Tag Archives: Metropolitan Transit Authority

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint, Episode Links, Podcast

PTJ 241: Glass Houses

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After a two-week hiatus, El Kaiser and J.D. are back with the tech news of the week — including Amazon’s latest experiments for making money and Google Glass finally finding a home of sorts. And how about that Doctor Who announcement last weekend, eh? Oh, and if you have to ride the New York City subway system, do we have a tip for you!

(Hopefully) Helpful Hint

 

Episode Links

Sorry Johnny T and the NFL, New York City Is PTJ Territory

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Let me just set the record straight: Super Bowl 48 (I don’t do Roman Numerals) is NOT in New York City. The Giants and Jets abandoned us decades ago for Northern New Jersey and THAT is where the game will be played.  No dome.  No warm weather climate.  Just a New Jersey swamp.  I, of course, have christened this event the “Swamp Bowl”.  Let Bill Lumbergh break it down for us:

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[BTW: I really dislike that whole blue shirt, white collar look. It’s so indecisive.  Pick a color and stick with it, dangit. ]

Now don’t go thinking I’m hating on the Garden State because I’m not.  Personally, I think New Jerseyans should be offended. The NFL’s massive marketing machine has gone out of its way and are pulling out all the stops to brand this as a New York event. Why all the heat for Jersey?  It has to sting a little if you live on the paying side of the George Washington Bridge.  Of course the game’s proximity to my beloved Big Apple ensures this side of bridge will be overrun with people looking for the sights, sounds, and experiences only the greatest city on the planet can offer.

This week on the show I discuss some of my favorite apps designed to help tourists get around and enjoy their time in New York City.

New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority offers an app gallery at their  website with a variety of free and paid apps that will help you get around using mass transit.

If you need more practical tips for your trip to New York City, take a peep at this video from a puppet with almost as much attitude as El Kaiser:

 

Podcast

PTJ 79: Welcome to Kaiser Town

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Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these podcasters from sharing their hi-jinks and shenanigans! Well, actually gloom of night might give us pause… This week J.D. gives us some helpful hints on how to prevent our children from making unapproved in-app purchases and Pedro tells us what apps to use to navigate and experience NYC like a native. In the news, Verizon buys Intel Media’s OnCue Internet-based television service; the Internet of Things gets hacked; the video game console war rages on; Hewlett-Packard brings back Windows 7; Samsung Galaxy S5 rumor mill picks up the pace; a comet chasing spacecraft wakes from a long nap; and The New Yorker magazine reminds us that there is still nothing quite like the power and reach of live over-the-air radio.

Episode Links, Software

Don’t Sleep in the Subway, Baby

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Sure Yahoo’s been on a spending spree, but Apple has been doing some shopping of its own this summer. Last week, it acquired two location-oriented companies, Locationary and HopStop.

HopStop, for those who haven’t had it save the bacon in a strange land, offers up door-to-door transit, walking, biking, and taxi directions in over 300 cities worldwide. No word on what Apple plans to do with the service (besides nuking the Windows Phone app version), but here’s hoping the transit directions get folded into the Apple Maps app so we all don’t have to refer to other apps to figure out our train plan. So go download the app or check out the mobile site now.

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But if HopStop isn’t your thing, what else can you use to navigate the labyrinth of a major metropolitan mass transit system and not get lost for days?

If you have an iPhone, you can get free maps and directions for 12 major transit systems with Embark for iOS. Boston, Chicago, London, Long Island, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington DC and most importantly, New York are among the cities serviced here. And Embark does not require an Internet connection so you can use it when you’re on a platform underground trying to figure out which train to take when the one you need is out of service. There’s also a free version for the Embark NYC Subway for Android.

But if New York City is the town you wish explore, our own Metropolitan Transit Authority Web site has a huge collection of links to mobile apps for Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and mobile Web. It’s a mix of official and third-party developers, but you can find 68 iPhone apps, 34 iPad apps, 33 Android apps, 8 BlackBerry apps and 8 Windows Phone apps listed.

Lest we forget, Google Maps for Android and iOS. The old reliable app includes transit guides for many cities and all kinds of navigational bells and whistles like audio turn-by-turn directions.

If you’re traveling or just want a really good pocket guide for your own hometown, check your phone’s app store and search for transit apps and local guides for specific cities. And while you’re loading up your phone with your transit app of choice, don’t forget to throw a few appropriate tunes on there as well. Safe travels, yo.