Thursday, December 11. 2008

Maryland "Greenprints" Ecologically Sensitive Areas

Putting it's money where its maps are, the state of Maryland produced a map of ecologically sensitive areas including protected lands and other areas. Governor O'Malley, who I interviewed in September about his use of GIS, unveiled the map to other Maryland officials (Source: The Capital). The map, while saving paper, hence the name "greenprint," is interactive in that you can click on a county and a bar and pie chart will reveal the acres of land "out of targeted ecological areas" and "protected and unprotected targeted ecological areas" respectively.

More on Land Surveyors United

Got a bit more insight from network founder Justin Farrow on the surveying networking site Land Surveyors United:

What is Land Survey United? How would a surveyor use the site?

From the site:

Land Surveyors United is the first social network in the world exclusively geared for land surveying professionals and the GPS, mapping and geomatics community. This group creates a virtual space for surveyors to post their technology related questions, experiences, tips, tricks and advise for the field. Members are surveyors, of course, most of which spend the majority of their day in the woods or along the side of the road measuring and creating the landscapes of our cities and towns. As an online community comprised entirely of like minded individuals, LSU provides a place to find equipment, collaborate and troubleshoot problems in the field and find reference materials related to surveying. All content is subscription friendly and can be read via RSS feed reader. Small surveying firms can promote their business and jobs can be sought and found. This is truly the first community of its kind, ever!

...
There are many ways in which a professional land surveyors could benefit from being a member of Land Surveyors United. One of the most immediate ways is by providing a free space to host a company website, for those who do not have one. And for those who do, it is a terrific place to link back to your site in order to drive traffic there. Not only that, but by merely being a member of a social network exclusively for professional land surveyors, you have already said to the world "Hey, Look at my company and see how reputable we are! Hire us!" LSU is a place for your voice to be heard and unlike other surveying forums, your voice has a face and a name, with attached media such as video and photos that showcase exactly what you do best-and where you do it. We have members from all over the world, working in all geographical regions. Those projects by others provide insight into many things about the industry that you may not already know...as well with yours.

Continue reading "More on Land Surveyors United"

When the policy folks don't talk to the tech folks...

There's been a rash of obscure outcomes recently when policy makers and watchdogs create and enforce technology practices that they don't understand completely. (Hat tip to Buzz Outloud podcast for noting the connections in the stories below...)

The teacher who's credentials were removed when a porn site appeared on a computer in her classroom. (ArsTechnica)

Continue reading "When the policy folks don't talk to the tech folks..."

PB MapInfo Lays off 128

Those 128 are all from the software division, Group 1 Software, and include about a dozen people from the RPI tech park, where MapInfo (as we know it) is based. These are the first layoffs since the two year old acquisition by Pitney-Bowes and they'll be happening now through the next few months. The goal is to reduce operating expenses by 7%.

CBS6 Albany

Other coverage:

Business Review Albany
Schenectady Gazette

Microsoft Research Tool Geocodes Unstructured Addresses

Microsoft Research India developed the software which enables locating addresses in structured formats from any country.

A prototype of the system, currently called Robust Location Search, is up and running and the research group is already in talks to add it into Windows Live Local.

The underlying algorithm uses geospatial data to figure out "what location the terms in the address string match with" and locates them on a map. The system was developed in India where address often are represented as "near" or "across from" a landmark. This sounds a bit akin to MetaCarta's tools for geocoding unstructured data, though that company, in my experience, does not position its offerings specifically for addresses, but rather general location information.

- PC World