“In the summer period, we’ve seen quite a good development in demand. We’re becoming more optimistic.”
- TomTom Chief Executive Officer Harold Goddijn
“We don’t believe that PND is dead. We think it’s going to continue to grow a couple more years through 2011 and possibly flatten out at that point as the GPS-enabled smart-phone market increases.”
- Kevin Rauckman, chief financial officer of Garmin
TomTom already has an iPhone app, Garmin will not pursue one, but is offering its own branded nav phones.
- Bloomberg
by Adena Schutzberg on 08/27 at 07:14 AM |
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The Bangkok Post reports on the Thai GIS User Conference 2009 held last week. The focus seemed to be on the opening up of ArcGIS Online and its services. The company General Manager doesn’t feel it will have much impact on Google Earth.
Krairop added that the ArcGIS online will probably not affect Google Earth because the user groups are distinct. Google does not concentrate GIS and users just view the map, while GIS online will evolve the GIS society leading the users and professionals to be GIS creators as they can thoroughly deal with the data. Those professionals can develop such programs as land management, natural resource management, goods delivery, and so forth, for free on the Web.
Krairop adds that “the GIS market continues to expand, with 20 percent growth this year” - it’s unclear if he means within ESRI, in country, in region or worldwide. That’s quite different from the recent numbers from Daratech earlier this month.
Finally, ESRI Thailand is planning a lawsuit against two companies that broke a software copyright.
- Bangkok Post
by Adena Schutzberg on 08/27 at 07:02 AM |
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A study published in Cell Biology (abstract, article requires fee) confirms that those who are lost can and do “walk in circles” especially with out steady reference like the sun or moon. Without a basic visual clue, all the other inputs seem to get jumbled.
- New York Times
Mike Elgan argues for “tag and release” of kids to keep them off the couch and healthy. That means each one should carry a cell phone, instead of being trapped inside by well-meaning parents who want to keep them safe. While it’s a bit of an ad for cell phones and child locators, Elgan does offer up a cultural change that needs to happen:
If you’re a parent, having your child wear or carry a GPS cell phone device is a great idea. But what we need is a mass cultural movement to embrace them. GPS cell phones should be as common on kids as sneakers and backpacks. Safety is multiplied when your kids—and your kids’ friends—all have them. Children gravitate toward each other and play in groups. If any child has an accident, or gets lost or abducted, all the other kids can immediately alert parents and police, complete with exact location data.
- Computerworld
- GEOVARIANCES, company that offer geostatistics packages is showing of its latest product ISATIS version 9,which is used to “improve the characterization of radio contaminated sites or concrete and to adjust the cleansing strategy” at the GLOBAL conference in France next month.
- press release
by Adena Schutzberg on 08/27 at 06:56 AM |
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Dr. Michael Scott of Salisbury University in Maryland teaches in the Geography and Geographic Sciences Department in the Richard A. Henson School of Science and Technology. He’s won the University System of Maryland’s Wilson H. Elkins Professorship including an $80,000 award.
In 2004, Scott established the Eastern Shore Regional Geographic Center which supports GIS in the regional and in local governments. The Center and has traced pollution in septic systems for the Maryland Department of the Environment, surveyed sensitive wetlands in Georgia, and digitizing Captain John Smith’s 1612 exploratory map of the Chesapeake Bay. Scott founded the university’s GIS-public administration master’s program in 2007; it’s the first of its kind in the country.
- DelMarVANOW.com
The deputy mayor of Amman, Jordan sponsored a graduation for city and country workers who took 48 hours of advanced GIS training. Even the trainers were given certificates of appreciation.
- menafm.com
OGC has announced a new website with learning resources. There is no way to search - there are broad topic and format categories (“mass media articles, ” “video”“compliance”). There’s also no way until you click through to the resource to know its source or date. I hope OGC will consider letting users help tag (informal) or add metadata (formal) to the resources.
- press release
by Adena Schutzberg on 08/27 at 06:41 AM |
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