Westport, CT’s new TaxMap App and other Government GIS News

Westport, CT has a new Esri-based map viewer. The city is offering several 90 and 150 minute classes on using it. Good thing  - since I oculd not get the help to work. The old intro page says you must use IE not AOL or another browser. Safari worked fine.

- CT

The Franklin County, AL Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Consortium officially lauched its “virtual Franklin County,” also known as its public facing GIS. It's built on ArcGIS Viewer for Flex 2.

- Franklin County Times

The city of Southfield [MI] recently launched Destination Southfield, a collection of Geographic Information System -based sites that provide up-to-date interactive maps and information about city services, parks and polling locations. The information can be found at http://maps.cityofsouthfield.com/destinationsouthfield.

With Destination Southfield, the city has become one of the first communities in the country to take advantage of Environmental Systems Research Institute's local government common information model. ArcGIS for Local Government includes a series of maps and apps that are designed to work together across various city departments.

Silverlight. Interesting "hide and seek" menus.

- Hometown Life

Linux Yuma and other Mobile GPS Data Capture News

...the latest news appears to be the Trimble Yuma, a rugged tablet from SDG Systems that now runs Ubuntu Linux.

Targeting military and industrial applications requiring data collection, inspection, and reporting from the field, the Linux-powered Yuma can be used with geospatial software including GRASS GIS and Quantum GIS as well as other standard or custom Linux-based applications. The device is available starting at $3695 on SDG's website.

- PC World

The Trimble Juno series provides a complete, integrated package of positioning, imaging and communications for flexibility. Two versions are available. The Juno 3B has an integrated GPS, a 5 MP autofocus camera and Windows Mobile software. The Juno 3D includes all of the features of the Juno 3B plus 3G wireless technology, which allows users to transfer data faster and stay connected to the office with an integrated mobile phone.

- press release

TomTom has made a landmark move into the insurance market by providing the technology behind a new insurance product, which bases premiums on driving behaviour.

TomTom has teamed up with insurance broker Motaquote for the launch of Fair Pay Insurance – a product that rewards 'good' drivers with lower premiums.

- press release

ERMA (at one time demo for Geoportal.gov) Basis for Arctic Response GIS

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today they are partnering to enhance the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA®) for the Arctic region by summer 2012. ERMA® is the same interactive online mapping tool used by federal responders during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This effort will help address numerous challenges in the Arctic where increasing ship traffic and proposed energy development are increasing the risk of oil spills and chemical releases.

That's all good, but isn't the ultimate goal for these sorts of efforts to use Geoplatform.gov? Maybe since that technology is still in beta, these groups went with a tested solution.

- NOAA press release

Sundosoft Brings GIS to Korea and other International GIS News

The Korea Times has a feature on , Yoon Jay-joon (Jay Yoon), CEO of Sundosoft, a large GIS player in the country. One of the graphics is of a box of ArcGIS 9. I guess 10 is not yet out there.

- Korea Times

Panasonic's new GPS enabled cameras may not work quite right in China. How and exactly why is not clear, but apparently geotagging is illegal in that country.

- GPS Tracklog

Mackenzie District Council in New Zealand is fight against bad GIS data.

"During the last revaluation, it was discovered the information we sent to our valuers was incorrect. This was due to multiple users creating different copies of the data, manipulating the information and treating it as correct," Mr Morris said.

"If council chose to do nothing, the GIS information will get progressively worse.

But the local government does not want to put a dedicated outside person in charge of cleaning up the data. Instead, it's looking into a shared position.

- Stuff.co.nz

The Doolin Coast Guard team in Co Clare Ireland will be the only such unit in the country with a GIS. It'll be run on tablets to increase efficiency in response and planning.

The system also contains up to date information on the locations of caves, popular surfing spots and other areas where the team might be requested to respond to an incident.

It will also aid in incident planning as it contains information such as radio reception blackspots, access routes and helicopter landing sites.

- Clare Herald

Girl Scout Teaches Geography and other Education GIS News

Danielle Feoranzo, a student at Westwood Regional High School in the Township of Washington, recently earned her Girl Scout Gold Award by painting a map of the United States on the playground at the Jessie F. George Elementary School. 

I've read lots of stories about maps being painted on playgrounds. What I like about this one is explained by the school pricipal:

"She facilitated a lesson for our fourth grade students that focused on the United States. Using the map, the students were able to move about the country while showcasing the content knowledge. It was a great experience for our students and a gift from Danielle that will last for many years to come."

- NorthJersey.com

A Clarkson University research team, led by Mechanical & Aeronautical Engineering Professors Pier Marzocca, Suresh Dhaniyala and Lin Tian, is readying its unmanned aerial vehicle, the Clarkson RAVEN (Research Aerial Vehicle for Experimental Needs), to acquire wind turbulence data.

- press release

The University of Redlands is pleased to announce the third cohort of faculty LENS (LEarNing Spatially) Fellows. Led by Dr. Diana Sinton, director of Spatial Curriculum and Research, LENS is a campus-wide initiative that promotes spatial literacy as a foundational component in curriculum, programs, and research. In the coming year, the LENS Fellows will work on curricular ideas around the theme of “Mapping Communities.”

The four university faculty members from different departments will participate in a summer institute on campus.

- press release

Fort Lee plans to become the first school system in the nation to use the MapEverywhere software, which provides detailed campus floor plans to emergency responders via a smart phone application that does not rely on Internet or Wi-Fi connections, officials said.

Maps of each school and information about explosive chemicals and potentially dangerous electrical wirings will be available on an application that police and other authorized personnel can upload during a hostage, fire or other crisis.

I don't like the idea that it must be downloaded WHEN an incident is found. Cost: $495/month.

- NorthJersey.com

Some advice from Brian Timoney to stduents: