ESRI UC Plenary: A Breather

At the lunch break of the first day of plenary sessions at the ESRI UC, I would describe the morning as “a breather.” It’s as though ESRI has gotten a bit too far ahead of the users and this is a chance for them to catch up. Much of the content was not “new” but rather reinforced ideas and products already introduced or available. That’s perhaps a good strategy: in my informal survey only 1/2 the people I spoke to had installed ArcGIS 9.3.

Some “new” items and observations of note:

- Dirk Kempthorne, Secretary of Interior, and winner of a “Making a Difference” Award re-announced the availability of Landsat data free on the Web by end of year. He also announced a GIO would be appointed for DOI (originally, in error said USGS). A second award went to the Perezs of Grupo ESRI de Venezuela for their work with GIS on poverty. (More on their work in ArcNews 2003 and their book in this press release.) Mr. Perez is the president of ESRI Venezuela.

- John Calkins rattled of the top 10 productivity enhancements for ArcGIS Desktop 9.3. ESRI UC blog has all the details. I guess this is becoming a standard part of the Day One offerings.

- Web mapping was not mentioned; Web GIS was, quite a bit. GeoWeb? Not that I recall.

- Microsoft got more mentions than Google, specifically on the provision of Virtual Earth via ArcGIS Online and Silverlight. Mentions of cloud computing: none.

- A list of 7 different demo “mashups” of services and data brought little response - until the data was shown on top of Virtual Earth and Google Maps. ESRI seems a bit late to the mashup party, though clearly there is interest in the integration via the new Javascript APIs.

- In a video, a rep from GeoEye was excited to use ArcGIS Server image services to support not just ESRI users, but “OGC users.” An interesting term.

- A Flex interface to a Server demo (about what else, situational awareness after a toxic spill - sort of the “find me the nearest pizza place for data integration) was very sexy but I think took away from the core idea - real analysis was being done on the server.

- The ArcGIS Server/ArcGIS Mobile demo had actual people in the field around the Convention Center gathering and uploading GPS’ed data. Those in attendance are invited to test out the app. Details will be on the UC blog.

Dangermond, Tomlinson Paired for All Time

At this point in time in the immature development of geospatial technology, just a mere 40-year old, Jack Dangermond and Dr. Roger Tomlinson are remarkably paired forever in history. Rare that you have both the recognized "father" of anything alongside the individual that is arguably to biggest success story in any particular industry. Hence the two are inextricably joined in the annuls of technology history.

"I admit it, I got the lady pregnant," said Tomlinson, at the Senior Executive Summit (SES), an event just prior to the ESRI UC, in referring to the oft made comment that he is the "father" of GIS. "But Jack brought up the kid," Tomlinson further remarked referring to Dangermond’s success in promoting geospatial technology through ESRI’s products and services.

Dangermond’s comments during the SES focused on applications and the widespread use of geotechnology. "GIS is beginning to wire up our sensors so that we see processes in real time…the common operating picture (COP) is not unique to homeland security. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see a COP for any agency," said Dangermond.  He also discussed how IT professionals are beginning to integrate GIS into the wider IT infrastructure. "Roger, do you have an IT system in your consulting business," asked Dangermond. “We use an abacus,” said Tomlinson, not missing a beat.

Dangermond and Tomlinson aren’t quite that old, perhaps "slide-rule" age, but each can remember when GIS was in its infancy and each has helped nurture it to middle age.

Kempthorne Announces that 35 Years of Landsat Data Free to Public

Speaking at the ESRI UC Senior Executive Summit in San Diego, U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Dirk Kempthorne, announced that the 35 years of archived Landsat data will be made available over the web free to the public by the end of the year. The EROS Data Center (EDC) of the USGS will be the lead center to implement this initiative. Though not mentioned specifically, it’s likely that some of the data may be released through EDC’s EarthExplorer portal that was a pilot project begun last year for Landsat 7 data.


Listen to my interview with Secretary Kempthorne and USGS Director Mark Myers regarding the announcement of the Landsat data and a follow up questions I asked regarding the USGS’s roll in providing policy-makers information about the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and offshore drilling.

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Here’s a chance for all of you attending the ESRI International User Conference to win an iPod touch. Directions Media wants your help covering the event. The best submission (audio or text) will win an iPod touch. You can enter via e-mail , text or phone between Saturday August 2 and Wednesday August 13, 2008. Full details.