In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

Actually you could already, but it's now easier than ever: the omnipresent "Follow Slashgeo" and "Like Slashgeo" buttons suddenly appeared top right of Slashgeo's website. Until further notice, you won't generally see content on Slashgeo's Twitter and Facebook feeds that isn't already published on this site. The objective is rather simple, making it easy for you to get geospatial news if you use one of those social networks.

According to Google Feedburner, there's currently 9,412 people subscribed to our news in RSS, but you can also get the same news from our Twitter feed and Facebook page. If interested, follow the white rabbit (or the links top right). Anyone interested in contributing to Slashgeo's Facebook page (e.g. its look, content)? Let me know!

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source / data front:

• MapBrief claim that the battle for open source in the enterprise in behind us, from the WSJ: "[...] for reasons including ease of innovation and cutting the time to get products to market"
• Interesting, announcing QMap: A simple data collection application using QGIS
• Unless I'm mistaken, we haven't mentioned yet the new 'shp.js' open source javascript Shapefile parser (via GGD)
• In case you missed it in our PR section, there's an Education version of gvSIG
• GeoTools 8.1 has been released, mostly a bug fix release
• Portable GIS version 3 has been released too
• Here's a summary of State of the Map 2012 held in Tokyo
• It's done, OpenStreetMap data license is now ODbL
• And yes, some crazy people try to sell open source geospatial code

From the Esri front:

• Here's What’s New in ArcGIS Online for September 2012

From the Microsoft front:

• New imagery to Bing Maps, a lot of it, Global Ortho & 17 Million SqKm of New Satellite Imagery

From the Google front:

• Plenty of geoblogs mentioned the Atlantic article on the secretive Ground Truth program in an article named How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means for the Future of Everything
• Google shares a breakout of Google Maps search terms by country for this Summer
• They also have an entry on the need to save the elephants and how to do it the geospatial way
• You can also Explore the Forefront of Japanese Space Science with Google Maps
• Here's the official entry on the latest imagery update in Google Maps and Google Earth, a lot of it
• The GEB shares an entry on Viewing city lights in Google Earth and why not, another entry on Google Earth Fractals

Interesting Directions Mag articles:

• Does Your Local Government Need A Drone?
• New Spatial Information Act for Australia
• Trucking Fleets Leverage Traffic Data to Work Smarter, Cut Costs
• New Resources for GIS Job Seekers

In the miscellaneous category:

• The SPOT 6 satellite is alive and well with its first images, it was successfully launched on September 9 and has a spatial resolution of 1.5m
• LizardTech (MrSID) Releases Express Server 8

In the maps category:

• Via APB, here's a Map the World’s Friendships from Facebook and Stamen
• Here's a gigantic 3D map of the deaths in Grand Canyon
• NASA wants you to help map an asteroid

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source front:

• Along with new versions, here's the Geopublisher and AtlasStyler 1.9 release notes

From the Google front:

• Slashdot discusses a story named After Modifications, Google Street View Approved For Switzerland

• There was an imagery update on June 11th

Directions Mag articles:

• An article named My Top 6 Takeaways from SQL Server Spatial 2012
• Another one named Ten Things You Need to Know About GPS, reminding us that often people use the GPS term while they really should use GNSS
• Another one named Intergraph’s GIS Product Roadmap Comes Into Focus
• And for Pitney Bowes, New Features for MapInfo Professional Version 11.5, and by the way, Facebook Is Using Pitney Bowes Software for Geocoding

In the miscellaneous category:

• MacRumors summarizes the U.S. Location Privacy Protection Act
• MapQuest released an all new MapQuest for iPhone app

• Rumors that Microsoft is Going 100% with Nokia Mapping in Windows Phone 8
• After Google, Microsoft jumps in the Augmented Reality future with rumored AR glasses for Xbox
• Slashdot discussed a story named 64 Drone Bases Located On American Soil

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly shared a map of global BitTorrent usage

It's Easter and I find myself aggregating geonews for you - don't you see how much I love you ;-) Expect less news this week since I'll be participating to the FOSS4G-NA conference. So here's the latest geonews in batch mode.

In the open source and open data front:

• Slashdot discusses a story named Wikipedia Mobile Apps Switch To OpenStreetMap, away from Google Maps, related, James Fee links to a NY Times article on bypassing Google Maps with OpenStreetMap
• and via @teller another article is named Microsoft backing OpenStreetMap, creating Google Maps competitor
• Numerous sources mentioned the beautiful watercolor OpenStreetMap style from Stamen and here's how they were created (via Wes)
• An entry discusses the differences between the Portable GIS and OSGeo Live tools
• There was a few entries on QGIS; one on the qNote plugin, detailed instructions for installing QGIS Server on Windows 7 and on Ubuntu, the custom form feature to streamline data entry, and an entry on the enhanced MS SQLServer 2008 support
• With PostGIS 2.0 recently released, here's an entry on validating vector features
• Here's a discussion on OpenStreetMap should be more like Facebook

In the miscellaneous category:

• The Landsat 5 mission is officially suspended after 28 years, we mentioned its recent problems
• Kurt shares four entries on vertical datums
• APB shares an Esri Developer Summit 2012 RoundUp
• APB also shares an entry named Doctor’s Offices and Access to primary health care - Esri Map Story
• The GEB mentions GraphEarth, a 25$ tool to generate charts for Google Earth
• Several blogs participated to the raw data vs API discussion
• This infographic will inform you on the current state of MapQuest, MapQuest also have a new section to explore U.S. National Parks
• WebMapSolutions offers two entries whether we should retire the term GIS - my take is that GIS is useful since it refers to something specific and unique
• Somewhat related, Very Spatial shares entry on the new GIS end-user: "These users know how to navigate and interact with consumer maps and expect all their interactions with spatial technology to be this simple. They don’t, in any way, want to “see” GIS or have to learn a new vocabulary of terms like vectors, georeference, buffer, and shapefile." No pain no gain?
• APB mentions a U.S. Congressman Introduces “Map It Once, Use it Many Times Act”
• O'Reilly shares an entry on the do's and don'ts of geo marketing
• Spatial Sustain has an informative entry named Let the Drone Mapping Race Begin
• Unsurprisingly, Slashdot discusses a story named Many Police Departments Engage in Warrantless Cell Phone Tracking
• The recent Direction Mag articles I found interesting:
  • One named HTML5 Canvas: An Open Standard for High Performing GIS Map Visualization in Web Browsers
  • Ten Things to Know about the Geospatial Technology Competency Model
  • And finally The Top 10 Reasons Why You Need to Know About the U.S. GeoTech Center

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly discusses a Facebook app to map your Facebook network
• Many sources shared the beautiful WebGL U.S. wind map also discussed over Slashdot
• TMR shares a nice short video visualizing the world's ocean currents on the globe

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

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. I've been overly busy lately - like a lot of us are at that time of the year I guess - please allow the unusual delay of this entry. Have a nice holiday break!

On the Esri front:

• Via an Esri email, I learned about the National Geographic World Map to be used as a basemap with Esri products and services

On the Google front:

• Again, there's new 45° imagery available, now for Detroit, Fayetteville, Nashville, Baton Rouge and Huntsville
• The GEB has an entry on Google Earth on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus
• The GEB also shares another entry on using Google Earth in the classroom
• Finally from the GEB, here's an entry named Visualizing Google Analytics data in Google Earth
• Slashdot is discussing a story about British Telecom suing Google over Android, including several location-related patents
• Here's the official entry on last week's imagery update

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB shares their top 10 GIS stories of 2011
• SS informs us that France's Pleiades-1 high-resolution is now in orbit: "Pleiades-1 has a 70cm resolution, mulitspectral views in the visible and near-infrared bands, and a swath width of 20km"
• Read this if you want to grasp how important geospatial intelligence is to the US Department of Defense
• We often mentioned the LightSquared debacle, now they want the FCC to rule now, not a bad idea since they might run out of money in the coming months
• SS also informs us of an hyperspectral imager that can be deployed on UAVs
• We mentioned GeoSMS before, here's the OGC blog the use of GeoSMS for disaster management
• APB informs us that Facebook added Location Tagging to their Timeline Rollout
• Two weeks ago in a PR we mentioned GISLounge's GIS job skills and employment survey
• Also from a recent PR, we never mentioned before the free Dinamica EGO software, now at version 1.8, EGO standing for Environment for Geoprocessing Objects
• V1 informs us that Russia's GLONASS satellite navigation system is officially global again
• Slashdot discusses how the brain's structure changes with your spacial and navigation skills, at least for taxi drivers
• Another location-related story discussed at the same place is named Japanese Use Wild Monkeys To Track Radiation
• Finally from the same source, DigitalGlobe's satellite spotted China's first aircraft carrier
• WebMapSolutions reviews 8 mobile GIS apps for iOS and Android
• Microsoft tells us about the Updated Spatial Features in the SQL Azure Q4 2011 Service Release
• MapQuest updated their Mobile Flash Maps API to v7.0.7, but with Flash for Mobile officially abandoned by Adobe, what's the future of Flash?
• O'Reilly shares a long entry on the Public Mapping Project for gerrymandering the U.S. elections, which we mentioned before
• Hum... APB shares an entry named Confidence Key to Women Doing Well at Spatial Tasks

In the maps category:

• While I'm a bit late for Christmas gifts, VS mentions interesting typographic maps of various U.S. cities on sale, VS also links to reasonably priced 'vintage' geography gifts
• Here's OWNI's list of Best Maps of 2011, a few of them previously mentioned here
• Discussed over Slashdot, a New All-Sky Map Shows the Magnetic Fields of the Milky Way
• O'Reilly shares this British map of traffic casualties

Via O'Reilly two days ago and yesterday with an article, I learned about the 1.0 release of the ThinkUp App.

O'Reilly describes it as a tool that "enables users to archive, search and export their Twitter, Facebook and Google+ history — both posts and post replies. It also allows users to see their network activity, including new followers, and to map that information. Originally created by Gina Trapani, ThinkUp is free and open source, and will run on a user's own web server."

​Here's how it's introduced on the official ThinkUp site: "ThinkUp is a free, open source web application that captures all your activity on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Google+. With ThinkUp, you can store your social activity in a database that you control, making it easy to search, sort, analyze, publish and display activity from your network. All you need is a web server that can run a PHP application."

Installation and configuration will probably require at least 30 minutes and you need minimal knowledge to configure the web server. In other words, it's not a tool that anyone can set up. But it's certainly valuable to anyone interested in understanding, mining the data, and mapping your social network activities. In bonus, you get an archive of your data. For a version 1.0, ThinkUp already does a lot. Here's the 5-minutes video that explains what is ThinkUp.

MapQuest introduced MapQuest Vibe in beta: "Today, we’re launching MapQuest Vibe, which is your shortcut to becoming a local, anywhere.  This early beta cuts through the clutter of ratings, lists and pins on a map, by giving you actual rankings of places based on key criteria within a local neighborhood context. [...] The “local knowledge” is generated with a new patented algorithm called VibeRank.  This blended social-algorithmic formula takes several implicit signals (like searches on MapQuest and cartographic data), creates a baseline ranking and then layers on explicit social signals from the new Vibe pages. Based on this algorithm, MapQuest Vibe profiles more than 50,000 neighborhoods, 27,000 cities and 50,000 hotspots in the U.S., reaching 98 percent of the population."

MapQuest Vibe presents neighborhoods from a different angle than other mapping sites and it's integrated with Facebook. Directions Mag offers a round up of early MapQuest Vibe reviews. In other recent MapQuest news, they now have a map widget for GoDaddy-hosted websites.

This is news from over two weeks ago, I'm still in catch up mode (hope to be done later today).

Slashdot discussed a ZDNet article named Facebook kills Places, but emphasizes location sharing more.

From the article: "Although Facebook says it is phasing out the mobile-only Facebook Places, it is now letting you add your current location to anything (status update, photo, or Wall post), from anywhere (regardless of what device you are using).

You no longer need a smartphone to share your location (those clunky computers can be used as well!). Furthermore, adding your location to your Facebook content is not limited to the present; the company wants you to share your location as part of your past and future as well. Here’s how Facebook breaks this down:

• Where you’ve been. Remember where you were in your favorite photos.
• Where you are now. If friends are nearby, they might just meet you there.
• Where you’re going. Friends who have been there can give you tips or even join in the plan."

Slashgeo.org has its own Facebook page, but at the moment it's only used to share the geonews with our users using Facebook.

We've been slowly improving the site since our migration to Drupal last August. While most of the improvements are invisible to our users, it's not the case with this morning's update! At the bottom of every geonews, polls and geospatial-related press releases, you are now able to directly share the content via Facebook, Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn and Delicious. There are plenty other sharing services I could enable, if you'd like yours activated, just let us know in the comments below.

While we're at it, let's remember Slashgeo.org is a site built and maintained for you, we're a small team of volunteers under the umbrella of a registered non-profit organization: if you have any suggestions on improving your experience with the site, just let us know!