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Now we know what happened to the team that developed the Colorado. :anibad:

 

More likely the Nuviphone (I liked the Colorado). But with the automotive end of things in decline, the smartphone experiment abandoned, and earnings down, I guess they needed something to do. Still, I would be curious about who thought up the idea of taking on their geocaching partner (?) (who has a million + cache listings as a head start) and using the opencaching name.

 

Maybe they should have taken Jeremy's idea for "noodle nodes" and run with it instead??

Edited by mulvaney
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My biggest issue is that having compeating websites will just cause confusion. This whole thing will likely end up herting the (sport?)

 

There have been alternative cache listing sites for years with no harm to the "sport". Do you really, really think one more is going to make a huge difference??

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My biggest issue is that having compeating websites will just cause confusion. This whole thing will likely end up herting the (sport?)

 

There have been alternative cache listing sites for years with no harm to the "sport". Do you really, really think one more is going to make a huge difference??

You have to admit that Garmin is a bigger coorporation than those other sites, and has better financing and marketing ability.

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You have to admit that Garmin is a bigger coorporation than those other sites, and has better financing and marketing ability.

 

Which is what they said about the nuviphone.

 

But a friend pointed out that the two opencaches (.com) placed around 90 miles from where I live are only 348 feet and 114 feet from the nearest geocaching.com caches hidden in the area. So I guess we should all read the stash notes and check the labeling.

Edited by mulvaney
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Not impressed. It uses Bing maps, which are far inferior to Google's. But that's not a surprise since Garmin pissed off Connect users with that switch last week.

 

Otherwise, it's a bit TOO simplistic. GC is a pain in some respects, but you can't fault GC for providing too little information to people. Garmin does provide too little information.

 

It appears to me that the cache HIDER sets the "awesomeness" rating, which is most decidedly NOT the user rating system people have been begging for on this site. I see people putting 5 "awesomeness" ratings on all their caches on that site very quickly because it's a rather arbitrary thing compared to the other ratings, even difficulty.

 

Until Garmin sorts out that e-mail address thing, I won't be cross-listing any of my caches from here on that site. I'm not a fan of e-mail harvesting. At least my username is protected by virtue of the fact that it was my Motionbased account (which Garmin bought then transferred).

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It appears to me that the cache HIDER sets the "awesomeness" rating, which is most decidedly NOT the user rating system people have been begging for on this site. I see people putting 5 "awesomeness" ratings on all their caches on that site very quickly because it's a rather arbitrary thing compared to the other ratings, even difficulty.

 

No, the awesomeness is not specified by the hider. But I see three (in my country that has +10k), none of them were found, and they have an awesomeness set. Could it be a variable depending on the other three data? Because the one with lower ratings has also a lower awesomeness...

 

Or could it be GCVote?

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It appears to me that the cache HIDER sets the "awesomeness" rating, which is most decidedly NOT the user rating system people have been begging for on this site.
No, the awesomeness is not specified by the hider. But I see three (in my country that has +10k), none of them were found, and they have an awesomeness set. Could it be a variable depending on the other three data? Because the one with lower ratings has also a lower awesomeness...

 

Or could it be GCVote?

It appears to me that when you log a cache, you have the opportunity to give your own ratings for each of the four factors. My guess is that the CO has that ability as well, and that the displayed rating are some sort of blend of the CO and the community's numbers.

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As an iPhone developer of a geocaching app, their site having an open API to use to not only view caches, but add and edit them... it's a big deal. This will gain traction quickly, assuming Garmin manages the community well from the get-go. I really like what Groundspeak has done in many ways... but they've artificially stunted the growth of certain aspects of geocaching due to some of their business related decisions.

 

Also keep in mind this is still a beta version of the site. I'm sure that many more things are to come, both polish-wise as well as feature-wise. But heavy on the polish I'd expect up front.

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As an iPhone developer of a geocaching app, their site having an open API to use to not only view caches, but add and edit them... it's a big deal. This will gain traction quickly, assuming Garmin manages the community well from the get-go. I really like what Groundspeak has done in many ways... but they've artificially stunted the growth of certain aspects of geocaching due to some of their business related decisions.

 

Also keep in mind this is still a beta version of the site. I'm sure that many more things are to come, both polish-wise as well as feature-wise. But heavy on the polish I'd expect up front.

Maybe this will give GS the poke they need to get their API opened up. They have been suggesting that it will hapen for a while now, but so far, nothing.

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Here's something interesting:

 

Keep your fellow geocachers safe

 

Don’t hide your caches on cliffs, down abandoned mines, in trenches or anywhere that might put the safety of geocachers in peril.

Welcome to boringville. A lot of the fun finds I've done here were on the dangerous side.

 

So I'm wondering what a 5 terrain cache on that site means now.

 

I don't know about terrain, but one local cacher has already cross-listed his hides over there. A magnetic keyholder behind the USA Today in a strip mall with some better than average lunch options rated a 3.5 awesomeness. :anibad:

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yeah all new entries start off with 3.5 "awesomeness". i didn't see any way to change that, so i think there will be an option to submit your own rating when you log the cache. but the log facility seems to be globally broken there, so who knows...

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Where did you see the user's email? The only entry I see in the GPX file is for a support email address:

 

<groundspeak:placed_by>xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com</Groundspeak:placed_by>

<groundspeak:owner id="334">xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com</Groundspeak:owner>

 

I blocked out the user's email.

 

I'm trying to figure out if they fixed this as that cache was published during the small "alpha test" window a little while ago. I'm checking the other caches in the area to see if they're original caches (aka not a GPX upload cross list).

 

Somebody from Garmin must be following this thread, because they've already removed phone numbers and the extra header. Loads into GSAK fine for me now, and the data you referenced above is now:

 

<Groundspeak:placed_by>Oxxxx&Bxxxx</Groundspeak:placed_by>

<Groundspeak:owner id="720">Oxxxx&Bxxx</Groundspeak:owner>

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Somebody from Garmin must be following this thread, because they've already removed phone numbers and the extra header. Loads into GSAK fine for me now, and the data you referenced above is now:

I'm still getting the "The XML declaration must appear before the first element" error. But they've definitely taken out the email addresses - I've been comparing the same cache, one file downloaded a few hours ago and a second copy just now. The email address has been replaced with the username.

 

Score one for beta testing.

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just now from the feedback site:

 

An idea you follow has been updated:

 

API for 3rd party applications

 

Planned → Started

 

Groundspeak is currently in the process of developing an API for 3rd party applications. Our current plan is to make the API available to a limited group of trusted third parties starting in late January 2011. Once the API has been properly tested, we intend to expand the list of 3rd party developers throughout 2011 and beyond.

 

interesting timing. coincidence? :anibad:

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Not impressed. It uses Bing maps, which are far inferior to Google's.

 

Really? Don't they have their own maps?

 

No. The maps they sell you come from data that Garmin itself has purchased.

 

The dynamic maps services they use on this site and on Garmin Connect are from Bing, because Garmin has some kind of sweetheart deal with Microsoft. The best I can tell, Garmin's use of Google's maps didn't cost them anything, but there's a lot of speculation out there that Microsoft either through some kind of contract or by actually paying Garmin now has Garmin using Bing maps on its websites.

 

I also just saw the updates from the feedback website. Indeed interesting timing.

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Otherwise, it's a bit TOO simplistic. GC is a pain in some respects, but you can't fault GC for providing too little information to people. Garmin does provide too little information.

Release early, release often. Get basic functionality out there & working well, then add in pieces as needed. If you wait until you have "everything" done, you'll never release. And you might stumble into a new feature you hadn't previously thought of in the process.

 

Also...it is labeled as "beta".

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Otherwise, it's a bit TOO simplistic. GS is a pain in some respects, but you can't fault GS for providing too little information to people. Garmin does provide too little information.

Release early, release often. Get basic functionality out there & working well, then add in pieces as needed. If you wait until you have "everything" done, you'll never release. And you might stumble into a new feature you hadn't previously thought of in the process.

 

Also...it is labeled as "beta".

 

Garmin doesn't exactly have a history of "frequent" updates to its Garmin Connect site. Once or twice annually, IIRC. It took YEARS for Connect to approach full functionality after its release. All the while, Motionbased had more features than Connect even has now and Garmin progressively disabled features of Motionbased before Connect was even finished.

 

(I realized my earlier post had some typos, which I have corrected in the quote above)

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Groundspeak is currently in the process of developing an API for 3rd party applications. Our current plan is to make the API available to a limited group of trusted third parties starting in late January 2011. Once the API has been properly tested, we intend to expand the list of 3rd party developers throughout 2011 and beyond.

interesting timing. coincidence? :anibad:

Meh. I notice that you have to be on a list of 3rd party developers. That doesn't do me any good as I'm a 1st party developer (ie I write stuff for my own use).

Edited by Avernar
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testing with an oregon 450, latest firmware. it's entirely unimpressed by their own GPX OX extensions. doesn't recognize the waypoint as a geocache without the Groundspeak extensions present, and doesn't display the OX extensions at all.

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testing with an oregon 450, latest firmware. it's entirely unimpressed by their own GPX OX extensions. doesn't recognize the waypoint as a geocache without the Groundspeak extensions present, and doesn't display the OX extensions at all.

*ring* *ring*

 

Hello?

 

Hey there right hand, it's lefty!

 

Hey lefty, how ya doin'?

 

Good, good...say, what are you up to over there?

 

Not much, just chillin', launching this new website, it's gonna be sweet.

 

Cool...say, did you ever as me for the specs on how I read GPX files? It might be useful but I don't think I ever got an email from you asking about it.

 

Nah, don't think I'll need it. You coming to Happy Hour on Friday?

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Great product you've got there Garmin. grrrr. :mad:

Now we know what happened to the team that developed the Colorado. :anibad:

 

This post gets my vote for post of the day. LOL

 

Always wondered what they did with the guys who created the Edsel, I mean Colorado.

 

Nice to see Garmin believes in keeping a tradition alive.

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they do have some features that gc.com should've implemented long time ago, for example a direct GPX download button on the map view. maybe Groundspeak gets the message and implements some of them on gc.com too...

add the API to that, it's clean, simple and it works (for now). heaven for developers. this could be a HUGE motivation for people to switch over. Groundspeak has a lot of catching up to do.

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The GPX and API stuff aren't motivation for me to switch over at all but other features that I've seen talked about here are some that I would like to see. Will it make me switch sites? Probably not and I don't want to manage accounts on two sites but if there was ever a major shift I would likely follow along and go where the caches go.

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just now from the feedback site:

 

An idea you follow has been updated:

 

API for 3rd party applications

 

Planned → Started

 

Groundspeak is currently in the process of developing an API for 3rd party applications. Our current plan is to make the API available to a limited group of trusted third parties starting in late January 2011. Once the API has been properly tested, we intend to expand the list of 3rd party developers throughout 2011 and beyond.

 

interesting timing. coincidence? :anibad:

 

I'm starting to suspect that innovations at this new site might be more effective than 1000 votes on the Feedback site, in terms of driving change.

Agreed!

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Where did you see the user's email? The only entry I see in the GPX file is for a support email address:

 

<groundspeak:placed_by>xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com</Groundspeak:placed_by>

<groundspeak:owner id="334">xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com</Groundspeak:owner>

 

I blocked out the user's email.

 

I looked at one of mine own and only see the handle. It;'s my guess that this particular person may have used their email as their garmin handle. That would explain it.

 

Or it was an obvious error and they fixed it toot sweet.

 

Check that. Dur. Saw the post about the change.

Edited by team_goobie
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just now from the feedback site:

 

An idea you follow has been updated:

 

API for 3rd party applications

 

Planned → Started

 

Groundspeak is currently in the process of developing an API for 3rd party applications. Our current plan is to make the API available to a limited group of trusted third parties starting in late January 2011. Once the API has been properly tested, we intend to expand the list of 3rd party developers throughout 2011 and beyond.

 

interesting timing. coincidence? :anibad:

 

Doubtful that it's coincidence. They've been toying with this idea for years and years, but never actually done anything. Until today. =)

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I'm starting to suspect that innovations at this new site might be more effective than 1000 votes on the Feedback site, in terms of driving change.

Agreed!

Earlier this decade, Microsoft had ceased all development on Internet Explorer and actually disbanded the team, aside from security fixes for several years. It wasn't until Firefox started making significant inroads that Microsoft woke up, dusted things off & started working on IE7. We could have been stuck with IE6 for another 5 years if not for Firefox.

 

Complacency, stagnation...there needs to be competition.

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As anything new, it will only be a matter of time before caches start getting placed everywhere. Garmin is not a little company and I am sure they know what they are doing. I think I will place some tomorrow and see how long it is until someone comes to find them. Could be fun. :anibad:

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I've noticed that Opencaching only allows Traditionals, Multis, and Unknown/Mystery/Puzzles so far (plus a checkbox for Chirp beacons). Be interesting to see what or if they open up to other cache types as the beta progresses.

 

Earlier this decade, Microsoft had ceased all development on Internet Explorer and actually disbanded the team, aside from security fixes for several years. It wasn't until Firefox started making significant inroads that Microsoft woke up, dusted things off & started working on IE7. We could have been stuck with IE6 for another 5 years if not for Firefox.

 

Complacency, stagnation...there needs to be competition.

 

I think they had something like 90% of the browser usage on the internet around that time. Their top competitors before Firefox were the dying Netscape Navigator and AOL.

 

Of course, you had to use something to browse the web. If IE was the best jank out there, you probably weren't going to quit the internet. With geocaching, if you get tired of all the providers, you might quit geocaching. So there's a little more incentive around here to keep innovating.

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As anything new, it will only be a matter of time before caches start getting placed everywhere. Garmin is not a little company and I am sure they know what they are doing. I think I will place some tomorrow and see how long it is until someone comes to find them. Could be fun. :mad:

 

Thats what I am going to do tomorrow! LOL :anibad: It will force people to get on OC.com.

 

Oh you might wanna add on your OC.com cache page that the cache isnt listed anywhere.

Edited by SwineFlew
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just now from the feedback site:

 

An idea you follow has been updated:

 

API for 3rd party applications

 

Planned → Started

 

Groundspeak is currently in the process of developing an API for 3rd party applications. Our current plan is to make the API available to a limited group of trusted third parties starting in late January 2011. Once the API has been properly tested, we intend to expand the list of 3rd party developers throughout 2011 and beyond.

 

interesting timing. coincidence? :anibad:

I have a feeling we are in for a bunch of well timed changes and updates...at least I hope we are.

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I've noticed that Opencaching only allows Traditionals, Multis, and Unknown/Mystery/Puzzles so far (plus a checkbox for Chirp beacons). Be interesting to see what or if they open up to other cache types as the beta progresses.

 

On the search page they have webcam caches, moving caches, virtuals, events, puzzles, mystery, pod caches, dead drops and then a guest book option(?).

 

It looks they're going for market on caches that no longer are able to be put here. Wonder if that's going to move along the virtual discussion any faster here.

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I've noticed that Opencaching only allows Traditionals, Multis, and Unknown/Mystery/Puzzles so far (plus a checkbox for Chirp beacons). Be interesting to see what or if they open up to other cache types as the beta progresses.

 

On the search page they have webcam caches, moving caches, virtuals, events, puzzles, mystery, pod caches, dead drops and then a guest book option(?).

 

It looks they're going for market on caches that no longer are able to be put here. Wonder if that's going to move along the virtual discussion any faster here.

 

Opencaching.us has those ... I don't think opencaching.com does. Poor choice of web site names Garmin!

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I think geocaching is going to get really wild, real fast.

 

If you are told NO by GC.com then just list at OC.com since I don't think they have reviewers

 

If opencaching.com doesn't have good reviewers then anything goes. Which means every skirt lifter will have a Micro and every tree & bush will have a 35mm film canister regardless of how close they are to another cache. And some idiot will do it just because they can.

 

If a newbie wants everyone to find their caches they will list it everywhere. If someone has a problem with GC.com they will move all there hides to OC.com and within a year OC.com could have as many as GC.com.

 

If you think the police get called a lot now what is going to happen when the flood gates open.

 

Garmin is in the business to sell GPSr so why would they care about what kind of caches get listed at OC.com?

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I plan to place a cache exclusively on OC that was denied for listing on GC.com due to cache saturation restrictions.

 

This is precisely why opencaching.com holds little interest for me. But does opencaching.com have any guidelines for placing caches - saturation, physical containers, permission, restrictions on certain areas? I can't imagine that our local national park areas - where the superintendent forbids traditional caching - would be thrilled if opencaches started to pop up.

Edited by mulvaney
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