPoint Location Server installation, see the following resources:
MapPoint Location Server Newsgroup—A Microsoft-moderated newsgroup where you can ask questions and get support for MapPoint Location Server issues.
MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide—For information about troubleshooting a MapPoint Location Server installation or the demo provider, see Chapter 5, Troubleshooting.
MapPoint Developer Center—A comprehensive resource with links to technical articles, downloads, and training for MapPoint Location Server and MapPoint Web Service.
location based services
Microsoft Corporation
Applies to: MapPoint Location Server 1.0
Summary: Learn how to deploy MapPoint Location Server on a single computer for development and testing. (14 printed pages)
Contents
IntroductionInstallation OverviewInstalling and Configuring Windows Server 2003Installing and Upgrading SQL Server 2000Generating and Installing an SSL CertificateInstalling MapPoint Location ServerResources
Introduction
In a production environment, Microsoft MapPoint Location Server components should be distributed among multiple computers. However, when you are developing and testing MapPoint Location Server applications, you may want to install all components on a single computer. This article describes how to set up your MapPoint Location Server environment and install MapPoint Location Server on a single computer for development and testing.
To download MapPoint Location Server, visit this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
To use MapPoint Location Server, you also need a valid MapPoint Web Service account. For more information about MapPoint Web Service or to sign up for a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, see the MapPoint Web Service Web site.
Installation Overview
This article assumes that you're installing Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition in a new Active Directory domain and that you'll be using Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition for the MapPoint Location Server database. For more information about other supported operating systems and a complete list of MapPoint Location Server prerequisites, see "Prerequisites" in Chapter 2, Installing MapPoint Location Server, in the MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide.
The installation process consists of four primary tasks, each of which has a number of subtasks:
Install and Configure Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
Installing and configure SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition and apply the latest service pack
Generate a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate and configure Internet Information Services (IIS) for SSL
Install and configure MapPoint Location Server and verify your installation
The following sections contain checklists that outline each subtask and provide links to more detailed information.
Installing and Configuring Windows Server 2003
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring the operating system.
Task
Install Windows Server 2003
Apply the domain controller role
Apply the application server role
Apply the mail server role
Install Certificate Services
Add Active Directory domain groups and domain account
Install Windows Server 2003
When you install Windows Server 2003, create a single NTFS partition. Do not join the computer to a domain—as part of the configuration process, you'll install Active Directory and create a new domain specifically for development and testing purposes. For more information about installing Windows Server 2003, see Installing and upgrading the operating system.
Apply the Domain Controller Role
MapPoint Location Server uses Active Directory as the master store for users and for authentication and authorization. The following procedure promotes the server to a domain controller in a new Active Directory domain.
Important You must apply the domain controller role before you apply the application server role.
To apply the domain controller role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, select Domain controller (Active Directory), and then click Next.
On the next page, do the following, and then click Next:
Type the domain name that you want to use; for example, MyDomain.com.
Leave the default for NETBIOS Domain Name.
On the Database and Log Folders page, leave the defaults and click Next.
On the Shared System Volume page, leave the default and click Next.
On the DNS Registration Diagnostics page, select I will correct the problem later by configuring DNS manually, and then click Next.
For permissions leave the defaults, and then click Next.
For Directory Services Restore Mode Administrator Password, type the password, and then click Next.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Restart the computer.
After you complete this step, you may want to verify the Active Directory installation. For more information, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article, How to Verify an Active Directory Installation in Windows Server 2003.
Apply the Application Server Role
MapPoint Location Server Web Service requires Internet Information Services (IIS) and ASP.NET, which are installed when you apply the application server role.
To apply the application server role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, click Application server (IIS, ASP.NET), and then click Next.
On the Application Server Options page, select Front Page Server Extensions and Enable ASP.NET, and then click Next.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Apply the Mail Server Role
MapPoint Location Server uses Simple Mail Transport Protocol (SMTP) to notify a user when another user attempts to locate him or her, or when another user adds the user to his or her contacts list.
To apply the mail server role
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Manage Your Server.
Click Add or remove a role, and when the Configure Your Server Wizard starts, click Next.
Under Server Role, click Mail server (POP3, SMTP), and then click Next.
On the Configure POP3 Service page, do the following, and then click Next:
Under Authentication method, select Active Directory-Integrated.
Under E-mail domain name, type your domain name; for example, MyDomain.com.
Note MapPoint Location Server does not use the POP3 service, but Windows requires this information to configure the server for SMTP.
Review the Summary page, click Next, and then click Finish.
Install Certificate Services
MapPoint Location Server requires Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) for communications between the server and clients, and between the server and the MapPoint Location Server database. For MapPoint Location Server to function, you'll need to request and install a 128-bit SSL certificate on the server. You use Certificate Services to process your request.
Note When you install all MapPoint Location Server components on a single computer, you need only one certificate. For a production deployment, you need separate certificates for the Web server and for the computer running the MapPoint Location Server database.
To install Certificate Services
Click Start, point to Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
Click Add/Remove Windows Components.
Under Components, select Certificate Services, click Yes when prompted, and then click Next.
Make sure that Enterprise root CA (the default) is selected, and then click Next.
Enterprise root CA makes the certification authority (CA) the top-level authority for the enterprise. This option is available only if the server is part of a domain.
Under Common name for this CA, type the name of your domain in the format YourDomain.com, and then click Next.
On the Certificate Database Settings page, click Next.
When prompted click Yes to stop the IIS service, and then click Yes again to activate ASP.NET.
Click Finish, and then restart the computer to complete the installation.
Add Active Directory Domain Groups and Domain Account
MapPoint Location Server requires the following domain groups and domain account:
MlsAdministrators—Members of this domain group have full administrative privileges for MapPoint Location Server.
Security note Restrict membership in this group to key personnel. A malicious user who is a member of this group could modify the MapPoint Location Server Web Service Web.config file to point to a different instance of SQL Server, and then provision unauthorized users.
MlsUserAdministrators—Members of this domain group can add and remove MapPoint Location Server users and manage contact lists.
MlsWebService—MapPoint Location Server Web Service uses this domain account to access the MapPoint Location server database.
You must have administrator privileges to add, modify, or delete Active Directory users and groups.
To create the domain groups
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
In the console tree, right-click the Users folder, point to New, and then click Group.
In Group name, type MlsAdministrators, and then click OK.
Repeat steps 1 through 3 to add the MlsUserAdministrators group.
To create the domain user account
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Active Directory Users and Computers.
In the console tree, right-click the Users folder, point to New, and then click User.
In Full name and User logon name, type MlsWebService, and then click Next.
In Password and Confirm password, type the password for the account.
Important You must have the password for the MlsWebService account when you install MapPoint Location Server Web Service.
Select the Password never expires check box, click Next, and then click Finish.
Installing and Upgrading SQL Server 2000
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring SQL Server.
Task
Install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
Install SP3a
Install MDAC 2.8
Install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition
When you install SQL Server 2000 Developer Edition, accept all of the defaults except the following:
On the Services Accounts page, select Use the Local System account. Using the local system account simplifies the security model and prevents SQL Server from connecting to any resources beyond the local computer.
For more information about installing SQL Server, see Overview of Installing SQL Server.
Install SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a
You can download Microsoft SQL Server 2000 Service Pack 3a (SP3a) from this page on Microsoft.com.
When you install SP3a, accept all of the defaults except the following:
On the Backward Compatibility Checklist page, select Upgrade Microsoft Search and apply SQL Server 2000 SP3 (required).
Note After you finish installing SP3a, you will be prompted to restart your computer. If you have not configured the SQL Server service to start automatically when the operating system starts (the default), restart the service before proceeding to the next task.
Install MDAC 2.8
SP3a installs Microsoft Data Access Components (MDAC) 2.7.1. However, MapPoint Location Server Web Service requires MDAC 2.8. You can download MDAC 2.8 from this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
Generating and Installing an SSL Certificate
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring an SSL certificate.
Task
Create and send a certificate request
Configure IIS to use SSL and 128-bit encryption
Verify that SSL is working properly
MapPoint Location Server requires SSL for communications between MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server database, and for communications between MapPoint Location Server Web Service and clients. In a production deployment you must install 128-bit SSL certificates on both the computer running MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the computer running the MapPoint Location Server database. However, if you're installing all MapPoint Location Server components on a single computer, you need only one certificate. You must install this certificate before you install MapPoint Location Server.
For development and testing purposes, you can generate your own certificate by using the procedures described in this section. However, when you deploy MapPoint Location Server in a production environment, you should obtain certificates from a trusted authority, such as VeriSign. For more information about obtaining certificates from a trusted authority, and for information about how to distribute test certificates to client devices and emulators for development purposes, see the MSDN article, Installing and Configuring SSL Certificates for Use with MapPoint Location Server.
Create and Send a Certificate Request
Because you have configured your server as a Certificate Server, the certificate is installed automatically after you send the certificate request.
To create and send the certificate request
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the tree view, expand the node that contains your Web server, and then expand the Web Sites node.
Right-click the Default Web Site node, and then click Properties.
Click the Directory Security tab, and then click Server Certificate. The Web Server Certificate Wizard starts, displaying a Welcome page containing text that indicates whether a certificate is already installed for the selected server and whether you have any pending certificate requests. Click Next.
Note If a certificate is already installed on the server, you must remove it before requesting a new one. To remove the certificate, select Remove the current certificate, click Next, and then complete the wizard. Restart the wizard to continue with your request. On the Server Certificate page, click Create a new certificate, and then click Next.
On the Delayed or Immediate Request page, click Send the request immediately to an online certification authority.
On the Name and Security Settings page, do the following, and then click Next:
Under Name, type the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the server.
From the Bit length list, select 1024 as the public key length of the certificate.
On the Organization Information page, type the name of your organization (for example, ABC Corporation) and organizational unit (for example, Product Development), and then click Next.
On the Your Site's Common Name page, type the FQDN of the computer to be certified, and then click Next.
On the Geographical Information page, select the name of your country/region, type the name of your state or province and your city, and then click Next. The state or province name must be complete, not an abbreviation.
Click Next until you last page of the wizard, and then click Finish.
Configure IIS to Use SSL and 128-bit Encryption
To configure the IIS
Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager.
In the tree view, expand the node that contains your Web server, and then expand the Web Sites node.
Expand the Default Web Site node, right-click the MMLSService virtual directory, and then click Properties.
Click the Directory Security tab, and under Secure communications, click Edit.
Select Require Secure Channel (SSL) and Require 128-bit encryption, and then click OK.
Close Properties.
Verify That SSL Is Working Properly
To verify the configuration
In the address bar of Internet Explorer, type http://
You should see the following message: "HTTP Error 403.4 - Forbidden: SSL is required to view this resource."
In the address bar, type https://
When the Security Alert box appears, click Yes.
If the Under Construction page appears, you have successfully configured the server for SSL.
Installing MapPoint Location Server
Use the following checklist when installing and configuring MapPoint Location Server.
Task
Install the MapPoint Location Server database
Install MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console
Reset MapPoint Web Service URLs
Note This step is necessary only if you are using a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account.
Verify the installation
Important To use MapPoint Location Server, you need a valid MapPoint Web Service account. For more information about MapPoint Web Service or to sign up for a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, see the MapPoint Web Service Web site.
Install the MapPoint Location Server database first, followed by MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console. You can install both MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console by using a single setup program.
If you have a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, after you install MapPoint Location Server you must use the MapPoint Location Server management console to reset the URLs for the MapPoint Web Service find, render, route, and common services to point to the MapPoint Web Service staging environment.
Finally, you can use the demonstration location provider (demo provider) that is included with MapPoint Location Server and the sample programs, which are included with the MapPoint Location Server SDK, to verify that MapPoint Location Server is working properly.
Install the MapPoint Location Server Database
To install the MapPoint Location Server database
Double-click the file C:\InstallationFolder\Location Server\Database\Setup.exe.
After the InstallShield Wizard starts, click Next.
Accept the default installation folder, or click Browse to choose another folder, and then click Next.
In Account Information, type the names of the Active Directory domain groups and account that you created earlier, and then click Next:
For Administrative Group name type MlsAdministrators.
For User Administrator Group type, MlsUserAdministrators.
For Web Service Account name, type MlsWebService.
In SQL Server Information, type the name of the SQL Server instance or leave the Use default instance check box selected. Type a name for the database, or use the default name (LocationServerDB), and then click Next.
In SQL File Location, either leave the Use Default Paths check box selected or type the name of the data file and log file paths, and then click Next.
Note Place the data files and log files on a drive with enough space to allow the database to grow. The default paths are the locations you specified when installing SQL Server 2000 and are usually at: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL\Data. It is generally accepted practice to place the database files on a separate drive and to place the database files and log files in separate directories or drives.
Review the information you've supplied, and then click Next.
When prompted to view the log, click Yes or No, and then click Finish to complete the installation.
Note The log file is named install.log. You should save this file for future reference because it contains each step performed by the installer.
Install MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server Management Console
To install the MapPoint Location Server Web Service and the MapPoint Location Server management console
Double-click the file C:\InstallationFolder\Location Server\Web Service\Setup.exe.
When the InstallShield Wizard starts, click Next.
In the installation options, select Web Service and Management Console, accept the default installation folder or click Browse to choose another folder, and then click Next.
Note For Setup to continue installing MapPoint Location Server Web Service, SSL must be configured on the default Web site.
In SQL Server Information, type the name of the instance of SQL Server and the name of the MapPoint Location Server database (or accept the default database name), and then click Next.
In MapPoint Web Service Information, type your MapPoint Web Service SOAP ID and password, and then click Next.
Note Your MapPoint Web Service SOAP ID and password is sent to you in an e-mail message when you sign up for a MapPoint Web Service account.
In Web Service Information, do the following:
Review the default entry (the default FQDN of the Web server on which you are installing MapPoint Location Server Web Service).
Type the name of your domain and name of the MlsWebService account, type and confirm the password for the MlsWebService account, and then click Next.
In Server Setup Information, do the following, and then click Next:
In Contacts, type the maximum number of contacts with which each user can be associated (the default is 100).
In Cache Information, type the cache time-out in seconds (the default is 60).
In SMTP Information, do the following, and then click Next:
Type the FQDN of the SMTP server that you want MapPoint Location Server Web Service to use to send notifications.
Accept the default encoding character set (ASCII), or type another character set.
Type the From address; for example, mls@MyServerName.MyDomain.com.
Note Notifications can be sent only if the SMTP service is running.
Select the category region to use with the Find Nearby feature, and then click Next. The available options are North American categories, European categories, or Do not install any categories.
Setup begins copying files.
When the files have been copied successfully, click Finish.
Reset the MapPoint Web Service URLs
MapPoint Web Service maintains two environments: staging, which is used for testing and evaluation, and production, which is used for production applications. If you have a MapPoint Web Service evaluation account, you can access only the staging environment. By default, a MapPoint Location Server installation contains URLs that point to the MapPoint Web Service production environment. To change this, use the MapPoint Location Server management console to change the URLs to point to the MapPoint Web Service staging environment. The URLs for the MapPoint Web Service staging environment are as follows:/p>
Find service: https://findv3.staging.mappoint.net/Find-30/findservice.asmx
Render service: https://renderv3.staging.mappoint.net/render-30/renderservice.asmx
Route service: https://routev3.staging.mappoint.net/Route-30/routeservice.asmx
Common service: https://findv3.staging.mappoint.net/Find-30/common.asmx
To reset the MapPoint Web Service URLs
Click Start, point to All Programs, and then click Location Server Management Tool.
In the console tree view, expand the Global Settings node. In the details pane, double-click each URL, type the correct value, and then click OK.
Restart MapPoint Location Server Web Service by using the IISRESET command at the command prompt. For more information about IISRESET, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base article, Internet Information Services 5.0 Command-Line Syntax for Iisreset.exe.
Verify the Installation
The Setup program for MapPoint Location Server Web Service includes the demo provider, which you can use to verify the basic functionality of MapPoint Location Server without requiring a connection to a mobile operator.
The MapPoint Location Server SDK contains several sample applications that demonstrate MapPoint Location Server functionality. You can also use these samples to verify your MapPoint Location Server installation. The SDK is included with the MapPoint Location Server download, but you must install it separately. The Setup program for the SDK is installed in C:\InstallationFolder\SDK. The file SDKReadme.txt in the same folder contains instructions for installing the SDK. You can also download the SDK by itself from this page in the Microsoft Download Center.
Test Basic Functionality
The first steps to validate the installation involve provisioning a user for MapPoint Location Server and assigning the demo provider to the user. Provisioning a user grants the user access to MapPoint Location Server Web Service, so that the user can be located and notified as appropriate.
Important Users that you provision for MapPoint Location Server must already exist in Active Directory.
To test basic functionality
In the MapPoint Location Server management console, expand the Users node, add yourself as a user, and then click OK.
In Properties, click the Providers tab, do the following, and then click OK:
Choose Microsoft.MapPoint.LocationServer.DemoLocationProvider as your location provider.
Under Locatable phone number, type 1 in Country Code, 425 in Area Code, and 5550199 in Phone Number. This telephone number is mapped to the latitude and longitude of Redmond, Washington in the demo provider. For more information about the demo provider, see "Using the Demo Provider" in the Administering MapPoint Location Server chapter of the MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide.
Choose Microsoft.MapPoint.LocationServer.SMTPProvider as your notification provider.
Verify that this information was added to the MapPoint Location Server database correctly by exiting the management console, restarting it, and viewing the information displayed in the details pane when you expand the Users node.
Open Internet Explorer on your Web Server, and then navigate to the following URL:
https://
Type your domain credentials when prompted, click GetUserInfo, and then click Invoke.
An XML file containing your user information should be displayed.
Render a map
For this test, you'll use the Get a Map sample in the MapPoint Location Server SDK. The Get a Map sample is a Pocket PC application that shows how to find a location by using MapPoint Location Server Web Service and then render a map centered on that position.
This sample requires Microsoft Visual Studio .NET 2003, the Microsoft .NET Compact Framework version 1.0 with Service Pack 1 (SP1), and Pocket PC or a Pocket PC emulator. In addition, you must add the SSL certificate for the server to the Pocket PC emulator. For more information, see Installing and Configuring SSL Certificates for Use with MapPoint Location Server.
To run the Get a Map sample
In Visual Studio .NET, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Project.
In the left pane of the New Project dialog box, click Visual Basic Projects or Visual C# Projects, and then click the Smart Device Application template.
In Name, change SmartDeviceApplication1 to GetMap, and then click OK.
In the Smart Device Application Wizard dialog box, make sure the following settings are selected:
Platform must be set to Pocket PC
Project type must be set to Windows Application
On the Project menu, click Add Existing Item.
Navigate to the appropriate project subfolder in the GetMap folder, select All Files in the Files of type box, and then select all the available files.
The default location for Visual Basic .NET project files is Program Files\Microsoft MapPoint Location Server SDK, Version 1.0\Samples\Pocket PC Samples\GetMap\vb.
The default location for Visual C# .NET project files is Program Files\Microsoft MapPoint Location Server SDK, Version 1.0\Samples\Pocket PC Samples\GetMap\cs.
Note When prompted, replace any existing files.
Delete the default windows form, Form1, from the project.
On the Project menu, click Add Web Reference.
In Address, type the URL for the MapPoint Location Server Web Service WSDL (similar to https://your-domain/your-path/LocationServer.wsdl), and then press ENTER.
When the WSDL appears, click Add Reference.
In Solution Explorer, right-click the Web reference, click Rename, and then rename the Web reference to MapPointLocationServer.
Right-click the GetMap.cs or the GetMap.vb file, and then click View Code.
Search for and replace the following items with your personal information:
Search for user-name and replace it with your alias.
Search for user-password and replace it with your domain password.
Search for user-domain and replace it with your domain name.
On the Debug menu, click Start.
When the application is deployed and loaded onto your Pocket PC or Pocket PC emulator, click Map My Position!.
A map showing Redmond, Washington should appear on the Pocket PC or Pocket PC emulator.
Resources
For more information about MapPoint Location Server or to troubleshoot a MapPoint Location Server installation, see the following resources:
MapPoint Location Server Newsgroup—A Microsoft-moderated newsgroup where you can ask questions and get support for MapPoint Location Server issues.
MapPoint Location Server Administrator's Guide—For information about troubleshooting a MapPoint Location Server installation or the demo provider, see Chapter 5, Troubleshooting.
MapPoint Developer Center—A comprehensive resource with links to technical articles, downloads, and training for MapPoint Location Server and MapPoint Web Service.
The Opera Browser Now Available for Windows Mobile Pocket
location based services
Oslo, Norway - May 31, 2006 - Opera Software today released Opera Mobile 8.6 for Windows Mobile, finally offering Pocket PC owners a fast and user-friendly Web surfing experience on their devices. Opera Mobile 8.6 for Pocket PC takes full advantage of the larger screen and higher resolution of PPC devices by offering tabbed browsing and surfing in horizontal landscape mode. The browser is based on Opera's newest core code and runs on Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE. Opera Mobile for Pocket PC is available from www.opera.com/mobile and comes with a free 30-day trial."Until now, Web browsing options on Pocket PCs have been decidedly limited, says Paul O'Brien, founder of MoDaCo.com - one of the world's largest Windows Mobile communities with nearly 140,000 members. "Opera Mobile for Pocket PC finally brings browsing speed, security and usability closer to a desktop experience. For owners of Internet connected Pocket PC devices, Opera is a must-have."The development of the Opera browser for Windows Mobile is a result of market demand from mobile phone operators and end-users. Today's release follows the beta preview of Opera Mobile for Pocket PC announced on January 18, 2006, and promises to deliver a superior Web surfing experience on PPC devices. The first operators to ship Windows Mobile devices with Opera Mobile pre-installed are T-Mobile through their Web'n'Walk offering, and the leading Japanese operator, Willcom."Pocket PC owners are typically advanced users who expect the best and actively seek out better software for their devices," says Roger Carlhammar, EVP Mobile, Opera Software. "Opera's mission is to provide the best Internet experience on any device, and we are very happy to now offer this on Windows Mobile Pocket PCs."Features in Opera Mobile 8.6 for Pocket PC include:TabsOpen multiple Web pages at the same time, and switch between them using the tabbed interface.Landscape/Portrait ModeOpera Mobile adapts Web pages to fit the width of the screen in both landscape and portrait modes.Web address auto-completeThe browser remembers your typed-in addresses.ZoomMagnify text and images in Web pages for better accessibility.DownloadGet any files and content from the Web, including ringtones and images.Full screenView Web pages with the browser interface, or in full screen mode. Fit-to-screenBrowse Web pages in full size or with Opera's Small-Screen Rendering(TM) to avoid horizontal scrolling.Pop-up handlerBlock unwanted pop-upsPad-lock icon on secure sitesThe browser can identify trusted sites to avoid scams and phishing attemptsMore information* For a full feature list, see http://www.opera.com/mobile/products/winmobileppc/* Screenshots and illustrations: http://www.opera.com/press/images/winmobileAvailabilityOpera Mobile 8.6 for Windows Mobile Pocket PC is available from www.opera.com/mobile and comes with a free 30-day trial. The browser runs on both Windows Mobile 5 and 2003 SE. Opera Mobile 8.6 for Windows Mobile 5.0 Smartphones will be available shortly.About Opera SoftwareOpera Software ASA has redefined Web browsing for PCs, mobile phones and other networked devices. Opera's cross- platform Web browser technology is renowned for its small size, performance and standards-compliance, while giving users a faster, safer and more dynamic online experience. Opera Software is headquartered in Oslo, Norway, with offices around the world. The company is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol OPERA. Learn more about Opera at www.opera.com.
Google has no plans to launch web browser
location based services
Google CEO Eric Schmidt Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Wednesday told industry analysts that the top online search engine leader is unlikely to create its own web browser, although the company remains concerned about the prominence that Microsoft's MSN search will be given in the next version of Internet Explorer and the planned launch of the Windows Vista upgrade in early 2007, which will include Explorer.
In an answer to a question during an investor conference call, Schmidt said Google sees little need to develop its own browser because most people seem satisfied with Explorer and rivals such as Firefox, Apple Computer's Safari and Opera.
Google has agreement for the installation of a search toolbar installed in Firefox as part of its partnership with the Mozilla open source software project that launched the browser in 2004.
Last week, it was announced that Google’s search toolbar will appear on the screens of all new Dell systems, and that Dell users will be directed to a web page branded by the two companies.
The software, Dell said, will be included only in machines sold to consumers and to small and medium-sized businesses.
"We would not build a browser just for the fun of building a browser," Schmidt said during the conference call.
Schmidt said that Google is concerned about Microsoft programming the next version of its Internet Explorer to steer more traffic to its own Internet search engine.
"We want to make sure the use of the power of Windows is done in a correct and legally appropriate way," he said.
Google has a 43 percent share of the US market through April, ahead of Yahoo Inc. at 28 percent and Microsoft's MSN at 13 percent, according to tracker comScore Media Metrix.
Google Inc. said that an experiment to sell advertising in print publications has been disappointing, an admission that shows its goal to distribute ads to all kinds of media may face serious hurdles.
Jonathan Rosenberg, a senior vice president for Google, said his company's plan to sell ads in newspapers and magazines "probably hasn't taken off as fast as we would like."
Google executives want to expand what is already the world's biggest online advertising company to other media, including television, radio and direct mail. Last year, Google began to test how to distribute ads to print publications, a program that executives said has yet to garner much success and could require several iterations before it catches on.
Asked about which Google products aside from its search engine will help the company financially and when, Rosenberg said that local-search service Google Maps is "already a pretty significant" contributor. He referred to Google Earth, which leveraged the company's acquisition of Keyhole Inc. to bring together satellite imagery and mapping, as a major success for the company. Earth has helped drive traffic to the local service, he said.
The company spent $332 million on capital expenditures during the first quarter, including $112 million on information technology assets and $41 million on land and buildings.
Chief Financial Officer George Reyes confirmed that Google's hiring program will continue at its recent rate, which has been increasing the company's work force by 14 percent to 20 percent every three months. In the past year, Google nearly doubled its payroll to just under 6,800 employees through March.
Google's stock closed on Nasdaq on Wednesday at $ 371.94. The P/E ratio is 39 compared with 65 in 2005. The shares hit a trading high of $475.11 in mid-January.
Listen to the Investor Conference Call:
Microsoft Media Player
location based services
Google CEO Eric Schmidt Google CEO Eric Schmidt on Wednesday told industry analysts that the top online search engine leader is unlikely to create its own web browser, although the company remains concerned about the prominence that Microsoft's MSN search will be given in the next version of Internet Explorer and the planned launch of the Windows Vista upgrade in early 2007, which will include Explorer.
In an answer to a question during an investor conference call, Schmidt said Google sees little need to develop its own browser because most people seem satisfied with Explorer and rivals such as Firefox, Apple Computer's Safari and Opera.
Google has agreement for the installation of a search toolbar installed in Firefox as part of its partnership with the Mozilla open source software project that launched the browser in 2004.
Last week, it was announced that Google’s search toolbar will appear on the screens of all new Dell systems, and that Dell users will be directed to a web page branded by the two companies.
The software, Dell said, will be included only in machines sold to consumers and to small and medium-sized businesses.
"We would not build a browser just for the fun of building a browser," Schmidt said during the conference call.
Schmidt said that Google is concerned about Microsoft programming the next version of its Internet Explorer to steer more traffic to its own Internet search engine.
"We want to make sure the use of the power of Windows is done in a correct and legally appropriate way," he said.
Google has a 43 percent share of the US market through April, ahead of Yahoo Inc. at 28 percent and Microsoft's MSN at 13 percent, according to tracker comScore Media Metrix.
Google Inc. said that an experiment to sell advertising in print publications has been disappointing, an admission that shows its goal to distribute ads to all kinds of media may face serious hurdles.
Jonathan Rosenberg, a senior vice president for Google, said his company's plan to sell ads in newspapers and magazines "probably hasn't taken off as fast as we would like."
Google executives want to expand what is already the world's biggest online advertising company to other media, including television, radio and direct mail. Last year, Google began to test how to distribute ads to print publications, a program that executives said has yet to garner much success and could require several iterations before it catches on.
Asked about which Google products aside from its search engine will help the company financially and when, Rosenberg said that local-search service Google Maps is "already a pretty significant" contributor. He referred to Google Earth, which leveraged the company's acquisition of Keyhole Inc. to bring together satellite imagery and mapping, as a major success for the company. Earth has helped drive traffic to the local service, he said.
The company spent $332 million on capital expenditures during the first quarter, including $112 million on information technology assets and $41 million on land and buildings.
Chief Financial Officer George Reyes confirmed that Google's hiring program will continue at its recent rate, which has been increasing the company's work force by 14 percent to 20 percent every three months. In the past year, Google nearly doubled its payroll to just under 6,800 employees through March.
Google's stock closed on Nasdaq on Wednesday at $ 371.94. The P/E ratio is 39 compared with 65 in 2005. The shares hit a trading high of $475.11 in mid-January.
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Mobile phone roaming fees slashed
location based services
Some of Europe's biggest mobile phone operators, including the UK's Orange and Germany's T-Mobile, have agreed to slash mobile phone roaming charges.
Other firms involved include Italy's Wind and Telecom Italia, Norway's Telenor SA and Sweden's TeliaSonera.
The decision comes after the European Commission targeted what it said were excessive tariffs for users when they made and received calls from abroad.
About 200 million mobile phone users in the European Union will benefit.
It's good to talk
The EC had threatened to draft a law that would have seen mobile phone users charged the same rate abroad as they were at home.
MOBILE COSTS ABROAD
Sample tariffs for four-minute peak time call in March 2006. Prices vary according to which UK network and host network are used. Source: European Commission
Calling the UK from Italy: 3.5-5.81 euros (£2.42-£4)
Receiving a call in Italy from the UK: 1.75-5.50 euros (£1.21-£3.80)
Calling the UK from Malta: 3.5-7.34 euros (£2.42-£5.06)
Receiving a call in Malta from the UK: 1.75-5.50 euros (£1.21-£3.80)
Calling France from Germany: 4 euros (£2.76)
Receiving a call in Germany from France: 1.36-1.88 euros (94p-£1.30)
Rene Obermann, chief executive officer of T-Mobile International, said Thursday's agreement "show that market forces in the mobile industry function and do not need regulatory intervention".
The companies said they would cap the average wholesale rate they charge when a client from another provider uses their network at 45 euro cents (31 pence) per minute from October.
They plan to reduce the cap to 36 euro cents a minute from October 2007 - a cut of almost half from the current wholesale prices.
The companies said they aimed to make sure customers were the winners from the reductions.
"The operators commit to pass the benefits of these wholesale reductions on to customers through market-driven reductions in retail prices as fully and quickly as possible," they said in a statement.
More to come?
Analysts estimate that roaming charges account for up to 15% of a mobile phone company's annual revenues and often carry higher margins than wholly domestic traffic.
When the EC fired its first shots across the bows of phone operators, the industry's global trade body, the GSM Association, argued that roaming charges had already fallen by 8% across Europe last year.
Operators complained that it was normal for making and receiving calls to cost more from abroad because there were additional costs.
A number of firms are expected to sign up to Thursday's agreement in coming years.
The EC is still continuing its investigation into the level of charges.
location based services
Some of Europe's biggest mobile phone operators, including the UK's Orange and Germany's T-Mobile, have agreed to slash mobile phone roaming charges.
Other firms involved include Italy's Wind and Telecom Italia, Norway's Telenor SA and Sweden's TeliaSonera.
The decision comes after the European Commission targeted what it said were excessive tariffs for users when they made and received calls from abroad.
About 200 million mobile phone users in the European Union will benefit.
It's good to talk
The EC had threatened to draft a law that would have seen mobile phone users charged the same rate abroad as they were at home.
MOBILE COSTS ABROAD
Sample tariffs for four-minute peak time call in March 2006. Prices vary according to which UK network and host network are used. Source: European Commission
Calling the UK from Italy: 3.5-5.81 euros (£2.42-£4)
Receiving a call in Italy from the UK: 1.75-5.50 euros (£1.21-£3.80)
Calling the UK from Malta: 3.5-7.34 euros (£2.42-£5.06)
Receiving a call in Malta from the UK: 1.75-5.50 euros (£1.21-£3.80)
Calling France from Germany: 4 euros (£2.76)
Receiving a call in Germany from France: 1.36-1.88 euros (94p-£1.30)
Rene Obermann, chief executive officer of T-Mobile International, said Thursday's agreement "show that market forces in the mobile industry function and do not need regulatory intervention".
The companies said they would cap the average wholesale rate they charge when a client from another provider uses their network at 45 euro cents (31 pence) per minute from October.
They plan to reduce the cap to 36 euro cents a minute from October 2007 - a cut of almost half from the current wholesale prices.
The companies said they aimed to make sure customers were the winners from the reductions.
"The operators commit to pass the benefits of these wholesale reductions on to customers through market-driven reductions in retail prices as fully and quickly as possible," they said in a statement.
More to come?
Analysts estimate that roaming charges account for up to 15% of a mobile phone company's annual revenues and often carry higher margins than wholly domestic traffic.
When the EC fired its first shots across the bows of phone operators, the industry's global trade body, the GSM Association, argued that roaming charges had already fallen by 8% across Europe last year.
Operators complained that it was normal for making and receiving calls to cost more from abroad because there were additional costs.
A number of firms are expected to sign up to Thursday's agreement in coming years.
The EC is still continuing its investigation into the level of charges.
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