Geek Fest

Went to a nasi kandar place around Ampang Park this Sunday morning for a geek fest.

The GPS users from http://www.malsingmaps.com called a gathering, and almost twenty showed up with their toys. There was a land surveyor, an accountant, a senior manager of an IT firm, a CEO of a Friendster knock-off (Kawanster.com), an aviation cadet etc. It was a cool way to meet some new people. And get my grubby hands on some new gear.

One guy combined his GPS with a notebook running Google Earth, so he can have a satellite view of his position as he navigates around KL. One guy has a GPS watch. Some used their Pocket PCs with a BlueTooth interface. I was probably the only one still viewing the GPS maps in black & white, and given strong urgings to sell off my one week old purchase and start looking for a better one.

Met the guys who built the KL maps. It was a 16mth effort, primarily by two guys who've met each other in the flesh less than a dozen times. The map is really an incredible achievement.

One guy gave a tutorial on how he's incorporating Google Earth's hi-def pics as an aid to draw his maps. By using reference points and using the GE as an overlay, he can extrapolate some details without needing to track down every small lane/road.

Even got a look at a copyright trap. This is a deliberate mapping mistake, a small non-existent lane drawn somewhere in the map. So in case anyone tries to copy and paste this map into a commercial product and violate the copyright, these traps will catch them out.

An interesting day spent.