Does Your Browser Know Where You Are? With Mozilla Geode, It Might
Today, the old real estate adage 'location, location, location' could just as easily be applied to the Web, where it seems that "where you are" is becoming as important as the information you're seeking.
Nowhere is that more apparent than with GPS-enabled mobile platforms that use location-specific information to simplify the way people access and share content on a daily basis. Later today Mozilla will release Geode, a Firefox geolocation add-on which will enable localized content.
Not to be left out, the major players have begun to facilitate and support the sharing of geolocation information, as well. Google has been pushing Google Gears to handle geolocation information, Yahoo! has opened its location database to developers, and GPS on the Apple iPhone has been enabling a slew of new applications.
But where does that leave the typical laptop user? Mozilla Labs is working to answer that question.
In August, Mozilla announced the addition of support for geolocation information. In that announcement, Doug Turner said, "I would love to be able to get the UI support in Firefox. This would allow the 'extension' to be more or less the glue between a geolocation device and mozilla."
Tomorrow, Turner's wish may be coming true when Mozilla releases Geode, "a Firefox add-on that understands location, enabling enriched, personalized, and localized content."
VentureBeat has an early glimpse of Geode, but it is still "not entirely clear how it's pulling in the location data." Hopefully, the official announcement will shed more light on Geode.
Why Is Location Important for Relatively Static Users?
Clearly, geolocation information can improve the experience for mobile users, but why would this functionality be needed in the browser?
One answer jumps to mind: relevance.
Location-specific information is a passive—yet relevant—means of managing the growing complexity of the information on the Web. By enabling the dynamic localization of information in the browser, Mozilla may be helping users find truly relevant information, and in so doing, may make the Web an even more valuable resource.
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Sounds like an interesting developement and will enhance my Mozilla experience, I use a laptop myself and would benefit from a more local interface.
Thanks for the news
Is this an in-built option or an addon?
It is good to see you will likely be able to set your own location, and hopefully you'll be able to overide anything that is calculated automatically.
Before going on a trip it would be great to set the location to where you're going, 'be' there virtually for a while and see what geo-located content there is.
I've been wanting something like this for a long time... except for mobile apps. One of the biggest reasons why I would ever consider making an app for the iPhone or Android is because of all the neat sensors on the phone. Well now I dont have to write an app for a specific phone and can just write a single web app and STILL get the user's gps location.
Installed apps on phones are going to have the same fate as apps for the PC.