We all love Ted talks right? If you haven’ watched one lately I urge you to give it a go, particularly a Ted talk from your local area. You never really know what kind of amazing things and people are right in your own backyard. Case in point, a guy in my town here in Victoria, BC, Canada who’s an avid cyclist turned GPS enthusiast, turned artist. [Read more…] about TEDx Talks – Cyclist creates GPS Doodles with Garmin GPS + Strava
games
Google Maps Adds Pac Man!
Yep, I said Pac Man! Here’s a little kickback to the 1980s as Google has added the ability for users to play a little Pac Man via the Google Maps service. Simply visit maps.google.com and click on the little PacMan box found in the lower left corner – PacMan is also available to users of Google Maps on Mobile – have fun!

Video – The Complete Guide to Geocaching Etiquette
Something fun and useful for you geocachers or those of you wanting to introduce the family to geocaching over the holidays… via Geocaching.com. From the resource… “What is Geocaching?” and seen the Beginner’s Guide to Finding a Geocache, it’s time to make the transition into pro-level geocaching. This video has tips to take your geocaching game to the next level and guidelines that every geocacher should know. See also Beginner’s Guide to Finding a Geocache: http://youtu.be/sj31U_z9MFA
Watch GISDay Activities on the BlueRaster Instagram Map
GISDay is here once again and for a little GISDay fun the cool team at BlueRaster has mashed up a very cool map that shares all the photos on Instagram tagged with the #GISDay hashtag. Have a look around the world to see some of the activities and map fun taking place on Nov 20, GISDay. Nice stuff BlueRaster – see the Instagram GISDay map HERE

National Geographic Invites You to Play Plan it Green
Here’s a cool, eco-friendly online learning experience from National Geographic, GE and a few friends – Plan it Green. This interactive, eco friendly, online game is designed to introduce kids (and grown up kids) to city planning solutions that are greener and energy efficient… think a green version of SIM City in some ways. According to NGS, the game is part of Connect! Transform the Future, a new national initiative designed to engage, enlighten and educate the nation’s youth in a conversation about the future of energy. The game is part of a growing trend that employs digital gaming to engage players around important social issues… awesome! See more in this official announcement or play it for yourself (and with the kids) at http://www.planitgreenlive.com
TREASURE SQUARE Extends Foursquare to a Global Adventure Game
TREASURE SQUARE is an interesting new mobile game for iPhone built on the Foursquare API that extends the simple checkin to a fun, adventure game experience. Using the app, the user connects via their foursquare user login and then begins to play, with the foursquare checkin venues (like an airport or a train station, cafe, etc…) becoming the setting for an action or adventure game experience.
From the developers… Beneath the spots lie hidden virtual dungeons, and when you pass over them, various events unfold as you seek treasures and proceed deeper within the dungeons. What was once just simple movement, to and from your company or school, this game gives it the excitement of new discoveries. The app also connects to the user’s Twitter and/or facebook for further game sharing. See more details HERE
Spb Brain Evolution – a fun mobile mind workout!
A mobile Tip… Check out Spb Brain Evolution App (10 mobile games) on the cool Nokia 5800 – awesome video. Spb Brain Evolution is an intellectual software game that helps to train the brain and improve memory, logic, arithmetic, and puzzle-solving skills. The application is a suit of 10 mini-games, which have to be played in sequence… win one game then you move on to the next!
Tales from the Gypsy and your chance to score the Akoha VIP Starter Deck and Pay it Forward!
Over on the Gypsybandito blog, my social networking buddy, CT Moore, has posted details of a cool give-away that he just rolled out. The “gypsy” is giving away an Akoha VIP Starter Deck to one lucky commentor – just check out this blog post, make a comment, and you could score a cool prize. Big deal you might think.. well, read on and I’m sure you’ll change your tune! [Read more…] about Tales from the Gypsy and your chance to score the Akoha VIP Starter Deck and Pay it Forward!
Stay Informed about Mobile Gaming via the Nokia N-Gage Insider
Nokia wants to keep the gaming community informed about N-Gage via a cool, new resource called the N-Gage Industry Insider. It’s cool, fun, educational, informative, and even has a Sauna! (Please don’t try accessing the n-gage service from the sauna though!)
Visit the insider to access information about global events, N-Gage developer issues, news, learning aids and much more. You can access the insider via http://insider.n-gage.com
I find this particularly interesting as Ovi rolls out even more functionality, bringing together Nokia services like maps, music, gaming and build on the community aspects of the service. N-Gage, connecting people through gaming… see more in Sauna Talk with Mikka!
iPhone Treasure Hunt at MacWorld
More social gaming… too bad iPhone doesn’t have GPS!! Details… Macworld Expo attendees and other iPhone owners in San Francisco January 15-17, 2008, can “pling for treasure” with iPling — the fun, free, easy-to-use mobile social expansion service for the iPhone. The company has announced a Treasure Hunt in which many valuable prizes will be awarded to its beta users over three days. Prizes include iPod Touch and Shuffle models, as well as gift certificates to popular online retailers such as the Apple Store, Amazon.com, StubHub, Fandango, and iTunes. New prizes will be released throughout the day for each of the three days of the Treasure Hunt. To receive details on starting times and prizes, contestants need to navigate to http://www.ipling.com/ on their iPhone’s Safari browser and key in TREASURE as a General Tag on their iPling Settings page.
It still amazes me that iPhone didn’t come with GPS…