|
Over Half of News Feeds No Longer Available |
|
Saturday, 26 July 2008 |
|
Over the last few weeks, I noticed that I was no longer receiving news from any of the AP sources I had selected in my channel configuration. While I suppose this could be resulting from a technical issue, such as a change in the feed format, I think the more likely case is that these sources have been discontinued through lapsed contracts or in an intentional effort to free some bandwidth. I don't expect to see these sources returned to operation, as the watches are being phased out and the MSNBC feeds provide sufficient information for the v2 GPS news channel. I was curious about the scope of the outage, so I did a little research and compiled a list of sources that are still sending versus those that are not. As it turns out, over half of the ones still listed for selection on the channel configuration page are no longer operational. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
PopLogix in the POST-Watch Era |
|
Tuesday, 01 July 2008 |
|
In April, Microsoft announced that all development efforts for the SPOT Watch had stopped so that resources could be redirected to more viable technologies, including GPS devices and the new MSN Direct for Windows Mobile software. Then, on June 3rd, SpotStop.com closed their discussion forums, even though there are still numerous MSN Direct products on the market. So what does this mean for this site as we move from the SPOT Watch era to the POST-Watch era? Moving forward, PopLogix intends to keep the SPOTCal and DirectPop/DirectRSS/DirectWeb applications available, and support will be provided as time permits. In addition, since the community has been left without a dedicated active forum for discussion of all things MSN Direct, I have added hardware-specific forums for each type of product that utilizes MSN Direct services. Hopefully, we can keep the valuable discussion going here at PopLogix. |
|
|
Garmin to Offer Four New GPSs with MSN Direct Support |
|
Thursday, 06 March 2008 |
|
Engadget reported the availability of four new GPS units from Garmin, expected in the second quarter of this year, as announced by the company at CeBIT. The basic unit is the nuvi 205, expected to retail for $213.32. The nuvi 255 offers more comprehensive maps for $319.99. Either model can be had in a 4.3-inch widescreen formfactor for an additional $53.33. While these models support MSN Direct, you'll need to acquire the optional GDB 55 receiver, sold separately for $124.99, in order to receive the content. The receiver comes with a full year of the service, in contrast to the units announced at CES, which only include three months free. The nuvi 2x5 series will be the first entry-level GPS units to carry MSN Direct, which should make it affordable to the masses and further guarantee the longevity of the service. |
|
|
