Update: Miller-McCune Series on GeoTech of Fire Fighting

Update: Part III: WHAT’S REALLY HAPPENING ON U.S. FIRELINES is up as is Part IV: CATCHING WILDFIRE ARSONISTS RED-HANDED

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Verdect on New Nuvifones

This past week Garmin/Asus released Garmin two Nuvifones, the Android-based A50 and the Windows Mobile-based M10. LaptopMag calls the Android the clear winner on interface, speed and the availability of Google Maps Navigation, when out of the area of mapping pre-loaded on the phone. While I’m pleased the review is positive, I’m not expecting these phones to gain significant marketshare.

- Laptop Mag Blog

Remote Sensing Tidbits

India plans to use remotely sensed imagery to determine the exact number of slums in the country in order to provide housing and thus wipe out slums within five year. So far states have been slow in getting their input back to organizers, limiting progress.

- Times of India

The Queensland Government has noted vegetation mapping errors that mis-assess the type of crop in the Isis region of south-east Queensland. “The Department of Environment and Resource Management vegetation management director, Peter Burton, says satellite imagery of orchards or dense green pastures caused anomalies.” Farmers are upset because these data set the value of their lands.

- ABC

There’s a nice feature on Agri ImaGIS (a North Dakota company) which has been using satellite imagery (Landsat) for 16 years to provide ag information for a variety of uses. What’s new in 2010? Instead of providing imagery every 16 days, as Landsat does, the company plans to make imagery available every five to seven days, by tapping into other birds’ imagery, though the article does not say which. Using commercial imagery from DigitalGlobe or GeoEye would certainly bump up prices from using Landsat. I will note that it’s nice to see a ag imaging business still making it after so many failed.

- Farm and Ranch Guide

Bentley Acquires Exor

Bentley also acquired Enterprise Informatics, Incorporated, of which I’d not heard last Monday. That company, per the press release, has software that “provides configuration and change management capabilities for mission-critical infrastructure asset operations for the energy, nuclear, rail, and government sectors.”

Exor, which at one time stood for “Ex Oracle” is a company that uses GIS for transportation asset management. In particular, the company is know for its use of linear referencing tools or what we used to call dynamic segmentation. Per the press release, “Exor information modeling software provides for the management and operations of linear networks for infrastructure, including roads and railways.”

- press release

A Note to Mrs. Obama

Dear Mrs. Obama,

Thanks for your recent note regarding your new program to help fight child obesity, Let’s Move. I’m very pleased you are taking up this issue and hope that many different citizens and groups help you in this effort.

I wanted to make a suggestion on your outreach that involves geography, something your husband used very effectively in his campaign last year. My housemate went up to New Hampshire on Election Day to knock on doors to provide rides to who needed a lift to the polls. They had detailed lists and maps of who needed help.

When I signed up to receive e-mails from the White House I was asked to provide my ZIP Code. That was a great idea; I hoped (and still do) the administration would use it to send pertinent information about national issues related to my local area. So I was rather surprised this morning to read my local paper (The Somerville Journal) and learn that my Mayor, Joe Curtatone, participated in your press conference last week about Let’s Move. Our city, and its partnership with Tufts University in the “Shape Up Somerville” program, are a model for the program you are launching. It would have meant a lot to me and those in neighboring towns to have known about that from your e-mail.

By the way, I wear my Shape Up Somerville T-shirt I received at a 5K race a few years ago quite a lot. It features two children on it: one jumping rope and one eating a banana; it’s very cool.

Thanks for your time.

Adena
Somerville, Massachusetts