Results tagged “technology”

Metro on Monday will being testing a new software program designed to provide a real-time back-up to the rail system's crash-avoidance system, Lena Sun reports in the Post. The software was developed by WMATA and Annapolis-based developer ARINC following NTSC recommendations after the deadly June 22 Red Line crash. "With the software, a malfunction will trigger a visual and audio alarm on controllers' screens at Metro's operations center; controllers will be required to acknowledge the alarms." It'll be tested for the first time during Monday's rush hour, with no set timeline on when it might go into full and complete use.

Last week we got a little too excited about the impending expansion of cell phone service in the Metro system, but now it's official: T-Mobile, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel customers should be able to use their cell phones inside Metro's 20 busiest stations starting first thing Friday morning (the Post says it'll be turned on at midnight, but of course the system will be closed by then). Verizon customers could already access their network inside the same stations, and they will continue to have that service after the change.

Back in August, WMATA announced that the first phase of the Congressionally imposed expanded cell phone network inside D.C.'s Metro system would be completed by October 16. That date, by which time Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel, AT&T and T-Mobile customers should all be able to access their networks inside the 20 busiest underground Metro stations, is coming up fast. And earlier this week, it appeared as though some of the stations might already be wired up.

Folks subscribed to WMATA's emailed press release service were treated to dozens of news alerts today - except they were from 2003, and full of very, very old news. The errant emails were the result of "technical difficulties," according to Metro spokesperson Angela Gates, and the transit agency's IT department was working to discover the source of the problem. We luckily noticed the 30 or so press releases we got from Metro today seemed funny right away, but the Washington Post's Get There blog wasn't so lucky: they quickly posted a story about how SmarTrip cards weren't going to be available for a couple of months, only to have to pull it down and replace it with an explanation about the press release having been from 2003. Chief Metro spokesperson Lisa Farbstein was able to joke about the snafu later in the afternoon, after the bad alerts had finally stopped. "Well, at first we were feeling nostalgic," Farbstein quipped in an email.

One day into to the official relaunch of WMATA's Next Bus service, and we've heard a lot positive feedback from bus riders about the usefulness of the system. But some problems with the real-time Metrobus arrival tool are already apparent.

Metro is relaunching Next Bus on Wednesday, July 1. The service originally debuted about two years ago, but WMATA wasn't happy with its accuracy, which it said was only about 80 percent, so they shut down the pilot program in October 2007. After spending almost two years making upgrades, Next Bus is back, and we want to hear from bus riders as they try out the improved real-time Metrobus locating system.

The DTV-pocalypse is finally here, and as broadcasters nationwide officially turn off their analog signals today and boost their digital ones, the local DTV channel line-up could be in flux for a while. A few months ago we rounded up the digital TV channels that have been widely available in the D.C. metro area for some time, but all the advice we're reading suggests you should rescan for possibly new or different available channels at least once a week for the next little while, as things may change or shuffle around. The Post's excellent tech guy, Rob Pegoraro, answered a bunch of questions about the transition in a live chat today, so check that out, too.

There was some lamentation in the local tech community over D.C. Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra's decision to leave city government for a post with the Obama administration. Under Kundra's watch the Office of the CTO did some cool things, most notably the city data catalog and the Apps for Democracy contest (which was a great idea, even if the money-saving numbers quoted in relation to it are transparently ridiculous). But — the occasional FBI raid notwithstanding — there are encouraging signs that OCTO* is going to continue to pursue a spirit of innovation even after Kundra's departure. Yes, the diminished quality of the city's crime incident data feed is disappointing, but that seems to be MPD's fault, not OCTO's. More encouragingly, a second Apps For Democracy contest is underway; the city's geographic shapefile repository seems to have removed some of the hoops through which users previously had to jump to acquire its larger datasets; and — most excitingly — OCTO is rolling out a new 311 API. If you haven't checked out the city's online service request center, you really ought to. From scheduling bulk trash pickup to reporting broken streetlights to arranging for graffiti removal, there are nearly forty different city services can be accessed through the system. And although I'm still waiting on a new recycling bin (any year now!), my admittedly anecdotal experience with the system has been mostly positive. By providing a standardized and reliable interface for developers, the new 311 API aims to make these capabilities available through sites and programs other than the dc.gov website. The example most often cited is a theoretical iPhone app for reporting potholes: fire it up, snap a photo of the offending divot, and press submit. The phone could then whisk the information (along with your current latitude and longitude) to the city government without the need for additional information. At least, that's the dream. The API is still under development, and things are in flux. For instance, it's not yet clear exactly how users will obtain the API keys that will let them use the system — or how griefers will be prevented from reporting every parking meter in the city to be broken every hour of every day. But that hasn't stopped developers from beginning to work with the system. For instance, local developers Zvi Band and Aaron Brazell have released Ruby and PHP libraries, respectively, that aim to make it easier for programmers working in those languages to access the API. And we're sure that the next Apps For Democracy will include many entries that make use of the API, whatever state it's in. There are some functions that are already useful, like the capability to convert a geographic position to a nearby street address (which can be surprisingly difficult to do when using conventional mapping services like Google's). It's an exciting time to be a D.C. resident with a computer and a desire to get a streetlight fixed. What kind of apps would you like to see? * Also: is it just us, or is OCTO's logo in desperate need of improvement? The current state of affairs is inexcusable — particularly when you consider the anthropomorphic octopus options that are open to whoever's responsible for the agency's graphics.

It's a Capitol catastrophe, folks. The Hill is reporting that the entire U.S. House, both members and staffers, don't have access to their email right now. Apparently a circuit breaker overloaded a House data center Thursday afternoon, making the whole system go kablooey. Engineers are working to resolve the problem, and they hope to have the House back up and emailing away at some point today. Guess it's a good thing this happened while Congress wasn't here.

We know that plenty of you are getting all psyched about the new 3G iPhone, which is set to deliver tomorrow morning. (Hopefully, this release won't result in as much cutting in line as the first incarnation of the much-sought after gadget.) Via We Love DC, it appears that some intrepid developers have created a new iPhone navigation application called iTrans DC (link requires iTunes), which allows you to access published Metro times. Sounds cool, but $15 seems like an outrageous amount to pay for information that you can easily get from WMATA or Meenster, with just a couple additional clicks of your finger. Some of the early iTrans DC reviewers are also skeptical. We've pasted them below:

Everyone knows by now that talking on a cell phone without a hands-free device while driving in the District is illegal -- even if it is a poorly enforced and largely ignored law. But given the increasing popularity of SMS (and really, who actually talks on the phone anymore? I recently found myself incredibly frustrated that a close friend left me a voicemail. Who leaves garbled voicemail when you can shoot a quick, clear text? You want me to call who? Just send me a text, ZOMG!!1!), what's the rule on the arguably more dangerous practice of texting while driving? Turns out, there is none, and in Virginia at least, some legislators would like to change that.

You may have noticed that our user profiles were down for the last week, but I'm happy to report that they are now back online and better than ever. Take a minute to check out their new look: log in with your commenter username and click on "View Profile" in the upper left hand corner of our home page. You'll see that you can now choose from three tabs across the top whether you want to see comments, posts (if you're a DCist contributor) or which posts you've recommended. A shot of my profile is above.

You may have noticed a number of new features on DCist today, thanks to an -ist network wide upgrade. Since these features are brand new, they're also wreaking a normal amount of havoc on our servers as the Gothamist tech team races to fix bugs and get everything up and running smoothly. That said, our servers are going down on and off right now, so we're not at 100 percent today. We appreciate you being...

With the opening of its ongoing Exploring the Early Americas exhibit today, the Library of Congress marks the beginning of a transformation that by the Summer of 2008 will “merge cutting-edge technology with the knowledge and inspiration embodied in the Library’s unparalleled collections and curators.” The exhibit features some of the 3,000 items representing the "beginning" of America (that is, the beginning of European documented America), that Jay I. Kislak has been collecting for more...

On Sunday the Post ran a big story on the future of SmarTrip cards containing some good news for DCist commenters who have long complained that the problem with SmarTrip is that you can't use them and take advantage of any of Metro's special discount passes. WMATA has announced that by the end of 2008, SmarTrip technology will allow customers to realize the benefits of its special passes like the 7-Day Fast Pass, Montgomery County's...

If you've noticed a ton of error messages in DCist comments over the last few days, you're not alone -- our technology team up in New York is working to fix the problem as we speak, as it's affecting the entire -Ist Network. We appreciate your patience while they implement a solution as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please don't repost your comments. Even if you do get an error message that says your...

A happy Friday to you, Washington. Hopefully you all made it in to work on time despite Metro having reduced the speed of their rail cars in several areas this morning. Speed restrictions were in place until 8:10 a.m. along portions of the Orange line in Maryland and Virginia, the Red line from Union Station to Silver Spring and from Shady Grove to Grosvenor, and the Green line from Branch Avenue to Congress Heights...

>> The District's next sales tax holiday starts Friday, Nov. 23 and lasts until the following Friday, December 2. [WJLA] >> Mayor Fenty and Schools Chancellor Rhee announced today that every D.C. classroom will have a working desktop computer by February under a $4 million technology initiative. [WaPo] >> Maryland voters will get to decide in a special November 2008 referendum on whether to allow the state to install up to 15,000 slot machines...

If you're not looking forward to setting your Thanksgiving or Christmas table with your best Ikea acrylic, you might want to take a short road trip this weekend to get some new wares. The Valley Craft Network, a 26-year old association of professional artisans and craftspeople, is holding its annual holiday studio tour this Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nestled in the Middletown and Pleasant Valleys west of Frederick, Maryland, the...

The Examiner reports on a new DMV program that would install SmarTrip chips into every new D.C. driver's license and identification card beginning in October, 2008. The program is a combined effort by the agency and WMATA, the latter of which has made no secret of its intention to make universal conversion to SmarTrip a priority. Recently Metro General Manager John Catoe made SmarTrip cards available for sale at more Giant Food stores and announced...

Zipcar and Flexcar, D.C.'s two most popular car-sharing companies, announced they are merging Wednesday. Emails to customers of both companies directed them to an announcement on Zipcar's website. "The combined company will provide our members with increased benefits and improve our ability to expand into new markets," said Zipcar CEO Scott Griffith in the statement. The new company will operate under the Zipcar name, and while the pricing plans are still being hammered out, they...

Happy Halloween, Washington! From the looks of things, Mayor Adrian Fenty is in a festive mood for the holiday, and had a great time right alongside everyone else at last night's 17th Street High Heel Race. The Examiner isn't so sure Fenty's high spirits will last though, as members of the D.C. Council are ticked off at the Mayor for snubbing their hearings by not sending a representative from his office to attend them. Hopefully...

Last week a little dose of relief came to the city's art lovers and critics, as the National Gallery of Art announced they've filled the position to head up their department of modern art, vacant for around six months now. Harry Cooper comes to the NGA from the Harvard University Art Museums, and Washington City Paper's Jeffry Cudlin does a good job putting it in perspective. In other museum news, camera-in-cell-phone technology is officially history....

The Examiner has some exclusive info on a gun that was recovered that matches the .45 caliber bullets found at the scene of the fatal shooting of 15 year-old DeOnte Rawlings. Police found the gun in the apartment of Clifton Coleman, 18, who was arrested last week for shooting his girlfriend in the face, and was a friend of Rawlings. It's still unclear, however, whether Rawlings fired shots with the gun the night he was...

Happy Tuesday, Washington. The news broke early this morning that Judge Roy Pearson will reportedly lose his job, according to sources cited by the Post. Pearson, who infamously sued the owners of Custom Cleaners first for $65 million and then later for $54 million for misplacing a pair of his pants, is a District administrative law judge who has continued to draw a paycheck despite being taken off of his case work since the...

Morning, Washington. We hope you were out enjoying the fantastic weather, especially since the environment has been front and center in the news this weekend. As you must have heard, our former Vice President turned Global Warming Guru had to shove over the Oscar on his mantle to make space for half of a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe after the news you were inspired to go check out the 20 amazing houses built on the...

We may write all the time about our developing neighborhoods, but one D.C. block is getting super-developed as we speak. Stroll down to the National Mall between today and October 20 and you'll find yourself in the middle of the Solar Village, where twenty universities have descended on the strip with their brilliant innovations costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to compete in Solar Decathlon 2007. The entire event is open to the public with...

Good morning, D.C. If by any chance you're a contractor with the city, you may be in for a rude awakening this morning, as City Manager Dan "The Man" Tangherlini and Chief Technology Officer Vivek Kundra have ordered your cell phone to be returned. Apparently some non-employee contractors have been getting a pretty sweet deal from the District for some time in the form of free cell phones, the end of which will save the...

This Friday marks the start of D.C.'s Sonic Circuits Festival of Experimental Music, which will run through September 29 at venues around the city. The festival traces its roots back to 1993, when the American Composer's Forum (ACF) curated a traveling program that was hosted by ACF chapters across the country and offered to any venue interested in presenting music based on electronic technology. The D.C. chapter of ACF first hosted the festival in 2000,...

Yes, the tickets were expensive as hell and yes, the venue is not the most convenient in the world, but it's Herbie Hancock for cryin' out loud. They came, they saw, they killed. Those who made the effort to head over to The Birchmere on Sunday night got their $75 worth and then some as the the jazz icon, along with his most recent band, took the audience on a journey around the world and...