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All Points Blog

How the States Got Their Shapes

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 5:03pm CEST

I'm catching up on some podcasts and ran into a discussion of this topic and book of the same name by Mark Stein on On Point (our locally produced NPR interview show). Good stuff - but do keep a map handy while you listen.

My favorite tidbit: How Case Western Reserve got that name. Did you the Western Reserve was part of Connecticut? The University is in Ohio!

Radar used to keep runways clean and safe

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 4:58pm CEST

Tags: gps

C|net describes the use of radar to find "junk" on runways. The idea is to keep runways clean and reduce damage and loss of life. The technology is from QinetiQ

... Heathrow International Airport, the world's busiest, has now installed a permanent dual radar system called the Tarsier, which scans 3,658 meters of runway in search of junk 24 hours a day.

The Tarsier uses networked high-frequency, high-resolution radar and integrated digital signal processing to pinpoint anything from a pigeon to a cellophane sandwich wrapper (PDF).

Foreign object damage, or "FOD," is responsible for $60 million worth of damage a year, an average of $15,000 per aircraft for each major airline in the U.S. alone, according to the FAA (PDF).

...
The smallest item detected to date is a 10-millimeter metal fitting in an area the size of 30 football fields, the company says. Once an object is found, Tarsier reports its latitude and longitude to within 3 meters via GPS.

TA Chief: There Will be iPhone Turn by Turn Directions

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 4:46pm CEST

Tags: Navigation

This tidbit was in Reuters coverage of today's Google/Tele Atlas deal:

De Taeye said he expected real-time, turn-by-turn navigation applications to be available for Apple's iPhone despite reports that Apple's rules for developing iPhone software appeared not to allow it.

"We are making sure that navigation is an application that is allowed," De Taeye said. "If there is any restriction on the platform, that indeed has to do with the restrictions that we have in our contracts. Navigation is allowed, provided that the right fees are paid."

Get out your checkbooks!

Revenge of "The biggest drawing in the world"

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 4:08pm CEST

This isn't a hoax, but it is connected to a cable comedy show:

"The Marc Horowitz Signature Series" chronicles prankster Horowitz as he drives the shape of his signature on a map of the U.S., stopping in 20 towns along the way to stage one-off "community building" (read totally off-the-wall) experiments. In one town he goes door-to-door to personally serve residents a fancy breakfast in bed, and in another, invites residents to gather for a ceremony to "bury their problems"--photos of ex-girlfriends and video game consoles welcome.

- MediaPost's Online Media Daily

Tele Atlas/Google Deal: TA Gets User Generated Markups

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 2:23pm CEST

Tags: google

Update 2:It's not exclusive: "TeleAtlas already has an agreement with Google for which details aren't available. The new agreement is non-exclusive, Titiular said." (CNN)

Update: This from Ed Parsons at Google: "This does not include Map Maker contributions." Thanks for the quick reply Ed!

---

Per C|net:

Under the new agreement--financial terms were not disclosed--Tele Atlas will provide maps and "dynamic content" for Google Maps in over 200 countries as well as other Google geographic divisions like Google Earth and Google Maps for Mobile, and future Google projects that could require mapping data. Tele Atlas, in turn, will have access to annotations that Google Maps users have added to the system.

Exactly what annotations? The PR says:

The agreement also gives Tele Atlas access to edits for its maps from Google's community of users, whose suggested changes can help thecompany further increase the quality and richness of Tele Atlas maps.

It's not clear if this means the Map Maker contributions and or the "moved addresses." Hopefully, someone in the know can clarify. If Map Maker turns out to be something effective, that is, something that creates "good" data in timely fashion, this could be a boon to TA's (TomTom's) data stores. It would mean that others who license TA data would benefit from Google's mapmaking fanbase, along TomTom's map updating MapShare fanbase. Those are two potentially large, worldwide free data collecting groups. If TomTom is smart, it already thinking about how to engage the OpenStreetMap crew as well.

One other question: Is the sharing of the markup exclusive to TA? Or will Google do a similar deal with NAVTEQ/Nokia? I'm thinking not.

What's the next ESRI Summit?

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: ESRI

The ESRI Surveying and Engineering GIS Summit is in its fifth year this August. The ESRI Remote Sensing and GIS Summit debuts at the same time, just before the formal Monday opening of the ESRI International User Conference. Also occurring before the main event are the Executive Summit (invitation only) and the Education User Conference, EdUC.

Of these, I've only managed to attend EdUC (I have a standing commitment to ride in or volunteer at the Pan Mass Challenge bike event, which often occurs the Friday/Sat preceding UC). It's just great and I hope I can attend again somehow, now that I'm teaching again. The Executive Summit, which my colleague Joe Francica has attended (his 2005 review), is all about helping executives "get" or "get more" out of GIS.

But these "new" summits are different. They are, from what I gather, opportunities to build bridges with related disciplines. I use that term with care. A discipline has its own rules, its own tools and technologies, in these cases, tools and technologies allied with GIS. I want to contrast disciplines with "industries" or "business areas." While ESRI does have a "surveying industry manager," Brent Jones, who hails from the Northeast, somehow it doesn't fall into the same space as other ESRI "industries." It's more like the "industry" I used to manage at ESRI, the one called "CAD." Surveying, like CAD and remote sensing, is horizontal and serves many industries. Other ESRI industries, oil and gas, pipeline, water, insurance, forestry, agriculture and others tap into GIS to better serve their customers and their bottom line. Surveying, photogrammetry, remote sensing and even CAD are more about data creation and preparation. They are sometimes thought of more as "inputs" to spatial databases and analyses.

So, what will be the next summit ESRI will announce? Will it be LiDAR? CAD? GPS? Location determination? User generated data? With what other technologies does ESRI and by extension the rest of the GIS establishment need to build bridges?

State Licensing Board "Censors" GIS Article

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: Surveying

Update 7/2/08: See comment below from PS Editor Tom Gibson for the further details.

---- Original post 6/30/08 -------

Back when I read more print magazines, I always relished the editorials. Wow, I thought, a whole page for the editor to tell you what was on his or her mind. My favorite editorial writers back then where Roopinder Tara at Cadence (who I wrote for at that publication, then worked for at Tenlinks.com) and the then editor of Backpacker, I don't recall his name. Today I still make it a point to read the editorials in print publication in geospatial and related industries.

It's in one of those, Tom Gibson's "editor's desk" (sic) column in Professional Surveyor (July 2008, page 4, not online yet) that I found this statement:

In assembling this issue, we had one company withdraw a feature story because a state licensing board was concerned it depicted GIS practitioners as doing work surveyors should be doing, saying they should be licensed as surveyors to do it.

That prompted a few responses from me:
(1) I wonder how the state licensing board had a chance to read the article.
(2) Does preventing such articles to be published limit instead of encouraging discussion on the matter?
(3) Should Directions Media (and other geopublishers formal and informal) be prepared to deal with this issue? Will we be receiving "take down" notices regarding articles that include descriptions of such work in alleged violation of state laws?

Disclosure: I used to work for the company that publishes Professional Surveyor.

The Baltimore Sun Looks at Online Crime Mapping

Posted: June 30th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

The article titled "Putting crime on the map" was in the Sunday paper. It focuses on CrimeReports.com a online solution available for $99/month for small municipalities and $199/month for lager ones, based on the amount of data. It also notes ratemycopy.com a site that allows individuals to rate cops, just like restaurants and movies. (I'd not heard of the latter.)

Key tidbits:

RateMyCop.com attracts about 200,000 unique visitors a day; in Washington alone, 20,000 people have signed up for CrimeReports.com's localized crime e-mail alerts, officials for the companies said.

So far, police departments from 175 jurisdictions contribute data to CrimeReports .com, and the site is working to integrate 100 more agencies, he [founder Greg Whisenant] said.

Adrian Holovaty, a journalist and Web developer whose latest project is EveryBlock.com, a site that feeds up-to-the-minute news and information to residents in Chicago, New York City and San Francisco. He said searches pertaining to crime are the most popular activity on EveryBlock.com.

I get that municipalities are jumping CrimeReports.com. I'm disappointed that the big draw on EveryBlock is crime. I thought it was about hyperlocal news. But perhaps news = crime?

"GIS for Dummies" Due in November

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 4:52pm CEST

The author touted completing yet another chapter on Twitter. I found the book on Wiley's website. It's due in November and is by Michael N. DeMers.

Does having a "Dummies" book means GIS has arrived?

Nrme: Geofencing for messages

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 4:20pm CEST

Tags: Social Networking

TechCrunch looks at Nrme, a soon to be released only for the iPhone app. The big deal? You only received messages from those within 9 blocks (no idea how that's determined). There's no following like Twitter and idea is to get information about what's in walking distance in a city say, or in a constrained environment like a concert venue or large conference center (think about San Deigo's for example...)

Again I note, this is a feature I'd like to have with my messaging tool of choice. I don't want a special app to provide that feature. I don't expect this to take off, rather, I expect other providers or third party developers to add in this same sort of tool.

Low Cost Hyperspectral Imager from Northrop Grumman

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 3:48pm CEST

Tags: Remote Sensing

The original technology in the Hyperspectral Airborne Tactical Instrument (HATI) was originally developed to fly in space, but now it's doing work mounted on small aircraft.

It's built on low-cost commercial hardware and was recently used to explore environmental change in the Santa Margarita Ecological Reserve. Northrop Grumman hopes the low barrier to entry will mean further use of hyperspectral sensors. Says Mark Folkman of NG Space Technology:
"We are looking to work with customers who are interested in very low-cost HSI sensors for earth science missions, such as coastal waters imaging, land use, vegetation characterization and monitoring, wildfires, pollution and environmental damage."

Oh, and the technology may one get to space...

- Optics.org

Quote of the Week II

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 3:38pm CEST

"Finally, skip the $15-per-day charge for a personal navigation system, and invest in a $3 map. It'll get you where you need to go and you'll have a souvenir as well."

- Carol McAlice Currie in the (Oregon) Statesman-Journal in an article about saving money on rental cars

How Did Gates Do on Predicting Mapping Tech Back in 1995?

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 3:29pm CEST

Tags: microsoft

Today is Bill Gates' last day in his current role. He'll move on to a new chapter working with his foundation. To honor that last day, CTV looks at the predictions made in his 1995 book, The Road Ahead. He has this to say about mapping:

"You'll be able to jump into a map so you can navigate down a street or through the rooms of a building."

We are certainly part way there and with the likes of EveryScape and new motion sensing technologies, we are getting closer all the time.

BTW, Hiawatha Bray covered EveryScape in the Boston Globe this week. The opening sentence mentioned Google Maps, so when my Dad pointed it out he said, "there's another article about Google mapping in the paper." I wonder if it's possible to write about new mapping technologies without mentioning the G company?

Interactive Map of Parkersburg, Iowa Tornado Impact

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 3:24pm CEST

I'll just quote Journalism.co.uk: "Now this is a good interactive map.

Des Moines Register interactive map

Quote of the Week

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 2:21pm CEST

[The Center for Spatial Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara is involved in incorporating spatial thinking and analysis into fields of study that range from marine biology to religious studies, and Director Michael Goodchild envisions a future where spatial thinking will be taught in high schools alongside history and algebra.]

"Theres been a democratization of GIS over the past couple of years," Goodchild said. "Its reached the point where everyone needs to learn it."

- Goodchild quoted in "GIS: Cops Favor New Kind of Plotting" in Miller-McClure Magazine

I'm thinking out loud here:

Does that suggest that "if not for GIS and its democratization" there'd not be interest in teaching spatial thinking in schools? Did we have to get quick and powerful (and "flashy") technologies to "prove" the importance of spatial thinking? Math did ok without computers for quite a long time... and I recall hand-draw "invasion of the life-savers" maps in my population geography class in 1987. Have any other disciplines "needed" computers to "prove their worth?"

Toxic Release Reporting, Environmental Justice and Maps

Posted: June 27th, 2008, 1:58pm CEST

Researchers at the Children's Environmental Health Initiative reported on study of the Toxics Release Inventory Burden Reduction Rule, a law allowing some polluters to avoid reporting on their toxic releases. CEHI researchers found some communities unfairly burdened:

this study suggests that the TRI Burden Reduction Rule has environmental justice implications. We found that facilities that are eligible for reduced reporting are more likely to be located in neighborhoods where the proportion of minority and low income residents is significantly higher than neighborhoods hosting facilities that are still required report detailed information.

The report was published online on June 26, 2008 by the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Science and Technology. It was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. You need a subscription to read the entire report, but the CEHI provides some details including what I looked for, maps.

Alas, I was disappointed with the promised "interactive map" which shows a thematic map of the U.S.' EPA regions. Clicking on a state/regions pops up that regions review document, detailing "the percent minority population, the percent minority population under age 5, and the percent of the population in poverty within a 1, 3, and 5 km buffer around each TRI facility in the U.S."

The findings apparently contradict an EPA study, though it's not cited (odd?):

In contrast to EPA's findings, this study suggests that the TRI Burden Reduction Rule has environmental justice implications.

The implications are stated this way:

This analysis demonstrates that poor and minority communities stand to lose disproportionately more detailed information about chemical releases, leaving them less empowered to advocate for public health or environmental protections in their communities.

This is an important and complex finding. I wish there were clearly ways to explain and illustrate it.

Make Your Car a HotSpot

Posted: June 26th, 2008, 3:33pm CEST

Chrysler's Mopar will offer "Unconnect web" as of August as a dealer-installed accessory. Where there is cell service it will create a mobile hot spot with a 100-foot range. The suggested price for the router is $449, with the monthly access fee being $29. The service is provided by Autonet Mobile, founded in 2005 and provider of the Avis Connect service, a Wi-Fi connection that plugs into a vehicle's cigarette lighter or wall outlet.

I have to believe there are cheaper ways to do this, thought they are not installed in the car. Further, with new handsets becoming computers, is the "conversion" to Wi-Fi needed? Will cars be tailgating one another to gain access to Wi-Fi?

- WSJ

Computerworld offers Map of Best (US) IT Places to Work

Posted: June 26th, 2008, 2:43pm CEST

The map is Flash-based, but effective. No big surprises: clusters are along the East Coast (lots of medical), Chicago and California.

Coming Soon: NZ Chapter of ASIBA

Posted: June 26th, 2008, 2:16pm CEST

In short, key players are supportive of plans to stretch the boundaries of the Australian Spatial Information Business Association (ASIBA) to New Zealand. "ASIBA is an industry organisation, formed to condense around 35 former industry groups into one, with four pillars. They are: academics, individual professionals, business and government." Major players are a recent conference and The New Zealand Geospatial Office applauded the formal request.

One reason for the move:

The country police put out an RFP for a national address register. Per Steve Critchlow, executive director of GIS specialist Critchlow:

They wanted everything and they wanted to impose unlimited liability, Critchlow says. Three consortia were formed, we probably all spent around $200,000 working through the Christmas period, then the steering committee pulled the plug on the grounds it was too costly.

There's one other tidbits of note in the article:

...a study that found between A$6 billion and A$12 billion (NZ$7.6 billion and NZ$15.2 billion) was added to Australias gross domestic product by spatially enabling Australian government.

- Computerworld

Broadband coverage on AAA map...

Posted: June 26th, 2008, 2:02pm CEST

An article in the Times-Standard (Eureka and California's North Coast paper) highlights the challenge of the region to introduce broadband demand aggregration, make access available in the most rural areas and encourage business. One paragraph is relevant to geospatial:

Mapping of the four-county region has taken a large portion of the project time. The original plan had been to use the California Broadband Task Force maps for Redwood Coast Connect, which were released midway into the project. But we determined the maps to be inaccurate, so we decided to gather our own mapping data. This turned out to be a larger challenge than expected since very little data was already in Geographic Information System format. I had to call every provider and ask for data, which came in every format imaginable, from GIS to a AAA map marked with highlighter.

Note to providers: You probably already use GIS, why not make electronic data available either publicly or by request? Perhaps customer service is not aware of the availability of this data? I think we are at or near a point where those researching your offerings will simply pass you by without access to such data.

Off topic: Why can't I remove my account?

Posted: June 25th, 2008, 1:18pm CEST

The social networking sites have been accused of making it difficult for members to "remove themselves." Many are working to make that easier. Not so for Symantec. I've been a loyal user for years and found the products and support to be top notch. I used the "automatic renewal" feature to insure that the company annual took my money to insure I continued to get new virus definitions.

I received the notice that the annual money taking would commence next month. But, not I don't need the anti-virus protection because I use a Mac. (My Windows XP desktop is now using Free AVG.) So I logged in to my account and told Symantec not to auto-update. But then I realized that I no longer wish to have a relationship with the company. Could I find out how to remove my account and become invisible in Symantec's eyes? No, apparently that information is not provided in the many knowledgebases on the website for business and home users.

I did contact customer support, where a representative did, in snappy fashion I must admit, reply that my account was removed. If I open the account myself why can't I close it myself?

Misreading the PR Company's PR!

Posted: June 25th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: Oops

What do you think of when you see this headline for press release?

"Prompt appointed to launch Skyhook Wireless in Europe"

I understood it to mean that a company called Prompt would launch Skyhook's technology in Europe, not as the release intended perform the marketing launch in the new geography. Oops!

- press release

Location Intelligence and the Impact of Higher Fuel Costs and Housing Foreclosures

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 6:39pm CEST

Tags: Location Intelligence

In an era of high gasoline prices that is influencing driving habits and where fallout from the mortgage lending debacle has impacted housing decisions, businesses and consumers alike are becoming more "location aware." So how does this affect the geospatial market? What data is likely to be needed by those seeking to reduce personal expenditures and alter bad driving habits?
Continue reading "Location Intelligence and the Impact of Higher Fuel Costs and Housing Foreclosures"

Google and Microsoft Want Your Stuff

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 2:20pm CEST

Tags: google

Sorry about the title, after George Carlin's death they replayed the bit on "a place for your stuff" and it just fit. In recent hours both companies have opened up new ways for people and organizations to share their geographic data and knowledge in Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth.

Google's MapMaker (introduction on LatLong blog, tour) is a tool for those with knowledge of specific countries to "fill in the gaps" where the company does not have data. There's no option for such additions or edits in much of the world.

Microsoft is asking localities to share their aerial imagery via GoVE (no website, but introduced on the Virtual Earth, an Evangelist's Blog). That's not new; the company was thinking about it way back in 2005, but the data was to be kept in the public domain as I noted at the time.
Continue reading "Google and Microsoft Want Your Stuff"

BusinessWeek Web Design Special

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 1:39pm CEST

BusinessWeek is running a special report on Web design this week. I got drawn in by an article about Stamen, which among other mapping projects, created CrimeSpotting. There's the usual roundup and best and worst of the Web and the 10 commandments of Web design. Frankly, these are basics worth reviewing regularly. Alas we are not all trained as designers.

New York State to get Census Bloc Cancer Data

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

The New York Times reports that the bill will be signed by Governor Paterson. Cancer maps at the county level are already available from the state heath department and the National Cancer Institute, but there's not been required reporting at the census tract level. Proponents want the data to be available; others are concerned viewers may misinterpret the maps. In particular, they may not take into account that people move and factors at the different locations may be the cause of newly diagnosed disease.

When publishing any kind of maps for the public it's always good to include a "how to use these maps" and highlight appropriate warnings.

Podcast: A Look at COGO, The Coalition of Geospatial Organizations

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 8:00am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: Directions on the News Podcast

A few weeks ago COGO, the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations made itself known to the geospatial community. The group, comprised of leading geospatial organizations aims to increase communications between the groups, work toward common goals via advocacy and education. This week Adena Schutzberg takes a closer look at the members, goals and possible future of the group and its implications for the geospatial community.

Subscribe to Podcast RSS

Listen Now (to download, right click on the link at left and choose "save target as")

Read the show notes

Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.

LBS Apps for Android Run Into Delays

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 3:47pm CEST

Tags: lbs

The Wall Street Journal today cited delays in the delivery of Android-based mobile phones due mostly to the carriers themsleves. But some of the issues relate to changes that Google is making to the code while it puts the finishings touches to the final release. Two LBS applications developers, Buzzd and the Weather Channel Interactive, were mentioned as running into problems. Nihal Mehta from Buzzd said that since there weren't any Android phones on the market that it was difficult to test their software. Louis Gump from the Weather Channel had basically good things to say about Android but that because of the revisions that Google was making that there would be some rewrites to his code that would have to be made.

Everyday Geography at the Green Mountain Relay

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 3:42pm CEST

When I first started studying geography in school my family and friends were perplexed. "What exactly is geography?" So as we went about our daily lives, I'd point out situations that highlighted geographic thinking and perspectives - the map of tables in the restaurant and how wait staff were assigned, how exits were named on the highway, how we pick out landmarks, the countries of origin of our fruits and veggies... Once they "got it" I tried to stop pointing out those things because it got annoying.

Still, that "everyday geography" pops up now and then in my life and gets me thinking. This past weekend was a great example. I was involved in a relay race across the state of Vermont. Teams of 2 to 12 travelled the 198 miles on foot over the weekend. It involved lots of vans, signs, flashlights, cheers and geography! The event, at least for my team was decided low tech, at least as far as geography goes. Some geographic items that popped out for me:
Continue reading "Everyday Geography at the Green Mountain Relay"

Moving the 45 Parallel (but not really)

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 2:59pm CEST

The AP reports (have you been tracking the latest from the AP on quoting it on blogs???) that officials at Yellowstone have moved a sign indicating the location of the 45 parallel to make it closer to its true location and to improve traffic and safety. Visitors love to take their picture at the sign, so moving it to a turnout provides more and safer parking. It also moves the sign a bit closer to its true location which may be have been further off since those who planted it may have believed the state border between Wyoming and Montana is coincident with the parallel; it is in many spots but not in this area.

Quote of the Week

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 2:03pm CEST

"GIS data tracks every single latitude in any given city."

NewsChannel 34 in Binghampton, NY describing GIS and its use by local company Diamond Visionics for 3D visualization and simulations. Clients of the company include a trucking company, the Navy and Lockheed Martin. The other note on this story, which is apparently a transcript of a video piece to the website: how the website is written out: "If you want more information about Diamond Visionics, go to diamond visionics dot com."

The Great Tomato Chase

Posted: June 20th, 2008, 3:41pm CEST

Tags: rfid

Perhaps it had been a while since I was in the grocery store but the notices and warnings about tomatoes took me by surprise. So, we find ourselves yet again faced with the problem of a food-borne illness.

InformationWeek provides two references to how Hawaii is using RFID technology to trace this problem from "farm to market" according to an article in the Denver Post. The work by the Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation to mitigate the problem was also detailed and cited for a ComputerWorld Honors program. From the citation: "With RFID systems in place, product traceability and feedback loops using a variety of temperature, humidity or biological sensors may be established to measure product safety and quality status through flow points using a variety of computer based sensor technologies."

I am often asked what the next big thing is with respect to location technology. I feel that sensor networks and RFID have enormous potential to allow citizens to better understand how to protect themselves. Whether it is a food-borne illness or a biological terrorist attack, location technology can support information flow to the general population in helping them understand dangers in greatest proximity to them.

Virtual Sticky Note

Posted: June 20th, 2008, 1:49pm CEST

Tags: lbs

No, not a new idea, but here's an interesting twist - who's paying for research:

And [Romit Roy] Choudhury [an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke] said he was encouraged when Verizon agreed to pay for the undergraduate work involved in the project. Graduate student work is covered as part of a larger grant from the National Science Foundation.

- News & Observer

Laser Range Finders on Google StreetView Cars

Posted: June 20th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

Ben Yetman (famed robot mapping guy at Pen Bay Media, his wildly popular article was in Directions a few years back) notes on his blog that Google's StreetView vehicles are now capturing 3D data. It's not LiDAR but laser range finding. What could the data be for? Ben suggests:

3D point data could mean a couple things:
Google wants to scan your body to fit you for a new Super Search Suit (probably made of Spandex - the material of the future) um, yah.
Enhanced image post processing algorithms use it to better mitigate frame overlap
Google is going to present some new textured 3D interfaces in GoogleEarth/Google Maps, beyond what they already model

Just because we can track something in motion using GPS...

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 2:54pm CEST

Tags: Routing, Tracking, Logistics

doesn't mean we should:

Lawn Chair Pilot To Be Tracked Using Latest GPS Technology

On the other hand, it's a good marketing stunt for the technology provider.

What's the next hot geographic data set?

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

And how do we find it? How about looking at new devices. The New York Times reviews the Ikan, a countertop scanner that captures barcodes from grocery packages to build your shopping list for a delivery service. That's not so interesting, but this is: the device, after being customized for you will note which of the packages can be recycled in your municipality. So, there's no good database of the recycling rules for US cities/communities? Apparently not:

A big green Recycle log appears on the Ikans screen whenever you scan a package thats recyclable in your town, warning you not to throw it away; very, very smart. (The company researches each municipalitys recycling policy individually as Ikan units are purchased, so the logo may not appear the first day you own the Ikan.)

Ok readers, go sell them your dataset!

Nuvifone Update

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: lbs

There's a video of the device making the rounds (Wired). Also, Asus will manufacture the device. it's the first time Garmin has outsourced hardware manufacturing, per DigiTimes. The Street quotes analysts who argue the expected $399 price with $100 discount from service providers for service won't fly. To compete with the iPhone it'll have to be $199. That means less margin and less profit. Garmin dropped 5% on Tuesday, Shares of Garmin have lost nearly half their value since the beginning of the year. On Tuesday, shares fell more than 5% to close to $43.48.

Another Google Maps Customization Tool: Quikmaps

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

Webware describes the app which allows freehand drawing on Google Maps. The Quikmap maps can then be embedded. Hey, some of us like that personal touch!

The site was down for a few hours when I wrote this.

Werner on Traffic.com "monopoly" and Mineta and Trimble Ethics Concern

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Jerry Werner has been digging into the first topic for a while. His latest findings appeared last week in the Hawaii Reporter. For those new to the allegations:

(1) There's been a long standing concern that Traffic.com (now owned by NAVTEQ) received a government contract to capture traffic data effectively creating a monopoly.

(2) Former Transportation Secretary Mineta's allegedly failed to disclose the details of his capital gains income of up to $1 million in Trimble Navigation stock options back in 2000. At that time he was a proponent of location technology which may have benefitted the company.

"Werner has consulted in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) field since 1991. From 1998 through 2005 he was a subcontractor to the USDOT and Editorial Director of the National Transportation Operations Coalition (NTOC)." So, while not an investigative reporter, he knows the biz. I encourage interested readers to trace his source materials noted in the article above and his blog.

Wanted: SEO Specialist at ESRI

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: ESRI

Details at Dice.com

- via Twitter

ESRI Podcast Series: An Overview of ArcGIS Server 9.3

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 9:59am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: ESRI

In this podcast sponsored by ESRI, Ismael Chivite, ArcGIS Server Product Manager at ESRI, gives an overview of what's new with the ArcGIS Server 9.3 release. Learn about the new ArcGIS API for JavaScript, whats happening with ArcGIS Image Server, role-based security, and faster Web services via improved map caching options.

Subscribe to Podcast RSS

Listen Now (to download, right click on the link at left and choose "save target as")

Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.

New Orleans Population Resettlement

Posted: June 18th, 2008, 3:25pm CEST

Tags: Katrina

U.S. News and World Report for June 23 provided a detailed map of the resettlement progress in New Orleans in an article entitled, "The Road Back Home." The map is an "activity" index of areas rebounding from the pre-Hurricane Katrina levels based on utilities, mail service and building permits. The map was created by GCR & Associates and their more detailed analysis of the resettlement can be downloaded from their website (PowerPoint presentation). Neither source stipulates the geographic subdivision but it appears to be at the street block level.

River Levels, Flood Stage & Flood Forecasts

Posted: June 18th, 2008, 12:04am CEST

Tags: Weather

Weather Underground sent us a link to the WunderMap mashup showing river levels, flood stages and forecasted flood zones. It's a nice app that shows flow rates, flood stage level (%), and a link to the information source.

Podcast: Who is #1 in GIS...and Does it Really Matter?

Posted: June 17th, 2008, 8:32am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: Podcasts

Who's #1 in GIS? How big is the GIS market? Is the impact of Google affecting the sales of GIS vendors? These questions are asked all the time and the answer is...nobody really knows. But more to the point, does it really matter. With the fragmentation of the geospatial technology market during the last few years, it is difficult to place a number on the total size of the market, despite the best efforts of market research firms. Editor-in-chief Joe Francica lays out a framework for the sectors of the geospatial market and what really needs to be considered when trying to size the market...but as importantly, why the numbers today are irrelevant.
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Google Commissioned New Kenya Data for Google Maps

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

Ed Parsons noted the "interesting story" behind new data Google Maps for Kenya on his blog a few days ago. The data appeared just 10 months after the company opened the office in country.The story (Network World) is this:

The map was developed by a team of seven students from three Kenyan universities together with a team from India. Replacing a previously limited online map of four highways, the move has now placed Kenya on the level of other countries served by Google Maps.

I asked for "the rest of the story" and Ed obliged. In particular I wanted to know about who was behind the effort and who therefore owned the new detailed data. He responded: "Google commissioned the work and owns the data, and yes I think this is a big deal."

I think it's a big deal, too. Ed noted that this is not the first time Google has "commissioned" street level data nor will it be the last.

Green to stay on at NAVTEQ after acquisition?

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

I guess NAVTEQ CEO Judson Green is doing the circuit now that the Nokia/NAVTEQ deal looks like it'll go through. My colleague interviewed him last week and the Chicago Tribune spoke to him, too. Nothing too new in the story, but the "how long will he stay" question came up:

[Brandon] Dobell [of William Blair & Co. in Chicago] said Green might stay on for a year or so after the Nokia acquisition, then leave for another business or just focus on his musicthe Navteq CEO is an avid jazz pianist.

When asked if he was planning to stay, Green praised the firm and its prospects.

"We have a very exciting future and we've got a great team and we're continuing to grow, so these are really exciting drivers for me," Green said.

Noise Maps

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 8:25am CEST

Perhaps its a European pet peave but I ran across a news story about maps used to show noise pollution in Wales. Then I decided to see where other municipalities were publishing noise maps. The tops list of noise maps in my Google query turned up a noticable list of mostly European sources:

Wales news story - but go directly to the municipal website for the maps.

Scottish noise maps

Daily Mail covers noise mapping in detail

MERL Multi-touch Table Tech Licensed

Posted: June 13th, 2008, 2:53pm CEST

Circle Twelve, a company that focusses on collaboration will support existing users and manufacture and distribute the tables, which have the special feature of supporting multiple "touchers" and keeping track of them. After seeing the table a few years ago, I thought it had an edge on some of the "single user" offerings, especially for geospatial collaboration.

- press release

Podcast: Exclusive Interview with Judson Green, president & CEO, NAVTEQ

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 5:52pm CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: lbs

In an exclusive interview, Judson Green, president and CEO of NAVTEQ spoke with Directions Media Editor-in-chief Joe Francica about a broad spectrum of topics related to the growth of the location-based services market and the ability of NAVTEQ to address an exploding market for digital map products. Mr. Green spoke of the opportunities for NAVTEQ not just in terms of his current ability to serve a variety of market segments but provided some insights in what may be possible in the future with NAVTEQ data. "Dont think of our map going into a nav system in the front seat of the car; think of our map going into the engine of the car to help drive the carand therein you find dozens and dozens and dozens of applications which would fundamentally improve the safety of the car, the productivity of the car, the efficiencies, and we think thats a very exciting area, said Green. Mr. Green, once the president for Walt Disney Attractions, now has the challenge of sorting through the opportunities that range from real-time dynamic content to advanced driver assistance systems.<br>
The interview was recorded on June 10, 2008 and lasts for approximately 20 minutes.
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Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.

Medill Students: What we learned from locative media

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 4:05pm CEST

MediaShift recaps what students at Medill School of Journalism (Northwestern U) learned in a locative media project. There are 12 points, but this one seemed particularly insightful.

4. Avoid Google Maps fatigue.

Newspapers widely and frequently use interactive online maps now. More information is being attached to geographic coordinates, but this information needs to be better organized and differentiated, so that content avoids looking repetitive.

Most US Gov Lines of Business will Stay After Election; Geo Maybe Not

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 3:45pm CEST

FCW.com reports on an Input study that suggests that no matter the outcome of the election most Lines of Business will remain as is. LOBs are an Office of Management and Budget program to streamline specific technical processes of the government. LOBs in the "challenged" category, those with limited constituencies, including Geospatial may be dropped.

GE Energy Acquires MapFrame

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 2:14pm CEST

Tags: Geospatial business

The press release appeared yesterday and reminds me that its been rather quiet on the acquisition front. The sale is expected to close at the end of the month. MapFrame, based in Dallas outfits more than field 35,000 workers at 30 major U.S. utilities. The company was founded in 1991 and currently has about 40 employees. GE's last geo-related acquisitions include Smallworld in 2000 and MJ Harden in 2003. GE sold MJ Harden, expect for the pipeline part, to GeoEye in 2007.

Google SketchUp 3D Basecamp Coverage

Posted: June 12th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

Only 300 people are at the SketchUp event this week at Google, HQ. Randall Newton at AECnews.com is one attendee and he's covering the tech, the wireless and the food.

Of note for geospatial professionals: It takes 3-6 weeks for models to be approved (or not) for inclusion in Google Earth.

GeoMedia Wiki

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 6:42pm CEST

Tags: Intergraph

Even as Andres at BlinkGeo notes how few GIS technology providers offer blogs (ESRI = many, Autodesk = 1) Jeff Hobbs our blogging ambassador to Intergraph announces the GeoMedia Wiki. While it's not a blog and not hosted by Intergraph, the company has contributed funds and staff contributions of some kind.

For now content is limited, but the plan is to collect content on 3rd party add-ons, tutorials, examples and the like. I'll be keeping an eye on this Wiki since my students use GeoMedia (among other packages) in my Comparative GIS course.

Details on Tele Atlas' MultiNav...a data product targeted at developers of LBS apps

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 4:46pm CEST

Tags: lbs

Today, Tele Atlas (TA) is releasing a new version of MultiNav, the street network database from the company that is optimized for navigation products and solutions. So, to be clear, though it is not technically a subset of MultiNet, the complete Tele Atlas road network database, MulitNav contains only certain features most applicable for navigation applications. I spoke with Purvi Rajani, Global Product Director for MultiNav, Ms. Rajani said, The product is analogous to moving from DOS to Windows for us; its a massive move forward for Tele Atlas. She offered several key points to consider in this new release:
Continue reading "Details on Tele Atlas' MultiNav...a data product targeted at developers of LBS apps"

iPhone has GPS....Yaawwnn...Next

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 2:54pm CEST

Tags: lbs

I've steadfastly delayed comment on the addition of a GPS chipset (Broadcom chip according to Seeking Alpha) to the iPhone because I said a year ago they blew it when the iPhone 1.0 launched without it. So, now we have the iPhone 2.0 with GPS. Sounds like Apple is working from the Microsoft playbook: Launch a less than full featured product at a high price; wait for customer complaints, drop the price and re-launch a second version with better features. I guess Steve Jobs is now a student of Bill Gates. This is news?

So in a year's time what do we know? While Apple still holds only about 5% of the overall smartphone market according to InformationWeek it has picked up share on a quarterly basis since its launch according to CNNMoney. It won't replace your Blackberry which already had GPS capabilities. Why switch? Are you looking for the "coolness" factor or is it that you really like AT&T's cell coverage and speed (that's supposed to be a joke).

Maybe I'm just not a "Mac guy." I can't get excited about this particular news because the market has moved well beyond just GPS as a feature. We are now talking about what we can do with it and more LBS services have already been announced and launched by other phone providers that makes the iPhone news anticlimactic. This is not to say that the iPhone is not disruptive technology. I think it is. But the addition of GPS would have been in keeping with Apple's "coolness factor" to facilitate social networking and other location aware services at its 1.0 launch...not a year later.

What's next? An iPhone icon showing you where the closest Apple store is located? I guess you'll need GPS for that!

Garmin Down, TomTom May be Up on iPhone

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 2:49pm CEST

Tags: Navigation

From The Street:

GPS-based navigation devices maker Garmin(GRMN - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) fell $2.85, or 5.8%, to $46.74 after Apple showed off location-based services including navigation on the iPhone. Apple's move could hurt demand for Garmin's devices, believe some analysts. Meanwhile, Garmin rival TomTom already has a version of its navigation software running on the iPhone, according to a report by Reuters.

Sony Ericsson's Location-based Music Search Patent

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 2:45pm CEST

Tags: lbs

From the patent LOCATION DEPENDENT MUSIC SEARCH:

A portable device may perform a location dependent music search. During the search, the portable device determines location information that identifies a location of the portable device, makes a request that includes the location information to a database, obtains a list of music sources associated with the location information from the database as a result of a search performed based on the request, selects a music source from the list, and outputs an audio signal associated with the selected music source.

- via IntoMobile

Gas Price Data Accuracy

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 1:23pm CEST

I suppose it's just another twist on telling the same story in a new way, but a Roanoke, VA TV station wanted to check if websites aimed at finding low priced gas were accurate. They gave the sites they checked for the local area (not clear which site/s) an 85% correct rating. Not too bad since some sites depend on user generated data and prices are changing very fast.

Now, the interesting news: 90% of those responding to a survey (N=500) have yet to use such sites. That doesn't surprise me. I believe for most people gassing up is a no-brainer. We go to the same station near work or home (29% said they did; I suspect true value is higher). If we are prudent, it was the cheapest before the latest spike, and remains so. I know my favorite station continues to be 5 cents cheaper. I like to think those who regularly travel by car in areas with which they are not familiar would use such tools more.

If geo is the best thing about the new iPhone...

Posted: June 11th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: gps

as Stan Schroeder at Mashable argues, will it be the phone that GIS software developers support? While Schroeder is quick to point other phones have had 3G, GPS, etc. for some time, the ease of use and openness of the new iPhone breaks ranks. Will we be doing analytical mobile GIS on these devices? Capturing data?

Mapping the Toronto Measles Outbreak

Posted: June 10th, 2008, 3:14pm CEST

The Map of the Week feature at the Toronto Star tackles the outbreak, one of the worst in 12 years. There are thematic maps of those inoculated along with those who have vaccination exemptions.

- via Poynter.org

Quote of the Week

Posted: June 10th, 2008, 2:57pm CEST

"Next year, dependent on funding, the BHS hopes to implement the next stage which will be to launch EMAGIN online."

- Equine World UK news release about EMAGIN, the Equestrian Mapping and Geographical Information Network, launched in 2007 by The British Horse Society. The not online version provides "Where to ride," a GIS-based section of information about off-road riding and which Ordnance Survey maps are needed. Strange that something of this type is not online at the outset. Perhaps its a data licensing issue?

Clark Labs Receives Climate Warning Grants from Google.org, Moore Foundation

Posted: June 10th, 2008, 2:31pm CEST

Tags: google

The Clark Labs for Cartographic Technology and Geographic Analysis at Clark University received $1.2 million in two grants, to research the impact of climate phenomena such as El Niño affect the Amazon River area of South America and south central Africa.

The Labs will be researching the potential for a climate teleconnection-based (climate connections between fair apart geographies) early warning system for food, health and ecosystem security. The two grants, each $600,000 are from google.org., the philanthropic arm of the Internet giant, and $600,000 from the San Francisco-based Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

- Worcester Telegram

Permalink for 'Podcast: Speedy Browsers for Web MappingWhich Ones Are Faster?'

GISWiki.NEWS.Reader » All Points Blog » June 2008

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Tags: gps

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Tags: google

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Tags: Social Networking

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Tags: microsoft

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Tags: Oops

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 6:39pm CEST

Tags: Location Intelligence

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 2:20pm CEST

Tags: google

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 1:39pm CEST

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Posted: June 24th, 2008, 8:00am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: Directions on the News Podcast

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 3:47pm CEST

Tags: lbs

Posted: June 23rd, 2008, 3:42pm CEST

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Tags: rfid

Posted: June 20th, 2008, 1:49pm CEST

Tags: lbs

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Tags: google

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 2:54pm CEST

Tags: Routing, Tracking, Logistics

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

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Tags: lbs

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

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Tags: ESRI

Posted: June 19th, 2008, 9:59am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: ESRI

Posted: June 18th, 2008, 3:25pm CEST

Tags: Katrina

Posted: June 18th, 2008, 12:04am CEST

Tags: Weather

Posted: June 17th, 2008, 8:32am CEST

Enclosure: [download]

Tags: Podcasts

Posted: June 16th, 2008, 1:00pm CEST

Tags: google

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