Monday, June 30. 2008

The Baltimore Sun Looks at Online Crime Mapping

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?

Friday, June 27. 2008

"GIS for Dummies" Due in November

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

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

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

"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?

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?