Bing Maps, Silverlight, ArcGIS Mashup for Workforce Automation

Accela released Accela GIS 7.0, an enterprise mashup of Bing Maps, Silverlight and ArcGIS to create a workforce automation solution that is described by the company as "map centric". Accela, itself a mashup of companies (Open Data and Sierra Computer, and then adding Tidmark and Kiva later), has made the interface to their new product easy to navigate from a map interface to forms and back to maps. After selecting work
orders for a single geographic area, there is a routing engine integrated with the
permitting module so work order personnel can ask for route directions. The Accela Mobile Office is nicely designed to provide the same functionality. But clearly, much work went into designing an interface that, with large icons and a map navigation panel (at right; click for larger image), helps non-GIS personnel create work orders in an intuitive fashion.

Designing Neighborhoods to Reduce Forclosures, Minimize Environmental Impact

I came across and excellent article that explains research published by the Natural Resources Defense Fund conducted by researchers looking at the foreclosure rate vs. transportation costs. In short, mortgage foreclosures were correlated with neighborhood "compactness" and access to public transportation. According to the abstract from the article, "With transportation costs accounting for roughly 17 percent of the average American household’s income, the need for better land use planning and better lending practices has never been more clear. NRDC recommends changes both to planning-related policies and mortgage underwriting procedures that can reduce transportation costs and risk of foreclosure while offering significant environmental benefits."

Update: Foursquare + Old Media =

Today Foursquare announced another “old media” partnership - with cable TV company Bravo. Foursquare players will get badges when they visit locations related to their shows.

NY Times via Paid Content

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NIIT to Distribute IIT Vis Products in India and Nearby Countries

Nothing yet on the IIT Vis website, but that news is coming from BloombergUTV and can be confirmed via press release from NIIT:

NIIT GIS has entered into a strategic relationship with ITT Visual Information Solutions (ITT VIS). As part of this partnership, NIIT GIS will become the exclusive distributors of the ENVI with image processing software products for India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka. This suite of ITT VIS products includes ENVI, ENVI EX and IDL products.

Also of note:

This strategic relationship between ITT and NIIT GIS Ltd. is an extension of the ITT and ESRI partnership to integrate each company’s respective software technologies, which will deliver advanced, high performance image processing and analysis capabilities to the ArcGIS platform and expand the distribution of these technologies globally.

Because:

NIIT GIS Limited is a joint venture between ESRI Inc., USA and NIIT Technologies Limited.

Parody Book Cover Ires Ordnance Survey

The book is titled The Hills Are Stuffed With Swedish Girls and the cover (seen on the book’s website) mimics an Ordnance Survey map. And that’s prompted the OS to press the publisher about the cover by asking that sales be stopped and the cover dropped.

Author Richard Happer defended the choice: “We haven’t used the same colour of pink or the same font. I think they have had a sense of humour failure.”

An OS spokeswoman said: “We have a brand which is more than 200 years old and it is our job to protect the reputation of our brand. People are very passionate about our maps, families use them and we have to look at our core customers and if they would be offended.”

- Daily Record