The NextBus Flap: A Tilted Playing Field for iPhone Apps? (update)

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Update (Aug. 19, 3:15 p.m.): SF Appeal has more or less wrapped this story of lameness up. MTA and Apple have both told NBIS to take a hike, and don’t let the door hit ya … Oh, and now that Routesy is live once again, we’ll be finishing up our review and posting it soon. It was cut short as this whole brouhaha went down.

Original post (July 10): Once upon a time, in the not-so-distant past, Ken Schmier and Alex Orloff at NextBus Information Systems (NBIS) got in a fight with Steven Peterson of Routesy. Who are these people? What’s NBIS? Where’s my bus? Good questions.

So, here it goes. We’ve all seen the bus-arrival data flashing at us from bus shelters across town; many of you have probably gotten it on your cellphone. But the matter of who owns this data and who can use it recently became a hot debate when Peterson, the developer of the iPhone app Routesy, got into a disagreement with NBIS, the company that claims to have rights to that sometimes-accurate information flashing at you from the bus stop and on the interwebs.

Oh, and when we say “NBIS,” that is not the same thing as NextBus, Inc.

I know.

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Category: News

$2 Ride in Hell: The Dirty 38-Geary

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38geary

(This story by Ryan is also posted at Broke-Ass Stuart’s Goddamn Website)

When you’re a young and curious broke ass, coming up with $2 and stepping onto the SF Muni can be a very thrilling and sexual experience. But the thing to remember is you have to make sure you’re ready for this responsibility. When two people love each other very much, they sometimes have urges to ride the Muni; however, it’s very important to be sure you’ve prepared yourself for this encounter. True, you may see a total fox that’s eyeing you from across the aisle, but sometimes you may see a homeless person with their hand down their pants. The real beauty is you never really know which it’s going to be. But more often than not, it’s Big Reggie smiling at you with a toothless grin.

toothless_freak_show

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Category: diaries Tags:

Those strange voices we all know

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Coming and going
Photo by Flickr user Ric e Ette

The following was sent to us by BART rider Jean

i’m on the bart every so often when i don’t drive to work. i don’t mind riding the trains, but it’s the waiting in the stations that gets me. half the time there’s no where to sit and i know it’s silly, but i just can’t read while standing up. so i just stand around and listen to the bart announcements. “ten car train for richmond in four minutes. eight car daly city train in ten minutes.” and it’s always weird for me to hear the automated announcements because i’m thinking about the man and the woman who have recorded them.

did they record each piece separately and then some computer strings them together? for instance, the guy records, “ten car train for” and then “richmond in” and then “four,” “ten,” “one,” etc. or did they think of every possible train length/destination/time combo and have the guy recite each one? Read more

Category: BART, reflection

Photo Gallery: Reading on Muni

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Heather at Flickr took this great photoset that combines everything I love: public transit, books, and a little voyeuristic view of what people are reading. From her photo set I spotted the Chronicle comic pages, the Examiner, a book called Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, and another called Fresh Air Fiend (by Paul Theroux, the internet said).

You can also find kids reading a big colorful alphabet book, a biology text book (fish!), a book in Russian, and even a few shots of Chinese newspapers. I am really curious about this awesomely illustrated book and this tiny, worn-out leather-bound book.

On my commute, I’m still working through the second half of Haruki Murakami’s The Windup Bird Chronicle and Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. Anybody got more book recs for commuting on the bus? Check out Heather’s slideshow above, revel in how many people still like to read, and see if you spot any more books you recognize.

Category: diaries, Photos

MJ Sighting: Take 2

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MJ2
Photo by John Heroux

Last week on Muni Diaries, @anthologie posted a photo of a dancer at the 24th Street Station. A guy rockin’ out to PYT, according to her tweets.

We went ahead and added that post to the mix here at the nascent BART Diaries.

And now we have a second sighting of what looks to be the same groovy dude, this time at Glen Park. This photo comes from BART rider John Heroux. Thanks, John!

If you’ve got some awesome BART sightings, write us or send us photos: bartdiaries@gmail.com.

Category: BART, diaries, Photos Tags:
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