http://apb.directionsmag.com/ en Serendipity 0.8.2 - http://www.s9y.org/ joe.francica@directionsmag.com website@directionsmag.com http://www.allpointsblog.com/templates/default/img/rss-title.gif http://apb.directionsmag.com/ 114 27 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4875-The-Simpsons-Tackles-Cell-Phone-Tracking.html Satellite Navigation http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4875-The-Simpsons-Tackles-Cell-Phone-Tracking.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4875 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4875 (Adena Schutzberg) Last night's <a href="http://www.thefutoncritic.com/listings.aspx?id=20080912fox17">new episode</a> of the cartoon series has Bart longing for and eventually receiving a cell phone. Unknown to him initially, Mom Marge turns on the tracking feature. Then Bart cleverly has the family track, well, something else. It's a clever episode and I found it fun to try to identify the technical slips in the presentation (that might be fun for a technology class, too). Also fun: the cartoon implementation of a Google Earth-like "zoom to the location of interest" tool used throughout the story. Mon, 6 Oct 2008 07:08:15 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4875-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4874-Podcast-Digital-Cities-A-Vision-for-3D-Modeling-and-Visualization-in-Local-Governments.html AutodeskPodcastsSponsored Podcast http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4874-Podcast-Digital-Cities-A-Vision-for-3D-Modeling-and-Visualization-in-Local-Governments.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4874 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4874 joe.francica@directionsmag.com (Joe Francica) <br /> Autodesk has been a pioneer in 3D visualization for the past 10 years and almost every aspect of government infrastructure can be designed as a 3D model for planning and developing purposes. And, once constructed, these models can be used for operating and maintaining these assets. Autodesk is aggressively moving forward because the benefits of this technology are so exceptional. And now, with the acquisition of 3DGeo, Europe’s leading 3D visualization software solution, Autodesk has been able to accelerate their strategy to help the world’s cities create their next generation base maps as a 3D interactive models. [Podcast sponsored by Autodesk.]<br /> <a href="http://www.allpointsblog.com/feeds/categories/31-Podcasts.rss">Subscribe to Podcast RSS</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/images/podcasts/ADSK_podcast2.mp3">Listen Now</a> (to download, right click on the link at left and choose &quot;save target as&quot;)<br /> <br /> Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2244">Here's the index </a> with all the info. Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:48:11 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4874-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4873-Beat-Credit-Crunch-Dont-Use-Satnav.html Satellite Navigation http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4873-Beat-Credit-Crunch-Dont-Use-Satnav.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4873 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4873 (Adena Schutzberg) While many GPS vendors are touting how GPS can save gas and money, the UK's Mirror <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/10/05/credit-crunch-our-experts-give-tips-on-beating-the-crisis-115875-20773932/">suggests just the opposite</a>.<br /> <blockquote>And don’t rely on sat navs – look at a map too. They can take you the longest way round or get you lost, making your journey more complicated and expensive.</blockquote><br /> That from Quentin Willson, the motoring editor.<br /> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:32:38 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4873-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4867-ESRI-Latin-America-to-Grow-by-40.html ESRI http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4867-ESRI-Latin-America-to-Grow-by-40.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4867 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4867 (Adena Schutzberg) <a href="http://www.bnamericas.com/news/waterandwaste/ESRI_CEO:_Operations_in_Latin_America_to_grow_by_40*_this_year1">Business News Americas</a> reports that Jack Dangermond predicts a 40% growth rate for ESRI in Latin America. Dangermond was in Santiago, Chile for the Latin American User Conference. While Dangermond acknowledged the challenging economy, he felt encourage there were more people looking to GIS for design and sustainability. Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4867-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4868-Google-Positive-About-MapMaker-India.html Google http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4868-Google-Positive-About-MapMaker-India.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4868 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4868 (Adena Schutzberg) <blockquote>Within weeks of its launch, tens of thousands of Indians have filled in details of their cities, towns and villages, many of them previously blank spaces in even the most up-to-date atlases. The technology, which is being extended to other “information-deficient” regions, such as Africa, is widely viewed as the future of map-making and is on course to be worth billions for Google in advertising revenues.</blockquote><br /> <br /> - <a href="http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/world-news/googles-map-maker-set-to-showcase-india-in-microscopic-detail_100103340.html">The Times</a> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4868-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4869-AGI-Has-Live-Satellite-Images-of-Earth.html Remote Sensing http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4869-AGI-Has-Live-Satellite-Images-of-Earth.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4869 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4869 (Adena Schutzberg) That's what an article in a Pennsylvania paper suggests. The article <a href="http://www.dailylocal.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20150914&BRD=1671&PAG=461&dept_id=635398&rfi=6">highlights a visit of former New York Governor Rudy Giuliani </a>and his visit to Analytical Graphics, Inc. while supporting a local Republican candidate for Congress.<br /> <blockquote>Giuliani spoke to a large group of employees and later answered questions from the media in a conference room with a live picture of Earth projected on a wall screen from an AGI satellite 64,000 kilometers in space. Unlike Google Earth, which projects pictures that could have been taken years ago, this was in real time. <br /> <br /> With the flick of a mouse, a camera zoomed in on New York City until the former mayor recognized his house.</blockquote><br /> I suspect there was some confusion about what was being shown.<br /> <br /> - DailyLocal.com<br /> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4869-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4870-What-Google-Learns-About-You-via-its-Mapping-Apps.html Google http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4870-What-Google-Learns-About-You-via-its-Mapping-Apps.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4870 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4870 (Adena Schutzberg) <a href="http://www.ddj.com/security/210605629?pgno=1">Dr. Dobbs Portal</a> (Journal) provides an article based on Googling Security: How Much Does Google Know About You? a book coming out later this month by Greg Conti. Conti is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the U.S. Military Academy (aka West Point). His premise in the article:<br /> <blockquote>You face significant risks from both your use of these services and the content they contain. This article analyzes the information you disclose when using mapping and imagery services, including how your use of these tools discloses locations of your home, employer, family and friends, travel plans, and strategic intentions, and discusses how data mining can easily link seemingly disparate groups of people based on their interest in common locations. It also covers the risks inherent in the content itself, including camera-equipped cars capturing continuous streams of high-quality street-level photographs, collaborative analysis of satellite imagery, and your inability to trust the veracity of the images themselves.</blockquote><br /> Frankly, it raised a number of issues I'd not considered.<br /> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4870-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4871-Communication,-not-LBS,-Solves-Local-Problem-for-Kawasaki.html LBS http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4871-Communication,-not-LBS,-Solves-Local-Problem-for-Kawasaki.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4871 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4871 (Adena Schutzberg) So, what do you do if you were on Coronado Island and realized you'd forgotten your MacBook charger? Guy Kawasaki twittered his need and location and within 8 minutes had a loaner from a follower or friend of a follower. Now, he's famous and has 20,000+ followers on Twitter, but there was no fancy GPS needed, "just" communication.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://pistachioconsulting.com/guy-kawasakis-twitter-test/">PistachioConsulting</a> via <a href="http://www.thenewpr.com/wiki/pmwiki.php?pagename=FIRShowNotes.Show385Oct02">FIR</a> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4871-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4866-Podcast-NAVTEQs-Mapping-Positioning-Engine-MPE-The-Heartbeat-in-the-CarMapping-in-Every-Vehicle.html LBSNAVTEQ http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4866-Podcast-NAVTEQs-Mapping-Positioning-Engine-MPE-The-Heartbeat-in-the-CarMapping-in-Every-Vehicle.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4866 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4866 joe.francica@directionsmag.com (Joe Francica) In this podcast, we talk about NAVTEQ’s Mapping and Positioning Engine or MPE. The MPE, a subset of the NAVTEQ database that is coupled with a microprocessor assembly, including a GPS chipset, was designed to support a variety of applications that assists the driver of a car or other vehicle to, for example, reduce gas consumption. It is more or less an alternative to a navigation system that is cost effective enough to go into most all vehicles regardless of price. According to Bob Denaro, NAVTEQ's vice president of advanced driver assistance system, it's &quot;a heartbeat in the car.&quot;<br /> <a href="http://www.allpointsblog.com/feeds/categories/31-Podcasts.rss">Subscribe to Podcast RSS</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/images/podcasts/navteq_mpe.mp3">Listen Now</a> (to download, right click on the link at left and choose &quot;save target as&quot;)<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/podcast.php?id=2889">Read the show notes</a><br /> <br /> Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2244">Here's the index </a> with all the info. Sat, 4 Oct 2008 10:37:04 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4866-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4865-Quote-of-the-Week.html Education http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4865-Quote-of-the-Week.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4865 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4865 (Adena Schutzberg) "There's a long way to go, but at least we now have a colour coded map."<br /> <br /> Editorial in the <a href="http://www.independent.ie/opinion/editorial/funds-required-not-fancy-maps-1488742.html"> Independent</a>(Ireland), highlighting how a GIS-built map shows needed school places for 2015, but not how to get them built and funded. The editorial is titled, "Funds required, not fancy maps." Here's an <a href="http://www.independent.ie/education/latest-news/digital-map-plots-the--sites-for-new-schools-1488623.html">article about the map</a>, with alas, no map, nor link to the map. Fri, 3 Oct 2008 06:22:20 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4865-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4864-Meeting-Halfway.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4864-Meeting-Halfway.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4864 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4864 (Adena Schutzberg) Reader Pedro shared a site he uses quite a lot: <a href="http://www.meetways.com">MeetWays.com</a>. The idea is to find a spot halfway between two locations to meetup. You key in both addresses and the type of spot at which you want to meet (coffee place, pizza, etc.). It ideally provides the "exact" halfway point (crow flies? road miles? time? I can't say - the help link failed) on a Google Map and local points of interest that match your needs.<br /> <br /> I was not impressed with the results of my search for a spot between my house and the local ESRI office where I used to work. It provided an address far west of both locations as the "half way point." Further, when I searched for a "coffee" place, all of them were close to either my location or the office location. <br /> <br /> Here are a few more to test out from <a href="http://freegeographytools.com/2007/geographic-midpoint-calculator">Free Geography Tools</a>. Fri, 3 Oct 2008 06:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4864-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4840-Podcast-Google-Hearts-Tele-Atlas,-Tagging-the-Real-World.html GoogleMicrosoftLBSReal-Time/Dynamic DataDirections on the News PodcastDigitalGlobeNAVTEQ http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4840-Podcast-Google-Hearts-Tele-Atlas,-Tagging-the-Real-World.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4840 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4840 (Adena Schutzberg) <b>Note:</b> Technical difficulties prevented distribution of the podcast on Tuesday. We apologize for any inconvenience.<P><br /> <br /> <P>Last week Google announced it would use only Tele Atlas data for its mapping applications, effectively dropping NAVTEQ, now owned by Nokia. Is there a data war? Or perhaps a browser war? Also: Microsoft reveals its vision for a tagged real world even as a Japanese company shows off its implementation of that vision. Is it time for real world geotagging? Our editors tackle these questions in this week's discussion.<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.allpointsblog.com/feeds/categories/31-Podcasts.rss">Subscribe to Podcast RSS</a><br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/images/podcasts/080930_don.mp3">Listen Now</a> (to download, right click on the link at left and choose &quot;save target as&quot;)<br /> <br /> <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/podcast.php?id=2884">Read the show notes</a><br /> <br /> Missed any podcasts? Want to subscribe via iTunes, Yahoo, etc? <a href="http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=2244">Here's the index </a> with all the info.<br /> <br /> Fri, 3 Oct 2008 01:00:00 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4840-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4863-Off-Topic-Print-any-web-page-nicely.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4863-Off-Topic-Print-any-web-page-nicely.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4863 1 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4863 (Adena Schutzberg) <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10056699-2.html">Webware</a> features <a href="http://www.printwhatyoulike.com/">PrintWhatYouLike.com</a>, a free site that allows you to pick and choose which parts of a website to print (the map, text, etc.) and what to leave out (Flash ads, blank space, etc.). From what I can tell you can't "work on" the site once its URL is added into the dialog box at printwhat youlike.com, but there is a bookmarklet that also you to use the tools directly on a page that already has the map of interest.<br /> <br /> Sounds like this may be as useful to me as <a href="http://www.thejingproject.com">Jing</a> has become.<br /> Thu, 2 Oct 2008 13:01:39 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4863-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4862-Xconomy-Interview-with-Locale.html GoogleLBS http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4862-Xconomy-Interview-with-Locale.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4862 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4862 (Adena Schutzberg) Locale is a Boston-based group, one of 10 winners in the Android Developer Challenge. The app uses location to change parameters on a phone or even send a message to Twitter when the phone reaches a destination. The <a href="http://www.xconomy.com/boston/2008/10/02/locale-app-for-android-phones-wouldnt-even-be-possible-on-the-iphone-says-winner-of-275k-developer-challenge/">interview</a> is pretty interesting and highlights what is becoming the clear difference between Andoid and iPhone apps:<br /> <blockquote>X: Now that you’ve created this application for Android, have you thought about building something similar for other devices, like the iPhone?<br /> <br /> CJ: We feel like Android is the first operating system to bring everything together that would make our application possible. Our application wouldn’t even be possible on the iPhone right now—not for technical reasons but because of the restrictions Apple places in their SDK, where you can’t run third-party applications in the background. Other platforms have their own limitations. The openness of Android creates an environment for applications that just aren’t possible on other platforms.</blockquote><br /> Thu, 2 Oct 2008 09:06:12 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4862-guid.html http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4861-NGAs-Murrett-Responds-to-BASIC-Concerns.html Remote Sensing http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4861-NGAs-Murrett-Responds-to-BASIC-Concerns.html#comments http://apb.directionsmag.com/wfwcomment.php?cid=4861 0 http://apb.directionsmag.com/rss.php?version=2.0&type=comments&cid=4861 (Adena Schutzberg) Vice Adm. Robert Murrett, director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), told reporters yesterday that commercial imagery would become more important after the government launches its own satellites. He said:<br /> <br /> "We are the single strongest supporter of the commercial remote sensing industry. It is absolutely integral to our success and is a fundamental building block for what we do as an agency. ...The point that people need to not lose sight of is what a huge chunk of our mission capability is comprised by the commercial remote sensing industry, and how we have programmed for and embedded it in our architecture in ways that are irreversible for many, many years into the future."<br /> <br /> - <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSN0153045820081002">Reuters</a> Thu, 2 Oct 2008 08:57:09 -0500 http://apb.directionsmag.com/archives/4861-guid.html