Gaia GPS

Update: Apple expedited after all. Have fun at the Burn!

We have submitted iBurn 2011 (v2.01) to the App Store, to address a couple of bugs that people reported. Most importantly, iBurn is showing all events an hour late because we goofed on a time zone, and the app is not showing repeating events on subsequent days.

We’re very sorry for any confusion this may cause, and hopefully the app still has a lot of utility. It’s quite a challenge to navigate getting the app put together and approved in time for gates open, with the API in flux, data unavailable until the last minute, and Apple’s approval process on the back-end.

At this point, Apple is not going to expedite the review, and the update probably won’t be live until mid-next week. While they were nice enough to speed through the 2011 release, I guess we’re stuck with our bugs for a few days. If you are a Burner who works at Apple, please help.

Here is the complete change list for 2.01:

• multi-day events are now listed on each day

• event times should now be correct (they were off by an hour)

• added in camps ending in “W” that were accidentally omitted

• pin labels are now easier to read when overlaid on black parts of the map

• fixed the location of Pee Funnel camp

• added a shout out to BurnerMap.com

• made the Detail screen for Art/Camps/Events more compact

• added a disclaimer that the data might be inaccurate
  

I am mighty pleased to announce that iBurn 2011 is live on the App Store! We submitted a request to expedite the review, and Apple was kind enough to oblige within 24 hours.

Map of Black Rock City on the iPad

I think mobile devices will be an increasingly important part of Burning Man, and they make the experience both richer and safer. I know there are many Burners who prefer to keep things as low-tech as possible, but at least they tolerate the nerds among us who tote computers everywhere 🙂

Hopefully, the app is rock solid, and the new stuff we added this year makes the app even more useful on the Playa. Anna and I just bought a house, and we had to cancel our trip at the last minute, but we will be there in spirit, and a touch of binary.

Let us know how it works for you at iburn@gaiagps.com. If you find a bug, we might be able to get an update in before gates open!

Also, check back here for the password for the embargoed data after gates open.

Update, August 18: iBurn 2011 is going to happen. We’ll post the update to Apple next week.

Update, August 11: We are making some progress on getting some camp and map data together. Still no promises, but we’re trying.

I have been getting a lot of emails asking if there will be an iBurn app this year, and the answer is I don’t know, but at this point I am pessimistic. I’d like to ship (at least) the same iPhone and Android apps as last year, with the new data, but I just don’t think the data exists.

Map of Black Rock City on the iPhone

My buddies Jeff and Tom helped set up the Burning Man API and map last year, and they roped in their wives and girlfriends to help too. Most of them didn’t actually go to Burning Man in 2010, but they loved it enough to do the work anyways. The API for 2009-10 is hosted here.

At the tail end of last year’s work, I heard Burning Man brought in contractors to replace the volunteers. If that’s the case, then I guess there are some things you just can’t pay for, because the API isn’t working this year. Here is the API this year. If you paste most of the URLs into the browser, you will see they return bunk data. There is also no map.

Anyways, because of last minute circumstances, my wife and I are not going to Burning Man this year, but we’d be happy to publish the app if the data and map existed. If someone stands up an OSM-style map of Burning Man or provides us with any sort of geo-referenced event/art/camp data in the next week or so, we will produce iBurn again.

Otherwise, sorry! Not sure why the API is so bereft of data this late in the game – maybe I’m doing it wrong?