In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source front:

• MapBox acquired the MeatText mobile social mapping app and is open sourcing the app with MapBox code
• You can now even publish any map you have in ArcMap directly to MapBox from the main ArcMap UI by using the latest Arc2Earth
• James shares an entry named CartoDB and MapBox Fight On
• If you missed the press release, pycsw Receives OGC Compliance Certification and Reference Implementation Status‏
• There's also a new Open Source Geospatial Lab established at University of Newcastle, United Kingdom

From the Esri front:

• Here's the announcement of the Operations Dashboard and Collector for ArcGIS: "Operations Dashboard provides a common operating picture for monitoring events. Operations Dashboard integrates maps and a variety of data sources to create comprehensive operational views that can include charts, lists, gauges, and indicators which update automatically as underlying data changes."
• Here's an excellent summary of what are Esri GeoDatabases, trying to reduce confusion about it

From the Google front:

• Google invites us to Discover Israel on Google Maps with new panoramic imagery
• Funny, Google felt obliged to explain that a donkey found on StreetView was not hurt by Google's car
• And Google released new imagery to Google Earth today

In the miscellaneous category:

• DM shares an article named Attention Shoppers! aisle411’s Indoor Location App is a Hit with Top Retailers, where you'll learn that "Routing applications are no longer limited to streets. It’s now possible to route customers within malls and other shopping centers, and even within individual stores."
• APB informs us that China Mandates Swapping out other GNSS for Beidou in Commercial Vehicles
• A Microsoft patent for silencing your phone based on where you are, such as in a movie theater
• Bing Maps also added the Elevations API to their REST Services

In the maps category:

• A nice graph and overview maps of which cities will be impacted by sea level rising, Los Angeles and Amsterdam comes next

This is our last batch-mode edition of the year - happy holiday break to everyone!

From the open source / data front:

• MapBox share an interesting entry named The Trouble with Geoportals: "Heavy interface-driven sites based on predetermined data acquisition processes are a key part of a local, state, and national spatial and open data infrastructures, but they do not make open data open and accessible to all."
• Here's a nice demo of OpenLayers 3, read the associated discussion
• Here's news of the QGIS Globe and PostGIS 3D with a video demo
• Here's an entry on how the LGPL license of geospatial software is completely destroying iOS adoption of open source geospatial software
• Here's about the version 1.8.0 release of Libspatialindex (which switches from LGPL to MIT) 
• And Jeff McKenna is the new OSGeo president
• Here's an article on Vizzuality, the makers of CartoDB

From the Esri front:

• Here's a summary of Whats New in ArcGIS Online (December 2012): "This is major update, with new capabilities for authoring web maps, publishing hosted services, sharing, and configuring ArcGIS Online organizations."
• DigitalGlobe Imagery for the United States and Western Europe added to the Esri's World Imagery map
• If you're eager to know, here's What’s coming in the next update of the ArcGIS SDK for Android?

From the Google front:

• Obligatory, Christmas Trees in Google Earth and Street View
• Interesting, Using Google Earth to teach math
• Google shared tips for getting the most from Google Maps on iPhone
• Apparently, the iOS version of the Google Maps app might violate EU privacy laws
• Here's what Google Earth looks like on the Nexus 10
• Here's the Google entry on the Count down to Christmas Eve with Google Santa Tracker
• It's the end of the world right? Predicting volcanic ash with Google Earth
• That's not a reason for not providing New Google Imagery - December 17

In the remote sensing category:

• If you have an iOS device, don't miss ESA's 'Earth from Space: the Living Beauty' free book: "The digital publication has over 100 pages with interactive maps, stunning image galleries and animations that encourage you to discover the various Earth processes. "
• Name change, Copernicus is the new name for European Earth Observation Programme
• Here's a discussion on How to build a microsatellite

In the miscellaneous category:

• Know the WMS standard? Here's a pertinent entry named Don't "upgrade" to WMS 1.3.0 unless you really have to, stick to 1.1.1
• Here's a pertinent entry on GIS user interfaces and how bad they are
• Here's the Directions Mag summary of A Day at Nokia’s U.S. Headquarters
• While they can't do it anymore with a GPS device, the U.S. government can use location data from cell towers in order to track suspects without a warrant

In the maps category:

• Here's an Interactive map of the U.S. Nuclear Weapons Complex

While a user submitted a press release about it last week, we haven't mentioned the 1.0 release of the open source CartoDB project. We did mention CartoDB a few times in the past. There's also a recent blog entry on Comparing Fusion Tables to Open Source CartoDB.

Let me remind our users what CartoDB is: "CartoDB is an open source geospatial database platform that provides an SQL API layer. It allows developers to make querys to a cloud PostrgreSQL + OpenGIS database optimized to geospatial purposes. As a web service API, it is not required a certain database management system."

I'll share a bit more about CartoDB in my upcoming FOSS4G-NA summary.

Vizzuality announces the launch of CartoDB 1.0 (cartodb.com), an open source platform to map, analyze and build location aware apps with your data in the cloud.

Import your data in a click. Mashup datasets. Create beautiful maps. Use CartoDB to explore and discover new relationships in your data. Publish and share your work. Enjoy.

Journalists, scientists, developers and data explorers can use CartoDB to create dynamic maps with ease, and with v1.0 have access to a whole world of data to explore from OpenStreetMaps.

With CartoDB dynamic rendering you can create truly interactive visualizations using HTML5, real-time maps and location aware mobile apps. CartoDB is Open Source, you are not locked into any vendor platform.

CartoDB allows you to use your data layers with all popular providers (Google Maps, Bing, MapQuest) or with free sources like OpenStreetMaps. Thousands of users like NASA, The Wall Street Journal and the United Nations are already using CartoDB.

With all the discussions about geospatial in the cloud the past few months, via Mgeospatial, I learned about CartoDB, an open source cloud-based geospatial solution. Amongst the current users, they count the NASA and the UNEP.

Unfortunately, with its website alone, it's real hard at the moment to learn about the current features and capabilities. They do have a developers section. And there's an upcoming CartoDB Drupal module too. The best description I found so far: "CartoDB is an open source geospatial database platform that provides an SQL API layer. It allows developers to make querys to a cloud PostrgreSQL + OpenGIS database optimized to geospatial purposes. As a web service API, it is not required a certain database management system."