Thanks to Kirk, I now have a rough idea of the equipment I need to work on my pub site—in short it seems that buying a new digital camera and using my existing GPS logger and then syncronising the two will suffice. I’ve also registered the relevant domains (one with a short URL for redirects) and got a user authentication system working, with a simple registration form not far off completion. I was going to use a framework such as Symfony for the project, but I realised that it would take too much time to learn and I’d have more control by simply knocking together my own minimal framework.
Once the database schema is complete, the next step will be collecting and uploading the initial data. I don’t think this will be too difficult as there are lots of pubs near me to start with—I can probably cover most of Didsbury Village one Sunday, plus my usual haunts for Manchester Free Software, Currybeer etc. I suspect it will be towards the end of March before I launch the site, and it will probably look a bit shoddy to start with as my design skills are not that great, but it will at least be free of pop-up ads.
Will it be member input as well so that others can add pubs?
Yes, you’ll be able to register and add/update pub details, though I’ll be seeding the site with a few initially just to get things going.
I actually bought a new GPS logger the other day, which is specifically designed just to do photo logging. Works really well – runs off 1 AA battery and tracked my trip home on the bus too. (ie superb reception).
Also means I’m now selling my GPS 60…
Sounds good – cant wait to visit and sample different pub’s!!