PlayaEvents iOS App for BM 2015 events!

[mindbomb]

Hi fellow burners! OK so.. In the default world I'm a software engineer and decided I wanted to contribute something to the whole BM community so I built an iPhone/iPad app (sorry Android fellas) for planning your burn activities for 2015 (didn't find anything similar or worthwhile/updated in the App Store).
Browse all Burning Man 2015 events from gates open date till temple burn and:
1. See detailed event information including BRC map location
2. Mark events as going to easily create a shortlist
3. Add interesting events to your calendar for easy planning

Make the most of your week at Burning Man 2015.
It works great on both iPhones and iPads.
The app is free, requires no registration and displays no ads.
Made with lots of love as contribution to the community.

I am already working on new version with search, better performance and many new useful features.
Meanwhile take your iPhone and open this link:
http://bit.ly/plyevnts
or just search for “Playa Events” in the Apple App Store.

If you find it useful - share it with your burner friends and write a 5* review in the App Store so more burners will find it and use it.

If you have ANY issue with the app PM me.

Peace

[Jovankat]

iBurn and Time to Burn will be updated for this year really soon and they're both pretty worthwhile.

I mean they load without immediately crashing at least...

iPhone 5 running iOS 8.4

[mindbomb]

Yea, v1.0 have an issue with non-US locale configured iPhones, sorry foreigners.
Already posted a fix, waiting for Apple to approve.

And this is not a competition, but a contribution. All apps and devs have their own place to help us burners.

[haywardismyfault]

yo mindbomb really appreciate the focus and character of what you've created. I'm one of the iBurn chefs, if you will, and I agree the larger the community the better.

Speaking of that, we need to bond together to try and reform their policy about not releasing placement info before gates amirite? As you can attest the community does a hell of a job of sourcing that info themselves, but it poses a public safety hazard to not have the most accurate information as people start to rely on our applications.

Our team has been talking about creating a common placement tool that we can together use to assemble a single accurate data source if BM IT really isn't open to some evolution of their policy.

Also, Android users: We're seeking testers for the iBurn Android beta now. Sign up & download here: https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.gaiagps.iburn

[Captain Goddammit]

Do you need a GPS and a database to find your way around the block?

[Ratty]

Speaking of that, we need to bond together to try and reform their policy about not releasing placement info before gates amirite? As you can attest the community does a hell of a job of sourcing that info themselves, but it poses a public safety hazard...

Seriously? Have you ever been placed in exactly the spot you were expecting? If so you are one of the lucky ones. This is Burning Man. Things are constantly changing.

What is the public safety hazard? The medical stations don't move. Just wondering.

[spacetime]

Calling it a public hazard is probably an overstatement.

Do you need a GPS and a database to find your way around the block?

I had an experience with iBurn last year as a birgin. I was trying to use this right when I got of BxB last year to find my way. Even though I had seen the map a bunch, it was nothing like getting dropped off in the middle of it, when most areas were still not filled.

Someone snarked me hard while I was standing there in the dark and dust solo trying to figure out where to go with my gear. If the Burner Express campsite was marked and I could walk directly toward it, it would have helped me. I wrote about this experience some. I resolved my directional problem and anxiety by giving up and asking people until I found someone who knew.

Luckily, I disabled my phone the next morning by setting it in a drink holder filled up with rain water. I then had to figure out the roads on my own and remember which camps and people I intended to visit because I forgot to print them out or write them down. So my experience wasn't just whether or not I used the iBurn app but whether I used the smartphone to look at plans for the week at all.

I think the rise of electronic assistance in BRC could follow that of default just for scaling reasons. I don't really have a problem with people wanting an accurate map of the city. (Not everything has to be listed) There were a lot of scheduled events that I missed last year, but I think the chaos in experience is part of what a lot of people like. And I can understand someone taking down notes on a device instead of a pad of paper.

It would have been cool to have a little paper map instead of my phone, and I will definitely have a backup of plans and my volunteer schedule written down this year.

I think the primary reasons people don't like smartphones is they have a glowing distraction of a screen. It also seems like someone looking a phone is actively not participating.

Another problem is smartphones like to connect to a network that extends to defaulia. So it not only prompts people to try to get on defaultia internet, reminds them of all of defaultia's online trappings, and even reminders to do defaultia online stuff.

Separately, I recently noticed a pair of dystopian sci-fi putting evolved humans choosing away from this kind of internet engagement recently in Neal Stephenson's new Seveneves and The Private Eye.

[chuckularone]

I carry my GPS with me. I kept it running and have a track of my travels from last year.Being able to look back and see where i went is really kind of cool. I also put all of the ESD and Porto-potties in it, both of which cam in hand when I ran into people in need (and once when I was out past Embrace and had to pee BADLY!)

Once I got there I also marked a waypoint for my tent and used it to find my general direction back to camp, but it wasn't my phone GPS, it was a standalone.

[trilobyte]

I'm adding the app name to the subject line and nudging this over to the Q&A board, since that's a better fit for app threads.

[haywardismyfault]

Speaking of that, we need to bond together to try and reform their policy about not releasing placement info before gates amirite? As you can attest the community does a hell of a job of sourcing that info themselves, but it poses a public safety hazard...

Seriously? Have you ever been placed in exactly the spot you were expecting? If so you are one of the lucky ones. This is Burning Man. Things are constantly changing.

What is the public safety hazard? The medical stations don't move. Just wondering.

Y'all are probably right that an accurate map isn't necessary to many. I spend a lot of time working on iBurn but truthfully I usually don't touch it much once I'm out there (Think staring at the data for so long beforehand burns it in). However I've heard, for example, many of the contract ambulance personnel don't know their way around the playa. When they interact with Black Rock Rangers, other BM staff, or burners they might be given directions via playa coordinates and camps / art they may not be familiar with.

I personally think of iBurn as another art project, one where accurate data plays the part of fine paint.

[Popeye]

Speaking of that, we need to bond together to try and reform their policy about not releasing placement info before gates amirite? As you can attest the community does a hell of a job of sourcing that info themselves, but it poses a public safety hazard...

Seriously? Have you ever been placed in exactly the spot you were expecting? If so you are one of the lucky ones. This is Burning Man. Things are constantly changing.

What is the public safety hazard? The medical stations don't move. Just wondering.

Y'all are probably right that an accurate map isn't necessary to many. I spend a lot of time working on iBurn but truthfully I usually don't touch it much once I'm out there (Think staring at the data for so long beforehand burns it in). However I've heard, for example, many of the contract ambulance personnel don't know their way around the playa. When they interact with Black Rock Rangers, other BM staff, or burners they might be given directions via playa coordinates and camps / art they may not be familiar with.

I personally think of iBurn as another art project, one where accurate data plays the part of fine paint.

They don't learn the playa because they can use the ap as a crutch. What happens when batterys die or you set your phone in a cupholder full of water? It's a clock! Not hard to learn.