Download of the Week: Geosense

David Murphy — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:35:42 -0600

Listen up, Windows 7 aficionados: This one's for you. You've no doubt noticed your operating system's lack of location-based functionality. Unlike Apple's competing OSX, which can triangulate your system's position based on the geographical locations of nearby WiFi hotspots, you can't really... well. You can't do any of that on Microsoft's platform. While you might not need to know exactly where your desktop is (hint: your dwelling), it would sure be nice to have this feature for a more mobile system.

And that's not even in the, "I'm lost in the wilderness and I see a bear help" sense. Wouldn't it be great to automatically have the weather displayed for your current location on your Windows sidebar? If you use Twitter (and yes, readers, I realize you hate Twitter), you could just as easily pull up a listing of messages centered around your particular location: "I just ate a great meal here," or "@bear2 There is a silly human wandering around here; I will eat him," et cetera.

Well, Microsoft hasn't come to your rescue on this one--a third-party developer has created an free application that allows you tap into the wonders of geolocation all by your lonesome. It's called Geosense. Simply install it overtop your standard Windows 7 installation and you'll be able to tap into Google Location Services for WiFi and IP addresses--with promises of future Google Location Services for mobile phones, Skyhook Wireless support, Quova support, and Navizon support to come.

What apps work with Geosense? Currently... a Google Maps client that the Geosense developers have rebuilt. The weather gadget on Windows' sidebar will also make use of Geosense to display weather conditions for your location. And, as you woudl expect, the Twitter application MahTweets will geotag your messages (and Flickr photos) based on the information taken from Geosense.

Each week, Maximum PC picks a new free or shareware download as its favorite of... the week. Have a nifty application that you can't live without? Twitter David Murphy @acererak with your latest suggestions.

British Weather Supercomputer Clinches "Worst Polluter" Crown

Pulkit Chandna — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 09:55:49 -0500

The British Met Office is in possession of the country’s most powerful supercomputer, which it uses to better predict the possible impact of climate change on Britain. The weather supercomputer, installed in its headquarters, is now being lambasted for having such an embarrassingly large carbon footprint that the facility holding it has been labeled the worst public building in the UK in terms of pollution.

According to the Department of Communities and Local Government, which compiled the list, the Met Office’s HQ owes 75% of its carbon footprint to the mean machine, capable of 1,000 billion calculations every second. The supercomputer hogs 1.2 megawatts of energy. 'We would be throwing ourselves back into the dark ages of weather forecasting if we withdrew our reliance on supercomputing, it's as simple as that,' a spokesman for the Met Office said, justifying the use of the £30million ($48 million) supercomputer.

Image Credit: Dailymail

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Download of the Week: Geosense

British Weather Supercomputer Clinches "Worst Polluter" Crown