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'Trover Saves the Universe' is a meditation on nihilism
The theme of Whose Line is it Anyway? is always the same: "Everything is made up and the points don't matter." That's what playing 'Trover Saves the Universe' is like -- but instead of funny Canadians, I was sworn at by a video game. You know, for fun.
Trover updates its travel/photo app
I looked at Trover (free) a couple of years ago and found it a useful app for seeing what is around you with photos and comments from real travelers rather than what is contained in a guidebook. It has elements of Yelp, Instagram and other social content aggregators. When you post your own photo, the app makes it public (so be careful) with all the geo-location data available so you can find a particular location. You can add comments about a photo -- perhaps a nice park, a restaurant, a local festival, whatever you like. You can contact the people who take the photos, and they can contact you. As a result, Trover is kind of a living, evolving guidebook to places filled with images and comments from people who experience them. You don't have to create a Trover account if you just want to be on the receiving end of the information, but for some people, a big part of the fun is sharing insights. In my original review, I raised some of the privacy issues I thought the app had. If you take a picture of your house or kids, a dedicated Trover user can get a pretty good idea where that is. My advice is to not get too personal. A zoo, a restaurant, a hiking trail are safe subjects. Some of the photos people submit don't really merit being in the app. People sitting around drinking or eating with no useful info is not very valuable. Anyone can upload, so all content may not be useful. Offensive content can be flagged by users and removed by Trover, but that won't stop things that are offensive from appearing, even if briefly. According to the developers, it's not a big problem. All content on Trover goes through several layers of curation. According to the Trover team: "We have a team that reviews all new content. Our community also participates in curation, thanking discoveries they like, adding discoveries to lists and (rarely) tagging photos as 'not helpful' if they find something in Trover that doesn't fit with the social norm. Short answer: We never see obscene photos. It's not what Trover is about." Having said that, users are very happy with the Trover community, and can see the merit of the app for people on vacation, a business trip or even someone who wants to explore unknown areas of their own locality. The app is solid, and this latest version now has a simpler and faster photo uploader, a redesigned GUI to match iOS 7 and support for portrait photos. In my tests, it found a lot of local places around me, and there were some good comments and reviews of hiking places, restaurants and tourist stops. Trover is not a universal app, so it's really best used on an iPhone or an iPod touch. It requires iOS 7.
Trover Mobile Discovery app re-launched today
Trover joins the ranks of free GPS-powered apps for the iPhone that can guide you intelligently to places of interest near you or while traveling the world. It has some interesting twists that make it unique, giving it kind of a feel of Instagram meets Yelp. Trover had a limited release that required a Facebook login, but an update allows you to sign up using email or Twitter. Developer Rich Barton told me the app tries to simulate the experience of walking around a neighborhood looking for food, or retail stores, or even a park as you discover things you might not otherwise notice. When you open the app you'll see thumbnails of pictures listed in order of distance to you. You can also take a picture yourself, add a description and comments, and it will be uploaded for the world to see. If you find friends or users who have similar interests, you can choose to share in their discoveries. I was surprised to find quite a few entries in my little corner of southern Arizona, and as more people sign up there will be more usable content. If you read about a location, you will see it on a map and your own location so you can navigate to it. If you tap on the map you'll get directions from Google Maps. There are some potential security issues with the app. If you take pictures around your home, or your backyard, your location is exposed to people looking at your messages. Your email remains private, but people can comment on your uploads. There's nothing to prevent the upload of offensive pictures, but the developers say any upload can be flagged by users, and if it is inappropriate it will be removed. Trover is iPhone only, but an iPad version should appear early next year. I liked using the app, because it gives an extra dimension to search beyond what apps like FourSquare, Instagram and Yelp can provide. If you're interested in socially based discovery apps, Trover is free and worth a look. %Gallery-129414%
