Philadelphia growing local apps
Monday, August 23rd, 2010
Philadelphians are making smart phone applications for Philadelphians. There are apps that track local traffic congestion and theater listings among others. They are part of a trend away from the World Wide Web.
Wired magazine says the Web Is Dead. The writers make are distinguishing between the Web and the internet. The Web is the huge array of sites that you access through a browser, like Firefox. But that makes up a small portion of the overall internet, which includes information other transfers like email, FTP sites, Torrent, and smart phone apps.
Philly traffic apps are an example of the trend away from the web. Philadelphia Traffic Cameras is an app that taps into hundreds of streaming cameras available on PennDOT's website, delivering only the ones you want. Patrick Cassady created an app called Trainboard that constantly constantly scrapes the SEPTA website for new information about train delays.
"The advantage of an app is that you can have it close at hand. You don't have to start up a browser and go to a bookmark. You just select an icon from the home screen and you're in."
Casady's comments were recorded using Skype, which is another internet function that bypasses the Web browser as well as traditional phone lines.