In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

This news story appeared on the BBC today - a team from the University of Portsmouth have mapped the location of bombs dropped on London during World War Two. The information is available via an interactive map or android app.

In another interesting project to come out of the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis the language of tweets in London has been mapped. To obtain the data used in the project they "captured tweets sent using GPS-enabled devices and put them through Google’s Chromium Compact Language Detector, which identified the language used".

It makes for quite an interesting visualisation. Examine the map here.

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

On the 2012 London Olympics:

• Here's on the development of the London 2012 SuperMap
• Microsoft shares Olympics bird's eye imagery and maps
• Esri shares 2012 Olympics thematic maps on ArcGIS Online
• In another entry, Using Esri Data to Find the Next Olympians – Part 1
• DM shares links to other London 2012 Olympics maps
• APB mentions telecommunication issues in an entry named Use of Twitter, Social Media Blamed for GPS Data Delay used in Olympic Bike Race Reporting

On the open source front:

• If you're into vertical datums, VDatum 2.3.5 has been released (via Kurt)
• OpenGeo tells us how Thematic map creation with SLD is now much easier with the new Recode, Categorize, and Interpolate functions support in GeoServer
• New to QGIS, HTML map tips in QGIS

On the Esri front:

• Here's GeoMobile for ArcGIS Online - A Free Mobile GIS App for Tablets
• The Esri Map Book, Volume 27 now available
• The Esri Ocean basemap color style available for download

On the Google front:

• Google Map Maker is now available in Australia (and so is OpenStreetMap ;-)
• Planned NYC subway changes are now in Google Maps
• We now get the Kennedy Space Center in Street View for its 50th birthday
• The iconic residence of the UK Prime Minister, Take a virtual walk in Downing Street
• Via O'Reilly, strange images where 3d maps and aerial imagery don’t match up
• Using Google Earth, GE Teach to receive a Geographic Excellence in Media Award
• And there was an imagery update for 25 cities and 72 countries

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced MapPoint 2013 Released
• There's Expanded UK Transit Directions

A few geostories discussed over Slashdot:

• US Census Bureau Offers Public API For Data Apps
• ACLU Questions Privacy of License Plate Scanners
• The Future of Project Glass (see our current related poll in the right-hand side column)
• Defcon Researchers Build Tool To Track the Planes of the Rich and Famous
• Detecting moving objects, Researchers Turn Home Wi-Fi Router Into Spy Device

In the everything else category:

• The GEB mentions Project Geo, a new Google Plus Hangout web series dedicated to increasing awareness of Geospatial Technology, industry best practices, and GIS resources
• The eoPortal wants us to know that their Events, Images and Job Opportunities sections are now updated and online

In the maps category:

• Here's a really nice visualization of global arms trade
• Here's a map of Melting and Mining in Greenland
• Maps on the Global Geography of Coffee, Tea, and Yerba Mate

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. It excludes Esri-related geonews since I wait for the conclusion of the User Conference to share an aggregated entry. Also to note, this week some of our users finally get our daily newsletter in their inboxes after an absence of over a year - the problem was that it was identified as 'spam' by a 3rd party filtering system - thanks to the user who reported this issue!

On the open source front:

• It's in a James Fee rant named Google Maps Is More Accurate Because They Say It Is, I learned about the OpenStreetView.org, you guessed it, an open version of Google's Street View
• A few weeks ago, we mentioned FOSS4G 2012 in Beijing being cancelled, here's the related official OSGeo board reaction

• Here's an entry on Creating contour lines with GDAL and Mapnik
• A technical entry named Manipulating GPS tracks in Spatialite
• Time flies, QGIS Is Ten Years Old

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft released an impressive 215TB of new Bird's Eye imagery: "spans across the United States and features certain areas in Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Tokyo"
• In an entry, Microsoft details the Bing Maps keys, including the limitations of what you can do for free

Discussed over Slashdot:

• Dr. Faragher Answers Your Questions About the Future of Navigation Technology, he's the Principal Scientist at the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Centre and NAVSOP supporter

• A discussion on Resources For Identifying Telecom Right-of-Way Locations?
• Australian Consumer Group Wants Geo-IP Blocking Banned "saying it created significant barriers to the free flow of goods and services"
• Samsung Galaxy S3 Stripped of Local Search

In the miscellaneous category:

• Pretty interesting stat: 93% of the top million sites and 89% of the top 10,000 sites on the internet with maps are using Google maps or the Google maps API, this comes from this overview of statistics for mapping technologies
• Directions Mag offers screenshots in an entry named Get Ready for the London Olympics with AEgis’ 3D Models
• Via the AQT [French link], I learned about the Kessler syndrome: "[...] a scenario in which the density of objects in low Earth orbit (LEO) is high enough that collisions between objects could cause a cascade – each collision generating debris which increases the likelihood of further collisions. One implication is that the distribution of debris in orbit could render space exploration, and even the use of satellites, unfeasible for many generations."
• APB tells us that DigitalGlobe and GeoEye agreed to merge
• APB informs us that there is Nokia 4000 Indoor Maps
• Apparently, drones are an hazard to air traffic in Somalia
• The GEB has en entry on Meograph, as multimedia tool for creating Google Earth visualizations
• Long entry on MapQuest iOS Maps API 1.0.1 released and their official announcement of their iOS Maps API
• The US NGA released its Strategic Plan for 2013-2017
• An interesting short entry, Starbucks: 1 Store = $1 Million Investment and GIS Helps Get It Right

In the maps category:

• Via O'Reilly, you can read Google's Ed Parson in an short article named The Future of the Map Isn't a Map at All—It's Information

• TMR shares an entry about Susan Schulten's 'Mapping the Nation' book, focusing on 19th century U.S.

Here's the recent Google-related geonews.

From official sources:

• My iPad 2 invited me to update iOS's Google Earth to version 7: "With today’s release of Google Earth for iOS you can literally fly through breathtaking 3D city landscapes and images and follow virtual tours of places you’ve never been [...] The growing list of 3D cities include Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Lawrence (Kan.), Long Beach (Ca.), Los Angeles, Portland (Ore.), San Diego, Santa Cruz, Tampa, Tucson, and the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay) as well as Rome, Italy. [...] Also new in this release is a “tour guide” to show you interesting places to explore." This topic is discussed at Slashdot in a story named Google Outs 3D Maps For iOS Ahead of Apple.
• Google also announced more detailed maps in parts of Europe, Africa and Asia: "And today, we’re launching updated maps of Croatia, Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lesotho, Macau, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore and Vatican City to do just that."

• As part of the 40th anniversary  of the Landsat satellite program, Google now includes more Landsat imagery: "We’re working with the USGS and Carnegie Mellon University, to make parts of this enormous collection of imagery available to the public in timelapse videos of the Earth's surface. With them you can travel through time, from 1999-2011, to see the transformation of our planet."
• There's new additional panoramic imagery of historic Antarctic locations
• Google also shared an entry named Maps for good: Google Earth Outreach Developer Grants 2012

From other sources:

• The GEB shares an entry on exploring the 2012 London Olympics in Google Earth
• The same source mentions 'Google Earth Studio', a tool for the media, in an entry on Google Earth's relevance for news
• The GEB also shares an entry on exploring fake deserts of the world in Google Earth

• Slashdot ran a discussion named Ox Bow Lake Formation, As Seen By the Google Earth Time Machine
• Tens of sources mentioned that Marissa Mayer, Google's former vice president of Local, Maps & Location Services was appointed CEO of Yahoo

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source front:

• OpenGeo runs an entry named Five things you didn’t know about GeoExplorer

From the major companies front:

• I liked the Google vs Apple mapping discussion from Peter Batty: "Google announces that it is scared of Apple Maps
  [...] Now don't get me wrong, Google is the market leader and Apple has everything to prove." See also his entry named Apple Maps: Predictions and Questions, which are also of course innovations Google could implement. Viva competition! (well ok, I admit I prefer cooperation ;-)
• James has an interesting entry named One Man's Disruptor is Another Man's Incumbent, the incumbents are Google Maps, MapQuest, Esri and Microsoft, and the disruptors are MapBox, Esri and Apple

• Via O'Reilly, the connection between Google Street View and driverless cars: "Now, I’m realizing the biggest Street View data coup of all: those vehicles are gathering the ultimate training set for driverless cars." Read the comments, driverless cars data is not simple

• There's 2 new modules for Bing Maps V7: GeoJSON and WKT reader/writer modules

• The GEB discusses Using StreetView to validate 3D models

Discussed over Slashdot:

• NASA Tool Shows Where Forest Is Being Cut Down
• Autralian Mining Companies Increasing Use of UAVs

• Cognitive Software Identifies America's Brainiest Cities
• John Carmack Is Building a Virtual Reality Headset
• Trained Rats Map Minefields With GPS

In the everything-else category:

• The eoPortal shares an entry named US not losing its foothold in Earth observing satellites, only shifting power
• The eoPortal also mentions a new imaging system produces 3D models of monuments using unmanned aircraft
• On that very topic, DM shares an article named Ten Things You Should Know About Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
• VerySpatial have an informative entry on geospatial at the upcoming London Summer Olympics and U.K. in general

• AR as entertainment of the future? Kinect and RFID power an augmented reality theme park (via OR)

In the maps category:

• Here's a nice visualization of 56 years of tornadoes in the U.S.

As a bonus for reading till the end, here's a interesting quote: "If a picture is worth a thousand words, a map can be worth a thousand spreadsheets."

Google is clearly one of the most news-generating entity in the geospatial industry. Here's the recent Google-related geonews.

From official sources:

• Google now uses live traffic data alongside with historical data  for trip durations in Google Maps, they use the My Location feature on Google Maps for Android to extrapolate live traffic conditions. This news was also discussed over Slashdot
• And if that isn't enough, we now get typical traffic for roads, not just highways
• Here are the finalists for the Google Model Your Town Competition 2012
• Google Maps for Android got a fresh look with version 6.5
• Google released the Google Maps Floor Plan Marker app, to help orient customer in businesses 
• Mix art and Street View and you get the Google Art Project
• You can now see service alerts for the London Underground in Maps
• Traffic and Transit Come to Google Maps in Malaysia
• And there's new 45° imagery available for 15 cities: US: Atlanta, GA; Canyon Lake, TX; Charleston, SC; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Lakeland, FL; Lubbock, TX; Orlando, FL; Port Charlotte, FL; Roanoke, TX; San Luis Obispo, CA; Smyrna, TN; Walker, LA. International: Adelaide, Australia; Cordoba, Argentina
• The Weather Layer is now available in the Google Maps API

From other sources:

• The GEB found out about the latest imagery update in Google Earth yesterday
• The GEB also shares an entry named Exposing Shantytowns in India with Google Earth

Here's the recent Google geonews.

From official sources:

• Here's another entry providing even more information on understanding how the Maps API usage limits affect your sites
• Google shared another entry on indoor mapping in Google Maps
• Street View goes to Belgium
• Here's the official entry on on the ski and snow edition of the Street View special collections
• For those using the Google Maps API, here's Four Tips for Improving Your Mobile Web Map App
• They also have an entry on visualizing water and energy solutions in a warming world
• Here's a story about using Google Fusion Tables along with Google Maps
• Via Ed Parsons, here's a short nice stop-motion movie using Google Street View named 'Address is Approximate'

From other sources:

• If you don't want to use Fusion Tables, here's how to Dynamically Map your Google Spreadsheets with GeoCommons
• You might be interested in previewing the 2012 London Olympics in Google Earth
• Kurt reminds of what Google Oceans is all about
• Ogle Earth today shared an entry named Iran missile base post-explosion imagery, now hi-res in Google Earth
• In Google Earth, you can see Captain James Cook's circumnavigation of New Zealand
• Here's NASA using 'Google Earth Portable' in Canada
• Oh, and last weekend, there was another round of imagery update to Google Earth

That's probably our biggest "geonews in batch mode" issue ever. That's the price I have to pay for three weeks of holidays! ;-) I tried to keep only the most pertinent geonews. After reading this unusually long entry, you and I are back to being up to date in terms of geonews.

On the Google front:

• Here's a Google Earth mashup of Fukushima and Chernobyl meltdowns side-by-side
• Google added a Regional Expert Reviewer Program to Google Map Maker
• The tool Shaderlight to create awesome SketchUp models is now at version 2
• Google purchased Zagat Survey, a firm offering local ratings of restaurants and much more  
• And there's new imagery in Google Earth released on September 7

On the ESRI front:

• ArcGIS 10.0 SP3 is coming next month
• Spatially Adjusted has an entry seemingly confirming You Can’t Edit Spatial RDBMS with ArcGIS for Desktop without SDS
• V1 reviews the Esri Map Book, volume 26

On the open source front:

• Via no solo I read this informative QGIS and gvSIG comparison, useful to understand the differences between what are probably the two most mature open source desktop GIS packages available
• The FOSS4G 2012 conference will take place in Beijing, China
• We did mention them before, but only indirectly - here's osmdroid, OpenStreetMap tools for Android (maybe that's what missing for iOS?)
• In case you don't read our geospatial press releases, the OSGeo-Live 5.0 DVD has been released
• If you're interested in Brazilian topography, see this entry on TOPODATA's version of SRTM-DEM for Brazil

In GPS news:

• North Korea forced a US reconnaissance plane to land by jamming GPS signals
• Via Spatial Law, Bangladesh Mandates Use of GPS in Vehicles

In Apple news:

• Autodesk released the 'Lite' version of AutoCAD for MacOS X, in addition to the full version available since a year
• For their iOS devices, Apple is exploring enhancing maps with augmented reality
• APB mentioend Apple's patent application on crowdsourcing data for local searches
• The class-action lawsuit against Apple in South Korea over location data collection has started 

In Microsoft news:

• Streetside is now available for parts of London
• Microsoft shares an entry on the Bing Maps v7 Module CodePlex Project
• Even if Virtual Earth 3D is discontinued, Microsoft posted details to enable you to use it longer
• Microsoft released the Bing Maps 'Windows Presentation Foundation' (WPF) Control
• Here's an entry on the Wall Street Journal using Bing Maps in their hurricane tracking tool

In transportation news:

• SignalGuru system that change your route to avoid red lights
• Regarding tracking and privacy, the NYC mayor wants traffic cameras at every corner

In remote sensing news:

• A critical milestone has been reached for Landsat's LCDM mission in 2012, aka "Landsat 8"
• Both NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X remote sensing satellites have been launched successfully
• The ERS-2 mission is completed, its last image has been taken
• Can you believe that over 700 government satellites will launch in the next 10 years? Obviously not all for remote sensing purposes
• The bankrupted RapidEye has been purchased

In the miscellaneous category:

• It seems UniStrong has 40% of GIS marketshare in China
• V1 shares a perspective named Where Did All the Talk About Spatial Data Quality Go?
• The data provider Infochimps have a new GEO API
• Slashdot discusses a story named Judge Nixes Warrantless Cell Phone Location Data
• Of course I'm a bit too late, but here's a recap of mapping and mobile data for Hurricane Irene
• Here's an entry named Everything you wanted to know about UK Coordinate Systems
• It's confirmed, Kansas is flatter than a pancake
• Do we need another map building website? There's the new Build-A-Map site in Beta
• APB mentions 'Location Aware', a free location-aware task management app for Android

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly shared a map of U.S. job losses
• Here's the U.S. National Parks as seen from space
• Tthe USGS launched their Historical Topo Map Collection

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. Yes, on a Saturday! I'll be away for the next three weeks and dare delay my family's departure to feed you with these.

From the open source front:

• Mentioned before, the open source map design tool TileMill reached version 0.4.1   
• Some recent improvements of QGIS: an extraction projection tool for QGIS, a new MapInfo to QGIS style converter and Shield Labels for QGIS
• Not the first time it happened, a briton got arrested during his OpenStreetMap mapping activities, yes, that was before the recent London riots
• O'Reilly offers an entry named Open source maps tell data journalism stories in Afghanistan
• Paul Ramsey of the PostGIS fame shares interesting arguments on the open source vs proprietary debacle
• Here's an entry on generating elevation maps from along-track stereo pairs using the open source Orfeo ToolBox
• We told you ourselves a few times, but here's how James Fee telling us Why You Can’t Afford to Miss FOSS4G 2011

From the Esri front:

• The File GeoDatabase API version 1.1 has been released, in includes a .NET wrapper and bug fixes
• James Fee mentions PgMap and QMap to connect to spatial databases with ArcGIS 10.1 without SDE

From the Google front:

• In their learning series, here's an entry on GIS with Google Earth and Google Maps
• Google shares an entry on famine crisis relief in the Horn of Africa
• Here's the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall in Google Earth
• Google invites us to visit the Hiroshima Peace Memorial with Google Maps

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft updated their Bing Maps Account Center with three main improvements: Direct Publishing of Data Sources, Map Navigation for Data Editing, and Enhanced POI Data Search
• Here's an entry named KinectFusion Provides Low-Cost and Accessible 3D Interior Mapping

In the miscellaneous category:

• The Spatial Law blog shares a long entry named Geolocation and Privacy: Are We Going the Right Way?: "However, many of bills are so broadly written that if they were to become law they could apply to a broad range of geospatial products and services, including satellite and aerial imagery, GIS and GPS."
• VerySpatial mentions the launch of the augmented reality Layar Vision app to "recognize real-world objects and then trigger digital content based on that object"
• The GEB shares satellite imagery on the Japanese Tsunami that created some massive icebergs
• MacRumors details an Apple patent on schematic maps: "[...] a new maps application that could display a simplified subset of information most relevant to a user seeking specific information or routing."
• In special remote sensing news, Slashdot mentions a camera reaching its target by being thrown by a grenade launcher
• MapQuest tells us how free listing works on their MapQuest Local Business Center

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly discuss maps of the recent London riots
• Mapperz mentions the release of USGS historical maps