: News

Filed Under:

For Metro Riders, There Will Soon Be "An App For That"

June 9, 2010
Play associated audio
comments
Independent software developers could get a shot at creating the ultimate D.C. Metro iPhone app.
Independent software developers could get a shot at creating the ultimate D.C. Metro iPhone app.

By David Schultz

Metro is planning on giving away, for free, a mountain of raw data. It wants someone, anyone, to take this data and turn it into an app, something its riders can use on their phones or their computers to track where buses and trains are in real time.

The release of this data, scheduled for later this summer, could be a boon to independent software developers. They'd been requesting for years that Metro make its data public.

Other big cities, like Chicago, San Francisco and New York City already have, and the apps there are flourishing. Metro will release more details on this data project at its Board of Directors meeting tomorrow afternoon.

Arts & Culture

NPR

Dan Brown: 'Inferno' Is 'The Book That I Would Want To Read'

Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, is back with his first novel in four years. Inferno follows academic hero Robert Langdon on a chase through Italy as he attempts to avert a biological catastrophe.

Food

NPR

'Picture Cook': Drawings Are The Key Ingredients In These Recipes

Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.

Politics

NPR

Tesla Rides High, But Faces Formidable Foe: Car Dealers

The Model S from electric car manufacturer Tesla has been named Motor Trend Car of the Year. But the company's business model is under attack by a formidable foe: the National Automobile Dealers Association, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in Washington.

Technology

NPR

Book News: Amazon May Be Called Before Parliament Over Taxes

Also: AARP and The Nation join a growing list of ebook publishers; Hilary Mantel on Jane Austen; Anne Applebaum on Sheryl Sandberg.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.