AroundDenver.com, a Jux2position.com production by Dave Krick, is a unique way to explore Denver and its surrounding area. Using a dynamic interactive 360-degree panoramic format with a choice of two separate playback viewers (default is Java but QuickTime is offered as well) to view over 800 VR scenes, it is designed as a portal to the city.
click here to view AroundDenver websiteAroundDenver is a colorful, jazzy site navigable through a Flash-based map interface with a plethora of options that take some time to assimilate; it’s not a website that one can readily jump into. I found getting started a little tricky – so many options to choose from - maybe I should have read the prominently displayed help menu. I immediately wanted to view some panoramas so I clicked on a city name and was shown the name of the city and elevation (which displays when merely mousing over the name). Next, I tried the VR Grid on the left vertical menu, which brought up a grid over the existing map. I chose a grid and a very detailed (Mapsco) map appeared, where I could then access some panos. At this point I thought it best to return to the help menu, which was not only helpful but proved integral to learning how to navigate the site.
I learned that the map at the center of the page is interactive: rolling the mouse over the roads on the map will define the name of the road, rolling over the city names will define elevation and population. Rolling the mouse over the letter D in the city name Denver will cause a dot farm on the right center of the screen to play. Rolling the mouse over these hidden dots individually will display facts and trivia about Denver and the Metro area, such as ‘Denver is the thinnest city in America, the only state where fewer than half the people are obese’. Or ‘Denver is the most educated city in the U.S. with the greatest percentage of college graduates’.
Main Entry PageThe buttons on the left vertical menu add content to the homepage map, such as placing an interactive overlay VR Grid on top of the map to zero in on a location, or adding Major Malls to the map, even Golf Courses, Light Rail systems, Streams and Police Stations are available. The buttons in the top horizontal menu will take you to other dynamic content areas of AroundDenver.com.
Searching by VR Tours presents a list with accompanying grid positions. Clicking on one of the tour areas opens up a VR and a Navigation map – a colorful graphic representation of the area included in the tour, with each pano marked, a compass, icons representing the current viewing position, potential viewing positions, previously viewed scenes and unviewed scenes.
Map/Grid NavigationThere are a couple Special Features that would be of interest to Denver residents, travelers and students studying the area. People Around Denver is a type of forum to share thoughts on the area. When I checked there were two people, Dave and Teresa, who shared their thoughts on living in Denver, favorite restaurants, traffic congestion and raising children in the city. This feature is a good idea and hopefully it will pay off with more contributions. There’s also a Knowledge Game, a set of ten questions incorporating information found on the website, such as: ‘What western legendary figure drove a wagon train, was a fur trapper, gold miner, buffalo hunter, pony express rider, thespian and by his request is buried atop Lookout Mountain?’
Media Visualizer (Flash)AroundDenver is a useful tool for locals to find places of business, works of art, museums, park and other places of interest. Visitors to the Denver area could use it as a trip planner to decide what they want to visit and in what area they would like to stay and people moving to Denver will find the ‘People Around Denver’ feature helpful.
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