Longitude - Google Latitude substitute

d0lph1nK1ng · 10:35 PM

A homebrew solution while waiting for a Google Latitude app. This application requires that you run a webserver with PHP on it. If you do not know what that is, then this app is probably not for your. This app has two parts: the PHP/web files that go on the server and the Palm Pre app.

The Pre app gets your GPS coordinates and posts the information to your webserver via a PHP page that stores the data in a local file. Then, give the index.html link to your friends so that they can look at that address to see your position

Download the Web files for the PHP server from here:
http://d0lph1nk1ng.is-a-geek.com/pre...tude-0.1.0.zip

Download the app from the Homebrew Apps Gallery: Longitude

After downloading the IPK and ZIP file, extract the ZIP files to your PHP server directory. Also, you will need to generate a Google Maps API key. Then go into the index.html and change the name to your server or IP address and enter your API key. Then, in the IPK, put the server address or ip in the preferences screen.

EDIT 8/17 by d0lph1nK1ng:
posted source code for original app

EDIT 8/17 by Dacsoft:
I am including a version that updates 1 time every minute instead of every 5 seconds. Over the weekend I will change it to allow the user to configure it.

sam1am · 03:00 AM

Pretty cool - I'm going to set this up tomorrow. I'll have a look at the .php and see if it can be made to submit locations to the real google latitude.

Edit: Looks like the heavy lifting has been done here: http://github.com/natfriedman/playnice/tree/master

I'm going to look into porting this tomorrow if I have time.

jaramillo621 · 08/07/2009, 04:03 AM

Pretty cool was waiting for something like this

Dieter Bohn · 08/07/2009, 10:07 AM

Live in the gallery!

s4mb4 · 08/07/2009, 10:11 AM

hmm, i have been doing this for about a week now. i do not need a seperate server. the Pre is capable of being a php web server all by itself. see HowTo here;
Lighttpd - WebOS Internals

milominderbinder · 08/07/2009, 10:41 AM

Added link in Opening Post to give download link information:

Download the latest version from the Homebrew Apps Gallery: Longitude

- Craig

mikesm · 08/07/2009, 11:21 AM

Is there a version of this for the iPhone and other devices too? I like everyone in my family knowing where everyone else is, but would prefer not having google know that...

bman87 · 08/07/2009, 01:40 PM

Nice app, I will be testing this out!

I like having the ability to post this to an external webserver. Although having a webserver built into the app would be cool to. Which method would take up more bandwidth, constantly updating your location to the webserver, or hosting the http script from the phone?

DonBakke · 08/07/2009, 02:12 PM

I'm looking at this from a business perspective. Could this be used by truck drivers so dispatchers can know where their trucks are? I'm thinking this could be a cool way to build a desktop mobile resource tracking application.

d0lph1nK1ng · 08/07/2009, 02:20 PM

2 things. First, I have updated the description reminding people to generate their own Google Maps API key. Second, I have changed the license of this application to Open Source. Enjoy!

d0lph1nK1ng · 08/07/2009, 02:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DonBakke

I'm looking at this from a business perspective. Could this be used by truck drivers so dispatchers can know where their trucks are? I'm thinking this could be a cool way to build a desktop mobile resource tracking application.

i will post the source code soon, but you could definately change the index.html to put a marker for each driver showing their name or truck # in the bubble and pull the lat,long from a database on a server instead of a text file. Good luck!

nethan · 03:12 PM

Cool app. A couple of quick questions though.

The app says I am in downtown Charlotte, which I'm not.

Also, it seems to be updating every 5 seconds or so. Is there a way to turn down this update speed or does it not effect battery/bandwidth on the Pre and hence not really matter?

Thanks again for writing the code for this.

EDIT:

Ok, I've been troubleshooting and it looks like the map is saying it's updated via LAST FETCH but the LAST UPDATED is from a few days ago and hence why I am getting the default data being Charlotte. I'm guessing either something is screwy with the file permissions on my PHP server (I tried setting location.dat to 777 but no luck there) or the server setting on the pre itself is wrong. I've got it set to "http://www.myservername.com/folderthatPHPscripsarein/"

ssrjazz · 08/07/2009, 07:09 PM

very cool lil latitude-like app. One request. Adjustible update time. Looks like it updates every 10 seconds. being able to set how many seconds/minutes would be killer.

nethan · 08/07/2009, 07:25 PM

Got it working finally. I had misspelled something in the server name. It was still saying SUCCESS in green as it was updating somewhere, just not where I want it to be.

It works great and should be pretty easy to embed in various web pages.

Thanks again.

Abyssul · 08/07/2009, 09:14 PM

I can't get the location.dat to update on my website. Everything else displays properly and I have the correct website in the Pre app. The app says its uploading successfully.

Arthur Thornton · 08/08/2009, 01:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abyssul

I can't get the location.dat to update on my website. Everything else displays properly and I have the correct website in the Pre app. The app says its uploading successfully.

Make sure location.dat is set to 777 and you might have to set the saveLocation.php file to 755.

Abyssul · 08/08/2009, 09:41 AM

I just set the files to 777 to no avail.

Arthur Thornton · 08/08/2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abyssul

I just set the files to 777 to no avail.

Is the file not updating or are you not seeing the changes?

Try navigating manually to the saveLocation.php and make sure it executes properly.

Abyssul · 12:32 PM

The file refuses to update.

index: http://aby.net16.net/index.html
php file: http://aby.net16.net/saveLocation.php

Arthur Thornton · 08/08/2009, 12:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abyssul

The file refuses to update.

index: My Location
php file: http://aby.net16.net/saveLocation.php

Well I tried to run the saveLocation.php file the same way the app does and your free host tried downloading it to my computer (refused to execute the file). I then proceeded to just try accessing it without attempting an update and it came up with a "We're checking the site for abuse" page.

Try another free host and you might get one that will allow it to work.

08/07/2009, 02:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
sam1am Member Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: The SLC Posts: 177 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 24 Thanked 79 Times in 24 Posts	Pretty cool - I'm going to set this up tomorrow. I'll have a look at the .php and see if it can be made to submit locations to the real google latitude. Edit: Looks like the heavy lifting has been done here: http://github.com/natfriedman/playnice/tree/master I'm going to look into porting this tomorrow if I have time. Last edited by sam1am; 08/07/2009 at 03:00 AM.
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 04:03 AM	#3 (permalink)
jaramillo621 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 21 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 2 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	Pretty cool was waiting for something like this
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 10:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
Dieter Bohn Editor Emeritus Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Sunnyvale, CA Posts: 4,872 Likes Received: 6 Thanks: 290 Thanked 1,362 Times in 360 Posts	Live in the gallery! __________________ This is my next... website
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 10:11 AM	#5 (permalink)
s4mb4 Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Posts: 157 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 1 Thanked 27 Times in 12 Posts	hmm, i have been doing this for about a week now. i do not need a seperate server. the Pre is capable of being a php web server all by itself. see HowTo here; Lighttpd - WebOS Internals
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 10:41 AM	#6 (permalink)
milominderbinder Homebrew Developer Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: ↑ iPhone Black Launcher Theme Posts: 4,593 Likes Received: 117 Thanks: 2,535 Thanked 3,156 Times in 908 Posts	Added link in Opening Post to give download link information: Download the latest version from the Homebrew Apps Gallery: Longitude - Craig __________________ - Milo → Getting Started → Ringtones → Videos/Movies → Patches/Themes → Music Player(Remix) → Battery Life → Backup/Syncing → Great Signal-Airave → iPhone Theme → Forum Guidelines
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08/07/2009, 11:21 AM	#7 (permalink)
mikesm Member Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 330 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 3 Thanked 44 Times in 17 Posts	Is there a version of this for the iPhone and other devices too? I like everyone in my family knowing where everyone else is, but would prefer not having google know that...
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 01:40 PM	#8 (permalink)
bman87 Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 6 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Nice app, I will be testing this out! I like having the ability to post this to an external webserver. Although having a webserver built into the app would be cool to. Which method would take up more bandwidth, constantly updating your location to the webserver, or hosting the http script from the phone?
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 02:12 PM	#9 (permalink)
DonBakke Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 84 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 3 Times in 2 Posts	I'm looking at this from a business perspective. Could this be used by truck drivers so dispatchers can know where their trucks are? I'm thinking this could be a cool way to build a desktop mobile resource tracking application.
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 02:20 PM	#10 (permalink)
d0lph1nK1ng Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 326 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 1 Thanked 251 Times in 47 Posts	2 things. First, I have updated the description reminding people to generate their own Google Maps API key. Second, I have changed the license of this application to Open Source. Enjoy! __________________ Thanks, @d0lph1nK1ng http://dolphinking-software.com My apps → dkGoogleVoice → ScreamIt → dkStopwatch → CoinToss → DigiClock → dkLightsaber → CowTasks → iTunesRemote → AndroidApp → Longitude
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 03:05 PM	#12 (permalink)
nethan Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 96 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts	Cool app. A couple of quick questions though. The app says I am in downtown Charlotte, which I'm not. Also, it seems to be updating every 5 seconds or so. Is there a way to turn down this update speed or does it not effect battery/bandwidth on the Pre and hence not really matter? Thanks again for writing the code for this. EDIT: Ok, I've been troubleshooting and it looks like the map is saying it's updated via LAST FETCH but the LAST UPDATED is from a few days ago and hence why I am getting the default data being Charlotte. I'm guessing either something is screwy with the file permissions on my PHP server (I tried setting location.dat to 777 but no luck there) or the server setting on the pre itself is wrong. I've got it set to "http://www.myservername.com/folderthatPHPscripsarein/" Last edited by nethan; 08/07/2009 at 03:12 PM.
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 07:09 PM	#13 (permalink)
ssrjazz Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Columbia, Mo Posts: 790 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 52 Times in 30 Posts	very cool lil latitude-like app. One request. Adjustible update time. Looks like it updates every 10 seconds. being able to set how many seconds/minutes would be killer.
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 07:25 PM	#14 (permalink)
nethan Member Join Date: Aug 2009 Posts: 96 Likes Received: 0 Thanks: 4 Thanked 12 Times in 8 Posts	Got it working finally. I had misspelled something in the server name. It was still saying SUCCESS in green as it was updating somewhere, just not where I want it to be. It works great and should be pretty easy to embed in various web pages. Thanks again.
	Liked by

08/07/2009, 09:14 PM	#15 (permalink)
Abyssul webOS Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 2,132 Likes Received: 45 Thanks: 41 Thanked 807 Times in 433 Posts	I can't get the location.dat to update on my website. Everything else displays properly and I have the correct website in the Pre app. The app says its uploading successfully.
	Liked by

08/08/2009, 09:41 AM	#17 (permalink)
Abyssul webOS Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 2,132 Likes Received: 45 Thanks: 41 Thanked 807 Times in 433 Posts	I just set the files to 777 to no avail.
	Liked by

08/08/2009, 12:26 PM	#19 (permalink)
Abyssul webOS Enthusiast Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 2,132 Likes Received: 45 Thanks: 41 Thanked 807 Times in 433 Posts	The file refuses to update. index: http://aby.net16.net/index.html php file: http://aby.net16.net/saveLocation.php Last edited by Abyssul; 08/08/2009 at 12:32 PM.
	Liked by

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