Quest for Land, by John Vink

If I haven’t mentioned it before, I’ve been working with Magnum photographer John Vink on his Quest for Land iPad app — John on photos, me as the dev guy, and journalists Robert Carmichael as the wordsmith. The app was released about 10 days or so ago, and as an iPad app, it’s gotten pretty good reviews from those who took part in our informal beta testing.

John has more info on his site, including screen shots and a short movie. And, of course, it’s available on the iTunes store: Quest for Land.

Quest for Land chronicles more than a decade of land issues in Cambodia. There’s a lot on forced evictions and their aftermath, as well as some solid historical and cultural background on land issues in Cambodia. In total, Quest for Land contains about 720 photographs and 20,000 words on the subject. The app costs US$9 — basically that’s a penny per photograph and the words are free — a shocking value proposition. Buy a copy if you can. It’s well worth it.

Just Launched: TelcoTech

TelcoTech, a Cambodian telecommunications company, is among several projects to wrap up recently. According to the company Web site, “Telcotech is the sole Cambodian member of the Asia American Gateway, a 20,000km network of high bandwidth submarine cable that connects the US to South East Asia, and various other major fiber networks – extending our connectivity around the globe.”

Just Launched: Pagoda Rocks Boutique Guesthouse

Screen shot of Pagoda Rocks home page

The Web site for Pagoda Rocks Boutique Guesthouse in Sihanoukville recently launched. The word guesthouse often carries budget connotations. But Pagoda Rocks is far more an upmarket  get-away than a mid-range flop-house. Many of the guesthouse rooms are actually standalone bungalows, with air-con, hot water and ocean views.

From a Web design standpoint, I riffed a lot on what the guesthouse’s local print designer had done, and used a little jQuery for nifty photo presentation. Like every Web site, it’s still a work in progress, but so far, it’s coming together nicely.

Visit: Pagoda Rocks Boutique Guesthouse