Know those corny signs that are up in just about any tourist-heavy area which show people which direction and how far another tourist-heavy attraction/city/state is? Something like an arrow sticking out of the ground in Maine, pointing West and proudly displaying “Hollywood: ‘X’ miles.” Well Direction Known does something similar, only with customizable lists of things to point at and a readout that updates and syncs in real-time as the user moves around.
As someone living in a major metropolitan center, I can’t exactly walk a straight line to wherever it is I need to go. However, anyone who’s ever tried navigating anywhere on foot ever knows that even having a general idea of where their destination is can be a huge help. Of course, there’s also the option to use the device’s built-in GPS to check the map.
Direction Known does have plenty of practical uses, including finding a friend at the park, trying to figure out which direction to start walking in after getting off the subway or finding one’s way out of the wilderness (if there’s a signal). It also has some non-practical uses, like showing the kids how much farther until they reach grandma and grandpa’s house or letting said grandparents watch their family getting closer. It can also be used for purely nostalgic purposes, such as having an arrow that always points to one’s childhood home. Locations can be saved in separate groups, keeping things from getting too cluttered and giving users more control over what they’re trying to find.
Upon first glance, Direction Known might look like nothing more than a colorful compass, but it can be much more than that. It can be incredibly helpful in the right situation, and it can illicit a nostalgic smile in others. Ultimately it’s up to the individual user to decide. Regardless of how it’s used, it’s available in the App Store right now.
:: A GIDDY GLIDE
We all know the story of Hansel and Gretel, the fairytale children who trailed bread crumbs behind them to mark their path in a confusing forest. Thankfully, we have more reliable methods of tracking our paths—and Magic Measure is a new iPhone app that aims to do so using your iPhone. Magic Measure drops digital breadcrumbs in your wake and “magically” measures the distance you’ve traveled. It’s certainly more convenient than trying to hunt down a trail of real crumbs.
DAH-Measure takes the measuring app one step further by measuring distance, angle, and height, all in the same app. The developers don’t divulge how they calculate the distance, they just say that Measurements are taken using iPhone’s camera, sensors and mathematical equations.” Their goal was to make a more practical app that wouldn’t have a bunch of bells and whistles bogging it down. It was built to work, and it does fairly well.
