Your best bet is html5 geolocation + modernizr.js + a shim. Browsers that support html5 geolocation will return highly accurate results while those that don't support it will fall back to calling the google maps api (ip to geo).

https://github.com/Modernizr/Modernizr/wiki/HTML5-Cross-Brow...

HTML5 Geolocation requires people to opt-in, which is pretty messy.

Better off getting the free version of the MaxMind city database[1] and running it on a server somewhere.

[1] http://www.maxmind.com/app/geolitecity

The opt-in button is messy but results are very precise and reliable. Some use cases warrant it, some do not. Maxmind claims 79% accuracy on a city level: is the google api worse? All other things being equal I would be inclined to pick the one that didn't require me to frequently install binary patches or update a database.

But I agree with you, it's a ux dealbreaker for most situations. Solution: control the hardware. :)

Here is Crockford's 4 part series, concatenated: http://s3.amazonaws.com/2008/09/javascript.mp4 (178 MB).

Does your link require a password?

No. (But it's read only)

Good idea and I think it would work for Spaces too. Probably possible to build yourself with Automator. Related feature I want to see: focus-follows-mouse.

I would probably just point them to some beginner Wikipedia articles e.g. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_sites.

Very MacGyver. From Radio Shack parts you can build a piezo sensor circuit and stick that on the keypad.

If a comment is logically invalid, intellectually lazy or cruel I sometimes hit the down arrow.

It is an especially good time to be a pragmatist. Communities can help us interpret the wake-up call but at some point the individual must do his own research, think hard and execute on a solid vision.

Your last sentence rings especially true. Each step is a potential point of failure. I tried to set up cap and passenger one day but got stuck on a couple of steps. Sure I could have plowed through and gotten it to work eventually, maybe switched to a different computer or whatever but time is precious. The word "easy" is thrown around too casually in tech circles. Today I've got three domains running on herokugarden and it still shocks me how short the procedure is. Thanks.

Why does the installation of new electronic components have to be such a headache? We don't even have wifi in our cars today. To get a standard cubicle feature in your car it's a PITA DIY project. Maybe we need to design with customizability and modularity in mind.

Take mobile music for example. There is no respect for wifi or CRUD. If you want internet variety you're stuck with either an iPod or a CD player. Wouldn't we all like access to last.fm, pandora or a simplified version of itunes in our cars? Wouldn't it be nice if, whenever your car was in an open wifi area, it synced account preferences and pulled appropriate new content? You should be able to blacklist tracks and podcasts on the fly. Instead you have to remember preferences in your head so that the next time you sit down at your computer you can edit your playlist.

I think Detroit should open up standard panels in the dashboard so commuters can snap out last year's modules and plug in this year's technology. Nobody wants to perform majory surgery on their car, they just want to pop in whatever 3rd party vendors are selling this year. Break the rules, Detroit, and open up an API so 3rd party developers can access a few standard buttons.