DoD Open Source Report

A new report, the Open Technology Development (OTD) road map, prepared for the Department of Defence (DoD) “states that collaborative software development would save money and give DOD greater systems development and acquisition flexibility.” The report is critical of current aquisition processes, saying it’s ok for physical objects but too slow for software procurement. An article in FCW explores the report.

One project is already underway: the Large Data Joint Capabilities Technology Demonstration. It includes open source geospatial technology. John Scott, co-author of the OTD report says what many know already: “The biggest challenge will be cultural rather than technical.”

Garmin’s Next Challenge: Europe

While new players like Sony enter the GPS market, the next step for Garmin will be taking on Europe. An AP article lays it out this way:

Looking ahead, Garmin officials see the next big challenge isn’t new competitors but breaking more into the European market, where it has a little more than 10 percent share. Rauckman said the market is different from the U. S. because Europeans have had more experience with GPS technology and need it more because of the sometimes chaotic road systems there. In addition, Europe lacks ubiquitous retailers like Best Buy or Wal-Mart, forcing the company to focus on individual outlets in each country.

In other Garmin news, the company will open a retail store on Chicago’s Michigan Avenue in time for holiday gift buying.

Local Videos: TurnHere

The folks at TurnHere sent an e-mail to note that the company offers the location of its videos in Google Earth. The KML is currently featued in Google Earth’s Showcase.

Haven’t heard of TurnHere? It’s a spin off of Inman News, the real estate publication/website/conference. Basically, the site hosts professionally produced videos about neighborhoods around the world with insider info. It uses Google Maps mashups on its site. The business model? Once the video are created solicit online video ads and I guess regular online ads from local businesses.

The map use is frankly not big news. But the content is, to my surprise (skeptic that I am!) pretty darn good. The three minute clips I viewed of my neighborhood (Davis Square, Somerville) and one nearby (Inman Square, Cambridge) hit most of my favorite locations and highlighted the funky, hip stores. I even saw some of the object d’art of a friend of mine on store shelves! I think they have something with a future here.

For Databases…The Survey Says…

Today concludes our 2006 GIS Survey but one interesting statistic that I thought I would share with everyone is the choice of databases. By far the largest number of respondants are using MS Access followed by MS SQL Server. But SQL Server does not support spatial data types without getting into user-defined commands.

The survey also indicated that many who are considering open source technology will be implementing MySQL, which does support many basic spatial operations. So, if you are looking to migrate from MS SQL Server to MySQL, check out this white paper from MySQL: "A Practical Guide to Migrating From Microsoft SQL Server to MySQL."

Core Blogs… Update

Back in December I posted about “Core Blogs, Aggregators and Blog Content Stealing.” In it I tried to rationalize how people, including myself, use different sorts of blogs. I want to update that as my habits suggest that I’ve changed my tune.

I wrote: “I read lots of GIS blogs. I don’t spend much time reading the aggregators (SlashGeo/Planet Geospatial) because I’ve already culled out the best blogs for me and don’t need their help.” Well, that’s no longer true. I do need Planet Geospatial’s help. In fact, I use it as a key resource in part to be sure I don’t repeat what others have already covered.

A side note: I have to give the GIS blogging community a lot of credit; it does a great job on not simply re-reporting on content from others. There are a few now and then, but the repeaters are fewer and fewer all the time. I solved this with our “other points” list of posts on the right hand side of our main page. Those are the other posts that I think are worthy of your attention. Said another way: That’s stuff I’d have written about, if I found it first. I update the list daily.

The other reason Planet Geospatial is important hit me just this week courtesy of David Pogue and his interview with Anna Marie Cox formerly author of the Wonkette blog. She’s not a tech blogger, but highlights how, at least in the past, a blogger needed to have a personality. That’s changing, she says.

And so I think that we’re probably going to see that the individual, strong-personality blog is not going to be at the forefront, because group blogs are going to be able to do what people expect of blogs better [rapid update].

And, if you look at Planet Geospatial, that’s what we have - a group blog created from lots of individual blogs. The only difference, and this is where SlashGeo hopes to help out, is putting all the comments in one place.

The other part of the story, of course, is that we bloggers have different interests, different sources and different time zones. That means there is stuff on Planet Geospatial I’d never find simply because I don’t travel in the same circles as say Sean Gilles. And, I love that when I get up here on the east coast, the Europeans have all new stuff for me to read.

The state of the geospatial blogosphere is sound and we are happy to be a part of it.