Category Archives: Technology

Using light to control crime

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It is almost common belief that well-lit areas reduce crime but is it really so? An article in New Yorker on light pollution mentions couple of points that depart from this perception. “In the early seventies, the public-school system in San Antonio, Texas, began leaving many of its school buildings, parking lots, and other property dark at night and found that the no-lights policy not only reduced energy costs but also dramatically cut vandalism.”

In fact, bright lights that we see light up deserted areas only provide a false illusion and crime in fact would be more effectively controlled if ‘smart lighting’ i.e. controlled by infrared motion sensors.

Oakland Crimespotting

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Thanks to advances in web technology and GIS mapping, cities are making crime information easily available to its citizens. Previously, I had reported on Los Angeles county’s web tool on crime mapping that used Google Maps. Developers at Stamen Design, a technology and design studio based in San Francisco has taken a page from this experiment and developed its own ‘crimespotting’ web-based visualization tool for the city of Oakland:

If you hear sirens in your neighborhood, you should know why. Crimespotting makes this possible with interactive maps, e-mail updates, and RSS feeds of crimes in areas that you care about.

I love Stamen Design’s work and remain impressed with their other design experiments like Trulia and Cabspotting.

Are you wasting energy?

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As much as I am against wasting energy, I am not entirely comfortable with secret government monitoring. The city of Haringey, UK hired a spy plane to fly overhead and identify which households are wasting the most energy. They used this information and mapped it. Further more, to play the guilt card, they put this information online [via Techdirt]. Trying to ‘shame’ people into conservation has honestly never worked but it definitely does freak them out and make them not trust anything the government says or does.

Mapping Weed in San Francisco

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It cannot get any easier for pot lovers. And I’m not talking about fans of pottery. After that amazing interactive map listing LA County homicides, SF Weekly has compiled a map of local pot clubs where you can purchase medical marijuana (what else do you use it for, eh?).

You still need a doctor’s prescription to get it officially, you say? Well, fret not. NORML has compiled a list of area’s most weed-friendly physicians. Did I hear you say, ssssshhhh! [via]

Redfin – online tool to buy a home

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In a bearish market, you still want to shave off couple of thousand dollars off your home purchase. In my previous post, I highlighted the infusion of information disseminating tools on the Internet that helps you make wise decision. Redfin is one such web service/tool that helps you save money. Kevin Kelly blogging at Cool Tools reviewed Redfin:

Redfin has a great online real estate website which we quickly found is one of the easier ones to use, with nice virtual walk thrus of each home, and good comparison data for the neighborhood. (The site is a joy to navigate, and we’d use it even if we did not get a rebate.) Then you, in the role of buyer and self-agent, do all the footwork of finding, visiting the various homes, checking out the disclosures, etc., and finally choosing which property you want. You are your own real estate agent up to this point. When you are ready to make on offer on a home, you do so online via Redfin, completing the necessary forms on the web. Then a human Redfin employee will take you through the final paperwork and signatures, and eventually visit the house with you. At the close of the deal they will rebate 2/3rds of their buyer agent commission paid by the seller, or 2% of the sale price, which in some areas of the country will mean at least ten thousand dollars.

Redfin Commission

I have not bought a home here in the United States (yet) but I’m sure many of you have or are close to buying one soon. Let me know if you try out this tool and if it helps you save money. Unfortunately, it seems that the service is available only in few select cities. But expect it to spread to more as it gets more popular.

Related: Moving the Search from Renters to Landlords.