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Fetched: June 30th, 2008, 8:30pm CEST
On Monday, Nokia reported it would acquire Plazes for an undisclosed sum. Plazes is reasonably well-know in the geospatial arena for its location-tagged messaging offering. Outside our community, Plazes' geospatial focus and clever location-related name didn't necessarily come into play in reports about the acquisition. Adena Schutzberg explores how the media understands this small, but increasingly important company, and what it says about the terms the geospatial community holds dear.
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Fetched: June 30th, 2008, 5:30pm CEST
When the average person thinks of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its role in the recovery of a community after a disaster, images of the initial response usually come to mind; a man in a FEMA shirt sitting at a table signing residents up for disaster assistance, an assembly line of workers unloading bottles of water from a truck and handing them to waiting disaster victims or, perhaps, a FEMA official joining local, state and national leaders on a tour of the disaster area. The aforementioned imagery provides a relatively narrow perspective of FEMA's functions and responsibilities. A great example of the lesser known roles of FEMA's assistance comes through the GIS program.
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Fetched: June 28th, 2008, 6:42am CEST
Editor-in-chief Joe Francica spoke with Moshe Binyamin, MapInfo Professional Product Manager, about some of the features announced in the release of MapInfo Professional 9.5. The product was released on June 11.
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Fetched: June 25th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
Editor-in-chief Joe Francica spoke with Moshe Binyamin, MapInfo Professional Product Manager, about some of the features announced in the release of MapInfo Professional 9.5. The product was released on June 11.
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Fetched: June 19th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
Smart Data Strategies has been in the parcel / land records business for 20 years. In the last year or so, parcel data has become an incredibly hot topic. Today, several large commercial companies are in the process of building a national parcel dataset. Adena Schutzberg asked Susan Marlow, CEO of Smart Data Strategies, about parcel data.
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Fetched: June 18th, 2008, 6:33am CEST
In May, Korem launched a website aimed at MapInfo Professional users that allows them to share their workspaces and associated files. Adena Schutzberg asked Korems vice president and CTO, Jean-Sébastien Turcotte, about the product.
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Fetched: June 17th, 2008, 8:30am CEST
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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Fetched: June 12th, 2008, 4:20am CEST
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. Green spoke of the opportunities for NAVTEQ not just in terms of its current ability to serve a variety of market segments but provided some insights in what may be possible in the future with NAVTEQ data. "Don't 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 car ... and 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 that's a very exciting area," he said. 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.
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Fetched: June 11th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
Are you the type who grabs the latest cell phone with GPS? Or upgrades to the latest tools for tracking your hiking expedition or bike ride? Not all geospatial professionals are geo-gadget people. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg isn't one when it comes to satellite navigation devices - she doesn't have one. In this editorial she explains the choice in one word: serendipity. She puts it this way: "It's my contention that if you follow a track too closely you are not open the wonders you may find along the way."
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Fetched: June 10th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
It's always about speed. In the early days of geospatial technology, the argument was about getting things done faster with speedier computers: VAXes, mini-VAXes, and those "wiz-bang" 486 PCs! Now the discussion has changed. With geospatial solutions being delivered by Internet-based mapping programs some of the bottleneck with speed is tied up in browsers. Is Internet Explorer faster than Mozilla? What browser best renders maps and which is tops in security? Editor Joe Francica explores the options.
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Fetched: June 4th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
The OGC is best known for creating standards, but one of its great contributions is as a forum for collaboration. In this article, John Olesak of Northrop Grumman Information Technology TASC highlights how organizations come together and enhance efforts including national spatial data infrastructures and the global spatial data infrastructure. He explains that "collaborative environments are difficult to achieve and maintain over time. OGC has a proven track record of keeping a balance between a structured steady course and the rapid adaptation and assimilation of new ideas."
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Fetched: June 4th, 2008, 5:30am CEST
Contigo received a patent earlier this year for monitoring the locations of mobile items. The patent is not linked to a specific location technology, meaning it applies to existing and perhaps future technologies. Editor-in-Chief Joe Francica asked company representatives to share insights on the implications of this patent for the company's existing fleet tracking and future solutions.
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Fetched: June 3rd, 2008, 2:31pm CEST
This week the California State Automobile Association announce it would end its production of road maps due to falling demand. The slack will be picked up by the national Association. At the same time police and response organizations are warning the public and their staffs to keep a paper map on hand. What is happening to paper maps as GPS devices become part of our daily lives? Editors Adena Schutzberg and Joe Francica share their thoughts.
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Fetched: June 2nd, 2008, 2:30am CEST
GIS has long been used in development and redevelopment efforts. The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) updated its PolicyMap online
application which serves organizations and individuals interested in
redeveloping and revitalizing neighborhoods. Maggie McCullough, TRF's
director of PolicyMap explains the project's vision, technology and
business model in answering our questions.
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