NZ’s Second Biggest Power Company Removes Oracle, Goes SQL Server

New Zealand’s Powerco pretty much removed its Oracle instances in favor of Microsoft’s SQL Server. There were also changes in hardware, virtualization and a drop in the number of Citrix servers. The GIS moves over this week; hopefully after a user presentation at Tech Ed, we’ll learn more about how the company was using Oracle and how it’ll be using SQL Server for spatial data (or not). The company uses Televent Miner and Miner apps built on ESRI tech (source). The money saved: $390,000 a year.

Open source was not considered as the goal was to standardize to one system from a mixed Oracle/SQL Server solution.

- Computerworld NZ

Gettysburg Electric Map “Movie” Coming

Officials at the Gettysburg Museum that retired a 46 year old “electric map” last year. There were many calls for it not to be retired, but in the end it was. Now, after many visitors to the museum’s new home note they miss it, the staff has decided on an experiment. A film of the map’s lighted presentation was made before it was put out to pasture. That film is being edited and will run alongside the other film introducing the battle. In a sense, visitors can “vote” on which they’d prefer to see.

This doesn’t exactly bring back the map itself, but it’s memory will certainly recalled.

- York Daily Record

Which Google Map of Insect Spraying Works for you?

ABC-7 is encouraging those in areas being sprayed for insects in Lee and Collier County areas to be aware of where its happening and if needed avoid them. I checked out the maps and found both those from Lee (directions here, link to map) and Collier (actual link to map) are built on Google Maps. These are very different implementations - one requiring lots of input and the other none at all.

It’s also interesting that these apps are hosted by “external providers,” not the counties themselves.

Was $350 million too much for broadband mapping?

Several individuals and one government agency think so. On Wednesday the National Telecommunications and Information Administration said it’d change its plans about giving out the funds. The plan now is to spend more than $100 million, and then reassess the program. Among the concerns about the program is the general consensus that the maps will not be available before other funds to expand broadband are scheduled to be distributed.

- AP