Most Connected College Student in Philly and other GIS Competitions

Interact, a new geospatial social discovery application, is, first and foremost, about making connections.

To prove it, the application is scheduled to officially launch on Monday (4/23) and by Thursday Interact found Anthony Coombs, 32, will be giving away an iPad to the most connected college student out of five Philadelphia universities.

Yes, it's another of those "find people like me nearby" apps - but with "better" privacy. Top prize is an iPad.

- Tech Philly

Developer submitted nearly100 entries into New York City’s third annual Big Apps contest, which focuses on using public data for the public good.

NYCFacets, the project that won best overall application, looks to help Web developers grapple with the deluge of public data being released by city agencies. It can be difficult to find out what is contained within these data sets. So Joel Natividad and Sami Baig created NYC Facets, which identifies over a million facts about the data and creates ways for developers to search through it.

Yes, good metadata and search tools are key to use datasets. Second place was a "find me a" type of app - find me a public place to work. It's called Work+.

- NY Times

NASA announced a contest that launched Earth Day and runs until May 31.

To mark Earth Day 2012, we are for the second year in a row inviting you to create your own compelling video vision of NASA's exploration of Earth -- The Home Frontier. Submit your creation to us and a panel of judges will select the best submission, with a fitting award on the line.

The winner will receive behind-the-scenes access to the next rocket launch of a NASA Earth-observing satellite. The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM), a joint project of NASA and the U.S. Geological Survey, is scheduled to launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in January 2013. LDCM will continue the longest-running satellite record of Earth observations. The first Landsat satellite launched in 1972. The winner of the video contest will get a guaranteed spot on the NASA Social tour and viewing of the launch. These spots are typically chosen by a lottery system.

- NASA

Recirculating Farm Map and other Earth Day GIS News

The Recirculating Farm Coalition announced a recirculatingfarms.org of such farms for Earth Day. Too bad the press release didn't include a link to it. I found it though on the website. What's a recirculating farm? It uses no soil to grow plants or fish (or both) and is generally environmentally friendly.

- press release

The Chicago Tribune used Earth Day to highlight NASA updated Climage Change website which offers change detection pairs and their stories.

The images are part of a popular photo gallery that has been retooled and enhanced at NASA's Global Climate Change website.

- Chicago Tribune

The EPA is hosting a contest for photos taken on Earth Day around the globe. You have this week to submit them, but they must have been taken on Earth Day. The goal? A map of the moment.

- EPA Blog

The Federal Transit Administration has launched a new website for Earth Day (this Sunday), showcasing the agency’s efforts for livability and clean energy. It’s all good Earth Day reading, but what stands out is this useful map of sustainable transportation projects.

- DC Streets Blog

Menlo and Sacred Heart Prep in Menlo Park, CA competed to see which school could get a higher percentage of students to use "alternative transport" to schoo. Menlo won, but I think Sacred Heart did ok, too.

Although Sacred Heart Schools lost this competition, Millie Lee, SHP’s director of communications, says the residual impacts of their efforts will be a positive thing for the environment.

“We will continue to encourage students to consider using these transportation modes afterwards and have created a map and tips to help students and parents find the best biking and walking paths to our school,” Lee said.  “We hope students will discover the rewards and benefits that these new ways to come to school will have for the environment.”

- Menlo Park Patch

International Space Apps Challenge and other GIS Competitions

The International Space Apps Challenge is a 2 day technology development event during which citizens from around the world will work together to solve current challenges relevant to both space exploration and social need. The International Space Apps Challenge will take place on all seven continents – and in space - on 21-22 April 2012.

Locations in which events are currently planned to be held include San Francisco, US; Tokyo, Japan; Melbourne and Canberra, Australia; Jakarta, Indonesia; Exeter and Oxford, UK; Nairobi, Kenya; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; and McMurdo Station, Antarctica. There will be additional events throughout the world and participation by Astronauts on the International Space Station.

How it works

The International Space Apps Challenge is a “codeathon-style” event. A codeathon is a unique event that brings together citizens interested in collaborating on the development solutions that address critical challenges. A codeathon celebrates software development in its most positive context—using minimal resources and maximum brainpower to create outside- the-box solutions in response to interesting problems. Codeathons are technology development marathons, drawing on the talents and initiative of the best and the brightest software developers, engineers, designers and technologists from around the world, who volunteer their time to respond to real- world problems with solutions than can have immediate impact.

At the events, individuals collaborate with others by forming teams focused on solving a particular challenge. The teams compete with other teams around the world to utilize publicly available space and data to design innovative “solutions” to a pre-determined series of global “challenges.”

- Challenge website

The Department of Veterans Affairs launched a new contest today to help the people who help the homeless. It challenges the developer community to create easy, mobile access to resources that the homeless need, when they need it and where they can get it. ...

Five finalists will pilot their mobile applications at JBJ Soul Kitchen, where diners can cover the cost of their meals either through donation or volunteer service.

The contest will be conducted in two phases. Finalists will be judged primarily on their ability to dynamically update information about housing and shelter near JBJ Soul Kitchen. Basic performance criteria is described in www.challenge.gov.

- press release via LBS zone

This contest is a bit easier to enter!

To enter, you must follow@RootMetrics on Twitter, download the RootMetrics Cell Phone Coverage Map app for iPhone or Android devices, run a test of mobile coverage and then post on Twitter EITHER a screenshot of the test results or the color and speed result.

Winners (five randomly selected) can win new mobile phones or cash toward breaking a contract. You can enter until April 2.

- Wireless and Mobile News

LightSquared Update - Postmortem News RoundUp - 2/21/12

Why LightSquared failed: It was science, not politics

- Ars Technica

Harbinger investors sue Falcone, Harbinger fund over LightSquared

- Total Telecom

Cornell is leading research into whether the northern lights interfere with GPS. The rocket launched Saturday in a NASA funded study. We're not going to let anything - natural or man-made interfere with our GPS!

- Denver Post

Struggling LightSquared seeks DoD spectrum swap; hedge fund investors line up to sue Falcone

- TeleGeography

LightSquared defaults on payment to spectrum owner‎

- CIO UK

Why You Should Regret LightSquared's Setbacks

- TechDirt
 

U.S. to Trim Commercial-Satellite Use - Wall Street Journal

According to a February 17^th article in the Wall Street Journal:

The Pentagon's latest spending plan marks a little-noticed but important shift for the space industry, scaling back a push to use commercial satellites to supplement the military's communication and space efforts.

- Read more