In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode, covering the last few weeks (which have been crazy to me).

From the Esri front:

• Mandown reminds us that ArcGIS 10.1 is coming this June and the ArcGIS 10.0 SP5 is coming in July

• You can access and edit Esri maps even on the Kindle Fire

From the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced that Bing Maps is now using Nokia backend services for Traffic and Geocoding
• There's an official entry named Integrating Bing Maps With WPF
• And there's new Bird’s Eye Imagery & Streetside Coverage on Bing Maps

Discussed over Slashdot:

• Russian Satellite Takes Most Detailed 121-Megapixel Image of Earth Yet
• DEA Wants To Install License Plate Scanners and Retain Data for Two Years

• Senator Seeks More Info On DOJ Location Tracking Practices
• Modeling People and Places With Internet Photo Collections

• NASA's Interactive Flood Maps

• LightSquared Files For Bankruptcy

Directions Mag articles:

• Here's about what’s new in both the software and the use of GeoPDF
• Another one named Can Geofeedia Provide Location-based Citizen Input to Journalists?

In the miscellaneous category:

• An interesting Ogle Earth entry named Why do Panasonic, Leica, FujiFilm, Samsung and Nikon censor their GPS cameras?, short answer: China laws

• Learning Geography skills through a Zombie Apocalypse Narrative?, yes, nothing less
• While I found nothing surprising in there, it's still interesting to read the United Nations Five to Ten Year Vision on Geospatial Information Management (via)
• We heard this before, New Report Warns About Decline in U.S. Earth Observation Capabilities
• Meanwhile, India launched its first EO satellite, RISAT-1, with SAR capabilities

In the maps category:

• Strange Maps shares a map of Population by Latitude and Population by Longitude
• TMR shares a map of U.S. Life Expectancy by County

• It was submitted as a press release but deserves more attention, UrbMet.org, interactive web map for the urban metabolism of cities, the same tool was later featured on the O'Reilly Radar

• Here's Climascope, an interactive web map to explore climate change
• The Earth is mostly (70%) covered by water, but there isn't that much in terms of volume
• Mapperz mentions MapofLife.org, mapping geographic distributions for any terrestrial vertebrate species
• At the other end of the spectrum, FearSquare.com, crime around you (UK only)

Ah... it feels good to be current on geonews once again!

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. Again an unusually long edition.

From the open source and open data front:

• Here's two entries on PostGIS 2.0 new features; Typmod and 3D/4D indexing
• You might be interested in learning about GDAL virtual formats if you don't use them already, related to GDAL, here's how to correctly compute the average aspect of a DEM using gdaldem
• There's a Natural Earth Quick Start Kit that includes a QGIS project file, and another entry on adding custom global projections to QGIS
• There's new 2.5 meters imagery of Australia available for OpenStreetMap
• O'Reilly shares a story of another company, StreetEasy, switching to OpenStreetMap data
• In Russia too, with Yandex, they are using crowdsourced maps now
• If you plan to use MapServer as a WFS 1.1.0 client, read this, since apparently it's support is not optimal just yet

From the Esri front:

• Via James, the File Geodatabase API 1.2 has been released and MacOS X is now supported
• About two weeks ago, the ArcGIS 10 Service Pack 4 became available for download

From the Google front:

• Google just introduced more detailed 3D landmarks on Google Maps, take a quick look at the screenshots included
• Google Map Maker is now available in France and Monaco
• You can now get Traffic Conditions in Norway, New Zealand, and Hong Kong
• Ogle Earth offers a detailed entry on conspiracy, Google Earth and the latest war in Sri Lanka
• There's a whole new website for Google Maps API Developers
• The GEB offers an entry on Integrating Street View with the Google Earth Diorama
• Oh, and there's new imagery

From the Microsoft front:

• Bing Maps offers a new look for Pushpins, Popups, and Transit
• And Microsoft announced Bing Maps for Metro Style Apps
• There's new official Bing Maps forums too

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB shares an entry named Facebook Outlines Vision for Location APIs
• O'Reilly shares a story about the impacts of languages on place and location aware tools
• James informs us that iOS is now telling us when an app is using a geofence
• Slashdot discussed a story named Stolen iPad's Reported Location Not Enough To Warrant Search, Say Dutch Police
• Another story on the same site is entitled Pentagon Wants Disposable War Satellites
• Still from Slashdot, a story named Satellites Expose 8,000 Years of Civilization
• And a last one from the same source is named DIY Augmented Reality Heads-Up Display
• Yes, it's been already 10 years of Envisat
• Here's a Q&A on OGC's CityGML standard
• Nokia Drive 2.0 offers interesting features such as offline directions, for Lumia Windows Phones

In the maps category:

• SS shared an entry named New Mapping Tool Shows Potential Radiation Impacts in the United States
• For the astronomers amongst us, TMR shares a Geologic Map of Io and an Atlas of the Galilean Satellites

wheredat provides a geocoding and reverse geocoding interface (UI) through Bing maps. You setup an instance of the application and then embed it in an iframe on any other applications that use it. The client app passes an address or lonlat it needs geocoded and wheredat builds a map showing the location found allowing the user to move the point on the map to further refine the location. All this information is passed back to the client app so it can be used or stored there.  wheredat is extremely light weight and quick to load.

Demo Page: http://wheredat.adc4gis.com/example.html

Source Code: https://github.com/applieddataconsultants/wheredat

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. My challenge in life is to find out what not to do - too much enthusiasm impacts focus. But don't worry, I'm not dropping Slashgeo just yet ;-)

From the open source and open data front:

• Here's an open source Kinect hack named Depthcam, doing live streaming of 3D points cloud via your webcam
• Via Simon, I was reminded about Graphserver, an open source multi-modal trip planner (we mentioned Graphserver in early 2009), on the same topic, here's OSM Explorer, for basic routing and spatial functions using OSM data on Windows (via OGD)
• MapQuest updated their OpenStreetMap tiles and mentions more OSM switchovers, such as FourSquare and in another entry, they updated MapQuest for Android
• Here's an entry on light styles for OSM layers in QGIS, making OSM great as a base map
• Quebec City is the latest city to open its data, with layers in shapefiles and kml, and here's an entry on Honolulu opening its data
• The OSGeo-Live DVD version 5.5 is now ready

From the Google front:

• Street View on Google Maps now available for Russia
• The GEB introduces Diorama, a presentation tool for Google Earth, helping you tell a story in Google Earth
• The same blog also look a the Power of Ten, the Google Earth version
• Google explains the enhanced search in Google Earth 6.2
• Here's an entry on the iNaturalist app and website using georeferenced pictures to document nature
• The GEB wonders if historical imagery is coming to Street View?
• And yes, there was fresh imagery released about two weeks ago and another round today

From the Esri front:

• Here's why ArcGIS 10.1 will be the “Biggest Release Ever”
• Here's Esri’s Federal GIS Conference Wrap Up
• Here's the recommended System Requirements For ArcGIS 10/10.1
• Mandown also shares an entry named Using ArcGIS.com For Quick Visualisation Of GPX Files

From the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced the Bing Maps and Nokia Release of a Unified Map Design

In the miscellaneous category:

• DM asks an interesting question, Should All GIS Users Learn to Code?
• While not all are geo-aware, this is an awesome categorized list of infographic tools and resources, because beauty matters when conveying information (via Thierry)
• The book "How Maps Change Things: A Conversation About the Maps We Choose and the World We Want" by Ward Kaiser is free in pdf for this month
• We previously mentioned that the world time zones database was in jeopardy, well, it's not anymore, EFF Wins Protection For Time Zone Database
• Here's an entry on OGC mobile case studies
• Here's a Product Review of BusinessWebMap by TexMobile
• Slashdot mentions the link between GPS navigation and in-car voice commands in Siri To Power Mercedes-Benz Car Systems
• APB informs us that DigitalGlobe published an image of damage to Homs, Syria

In the maps category:

• APB shares the map of sleep in the U.S.
• Slashdot discussed a story named LIDAR Map Shows Height of Earth's Forests
• Another story from the same source is named Need To Find a Hackerspace In Africa? Check This Map
• If your into astronomy, check this TMR entry on Moon maps
• Mapperz mentions Bristol's solar power hotspots map

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source / open data front:

• This interesting entry by Paul Ramsey on the challenges of polygon intersections when the polygons are huge and involve multiple cartographic projections, a case study in PostGIS
• Via Geonames, I found out that SRTM-DEM CGIAR-CSI is now at version 4.1, but I failed to find what's changed since version 4
• Geopaparazzi 2.6.0 has been released
• APB shares a few interesting OpenStreetMap news, including raising $800k to build maps for pedestrians

From the Google front:

• Here's an entry on the jQuery UI module for the Google Maps API
• In Google Maps, links to directions have been added to the saved locations in My Places
• There's the first Map your University competition with Google Map Maker
• Here's realistic SketchUp renderings using Maxwell
• And there was new Google Earth imagery released last Friday

In the everything-else category:

• Here's a pertinent O'Reilly article on the NoSQL movement
• mattwynn shared an entry named Why ESRI (as is) can’t be part of the open government movement
• The OGC mentions the Geospatial World Forum 2012 to be held in Amsterdam in April
• Here's a link to an article on the need of location standards for business intelligence, there's an OGC GeoBI DWG too
• Directions Mag offers an article named Safe Software Execs Address the State of GIS and FME 2012 and another one named Business models for LBS shift to freemium and advertising
• Slashdot reports that LightSquared will try using lawyers to save their plan to mess with the GPS spectrum
• Via O'Reilly Where, I found this infographic on the local and location-based advertisement ecosystem
• Are you ready? China’s Geographic Information Industry Takes the Lead Globally
• Here's a 5-minutes video on Microsoft Layerscape, I wasn't impressed - should I be? Spatial Sustain has an entry about it
• APB shared an entry named Pitney Bowes Software CEO O’Hara Discusses Autodesk Relationship and Software Strategy
• Slashdot shared a story named Scientists Print Cheap RFID Tags On Paper
• And another one from the same source named Australian Police Spying On Web, Phone Usage [including location data] With No Warrants

In the maps category:

• SS mentions the NASA release of a New Global Forest Height Map
• Slashdot ran a story named FCC Maps the 3G Wasteland Of the Western US
• APB shares a crowdsourced map of Iranian nuclear sites

Via James I learned about Microsoft's launch of OpenGeocoder, a geocoding tool using bounding boxes for places. What's nice it that Microsoft gives back all resulting data to the public domain. There's a JSON API too.  

From the about: "What is this? OpenGeocoder is an experiment in creating and serving geocodable results. Places are turned in to bounding boxes. Large datasets, processing and geocoding software is skipped. Instead a simple mapping between strings and boxes is used. All data submitted is placed in the public domain for anyone to use.

How do I use OpenGeocoder? Search using the text box. If your result is not found you are given the ability to add it. Drag the rectangle corners around until the rectangle covers the place you searched for and then click 'Save'. Your data is placed in to the public domain for anyone to use."

​This batch mode edition is unusually long. It covers the past month and a bit more. Yes, that's way too much and I won't try to repeat the experience ;-) Here's what I considered pertinent enough to share with you. Exceptionally, in some cases I haven't gave attribution to the source of the news, thank you for your comprehension.

On the geospatial open source front:

• I just recently became aware of PostGISonline, a site for testing and learning spatial SQL
• You can now create and manipulate SLD (the OGC Styled Layer Descriptor standard) in Python with python-sld
• Via the AGISRS list, I learned about OpenQuake.org, for calculating seismic hazard and risk at any scale, which of course ingest geospatial data and outputs maps
• Here's WherePost.ca, which crowdsources the location of mailboxes and post offices for Canada
• Here's the Switch2OSM website promoting OpenStreetMap, OpenStreetMap might go indoor too
• Still on the OSM topic, V1 shares an entry on the use of OpenStreetMap data in agriculture
• Here's an entry on the future of GeoCouch and CouchDB
• GeoServer gets database-level security
• There's now a plugin to run Python scripts in QGIS
• Here's about improvements to the QGIS rule-based rendering
• On a similar topic, here's a guide to beautiful reliefs in QGIS
• Did you know you can add Google Maps, OSM, and Bing Maps directly in QGIS? You can via the OpenLayers plugin - hey, there's even a Profile plugin
• There's an updated book published by Gary Sherman, now named The Geospatial Desktop , subtitled Open source GIS and mapping
• GEOS 3.3.2 has been released

On the Esri front:

• Mandown shares how to convert GPX files to Features using ArcGIS 10
• From the same source, Learn The Basics Of Working With The ArcGIS Runtime SDK For Android
• There were updates to ArcGIS for SharePoint, ArcGIS Mobile and to the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone
• James and SS talks about ArcGIS Online as the Esri Content Management System

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced a few new Bing Maps features, such as traffic incidents and find near route
• They announced the Bing Maps Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Control v1
• There's new Bing Maps V7 modules too along with a new routing engine
• James Fee shares an interesting entry named Bing Maps gets Nokia Brand and Possibly the Boot

On the remote sensing front:

• This is pretty interesting to many: SS shares an entry named USGS Now Offers OrbView-3 High-Resolution Images for Free, 180,000 scenes at 1m spatial resolution available
• China launched their first high-resolution remote sensing satellite, Ziyuan I-02C
• Slashdot discussed the newly released version of Blue Marble high definition (and beautiful) satellite image of the Earth from the Suomi NPP satellite
• Slashdot is running a story named Who's Flying Those Drones? FAA Won't Say and related, O'Reilly mentions OpenPilot, open source UAV with cameras
• And another named Launch Your Own Nanosatellite Into Space

On the GNSS / GPS front:

• It's coming, car makers are preparing for augmented reality driving
• Not exactly GPS but via radio-tagging, see the nice and short video of whale 3D paths in the ocean
• Slashdot is also discussing a story named New Mexico Is Stretching, GPS Reveals
• MapQuest launched an html5 app-like site for Android and iPhone for using MapQuest

In the miscellaneous category:

• The 7 geo predictions for 2012 of Cédric are interesting 
• Microsoft's Flight Simulator, renamed Flight, will be available for free next Spring, with paid extra content
• We never mentioned it before, but now Indiemapper is free, it "helps you make static, thematic maps from geographic data by bringing the best of traditional cartographic design to internet map-making."
• SS mentions the new alliance between Autodesk and Pitney Bowes, APB also discuss this new relationship
• SS also shares an entry named Safe Software’s Expanded Role as a Conduit Between Sensors and Systems
• The U.S. EPA in their Locations Challenge introduced a crowdsourcing project of georeferenced photos of environmental problems
• Slashdot ran a discussion on assembling your own 3D printer
• The OGC shared a summary of the Eye on Earth Summit held in December
• Another OGC entry was named Status of the OGC's Water Resource Activities
• DM shares an article named GIS Adoption and Use on College Campuses: An End-of-Year Review and Look Ahead to 2012
• The GEB mentions a new 3D San Francisco website
• I found interesting the possibility of a .data TLD
• A new free iPad app: GeoViewer from LizardTech, supports MrSID format and more
• It's been a while since we mentioned them, GISCorps were recently in 7 countries, including Libya

In the maps category:

• APB summarizes this: Comparing Maps of Obesity and Car Travel
• Here's an entry on cleanly using symbols on maps
• Here's U.S. routes as a subway map and the U.S. National Wind Energy Map
• Fox News shared a map with missing or wrongly placed countries
• TMR shares an obligatory animated map of rising global temperatures since 1880

Or for geospatial purists, via 'satellite navigation systems' for pedestrian. In any case, Slashdot discusses a story named Microsoft Patents Bad Neighborhood Detection.

Their summary: "With the grant of their US Patent #8090532 Microsoft may be attempting to corner the market on GPS systems for use by pedestrians, or they may have opened a fertile ground for discrimination lawsuits. ... Described as a patent on pedestrian route production, the patent describes a two-way system of building navigation devices targeted at people who are not in vehicles, but still require the use of such a device to most efficiently route to their destination. ... For example, the user inputs their destination and any constraints or requirements they might have, such as a wheelchair accessible route, types of terrain they are willing to cross, the option of public transportation, and a way point such as the nearest Starbucks on the route. Any previously configured preferences are also considered, such as avoiding neighborhoods that exceed a certain threshold of violent crime statistics (hence the description of this as the 'avoid bad neighborhoods' patent), fastest route, most scenic, etc."

Two days ago (yes, I was busy) Slashdot discussed a story named Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google Chase 'Got Milk?' Patents.

Their summary: "Among the new iOS 5 features is Reminders, which Apple explains this way: 'Say you need to remember to pick up milk during your next grocery trip. Since Reminders can be location based, you'll get an alert as soon as you pull into the supermarket parking lot.' But does Reminders infringe on a newly-granted patent to Amazon for Location Aware Reminders, which covers the use of location based reminders to remind a user 'to purchase certain items such as, for example, as milk, bread, and eggs'? Or could Reminders run afoul of Google's new patent for Geocoding Personal Information, which covers triggering a voice reminder or making a computing device vibrate when a user approaches a location if 'one of the user's events is a task to pick up milk and bread'? Not to be left out of the 'Got Milk?' patent race, Apple also has a patent pending for Computer Systems and Methods for Collecting, Associating, and/or Retrieving Data, which covers providing a reminder to a user whose 'to do' list includes 'get milk' when the user's location matches 'a store that sells the item "milk."'

That should not be confused with Microsoft's pending patent for Geographic Reminders, which allows users to specify reminders such as 'pick up milk if I am within a ten minutes drive of any grocery store.' That all four tech giants chose to pursue remember-the-milk patents — and the USPTO is considering and granting them — is all the more remarkable considering that Microsoft suggested location-based reminders were obvious in a 2005 patent filing, which informed the USPTO that 'a conventional reminder application may give the user relevant information at a given location, such as 'You're near a grocery store, and you need milk at home.' So much for that immediate patent quality improvement promised by the America Invents Act!"

​You bet the patent system needs to be overhauled!

Here's the latest geonews in batch mode. But first, as a media partner of the Geomatique 2011 event, if you participated to the conference, we invite you to fill this survey and get a chance to win an iPad 2.

On the Google front:

• The GEB introduces the free Maxwell Render Suite to make your SketchUp models more realistic, the screenshots are impressive 
• You can now Share biking and walking directions with Custom Maps
• We told you before that Street View is available inside businesses now, and here's a Slashdot discussion about it
• The 2012 Google Model Your Town Competition has begun
• Google requests feedback for their map news channels, if you fill that survey, you can tell them you're reading Slashgeo ;-)
• And there was new imagery released yesterday for Google Maps and Earth

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced several updates and new features in the Bing Maps REST web services and the Bing Spatial Data Service
• In another entry, Microsoft informs us that the improved map sharing and Bing Maps route modifications

On the Esri front:

• Mandown mentions that the ArcGIS API for iOS 2.1 is now available

On the open source front that wasn't mentioned yesterday:

• Via O'Reilly, I learned about an jQuery open source Country Selector that has autocomplete
• I also forgot to share this DM article named Experiences Teaching Free and Open Source GIS at the Community College Level

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB reports that Yahoo Maps is now powered by Nokia
• The U.S. Geoplatform.gov launched based on Esri's Portal for ArcGIS, here's the direct link
• V1 has an interesting perspective named What Do You Think GIS in the Cloud Will Be Like? and on the same topic, DM shares an informative article named Is Geospatial Cloud Computing a Commodity?
• SS mentions a iOnRoad, free Android app that includes colision avoidance
• MapQuest Vibe is now available for the iPhone
• O'Reilly tells us about Dark Sky's app Kickstater project for "hyperlocal hyper-realtime" weather prediction, with similarities to NowCasting
• If you're into podcasts, VerySpatial mentions another geospatial-related podcast now in English, Geografree
• APB informs us of a OGC survey of the business value of geospatial standards
• V1 lists what he thinks are the Hottest Jobs In The Geospatial Sector Today
• APB has excellent coverage of the SimpleGeo acquisition by Urban Airship
• Remember we told you about Atanas Entchev? There's now a petition to help him

In the maps category:

• StrangeMaps shares an informative map of electric sockets of the World
• Here's a Google Maps mashup on disease risk and migration
• O'Reilly shares an animated map of how dance music travels
• APB share their disappointment at the map of the American Jobs Act