Tuesday, February 9. 2010

The Phillipines Launches National Parcel GIS

The Philippine Chamber of Real Estate and Builders Association's (CREBA) CREBALAND, its technical arm, announced the the Philippines "first fully-automated Web GIS parcellary mapping service," It's known as MapSys.Ph [site down as I write this] and "can generate an accurate lot plan and information-packed vicinity map for any given parcel anywhere in the country."

The Phillipines Star notes it was built to "precisely to help protect unwary buyers and investors" from buying nonexistent or misrepresented properties.

- Manilla Bulletin

The New Trend in Obligatory Geo Media Coverage

I've noted that every paper of any size has, in the past few years, run and article about how Tele Atlas, NAVTEQ or now Google and other organizations are collecting street level data.

The new crop of obligatory articles are about local startups offering LBS apps. Most it seems are somehow about local transportation. In a classic example the state paper introduces Locomatix launched by a company founded by a UW professor.

- Wisconsin State Journal

Post Office Closings Clustered in Rural/Poor Areas

Rural areas are home to most of the nearly 100 closed post offices in the last five years. That can mean that residents need to drive 15 more miles to the nearest facility. One elderly man died en route to the next closes post office during a snow storm. Those facts, along with at least one handwritten three page letter from an 87 year old have led to investigations as to weather the Postal Service has been following the law regarding closures.

Also noteworthy: the importance of ZIP Codes in emergency response (even though they are not really supposed to be used for such things):

Officials in the historic resort town of Crescent Lake say the suspension of their post office and loss of their own ZIP code caused confusion for search-and-rescue personnel called in after a plane crash and forest fire. Both times, rescuers mixed up Crescent with Crescent Lake and set up bases far from the scene, community members say.

The Postal Service is in financial trouble, but rural post offices account for about 1% of its budget per one retired postmaster.

- AP

Podcast: Apple to Gatekeep Location-based Ads

Last week Apple provided further direction to its developer community regarding the implementation of location-based ads in apps destined for its App Store. The LBS apps must "provide beneficial information,” and will not be accepted if they use "location-based information primarily to enable mobile advertisers to deliver targeted ads based on a user’s location." Why is Apple stirring this pot at this time? Our editors weigh in.

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Monday, February 8. 2010

Trimble Adds Indoor Mapping Tool to its Suite

While there are not images of the new product called The Indoor Mobile Mapping Solution (expected to be widely available in Q2) it sounds like the company's version of PenBay Media's indoor mapping robots. (I'm not sure at all from the collateral if its self propelling or if someone walks around with the device. I've asked Trimble.) The device uses a mix of active and passive sensors.

- website
- press release

Update: NAVTEQ Shutting Down Phone Map App Nav4All that Uses NAVTEQ Data

NAVTEQ responded to NAV4ALL's claim that its license was unexpectedly not renewed in an Italian blog (strange place to make a statement on the matter in my opinion). It's view of things:

... it [NAVTEQ] was simply unable to reach an agreement that aligned with its terms and conditions.

Speaking to an Italian gadget blog, Navteq said it doesn't disclose the details of individual contracts, but added that Nav4all's 'surprise' at the decision should have been nothing of the kind as it followed standard practice in the renegotiation process in advance the existing contract's deadline and that everything was scrupulously documented.

The statement also indicates that NAVTEQ continues to be independent and did not act on direction from above, that is, from Nokia. The Inquirer notes that another NAVTEQ licensee notes increased licensing fees and restrictions of late.

- The Inquirer

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