GSoC Adventures

Hello everyone, it's been all-too-long! I am proud to announce the end of the semester! Exams are finally all done, but that only means the real fun can start. And so many things to come and do! I'm also happy to announce one of the first new features! Marble Maps now supports in-app phone calls! If you're browsing the map, and come across a nice looking shop, you can easily access their phone number, and give them a call right there! This task has been very useful to establish a lot of the inner workings, and also gave insight to a lot of UI elements that could be structured differently. But with that question of layouts and design decisions, came the question of what tools to use to achieve them. On that note: Behaim Globe with Kirigami Kirigami is a QtQuick based components set that brings a lot of useful reusable components to QtQuick UI's. Among these we're easy to create menus, unit based scaling , drawers and all sorts of navigation options. It w...

Still knee-deep in exam territory but our dreams fly high ahead! Let's take a moment to compare Marble Maps to some of the other available Android Map applications. This will help us find places that need some polish, and features that we need to add. So without further ado, Google Maps - Maps.Me - Marble Maps Google Maps Routes have a drag & drop system for managing the order of the locations. A menu has frequently used options such as a quick button for reversing the order, as well as route options. Adding a stop can be done with through the menu, not just by clicking on the map. The side bar has several options, including Tips and Tricks under which a contribution option can be found, as well as a Send feedback option which is great for user made reports. Help menu offers a forum of problems with most frequent ones at the top. Maps.Me Has an  Introduction  that showcases some of the main features. Uses  Empty States ...

Hey there Everyone! Time sure has ran quite passed, and GSoC has finally started! I've been stumped with exams, and will be for a few weeks still, but please gear up to join me on my adventure with GSoC 2017. While still a bit behind with all this schoolwork, I'm determined to finish and catch up ASAP. So much to do and see! Last years SOCIS I had quite a blast with meeting Marble, you can read all about that over  here , but this year shall come with its own challenges as we are tasked to update the Marble Maps UI. Marble Virtual Globe is an open-source globe that allows users to explore  a 3D model of Earth, Mars, Venus, and the Moon, with a wide-variety of maps ranging from political to topographic. This year we will be focusing on its Android version, Marble Maps , and in my case, I am tasked with tidying up the UI, adding features and making sure it's all up to  Material Design  standards! Some images of the current Marble Maps interface. In the foll...