Moveable Type users can now have their MotionBased activity feeds posted on their blogs, thanks to Brandon Fuller and his plugin MT-MotionBased.
The plugin requires Movable Type version 4 or higher and Perl version 5.8.5 or higher (possibly lower).
A nice feature of the plugin is that it provides considerable control over how the feed is displayed. This includes being able to use MotionBased data values in the title, body, category, and tag attributes of an entry via substitution tags at the user’s whim and fancy. Here’s an example from the plugin page:
I travelled {totalDistance} miles with an elevation gain of {totalElevationGain} feet in {totalMovingDuration} minutes, which is a moving pace of {averageMovingPace}. View my <a href=”http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/{pk}”>GPS data</a>.
Many other substitution tags are available and are shown in the plugin’s configuration window.
Other options to customize the feed include: enable/disable comments, draft enable, and displaying the MotionBased dashboard graph image.
Find out more about the plugin, or download it here.
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Posted by dchow on November 7th, 2007
News Category: Websites
Finally! An incredibly easy way to draw new tracks and modify existing ones to and from Garmin fitness devices! Our pals at GPSies.com have integrated the Garmin Communicator Plugin even further. The site provides a user-friendly way to find fitness tracks from their growing community and download them in various formats.
In addition to their upload and download features, they’ve recently added a very useful and easy to use feature that allows you to modify imported tracks by manipulating the trackpoints on a map, and to draw out new tracks by placing trackpoints on the map. Try it out now or keep reading to see how.
Here’s a track I drew of my usual Tiburon Bayside run:
Best of all, GPSies.com allows importing from and exporting to various track formats, including Garmin fitness formats (i.e. TCX and CRS). This allows you to write your customized track to your Garmin fitness device, or import and modify an existing track from your Garmin device and re-export it to one of the many other format types supported by the application.
To export your track and get it onto your Garmin device, select “Garmin Course TCX” or “Garmin Course CRS” from the Export file drop-down menu:
Then click on “Export to Garmin GPS” in the same panel. Don’t forget to name the track in the Settings panel before exporting.
Being able to modify existing tracks is incredibly useful for when you perhaps don’t finish your complete course when using your device (or accidentally turn off your device during the activity), or want to use an alternative path based on an existing track. GPSies.com allows you to do this by importing your recorded track from your device so that you can edit it on the map.
To import a track from your Garmin device, click on “Import from Garmin GPS” in the Import panel:
Then select the track you want to import after retrieving all data from the device:
After selecting, click on “>> Select track”, and your track will be editable on the GPSies page.
Try it out for yourself!
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Posted by dchow on August 28th, 2007
News Category: Websites
Poly9 FreeEarth is a cross-browser, cross-platform 3D globe using Adobe Flash to provide a WOW-ing experience. Check out the site as they’ve got plenty of impressive demos of what they’ve done.
One such tool still in development there is Reading Tracks/Waypoints using Garmin Communicator. Here’s what it looks like so far:
Notice the Communicator interface located above the globe. Yep, that’s right, you can view tracks and waypoints from your Garmin GPS device on this cool 3D globe!
Simply click on “Get Data” after the plugin finds your device and all tracks and waypoints will be read from your device:
Then select the track or waypoint you want to see. Here are the results after some automated and some manual zooming:
Perhaps the coolest part about this is being able to view and navigate the globe in full screen. To enable Full Screen mode, click the icon in the top right corner of the navigation area.
Also in the navigation area is a vertical scrollbar for zooming, and a horizontal bar for tilting.
At this point I’m sure you’re eager to play with it so I’ll say no more.
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Posted by dchow on August 17th, 2007
News Category: Websites
We were quite impressed when we heard about the MyMotionBased application (requires login to view) for Facebook written by Matthew Underwood.
This application allows Facebook users to integrate their recent MotionBased activities into their Facebook profile and see their friends’ activities.
Here’s what the application looks like in my Facebook profile view:
Two detailed tab views are currently available. The first is the Activities view, which includes a Google Map that draws out my selected activity and displays it in addition to my activity summary data. Take a look:
As you can see, the “MB GE GM” icons allow you to view each activity individually in MotionBased, Google Earth, or Google Maps.
The feature I really like is the second tab view, called Friends Activities. I can see a summary of my friends’ recent activities and map their tracks, too. Check it out:
Pretty sweet. The application is still in its early stages of development so I’m really looking forward to seeing how it evolves.
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Posted by dchow on August 16th, 2007
News Category: Websites
GPSies helps you find tracks for all kinds of fitness activities around the world. You can also contribute to the community by uploading your own tracks.
With the Communicator Plugin, Garmin fitness users can download their tracks of interest directly to the device from the site. Here’s how:
First, find a track you’re interested in. You can find a track by region and also by type of fitness activity. Each track is represented by a bubble icon representing the kind of activity it is (bike, shoes, car, and others). Click the bubble icon once, and then click “View” to see the track laid out on the map:
Once you’ve found and displayed the track, select “Garmin Course TCX” from the drop-down menu, and then click “Export to Garmin GPS”, displayed below:
A transfer window will popup. Click the “Send GPSies file to Garmin GPS device…” button shown below:
Now you’re good to go! The track will appear in the Courses menu of your fitness device.
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Posted by dchow on August 10th, 2007
News Category: Websites
Transferring your favorite POIs just got easier!
TakItWithMe is a new tool that uploads Google My Maps directly to your Garmin GPS using Communicator. Users can also convert their My Maps to GPX format. Simply copy a My Maps URL into the form and click ‘Load My Maps’ to get started. They’ve also provided a rather slick video demo of how it all works.
Mapicurious.com allows you to share your favorite points-of-interest (POIs) with friends. You can create your own map, search for existing ones, and display your map on your blog or site.
Mapicurious supports Communicator so you can easily transfer map points to your Garmin device by clicking the “Go to Garmin” link on the right side next to “Download to your Garmin GPS”. Here’s the Communicator in action:
Your Garmin device can do more than help you find places–it can help you find treasure! For those of you not already in the know, I’m referring to Geocaching.com by Groundspeak.
Geocaching is an adventure game in which GPS users hide and seek hidden treasures, or caches. One of the first caches was hidden in Oregon during 2005, and since then, the sport has grown considerably and is now a popular world-wide activity.
Geocachers can easily send cache locations to their Garmin devices using the “Send to GPS” feature that was recently added to the Geocaching site:
The “Send to GPS” icon, circled above, transfers cache destinations to the device with a single click of the mouse.
Transferring cache locations to Garmin devices is now much easier for both veteran and beginner geocachers. So whether you’re new to geocaching or list it as one of your favorite hobbies, use the the Send to GPS feature with your Garmin device and cache your heart away.
Here are some examples of the Communicator Plug-in used by sites we’ve found:
MotionBased
MotionBased is a web application that translates GPS data into functional analysis and online mapping for endurance and outdoor athletes. Some changes have been made recently to the interface to make activity transfer simpler for users, by turning off the Google Map feature as well as the Cancel Find Devices option. CSS customization allows the plug-in to fit into any site’s color and font scheme. Checkbox options allow visitors to turn specific options on or off themselves, such as allowing duplicates and selecting activities individually.
AllSportGPS
Like MotionBased, AllSportGPS provides fitness training enthusiasts with the ability to track their workouts and performance. It implements a simple, one-click interface for uploading data to Garmin devices. Again, CSS styling is used here to match existing color themes.
GeoTours
GeoTours is a web application that allows you to easily create media-rich GPS tours now supports importing tour locations with Garmin GPS devices. Visitors can import multiple locations from their Garmin devices for their own personalized tours.
More sites using Communicator (descriptions coming soon!):
If you know of a site that uses the Communicator Plug-in, go ahead and share it with us by commenting and we’ll post an entry on it.
