This article on TechCrunch Europe really got me excited, so I jumped over to the UK site immediately. Although still running the site is clearly getting pounded as perf sucks. However, this move can only serve to increase the volume of mobile applications as back room devs across the land look for a ‘fast buck’ opportunity. However, I also worry about the back room devs in other lands which look to make a dishonest buck from us too. Close the ‘windows and bolt the doors’ – personally informed phishing attacks imminent…
The U.K. government has decided to make the non-personal data it holds available for web developers to create a new wave of public applications. It’s a bold move which will open up more data than even the U.S. government holds at its Data.gov. The new Data.gov.uk site is officially launched today by Web creator Sir Tim Berners Lee and been has been running for the last six months in beta with almost 3,000 data sets available. By contrast, the U.S. site Data.gov, has less than 1,000 data sets. So far over 2,400 developers have registered to test the site and 10 applications built. These include PlanningAlerts, a free service that emails you if someone has put in a planning application to build near your house and FillThatHole, which lets people report potholes and other road hazards across the UK.
Read more at TechCrunch Europe