Tuesday, September 23. 2008

Podcast: Spatially-enabled Data Warehouse Appliances

This week two different vendors, Netezza and Teradata announced spatial extensions for their data warehouse appliances. Our editors explain the new offerings and explore what questions they prompt for geospatial practitioners and well as traditional database administrators. Is one of these solutions in your future?

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Posted by Adena Schutzberg in LBS, Remote Sensing, Databases, Podcasts, Directions on the News Podcast, IBM, Geospatial Business at 01:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, September 12. 2008

Netezza to Announce Spatial Extension to Data Warehouse Appliance

We in the geospatial world have over the past decade or so wrapped our brains around spatial extensions for databases. I’m the first to admit, it took me quite a bit of time to get used to the idea that geometry was just another field like data and number. Now we are sort of blase about yet another database adding a geospatial type. That’s good because I need to blow your mind just a little.

Next week Netezza a data warehouse appliance company will announce its spatial extension to its database. “It has a database?”you ask. “I’ve never heard of it.” You and me both! But I spoke to Jonathan Shepherd, who heads the geospatial initiative at Netezza, who gave me the lowdown. Peter Batty was also on the call. He's been hinting at this for a while.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in PBBI [MapInfo], Intergraph, Databases at 14:26 | Comments (6) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, July 8. 2008

Podcast: Web Mapping Platform Migration

Last week Ask.com moved off its longtime mapping platform to Microsoft's Virtual Earth. What are the practical choices these days for those who want mapping as part of their portals? Has customization and a unique look and feel been overshadowed by a few strong hosted solutions to which everyone will eventually migrate? Our editors sort out the options and trends and end up using the "c" word - commodity.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Google, ESRI, Open Source, Microsoft, Oracle, Yahoo, PBBI [MapInfo], Databases, Directions on the News Podcast, MapQuest, IBM, Geospatial Business at 01:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, May 13. 2008

Podcast: Four Technologies That May Soon Impact Geospatial...Are You Ready?

The editors look outward to find technologies that will impact how geospatial products and practices will change in the next 12 to 24 months. Some of the suggested technologies are already appearing in cutting edge products, others are not yet implemented in geospatial solutions, but we expect to see them soon.

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Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? Here's the index with all the info.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Open Source, RFID, Microsoft, Oracle, Databases, Sensors, Directions on the News Podcast, Local Search, Wi-Fi, GNSS, IBM, Geospatial Business, Social Networking at 01:00 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Friday, January 18. 2008

SpatialPoint Scores Points by Finding Radio Stations Carrying Super Bowl, Uses SQL Server 2008

SpatialPoint is launching a Microsoft Virtual Earth and SQL Server 2008-based application showing the potential of that application's new spatial datatypes. Using the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) radio station coverage polygons and a routing function, a user can plot an anticipated driving route to find those stations broadcasting the Super Bowl. SpatialPoint has created a website called "Follow the Game" to assist sports fans who have to miss seeing the game.

So what's special about this? All point in polygon and polyline functionality was developed with the CTP-5 release of Katmai. The app uses Virtual Earth for geocoding and routing as well as some of SpatialPoint's Atlas technology. The application is free to the public and while the site is live now, some printing functionality needs to be implemented. Printing the map will show both the station call letters and frequencies. I plotted a route from Glencoe IL to Huntsville AL; the web will have directions such as the following:

You can tune in station WSCR-AM (670) broadcasting out of CHICAGO immediately. Coverage should last for about 131.78 miles.
You can tune in station WTMJ-AM (620) broadcasting out of MILWAUKEE immediately. Coverage should last for about 18.31 miles.
Depart on Dundee Rd (West) (1.01 mi)
1 Road name changes to SR-68 [Dundee Rd] (0.16 mi)
2 Take Ramp (RIGHT) onto I-94 [US-41] (13.17 mi)

Posted by Joe Francica in LBS, Databases, Local Search at 03:29 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, January 16. 2008

Oracle Acquires BEA Systems; Not BAE Systems

Watch your "E's" and "A's" not your "P's" and "Q's" for this one. Yesterday. Oracle acquired middleware solution provider and SOA evangelist BEA Systems for $8.5 billion. The deal has been on again, off again for months. BEA's competitive advantage is in business process improvement software (BPM) the espousal of service oriented architecture (SOA).

But don't confuse BEA Systems with BAE Systems, a defense contractor and geospatial solution provider of image analysis software.

Posted by Joe Francica in Databases, Geospatial Business at 20:26 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0) |