Tuesday, September 15. 2009

Apps.gov Launches to Foster Cloud Computing

Apps.gov website launches to support President Obama's initiatives for lower IT costs and to promote cloud computing along with a suite of applications, many for purchase.

How few cell phones are needed to track traffic?

"Results suggest that a 2-3% penetration of cell phones in the driver population is enough to provide accurate measurements of
the velocity of the traffic flow."

That's just one conclusion of a study titled Evaluation of Traffic Data Obtained via GPS-enabled Mobile Phones: the Mobile Century field experiment (pdf) from UC Berkeley's Institute for Transportation Studies.

- via Docuticker

How the GAO Report on GPS Helps/Hurts the Program

The GAO report [APB coverage] “helps because it puts a lot of emphasis on the budget for future satellites and things like that,” said Col. Robert Hessin, acting director of the National Coordination Office for Space-based Positioning, Navigation and Timing, a government agency that tracks GPS legislation and the health of the constellation.

Where it hurts, he said, is on the international front, where China, Russia and Europe are developing their own satellite navigation systems. “We’re competing with the rest of the world on precision navigation,” Hessin said.

- Air Force Times

NASA Landsat Data Key in METRIC Water Management App

Update: it won the American Government Award! (PR)

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The Idaho Department of Water Resources and the University of Idaho developed METRIC for Mapping EvapoTranspiration with High Resolution and Internalized Calibration, back in 2000. Now it's in use by 11 states and is a finalist for a Harvard Kennedy School Innovations in American Government Awards.

The program got even cheaper to use when NASA made the Landsat imagery free last year. And, after input from Western politicians, NASA has decided to include $100 million thermal infrared sensor needed to record surface temperature in the next Landsat satellite, scheduled to launch in 2012.

- Washington Post

Quote of the Week

"Kevin Bowser, who's in charge of west end parks, agreed that arrows on the maps would be helpful, but said anyone with a pea-sized brain should be able to deduce their location, based on landmarks and thinking about what they're looking at."

- Jack Lakey, reporting on the response from a city worker in response to a request to add "you are here" arrows to maps of High Park in Toronto. In the end Mr. Bowser relented and is working to add the markers.

- The Star

Sault St. Marie's Doggy GIS

There's no animal control officer, but efforts to register dogs and maintain key data about them and where they live is helping the Ontario city with management issue. While registrations were slow at first (40 in the first day) about 250 dogs are now in the system, making it possible to track biting and concentration issues. The system was profiled in what I believe is the URISA newsletter: "The municipality has received recognition and awards for its work in GIS/IT with The Dog Registry Project, and the program was written up in the Urban Regional Information Association's newsletter."

Too bad we don't have such a system here; we recently had a knock on the door at my house from the city building inspector with a complaint there was an illegal kennel in our neighborhood. Not being a dog person I found this hilarious.

- Sault Star