All Points Blog

My Big Fat Greek GIS Contract

joe.francica@directionsmag.com (Joe Francica) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:00:38 -0500

In a press release picked up from Forbes today, Intracom IT jv of Greece has signed an 11.2 Million ($17.5) deal for the Greek Information Society to develop a GIS for urban planners, engineers and citizens for the prefectures and municipalities in Greece. The press release isn't posted yet on the Intracom IT website yet and with some digging it was hard to determine which GIS was chosen for the project. But in snooping around I did find that Intracom has in the past implemented ESRI solutions.

LBS Giants Qualcomm and Nokia Settle Lawsuits; Qualcomm Revises Guidance

joe.francica@directionsmag.com (Joe Francica) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:42:11 -0500

Two of the biggest movers and shakers in LBS, Qualcomm (QCOM) and Nokia (NOK), announced that all outstanding lawsuits had been settled. Under a 15-year agreement, the two companies have resolved difference covering various Qualcomm patents for use in Nokia devices. In a separate announcement, Qualcomm announced (PDF) their third Q3 results and revised guidance slightly downward for the remainder of the year but it did not dampen the deal with Nokia; QCOM stock soared 20% in earth trading today.

Update: Columbiana County Ohio Drops TIGER Maps for 911

(Adena Schutzberg) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:32:00 -0500

Update 7/24: An article in today's SalemNews.net by the same reporter includes: "The NAVTEQ maps will cost $7,875 for an annual subscription." The original article cited below still includes the $77,875 value which per comments below is incorrect.

--- original post 7/23/08 -------

I was surprised to see the county was using what are refered to as Tiger data for E-911. In testing they were not found to be very good. Further, the company that provided them (not named in a Review article) was not responsive enough. Thus, the county will move NAVTEQ data. Cost:

The annual map subscription will cost $77,875 with quarterly updates. The cost to import the maps had not been determined at the time of the meeting.

The plan is to move to the NAVTEQ data and eventually to street centerline data currently under development.

Microsoft Make trueSpace Free, Ties it into Virtual Earth

(Adena Schutzberg) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:19:49 -0500

This is the next phase after Microsoft acquired Caligari (apb post) and its trueSpace 3D toolkit last year.

Chris Pendleton at the Virtual Earth, Evangelist's blog explains and provides an answer to "how to make money with 3D."

Further Convergence of Maps and Social Media

(Adena Schutzberg) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 07:08:09 -0500

All the talk is about LBS and social media, but I think the folks at Trails.com have a valuable proposition, too. The site now offers not just searchable maps, but a full social network build on Pluck. Unlike freebies such as FaceBook or MySpace, the business model here is subscriptions (you get map downloads, trailguides non-subscribers cannot access) and I suspect the powers that be figure an "exclusive" social network is another key draw.

- press release

NASCIO Releases Brief on Geospatial Resources

(Adena Schutzberg) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500

The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) released a new issue brief called "Where's the Data? Show Me -- Maximizing the Investment in State Geospatial Resources." It's a PDF download and you need to answer one question (no e-mail required) before downloading.

NASCIO is interested in GIS: It ranked in the organization's Top Ten list of Priority Technologies for 2008. The 23 page report includes NSGIC's input as well as a call to action for CIOs. It's a nice compilation, but nothing new to those on the inside.

via GovTech

Online Atlas of Ocean and Great Lakes Offers Downloadable Data

(Adena Schutzberg) — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500

From a press release from the state of New York, emphasis mine:

Under the auspices of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Council, Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Pete Grannis and Secretary of State Lorraine Cortés-Vázquez today announced the launch of the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Atlas, which allows the public to incorporate hundreds of data sets of New York State's resources into an internet-based atlas.

...
The atlas is an online mapping program that makes it possible to download data into Google Earth Geographic Information System (GIS) software. Currently, more than 200 data sets that contain information on such resources as storm drains, wetland boundaries, underwater vegetation, park locations, and fisheries are available through the atlas. Eventually, more than 900 datasets will be included. The atlas can be accessed at WWW.NYOGLATLAS.ORG .

The data can also be downloaded in shapefile and MapInfo formats. I wonder why if the vision is that users will want to view the data layers in Google Earth, the Council opted to build an atlas on other technology. I can't tell which technology is in use, in a quick look, but it certainly is not as flashy as Google Maps/Earth.

How do drive time maps save fuel?

(Adena Schutzberg) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:23:00 -0500

An Internet-based map store put out a press release offering custom drive time maps. The selling point: they save gas. There's no real explanation of how they'd be used for that purpose and I can't think of any.

Update 3:26 pm: Based on the comments below I realize I didn't define drive time maps. That was an error. Here's the definition, a fine one, from the vendor of the maps in question: "Highlights drive time range limits." Such maps define the boundary of how far a driver can go from a specified point in a specified time. The vendor suggests 5, 15, 30, 45 and hour ranges, but will accept any value you choose.

Going Local (2 mile limit) with CLIF

(Adena Schutzberg) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 08:40:34 -0500

Yeah, yeah, CLIF BARS, SHOTS, etc., endurance athletes seem to either love or hate them. (I confess liking the Shot Blocks, though I'm now favoring the woman friendly Luna Moons just because they are smaller.) This is the second year of the company's Two Mile Challenge, which urges people to use a bike for trips of 2 miles or less. These trips make up 40% of all car trips. Further, 90% of two mile trips are made by car! (Yikes, I say after just returning from 25 miles on my bike.)

To support the challenge, Clif offers tools to configure a bike and of course, a Google Maps mashup to find your 2 mile radius, along with key destinations in and out side of it. It's quite elegant and even includes user suggested POIs.

Per the press release, "since launching the first 2 Mile Challenge in September 2007, nearly 20,000 people have used the mapping service." This is the first I'd heard of it.

Rear View Mirror GPS Comes to US August 1

(Adena Schutzberg) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500

DSUS Technology of China will offer a GPS-integrated rear-view mirror featuring Navigon Mobile Navigator 6.5, "Reality View and 12 map updates from FreshMaps."

The DSUS SmartMirror has a four-inch screen for GPS maps, built-in Bluetooth capability and a back-up camera. Price: $799.

- US News/Jalopnick

Podcast: Autodesk Series #1 - Asset Intelligence and Visualization

joe.francica@directionsmag.com (Joe Francica) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:51:00 -0500

In the first of a series of podcasts from Autodesk, three of the company's leading technologists provide a foundation for understanding how government agencies can better utilize geospatial information. Geoff Zeiss, director of technology, David Kingsbury, Sr. Industry Manager for State and Local Government, and Pete Southwood, Geospatial Technical Evangelist conduct a roundtable discussion of Autodesk's Feature Data Object, or FDO, an open source solution that is embedded in many of the company's industry solutions. Autodesk's ability to integrate CAD, GIS, spatial databases, Excel spreadsheets, and imagery is truly unique and crosses into engineering design, which forms the foundation of integrated asset intelligence.

For more information on FDO see:

The Autodesk website or the Open Source Geospatial Foundation website.

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TomTom Beats Q2 Estimates, Stock Jumps

(Adena Schutzberg) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:48:37 -0500

Second-quarter profit beat analysts' estimates pushing the stock up as much as 2.95 euros, or 18 percent, to 19 euros. That was the biggest gain since TomTom first sold shares in 2005. Revenue was down due the acquisition of Tele Atlas, things seem rosy: "Despite all the hassle in the financial market, all the bad headlines, people are still buying navigation devices,'' Chief Executive Officer Harold Goddijn said.

- Bloomberg

Stuart Nixon's NearMap Acquired

(Adena Schutzberg) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 07:28:41 -0500

Stuart Nixon? The guy who founded ER Mapper, now part of ERDAS.

NearMap? The company he founded in Australia after leaving ER Mapper. It offers technology, including the HyperPod aerial camera system, to take and process high resolution images ortho and oblique, far more cheaply and quickly (a city in a few days) than other solutions. The vision: imagery for mapping portals, governments real estate, etc. no older than 1 month.

Now, the news: Ipernica acquired NearMap for AU$4 million plus shares and options and a AU$1 million investment.

- ITWire
- Western Australian Business News (includes official announcement)

Quote of the Week

(Adena Schutzberg) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:31:47 -0500

"Though deciphering the CD's information requires skills with Geographic Information System (GIS) software, intended users of the CD include state and local governments, homeowners, homebuyers and real estate agents."

- The Deseret News, describing a new CD of data on geological hazards for urban parts of Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah, Wasatch and Weber counties.

1 in 50 in UK Survey Blame Crash on SatNav

(Adena Schutzberg) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:00 -0500

British insurance company Direct Line carried out the survey for the newspaper The Mirror about satnavs and accidents. Highlights:

300,000 motorists have crashed because of a device
1.5 million drivers have suddenly veered in busy traffic while following a device's directions.
Five million have been sent the wrong way down a one-way street.
One in 10 drivers with a satnav says following its instructions made them take a dangerous or illegal turn.