The Google Summer of Code Doc Summit and OSM

For 5 days in October the Google Summer of Code Doc Summit, organized together with FLOSS Manuals, will bring together four documentation teams from open source projects, guest speakers, and free documentation ‘free agents’ to discuss everything and anything concerning the free documentation of free software. The event will feature a two day unconference and a three day Book Sprint. During the Book Sprint each project will produce a Book ready for distribution in print and electronic book formats.
The event is an ambitious project. Not only are unconferences about free software documentation scarce, never before has a Book Sprint been attempted with four projects working simultaneously on their own book. It’s going to be an extremely interesting and challenging event.
Free software documentation has often been a very low priority for free software projects. Often the documentation suffers from common flaws including:
  • no documentation existing at all
  • assumptions about the user’s knowledge are set too high
  • poor navigation
  • unexplained jargon
  • there is no visual component
  • the documentation is proprietary or ‘closed’
  • the format is unreadable
  • no translation workflow
  • operational steps are missing, unexplained, written ‘from memory’ or state how the software ‘should’ operate
  • the documentation is out of date, not easily re-usable or not easily modifiable.
The Google Summer of Code Doc Summit will attempt to discuss and address these problematic issues and look towards positive models for documentation production. We hope to shine light on the importance of the free software documentation ‘sector’ in the ecology of Free software. Free (libre) documentation is not simply an aid for learning how to use free software, it is a road into education and adoption in industry, a tool for demonstrating to clients how free software will meet their needs and expectations, and an important promotional tool for the advancement of free software. A healthy free documentation sector is both socially and economically empowering. We believe Free Documentation of Free Software efforts and ideals should be valued on the same level as free software itself and that is exactly what we plan to do at this Summit.
The Google Summer of Code Doc Summit is more than a think tank and an opportunity to discuss real world issues. Four projects, OpenMRS, KDE, Sahana, and OpenStreetMap, will have a chance to directly strengthen their documentation efforts. We look forward to working together with each of the selected teams and individuals to help them produce their own book by the end of the five day summit.
It’s going to be a great event.
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Bono on Pushing Your Luck

 

“When you stop taking chances
You’ll stay where you sit
You won’t live any longer
But it’ll feel like it”

–Bono (1960 – )
Irish music artist and activist
from ‘Summer Rain’

“Diligence is the mother of good luck.”

– Benjamin Franklin (1706–1790)
American statesman, scientist, and printer

luck: noun: a force that makes things happen

You want more luck? Be the force that makes it happen…

  1. Prepare. Work hard to be ready for the opportunities that are important to you. Research. Practice. Perfect.
  2. Be awake. Pay attention to the people, events, and things around you. Evaluate logically and trust your gut instinct.
  3. Take action. Put yourself out there. Explore. Be vulnerable. Make contact with people. Take risks.
  4. Expect positive results. Optimism improves your chances. If (when) you fail, embrace the lesson and continue on, smarter.

That’s it. Now go be lucky (and sell something).

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Designing Maps Applications for Usability on Mobile and Desktop

Maps API applications are accessed on desktop and mobile devices of many shapes and sizes with each application having unique goals for conveying information effectively and for facilitating user interactions.

In this session, we wanted to address some common usability problems that many maps developers run into and to suggest possible solutions that could correct the behaviour. We hoped developers would utilize and build upon these suggestions as they encounter problems in their own projects.

Here is an overview of what was discussed in the talk:

  • Why is usability important and why you should care.
  • What are the differences between mobile and desktop and how do they relate to map applications.
  • Techniques for changing the way data is represented on the map and how can change the experience.
  • Ideas for improving user interaction with the map.
  • Techniques for storing geospatial data.
  • Why incorporating sharing into your application improves usage and user happiness.
  • How changing the appearance of the map can dramatically change the user’s understanding and interpretation of the data.

Justin O’Beirne joined us onstage to talk about map styling and how even the most subtle changes to the map can drastically change the user’s experience. Below is an example of what can be achieved by using styled maps. The two maps are at the same location and have the same data points but the map on the left has had a custom style applied.

By removing the map labels and decreasing the saturation and lightness we are able to emphasise the importance of the data, make it more visually appealing and build a application that is truly our own. If you would like to play more with map styling check out the styled map wizard.

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Japan: Visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial in Street View

We’ve added many historic sites to Street View to let you explore these places online, and now we’ve included Street View imagery of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial,  also known as the “Atomic Bomb Dome.” On August 6, 1945 at 8:15am, the first nuclear device to be used in warfare exploded almost directly above this building. The annihilated structure became an iconic symbol of the bomb’s devastation, and despite rebuilding the rest of the city, Hiroshima decided to keep the Dome in its post-war condition to stand as a living testament to the horror of nuclear conflict.

The Atomic Dome has always been an important reminder of history, but also a living beacon for the message of global peace. The desire to experience the Peace Memorial as a physical space makes it a great match for Street View, which both enables people around the world to tour the site virtually and also preserves this important imagery for the next generation. We hope that the imagery will inspire users outside of Japan take a new interest in Hiroshima’s history and think deeply about the importance and meaning of peace.

Along with this Atomic Dome imagery, we have also added special collections of seven places in Hiroshima Prefecture, including Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and the “floating” Itsukushima Shrine at both high and low tide.

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Churchill on Ramping Down

“This is no time for ease and comfort.
It is the time to dare and endure.”

–Winston Churchill (1874–1965)
British prime minister during WWII

Sales revolution…

Too many people will lose today’s productivity in anticipation of the weekend.

On Monday, too many people will complain about the start of the week (search Twitter for the word “Mondays” at 8 am for proof).

Could you spark a little positive revolution and help someone else break out of the TGIF mentality (or yourself if it applies)? Could you help inspire a “let’s kick some @$$” Monday morning start to the week (luksa… it’s Polish for “let’s kick some @$$”… okay, it’s an acronym we made up… get a printable reminder here)?

Wouldn’t both be more fun (and profitable)? How about just starting it at home?

If you’ve not seen it, here’s 1-minute from Nike that always gets to me (in a very, very good way).

(tbif: too bad it’s Friday… the last sales day of the week)

_____

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