al_yrpal wrote:I am not a Luddite - I don't have a Terry and June Cardigan, I am merely objective and view new technology with a critical eye. I can be recognised instantly as I don't have a mobile clamped to my ear and can sit on a train without prodding a laptop.
Al
That is refreshingly well balanced and rational for this day and age.
It is academic really. If the ctc want have an apt and it doesn't cost money then make an apt ! I don't see a problem about this. If some members have a "smart" phone then fine use the thing. Those members who do not (me included ) can't. In the great scheme of things this new device (not the phone bit but all the rest) will not make any difference at all.
A bit of a weird bump from the archives, but some food for thought. I develop web and smartphone apps for a living and if there's something the touring community would find genuinely useful, I'd be happy to work pro bono.
Any suggestions? Is there real demand for an Android version of the Fill That Hole app?
al_yrpal wrote:The wife can't seperately get the Fashion Section while you are reading the Sports pages unless you get two subscriptions.
spot on with that
although who you attributed different quotes to? i've never even heard of a kindle
You can... I have multiple devices on my Amazon account, which means I can read things on my phone, pc and kindle. When I switch device I can sync to the last read point, or just jump to a known reference point.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way.No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse. There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
My iphone allows me to go on more bike rides. How so...I am self employed and I work in the "virtual world". I can check my email wherever I am, worldwide, whenever I want.
What else? If I wanted I could go on a world tour and update a blog "in real time" by voice command. I speak, it texts, my blog is updated. When my blog is updated, my facebook is auto updated as is my twitter (thats assuming I had a blog etc).
What else? How about the ability to go into a bike shop...see a nice gadget...scan the barcode of said gadget which then produces a list of nearby shops that have the same gadget cheaper, 1 more press of a button, and I have directions to the shop on google maps.
What else? GPS. Free. No need for a dedicated satnav. A torch. Free. Came in handy when I had to sort my tent out at 2am in the morning one time. Train Line - fast booking of train fares. London Underground by GPS, being a country yokel, this was super handy. Free Phone calls? Sure. Skype. Lost my Tesco Clubcard? No problem - download the clubcard app. I'm stuck in Devon with no clue of the nearest campsite...oh hang on, let me download an App - yes that really happened. And so on, and on.
As for a CTC App - yes please. This is 2011, the technology is cheap, coders are cheap, anything is possible.
I'm a smartphone convert now and really like it - the first techy device I've owned that's genuinely portable at all times and genuinely useful for lots of varied tasks. Certainly not as good as any dedicated device - my Motorola Defy is not discretely as good as: (1) a phone, (2) an mp3 player, (3) a diary, (4) a laptop, (5) a watch, (6) a gps, (7) a camera, (8) a video camera. However it can do all these tasks quite well, and slip in my pocket unnoticed. All that dedicated kit would require at least a saddlebag.
Apps: my wife gets irate about this, crying out "it's just the internet!". She's partly right. A good app takes data and knowledge that's already there, and packages it to work well on a small touchscreen with a slow data connection. So a useful app (for me) is the Good Beer Guide (£4.99) - when you're in a foreign place, turn on the gps, fire up the Good Beer Guide app, and it will tell you where the nearest good pubs are, what beer they're selling, whether they do food, whether they're open, and how you get there. You could find all that on the web, but the app makes it very easy.
So what would a useful CTC app do? I see little point in having this forum, or a maintenance course or whatever. Mostly this is not of everyday use when you're on the bike. It should be an application that is useful to cyclists out touring, or at least on the road.
What I think would be a useful addition to my pocket would be a CTC app that tells me cafes, bike shops, and b&b's that are CTC approved. Do the CTC still recommend those places? Like the Good Beer Guide, this would be a useful thing when in pastures new. Which cafe in Hexham is good? Which of three b&b's in Weston-Super-Mare is bike-friendly? If I have a mechanical in Dronfield, am I better off heading south to the bike shop in Chesterfield or north to the bike shop in Sheffield?
That's an app I'd download, pay for, and use. Anyone else?
Big wheels good, small wheels better.
Two saddles best!
speedsixdave, some good ideas there imo, I was thinking similar...
Many apps just make navigation easier for touch etc but the possibilities of what could be done seem obvious. A dedicated database of routs and locations updated by members. I was on here the other day reading about someones trip and making useful notes, How many more are there throughout this site, how difficult would it be to find them in it's present form? quite hard I imagine..
You could have a map and say you wanted to go to Spain you could click on it and get some basic info posted by travelers, with dates routs etc, Then you could go on your trip and add your own part while your there, add photos tips etc.
Also I do think there are ways this forum could be useful for people actually out there, Not just so they can get some advice from those at base but to find out where others may be, like you could have another section called live touring or something.
And I'll add that I have seen other sites not get into things like this and there missing a massive MASSIVE opportunity, there are so many others making use of good apps that enhance and make easer the whole web experience. I say this a linux desktop user only atm (so no apps) but I have owned an I device and there great, and the apps are great...
IMO most any site that does not update will be missing out big time, many just think they can stay the same, well they can but why when there is always so much more. I bet just the extra redirects to the shop through the added user base would pay for it...
