OpinioNate Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) The following features have been added in today's update: Geo-IP - Automatically looks up your location based on your IP address, presents a map with the 5 closest caches to that location, shown on front page after login Hotels - Every cache page (US and Canada for now) now contains a link to nearby hotels, allowing you to browse rates and availability for specific locations In addition, Groundspeak will release a new iPhone application designed to interact with the Geocaching.com website. Features include: Direct access to Geocaching.com's database of worldwide geocaches Search by current location, address or lookup code Access geocache details, including description, hint and recent logs Save geocache listing for quick retrieval Navigate to geocaches with a simulated compass arrow Look up trackable item detail, including item goals, while on the trail Future updates will include logging geocache finds and filtering your hides and finds from the Geocaching.com search results. Further information can be found here. Edit: Loki/Skyhook is going to be delayed for another release. Unfortunately, the Loki people are having trouble getting the plugin to work with certain browsers but hope to have a fix soon. Edited October 9, 2008 by OpinioNate
+OReviewer Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Sounds good but my IP has me somewhere in Missouri rather than PA. It's odd since a WhoIs look up of the IP address gives the information that matches my location...
+Ambrosia Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Sounds good but my IP has me somewhere in Missouri rather than PA. It's odd since a WhoIs look up of the IP address gives the information that matches my location... Lol, mine located me in the UK! Who, hoo, I've always wanted to travel there!
OpinioNate Posted October 9, 2008 Author Posted October 9, 2008 We're still tweeking the Geo-IP feature, so don't panic if you suddenly find yourself in Brussels.
+Corey Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Skyhook/Loki/Locate Me - Optional button to pinpoint your location based on your wifi which will automatically provide search results page. If you are not on wifi it will use your IP address and the results will be fairly similar to the Geo-IP results above, however you will still be shown the results page Sounds cool... I haven't been able to find the button yet, though. [*]Hotels - Every cache page now contains a link to nearby hotels, allowing you to browse rates and availability for specific locations Huh? Though it is interesting to show which caches are nearest to hotels...
+Butano Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Apparently the two computers in my room are across country boundaries. One in Tennessee and one in Germany. I used to live in Tennessee (a long, long time ago), but never been to Germany, but maybe I have now??? Seriously though, this could be a cool feature when it gets working. :-) Will there be some kind of configuration option to say allow you to ignore found caches?
+QuesterMark Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Skyhook/Loki/Locate Me - Optional button to pinpoint your location based on your wifi which will automatically provide search results page. If you are not on wifi it will use your IP address and the results will be fairly similar to the Geo-IP results above, however you will still be shown the results page Sounds cool... I haven't been able to find the button yet, though. [*]Hotels - Every cache page now contains a link to nearby hotels, allowing you to browse rates and availability for specific locations Huh? Though it is interesting to show which caches are nearest to hotels... Yeah, I can't find them either. But I did notice the vcal and google calendar buttons on event cache pages. I'd never even noticed THOSE.
+DiKri Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 The system locates me in Germany although I am living in Belgium... Nice feature, but wouldn't it be an option to use the home coordinates entered in the users profile ?
+Xaa Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 The system locates me in Germany although I am living in Belgium... Nice feature, but wouldn't it be an option to use the home coordinates entered in the users profile ? What's the fun in showing something statically that might be right some of the time, if you can do it dynamically wrong most of the time?
+KoosKoos Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I'm in Apledoord, Netherlands. Cool! I moved to Germany: NE 5351.7mi from your home coordinates In Baden-Württemberg, Germany Love that tweaking! Not that it really affects me since I can't remember the last time I started at the home page instead of "my account".
+DavidMac Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 So, does Groundspeak get a kickback when we make a hotel reservation through the site? Sounds like a good way to support the game. If so I'll have to remember to do so next time I travel. My first thought after messing around with the hotels feature was, man, hotels in my town sure are more expensive than I realized! ...then I remembered that there is a football game this weekend.
+markandsandy Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 The system locates me in Germany although I am living in Belgium... Nice feature, but wouldn't it be an option to use the home coordinates entered in the users profile ? What's the fun in showing something statically that might be right some of the time, if you can do it dynamically wrong most of the time? I believe they are using a beta version of Vinnie's Time-Space Portal technology. It has transported me from Washington State to Maine
+AtwellFamily Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 So, does Groundspeak get a kickback when we make a hotel reservation through the site? Sounds like a good way to support the game. If so I'll have to remember to do so next time I travel. My first thought after messing around with the hotels feature was, man, hotels in my town sure are more expensive than I realized! ...then I remembered that there is a football game this weekend. Will the iphone features work on other internet enable phones? I have a blackberry and sure would like those features. Please look at CacheBerry and maybe work with him to make it more live or at least posting my finds would be a good start.
+TotemLake Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Skyhook/Loki/Locate Me - Optional button to pinpoint your location based on your wifi which will automatically provide search results page. If you are not on wifi it will use your IP address and the results will be fairly similar to the Geo-IP results above, however you will still be shown the results page Sounds cool... I haven't been able to find the button yet, though. [*]Hotels - Every cache page now contains a link to nearby hotels, allowing you to browse rates and availability for specific locations Huh? Though it is interesting to show which caches are nearest to hotels... Perhaps it should be renamed to POI instead.
+hairball45 Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I don't see the IP locator on my machine at work, but it is a bit of a cripple. Maybe from home. The blue box that used to have a map of Green Lake has a tab that says "identify" and brings up five German sounding caches. Hmmm. Yep, looks like they're in Germany. Vurry odd.
+LeGodFather Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I don't see the IP locator on my machine at work, but it is a bit of a cripple. Maybe from home. The blue box that used to have a map of Green Lake has a tab that says "identify" and brings up five German sounding caches. Hmmm. Yep, looks like they're in Germany. Vurry odd. It's actually near Brussels. That what I first got. Then, after a Ctrl-F5, I go thrown somewhere near Portland, Oregon. My connection is out of New York!
+Tequila Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 We're still tweeking the Geo-IP feature, so don't panic if you suddenly find yourself in Brussels. If it is Brussels, it must be Tuesday.
+UncleJimbo Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 That new iPhone app would make for the ultimate paperless caching! Now I just need to get an iPhone.
Kruimeldief Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) Not important Edited October 9, 2008 by Kruimeldief
Kruimeldief Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) Not important 2 Edited October 9, 2008 by Kruimeldief
+NinjaCacher! Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Geo-IP - Automatically looks up your location based on your IP address, presents a map with the 5 closest caches to that location, shown on front page after login Sorry if I sound silly, but where is this feature? I can't see it on the homepage, my account page or any of the search pages... Hotels - Every cache page now contains a link to nearby hotels, allowing you to browse rates and availability for specific locations It has never occurred to me to look for a hotel near a specific cache... I usually plan the hotel first and then look for caches in the area, wouldn't it be more useful to have a link to nearby caches on each hotel page? ok, maybe in some situations this is useful In addition, Groundspeak will release a new iPhone application designed to interact with the Geocaching.com website. Sounds great - if there are testers needed for this, I'd be happy to receive an iPhone
+Ambrosia Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 We're still tweeking the Geo-IP feature, so don't panic if you suddenly find yourself in Brussels. No worries, I love to travel. I can live vicariously through the home page now.
+Ambrosia Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Geo-IP - Automatically looks up your location based on your IP address, presents a map with the 5 closest caches to that location, shown on front page after login Sorry if I sound silly, but where is this feature? I can't see it on the homepage, my account page or any of the search pages... Try logging out and then logging in again, maybe?
+niraD Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I've logged out and logged back in. It still places me in the United Kingdom.
+geokitebuggy Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) Oh, to be in the UK and I'm stuck in California... The map shows me in Canterbury, UK - 5348 miles away from home. Edited October 9, 2008 by geokitebuggy
+TheBeanTeam Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Oh, to be in the UK and I'm stuck in California... The map shows me in Canterbury, UK - 5348 miles away from home. We are neighbors. I am also now in Canterbury rather than Oregon....yes its raining today.
+Corey Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 I'm in the UK as well, although I have known my IP to be difficult to locate. But, I had the Loki toolbar installed already and I can't see anything to do with it...?
+TotemLake Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 It's the static looking map on the home page of www.geocaching.com. It has a drop down list of the five closest caches to your IP. Unfortunately for me, it looks like I'll need to charter a flight from Seattle to Canterbury to find them. When I do my (Kirkland) zipcode, it centers me on (Seattle) Green Lake. Is there a hint here?
OpinioNate Posted October 9, 2008 Author Posted October 9, 2008 (edited) We have updated the site again with a fix for Geo-IP. Please let us know if it still does not work for you. There is also an issue for people using IE 6 where the map does not display on the home page. We have a fix for this but will not update until tomorrow morning. If this affects you I apologize, but the solution is coming soon. Loki functionality will have to wait until that company puts out a fix for certain browser plugins. We hope to have that up and running quickly, but it is entirely up to them. Sorry! Edited October 9, 2008 by OpinioNate
+hairball45 Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 Okey dokey. I thought it might be there. IE6 puts a bluish box on the page, no map. Safari gives me a map. Of Kansas. Firefox, same as Safari. Cute idea but not showing me much value yet. I like to think Groundspeak can make a dime with the hotel listings, but I can't see me using it anytime soon. I've hunted caches while at hotels, but never went to a cache and said "Gosh Honey, I'm beat. Lets find a hotel for the night." Hope it works out for GS though. An iPhone app is a cute idea for those who have 'em, but not much value here. Something to run on my Verizon Voyager, that I'd be interested in. I know getting into Get it Now is between difficult and impossible but I'll dream a bit.
+WRASTRO Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 It's the static looking map on the home page of www.geocaching.com. It has a drop down list of the five closest caches to your IP. Unfortunately for me, it looks like I'll need to charter a flight from Seattle to Canterbury to find them. When I do my (Kirkland) zipcode, it centers me on (Seattle) Green Lake. Is there a hint here? Maybe you are supposed to hunt some of those puzzle caches! OT, I still wish the problem with multi page cache printouts dropping the header information when a graphic wants to span the page. I can replicate it at will (not that I try to).
+markandsandy Posted October 9, 2008 Posted October 9, 2008 We have updated the site again with a fix for Geo-IP. Please let us know if it still does not work for you. There is also an issue for people using IE 6 where the map does not display on the home page. We have a fix for this but will not update until tomorrow morning. If this affects you I apologize, but the solution is coming soon. Loki functionality will have to wait until that company puts out a fix for certain browser plugins. We hope to have that up and running quickly, but it is entirely up to them. Sorry! Works better for me now. I'm just outside Seattle, and it shows Morristown NJ. That actually IS the CORRECT location for the corporate network I'm currently on. We'll see tonight how it works from home.
+OReviewer Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 We have updated the site again with a fix for Geo-IP. Please let us know if it still does not work for you. Update seems to have brought me home! Thanks!
+traildad Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 (edited) I'm only 50 miles away from my house. Not bad. Edited October 10, 2008 by traildad
+WRASTRO Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 We have updated the site again with a fix for Geo-IP. Please let us know if it still does not work for you. Update seems to have brought me home! Thanks! It has me about five miles east. Plus I already found all of those caches. Interesting add-on to the home page.
+Parabola Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 I'm only about 20 miles from home but I've already found the five listed.
+Parabola Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 I wonder if the iphone app works on the itouch?? Guess I'll have to try that out. Neat idea.
+*gln Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 Sounds good but my IP has me somewhere in Missouri rather than PA. It's odd since a WhoIs look up of the IP address gives the information that matches my location... ha, i live in Missouri but it seems to think I have moved to Texas. I guess i need to buy a ranch now. glenn
+niraD Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 Hey, that map looks familiar! (You've got me in the right city now, which is better than I expect using the IP address.)
+onecrazycanadian Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 Amazingly I ended up only a few miles from my coordinates.
+markandsandy Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 We have updated the site again with a fix for Geo-IP. Please let us know if it still does not work for you. There is also an issue for people using IE 6 where the map does not display on the home page. We have a fix for this but will not update until tomorrow morning. If this affects you I apologize, but the solution is coming soon. Loki functionality will have to wait until that company puts out a fix for certain browser plugins. We hope to have that up and running quickly, but it is entirely up to them. Sorry! Works better for me now. I'm just outside Seattle, and it shows Morristown NJ. That actually IS the CORRECT location for the corporate network I'm currently on. We'll see tonight how it works from home. OK, at home in Carnation it shows me in Gig Harbor, only 41 miles away. While this feature sounds good, I'm not sure how useful it really is going to be.
+The Jester Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 I'm only off by one town - it's showing south Kent, I'm in Renton. I'm not sure IP can get much closer than that... I agree, cute idea - useful? Not really.
+small oaks Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 Nice it found my hometown. Still I liked it better when it showed some random locations around the world. Maybe because I have already found or done these caches myself, so this is not very useful:) Maybe if it would show my 5 nearest unfound caches that would be nice...
+bjorges Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 OK, where is the Geo-IP button? I see others have asked, and the answer from someone is logging out and in again. I have just logged in, and can not see any Geo-IP stuff anywhere. Where is it located? I can find the Hotel-search link at the cache-pages thoug. Anyone?
+Graculus Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 I would just like to welcome all you new visitors to the UK - I hope you enjoy your visit. Do pop in and see me... I seem to be in Stockport near Manchester...... though I'am actually in South Wales so not too far off course! Chris
+Delta68 Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 The IP map is way out for me as well making it totally pointless! And the post code search is still not fixed
+LeGodFather Posted October 10, 2008 Posted October 10, 2008 (edited) I'm only off by one town - it's showing south Kent, I'm in Renton. I'm not sure IP can get much closer than that... I agree, cute idea - useful? Not really. I guess it could be more useful if you log on to gc.com from a wireless device... but, I can see how it can be useful to new users logging in for the first time. I rarely go to the home page.. I usually go straight to my account page. Nice it found my hometown. Still I liked it better when it showed some random locations around the world. Maybe because I have already found or done these caches myself, so this is not very useful:) Maybe if it would show my 5 nearest unfound caches that would be nice...I agree! Unfound would be a big + Edit: Yes, it looks ok this morning! Thanks for the quick fix! Edited October 10, 2008 by GrosseFamille
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