Since gates are now open, we are announcing the password:
effigy
If your app doesn’t automatically hit the server, type this in and you should be good to go.
Also, regarding iBurn for Android – we’re still working on it. Sorry for the delay!
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
Update, 4:43pm, Monday: We are almost done and hope to get it out by tomorrow. It ended up being trickier than we expected.
Update, 11:34pm, Sunday: Still working on it :/
Folks keep emailing and asking if we are going to update the Android iBurn app this year, since the iOS app went live yesterday. The answer is almost certainly yes – we will try and at least have the app as it was last year, showing the map, and it won’t be ready until basically when gates open.
If you are an Android developer, we would very much appreciate anyone chipping in and either getting the app ready or improving it, as you see fit. You can either contact us at iburn@gaiagps.com, or you can simply go to town on the open source code, hosted on GitHub.
Due to the embargo we have to observe on the camp geo-data, we probably won’t publish the Android version until gates open. For the iPhone version, we worked around the embargo by locking up the data in the app, but on Android, we don’t have as many developers, and we don’t really have time to code the app for early release. As I understand it, there should be some wi-fi on the playa this year, so hopefully the early-goers will be able to get it regardless.
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.
We have submitted iBurn 2011 to Apple for review. While the API didn’t work out this year, we were able to scrape together the data and put up a map with the help of some friends. Anyone who still has the app from last year will get an update, and of course you can download it for free either way. This one works on iPhone/iPad/iPod – the jury is still out on the Android app, but we’re trying.
Here is a screenshot of the new map, which links to a Flickr photo set of more screenshots:
Map of Black Rock City on the iPhone
Here’s what’s new in the app this year:
- all new 2011 map and data
- map shows tappable pins for camps and art when zoomed in
- map highlights camps with current events with green pins
- sort camps and art by name, distance, or favorites
- sort events by time, name, or favorites
- tables provide alphabetical index scroll bar
- a “now” button to show current events
- data is completely bundled with the app, instead of caching at load
- Unlock, Credits, and About screens
Special thanks to the following contributors: Virgil Zetterlind (maker of Marine Charts), Josh Braegger, Andrew Johnstone, Tom Longson, Jeffrey Johnson, Mikel Maron, and Rod Garrett.
Anna and I had to cancel our trip to the Burn this year, at the last minute, but we hope everyone else creates a spectacle!
I recently compiled all the clippings about our company and apps, because I want to link to them in a job post we are about to publish. Here is everything I think, the good and the bad, since we were just www.trailbehind.com and the iPhone App Store didn’t exist.
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?
We launched Gaia GPS for Android last summer, and with the release of v3.0 today, I must say – I think the app has arrived.
I wish I could claim more of a role in building the Android app, but it’s our friend Abhishek who leads Android development, and he works tirelessly and relentlessly. More and more, I see Gaia on Android surpass Gaia on iPhone, which is really quite motivating for us on the iOS side of things 🙂
Gaia GPS for Android, map screen.
For posterity, here’s a recap of Gaia’s updates since we launched on May 15, 2010, including the new stuff in v3.0. It’s amazing what you can do in a year – thanks to all the users for telling us how to make the app good, and Abhishek for making it happen:
August 3, 2011 (v3.0)
- faster map scrolling
- map scale
- tool to measure distance between two points
- ability to import waypoints from gpx files.
- fixed track imports. Now each track segment is imported as separate track – will later allow segments in single track
- added in-app file browser to import tracks from filesystem.
- other bug fixes.
July 27, 2011 (v2.2.1)
- fixed pinch-zoom crash affecting android 2.1 and 2.2
- fixed crash on startup for some users
- other bug fixes
July 9, 2011 (v2.2)
- continuous pinch zoom on map
- tap POIs on map to see details and do actions now
- TrailBehind.com waypoint overlays on the map (trails, parks, and more)
- added ability to open POIs in Google Maps and get Driving Directions
- optimizations for use on tablets
- fixed start-up crash affecting some users
- other bug fixes
May 6, 2011 (v2.1)
- added the ability to import/export track files
- fixed issues with map downloading on various devices
- set up for full screen display on tablet devices (still work-in-progress)
- added long press to drop a pin on the map
- faster map tiles download when viewing maps
- other important memory optimizations
February 27, 2011 (v2.01)
- v2.01 includes bug fixes based on logs we received from users
- there are no functional changes from v2.0
February 23, 2011 (v2.0)
- v2.0 is a major overhaul to the app
- now includes the capability to record tracks
- view statistics, altitude, and speed graphs
- new version also includes a main iconic menu and new navigation scheme
- fixed numerous bugs and did extensive beta-testing
September 17, 2010 (v1.41)
- fixed bug in Guide to Waypoint
September 17, 2010 (v1.4)
- added a “guide to waypoint” menu option, on screens for saved waypoints
- CloudMade cycle/topo maps can now be cached offline
- added nautical units setting
- max zoom for map downloads now defaults to better values
- fixed a bug that could cause map downloads to stall
- updated the user manual
August 13, 2010
- added a compass overlay to map screen
- added the ability to edit waypoint and map names
- app will now remember last map position, even within a saved map
- improved map download infrastructure (moved out of database to make it more stable)
- changed “tracking enabled” message to “location enabled”
- added a button to switch map type or to a saved map on the map screen
June 14, 2010
- added the ability to mark waypoints
- added map source button to map controls
May 26, 2010
- different coordinate types (Decimal, DMS, UTM, MGRS, DDM)
- pinch zoom
- autolocalize units to metric or imperial based on phone locale
May 17, 2010
- Fixed download notification not displaying on Android 2.1 devices.
- Fixed memory problems that could cause crashes when downloading maps and elsewhere.
May 15, 2010
- Initial release.
Recently, the OpenCycleMap server in our app has been slow. This is the map source labeled as CloudMade Topo or CloudMade Cycle in the app*, depending on which version you have. To address this, we now have an alternate OpenCycleMap provider in the app that is working better.
The new tiles are provided by Andy Allan, the creator of the OpenCycleMap, via a bulk service more appropriate to our needs. We plan to integrate this more directly soon, but for now you can access it as follows.
Get Faster OpenCycleMap in Gaia
- within Gaia GPS, go to Settings->Map Store
- add the “OpenCycleMap” source (it’s free)
- restart the app
- there should now be a sixth source under Map Sources, which you can switch to
If you are used to using the USGS topos, these maps are a good alternative abroad, and they even provide better detail than the USGS maps in some parts of the US. For my hikes, I like to download both types of maps and take them both along.
* I want to note, in case any other software developers are reading, that us switching providers was not CloudMade’s fault, and it was in fact CloudMade who suggested we use Andy’s server instead. CloudMade continues to provide Gaia and our other apps with awesome maps and services, and I can’t recommend them enough to other map developers. In fact, CloudMade stood up the original OpenCycleMap proxy in large part because Gaia needed it, and it was always one of those temporary solutions that lasted forever.
So, thanks to CloudMade and Andy Allan for helping us get these maps back to fast again, and making it possible for us to be in business at all.
We are excited to announce the next major version of Gaia – 5.0. You can get it on iTunes now.
This release includes many improvements, including NEXRAD weather radar, new controls for displaying map layers, larger map buttons and popovers on iPad, and many other great changes. In addition, you can now import KML into Gaia, though this was a server side change and not really part of the 5.0 release 🙂
If you are a current Gaia user, check it out and give us a nice review if you like it! If you aren’t a Gaia user, now’s a good time to start! We also released similar updates to our free apps, Gaia GPS Lite and Offline Topo Maps, but we are still waiting on Apple’s approval for those.
I’d also like to give a shout-out to our long-time partner EarthNC, who set up and maintains the radar server we are now using in the app. If you are a boater, make sure to check out EarthNC Marine Charts, which is much better on the high seas than Gaia!