Wednesday, February 4. 2009

MySQL Spatial...Finally Some News

It always amazed me that more attention was not given to the spatial functionality of MySQL. Every time a newsletter arrived from the MySQL folks I looked for recent functionality updates. Finally, some mention of what's going on was provided in a recent note about the upcoming MySQL Conference in Santa Clara in April. A session on by John Powell of eMapSite entitled "Spatial SQL-Who needs a traditional GIS?" will be on the conference program.

For a closer look at some of the new MySQL Spatial features, see the MySQL Forge website.

Garmin Teams with Asus for Original and Future LBS-focused nuvifones

A PR tells the tale:

Garmin and ASUS have already begun joint development on a diverse mobile phone product line, which will be known as the Garmin-Asus nuvifone(TM) series. The companies expect to bring to market several Garmin-Asus nuvifone models in 2009, and a new Garmin-Asus nuvifone model will be announced at the Mobile World Congress trade show in Barcelona, Spain, February 16-19, 2009. ...

The original Garmin nuvifone that was announced in 2008 will be re-branded as the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60. The Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 is expected to be delivered in the first half of 2009, and additional information about the Garmin-Asus nuvifone G60 will be released at the Mobile World Congress trade show.

Wow that seems like a "late in the game" announcement. I don't know if this will save Garmin or kill its dreams of a real play in cell phones. Is Asus a phone manufacturer? Per the PR:

ASUS is a rising contender in the design, manufacture and distribution of mobile phones, and has exclusive intellectual property rights in 3G core technologies. These 3G technologies are paving the way for 4G in the near future.

So, it's no Nokia or Samsung...yet.

Google Latitude - Google Goes Mobile Social

If you blew all your excitement on Google Earth 5, too bad. Today Google launched Google Latitude, its solution for sharing (or not) your location from a mobile device or laptop. It uses locations from MyLocation (cell tower) or wi-fi or GPS. Then you can communicate via IM, SMS or phone.

The timing is ominous, what with the terms Google and Monoculture now so joined after this weekend's "the whole Internet is malware" situation this weekend.

The good news for Google, this can probably generate money. The good news for LBS: another player, another platform. The good news for privacy - all opt in, option to hide or "lie" about your location. (You can "lie" about your location in Fire Eagle, too.)

Supported phones: "most"of those that support Google Maps Mobile 3.0 or higher, but coming soon to iPhone/iTouch and Sony Erricsson. Latitude is available in 27 countries.

An iGoogle Gadget version (requires Gears) is available in the U.S. on laptops/desktops.

Per Search Engine Land Latitude is not built on Jaiku or Dodgeball (Google acquisitions recently put out to pasture, so to speak).

For now it reads like a Google version of what's out there already. But, I'm sure there's more to come.

Indiana Asks County to Apply for GIS Grant; County Tables It

There may be far more going on than is revealed in the article in the Greencastle Banner-Graphic, but essentially the story goes: the state of Indiana has asked Putnam County to apply for a $14,000 Homeland Security grant to get a GIS up and running that can be part of the state's IndianaMap (a state spatial data infrastructure). The County decided to make a list of every group that might use the GIS before taking any action.

We talk about unfunded mandates and grass roots all the time in building up an NSDI, but clearly there is still work to do at the local level. Can NACo (National Association of Counties) help? Or NSGIC (National States Geographic Information Council)? Or URISA or GITA or ...? Why is this not a "no brainer?" Should it not be? Is it not enough money to do the work? What's the holdup?

Keep Your Face Private from CCTV, but Share Your Location

Closed circuit TV and personal privacy don't mix too well. So, scientists at HP have devised a way to keep your face off the CCTV tapes. Basically, you install an app in your phone that tells the system where you are, and it blurs your face. Ideally, you'd need to pay a fee for such privacy. While technically this works - including in crowds, many think privacy should be opt-in by default, not the other way round.

- New Scientist

GPS Thefts Up 700%, But More GPSs Out There, too

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that 24,700 portable navigation systems were stolen in 2008, a 700% increase over 2006. AutoBlog suggests "the number of units sold have likewise gone supernova, leading us to wonder if the actual percentage of thefts over units in service has changed appreciably overall."