In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

MapBox announced their open source iOS virtual globe named MapBox Earth.

From the announcement: "We just launched MapBox Earth, a free and open source iOS app that combines the power of a 3D globe with MapBox’s beautiful maps. It’s also a great starting point to build your own 3D mapping app - we’re cracking the 3D globe software market wide open by releasing the source code and building in the open. MapBox Earth is a universal app optimized for iPhone and iPad and it includes beautiful preloaded layers based off of MapBox Streets, MapBox Terrain, and MapBox Satellite. You can switch the map layer with a single tap and feel the maps right in your hands, in gorgeous and fast 3D."

We did mention some other open source virtual globes in the past months / years, such as Glob3 Mobile, the Godzi WebGL Globe, OpenWebGlobe, WebGL Earth, and there's even the Google open source 'WebGL Globe'.

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

On the open source front:

• Both Leaflet and MapBox are current hot topics, today you get both in the same announcement: Announcing MapBox.js 1.0 with Leaflet
• With open data, there's no limit to new services... here's OpenSnowMap.org, leveraging OpenStreetMap and MODIS snow cover data (via OGD)
• GeoTools 9.1 has been released
• And GeoServer 2.3.1 too
• Here's the open source OSCAR-js javascript map API, which "extends OpenLayers and uses popular UI libraries (jQuery UI and YUI)"
• The FOSS4G CEE 2013 conference completed their Keynote Speakers lineup

On the Google front:

• The GEB informs us that Google Earth 7.1 has been released, with enhancements mostly for the Google Earth Pro 7.1 version
• Google is Celebrating the 50th country on Street View, with Hungary and Lesotho being the latest additions, with expansions in Poland and Romania
• For those interested, The Boston Marathon Manhunt in Google Earth
• If you prefer Ice Hockey, here's The world of Hockey in Google Earth
• Canadian Public Alerts are now included in Google Now, Google Search and Google Maps

In the everything-else category:

• Here's the U.S. New Strategy for Earth Observations, directly from the White House: "The new Strategy outlines a process for evaluating and prioritizing Earth-observation investments according to their value to society in critical areas such as agriculture, global change, disasters, water resources, and weather."
• The Spatial Law blog offers a summary on Privacy of geolocation: the new European and American law
• Indications that Facebook and Google Would Like Apple to Feature Them More Prominently on iOS
• An interesting entry on crisis cartography
• Discussed over Slashdot, Should California Have Banned Checking Smartphone Maps While Driving?
• Also discussed by the same site, Why Local Is So Damn Hard For Startups: Foursquare Borrows $41M To Try Again
• On standards, interesting read the consequences of the GeoJSON 1.0 axis order policy (via James)
• Also on standards, in this OGC blog entry, you'll learn about the efforts related OGC OpenPOIs Registry: "A database of points of interest information containing names and point locations for millions of businesses and civic places across the globe"
• The GEB tells us about the new Geo3D Market website, a place to buy and sell 3D models
• APB informs us that Microsoft Updates Maps App in Windows 8
• From the same source, a definition of geoblocking: "Geoblocking is the system used to limit your access to the internet, based on your geographic location."

In the maps category:

• APB links to a Greenpeace Map of the Arctic, nicely wrapped I must admit
• In Vietnam, you may get a 2,400$ fine for National Map violations
• A New chart shows the entire topography of the Antarctic seafloor in detail for the first time
• Via APB, an article named Can quality of life be mapped?

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

On the Apple front:

• iOS's Find My Friends Gains Customizable Geofences, letting you know when friends are nearby or warning you when kids arrive at home
• Catching up, Apple Expands 'Maps Ground Truth' Hiring to Rest of the World
• Japan? Apple Releases iOS 6.1.3 With Japanese Maps Enhancements

In the everything else category:

• Another interesting entry from Brian Timoney, Your Online Map Is Missing Half Its Audience: More Revealing Web Analytics From the Field
• An interesting short entry on the future of Esri, LA Times Travel Section Interview with Jack Dangermond
• Some of you will be interested in the Ten Things GIS Users Need to Know about GitHub
• Via OR, that's remote sensing, Millimetre-Accuracy 3D Imaging From 1km Away
• Here's an entry on How NASA uses Google Earth
• A new website, TeachGIS: Resources for and by GIS Instructors
• OpenStreetMap's iD editor gets drag and drop GPX support
• If you do surveying Kurt invites us to look at Trey's TrailScribe
• Interesting, Neighborhoods are Just Predefined Geofences
• To be honest, I did not know who was John Snow, Lessons from the ghost of John Snow: "demonstrating one of the first applications of spatial analysis to detect the cholera outbreak in London in 1854"
• The Economist shares an article on MapBox's web mapping offers
• A Slashdot discussion on How To Stay Ahead of Phone Tracking ?
• Another from the same source, virtual reality? USC Launches 3-D Printed VR Headset Library
• An O'Reilly article on the use of sensors for news reporting
• Stamen teams up with Nokia to show their HERE 3D data
• Bentley is doing well, summary at Bentley 2012 Annual Update
• Wonder about Autodesk? Autodesk Rebrands and Launches InfraWorks for Civil Design
• Forcing geospatial knowledge into workers, U.S. DOT To Require GPS Training for New Commercial Truckers

In the maps category:

• GeoCurrent offers many new informative maps:
  • Maps of Global alcohol consumption
  • Maps of Global Geography of Meat (and Fish) Consumption
  • Maps of cheese production and consumption
  • And why not, the Global Geography of Milk Consumption and Lactose (In)Tolerance
  • On Egypt and the World Diesel Price Map
  • A Map of The Countries That Are Most and Least Welcoming to Foreigners
• Via APB, 28,000 rivers wiped off the map of China
• Here's a funny map of all subways of North America
• As a bonus for reading up to here, you have to see this remote sensing 1-minute video of the Arctic / Beaufort Sea February-March 2013 1000-km ice fracture: "While fracturing events are common, few events sprawl across such a large area or produce cracks as long and wide as those seen here." Look at a map of North Alaska first to understand the scope of this.

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

On the open source front:

• 3D and open source with WebGL mixed with games gives you Voxel.js: Minecraft-like Browser-Based Games, But Open Source, which can certainly be reused for other geospatial projects
• Never mentioned here before, an QGIS for Android in development, and on a similar topic, QGIS Globe works again
• OpenStreetMap's new editor named iD gets a new home and updates, ideditor.com
• After last year's success, NASA launches second International Space Apps Challenge, open data and open source
• MapBox-related news:
  • Of course, MapBox Maps Now Embed On Twitter
  • You can now embed MapBox interactive maps in Apple iBooks Author software
  • An entry on Using Google Fusion Tables to Add Real-Time Feeds to MapBox Maps

On the Esri front:

• The ArcGIS Online World Topographic Map first updates for 2013

On the Google front:

• A nice Side-by-Side Router, allowing you to see directions for driving, transit, bicycling and walking on a same map
• You can learn a bit more, Details of Google's Project Glass Revealed In FCC Report

In the miscellaneous category:

• Microsoft shares a Bing Maps for Windows Store Apps Training Kit
• And if developing for iOS, Apple Reaches Out to LBS Developers with iOS 6.1 POI Search API
• Pretty interesting on the future of 3D photography, Light Field Photography Is the New Path To 3-D
• Not the first time we hear about similar protections, In Brazil, Trees To Call For Help If Illegally Felled
• Satellites (including footprints) and iPad / iPhone: New iOS app to view the SES Astra satellite info
• I did not know that February 2nd is World Wetlands Day
• Interesting on the Future U.S. Workforce for Geospatial Intelligence, the world needs need more geospatial experts
• Which is also true considering 95% of of Public Safety Agencies Under-utilize Computer Mapping and GIS
• A topic we discussed recently, Analytics for people, the next big thing in retail
• If you have an interest in check-ins, 500 Million Foursquare Check-ins Visualized

In the maps category:

• A different kind of map, Swiss Historical Maps Allow Journey Through Time In Your Browser
• Map of the Geography of Abortion Access in the US
• On the geography of languages, here's entries named World Maps of Language Families, World Maps of Language Families, Continued, and Remaining Language Families and Geographical Language Groups
• Let's close this batch mode edition by another funny xkcd on mapping

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

Quite a few interesting news in this batch mode edition.

From the open source front:

• It was the first time I heard about the open source LSI Viewer, an online Shapefile viewer
• There's the new MapProxy 1.5.0 released
• And Portable GIS is now at version 3.1
• It is also the first time we mention GisClient.org, "an open source software written in AJAX, Javascript, PHP/MapScript that offers an innovative way to manage complex GIS projects. The main strength in it is that allows to configure a big range of tools and functionalities easily and quickly."
• If you're working with the U.S. Federal government, take a look at FedGeo Day, to be held in Washington DC on February 28, here's the official website
• Here's the MapBox New Features Roundup
• Regarding QGIS, visualising QGIS data in 3D with Blender and on Sharing QGIS Symbols
• Here's the just released OSGeo 2011 Annual Report
• A bugfix, PostGIS 2.0.2 has been released
• And there's the call for papers and new website for FOSS4G 2013, in the U.K. this year
• The open source ArcGIS for Local Government Apps Available Now on GitHub

From the Google front:

• Google announced two new features for the Google Places API: Place Photos and Radar Search.
• Google wants us to know that they're listening to our Google Maps feedback
• The GEB shares links for The making of the "Powers of Ten", the 1977 video
• The GEB also reports that Botswana not happy with Google Street View, since it "compromise their security"

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB informs us about cloud-offloaded GPS (CO-GPS) to decrease power needed by GPS devices
• DM reports that the National Geologic Map Database Gets a Face Lift
• We now have drones that can infect with software virus other drones
• Here's an OGC summary of Location Business Summit USA 2012
• Augmented reality to the extreme, Belgian Researchers Build LCD Contact Lenses
• Extending their offer, MapBox Teams Up with DigitalGlobe on Satellite Imagery
• Here's the ArcGIS Online World Topographic Map December 2012 updates, and also Esri-related, Esri Updates Terms of Use on (Free) Personal Accounts for ArcGIS Online
• On geospatial jobs, APB shares two interesting entries; NZ Report on Geospatial Skill Shortage and Four of Eight Emerging Careers for 2013 Demand Geospatial Skills

in the maps category:

• Here's an entry named Using Series of Maps to Represent Changes in Time: How Diabetes Swept the U.S.
• VerySpatial links to an entry and map on the geography of US charity
• Let's end this issue with a fake map on procrasti-nation

It's easy to love MapBox for the way they push geospatial innovation. Last week they introduced MapBox Satellite.

What it is? "We’ve been working hard to bring MapBox users a fast, beautiful satellite and aerial imagery layer that integrates seamlessly with MapBox Streets and custom overlays. We’re happy to announce that it’s available today and included in MapBox Basic plans and above.

We are approaching MapBox Satellite in three main phases. Today marks Phase 1 completion with full world coverage to zoom 12 and full U.S. aerial coverage to zoom 17. Phase 2 will arrive in early 2013 as we deploy full U.S. and Europe coverage to zoom 18, followed by an aggressive Phase 3 rollout schedule for the rest of the world to zoom 17 during the first half of 2013."

Here's a really nice entry named Open Aerial: The Data Behind MapBox Satellite: "MapBox Satellite is powered by raw imagery from multiple sources that is then processed by MapBox using open source tools. All the data you're about to see is free, open, and if you're a U.S. taxpayer, available thanks to you."

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the Esri front:

• An interesting entry on Designing the next generation of online Topographic Maps
• There's an ArcGIS Online World Topographic Map New Design which includes High-resolution imagery for South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Afghanistan
• The 2012/2017 Esri U.S. Demographic Data Release

On the web maps front:

• We mentioned it before, and here's more details on JS.geo 2013: A Meeting of Javascript Mappers in Denver
• There's a new site to give you Instant Google Street View (direct link)... worth trying, it's really fast
• Also Google-related, the GEB talks about GPS4Sport that combines GPS with Video and Google Earth
• On Apple Maps
  • Rumors of OS X 10.9 to Include Siri and Maps Integration
  • A lot of geoblogs mentioned that Apple axed the head of its mapping team, Richard Williamson (more here)
• Microsoft added New Imagery Added to Windows 8 Maps App & Bing Maps
• The MapBox iOS SDK hits version 0.5.0
• Two weeks ago, TomTom launched its SDK for LBS Apps, including maps, geocoding, routing, traffic

In the miscellaneous category:

• Launched less than 10 days ago, MarineRegions.org, "towards a global standard of georeferenced marine names" (via Kurt)
• A slashdot story named French Company Building a Mobile Internet Just For Things
• While 3D printing have most of its applications outside of geospatial, I found interesting that it's really going mainstream as demonstrated by Staples To Offer 3D Printing Services, an O'Reilly story named Printing ourselves, the state of 3D Printing Patent Suits (via OR), and yes, you can 3D-print your own drone
• More news about drones:
  • The Make magazine offers a gift guide for aerial drones (via OR)
  • But beware, High Levels of Burnout in US Drone Pilots (via OR)
• VerySpatial offers an entry on Forensic GIS and the Role of Geospatial Technologies for Investigating Crime and Providing Evidence
• Apparently, there's Nokia offline maps available in Firefox OS (alpha)
• If you're excited by OGC standards
  • There's the development of an international standard for 4D archaeological data
  • And soon, Augmented Reality Standard ARML 2.0 in its Final Stage
• If you're in the U.S., you'll be interested by the GAO Report on Federal Geospatial Data Coordination
• You wonder about earth observation satellites from Russia? Here's news about the Resurs-P with 3-m hyperspectral capabilities and other Russian satellites
• As part of Autodesk University, you'll find the Autodesk CEO saying “I do believe that everything is moving to the cloud.” and an entry indicating that Autodesk's future is in the cloud

In the maps category:

• Interesting maps, U.S. Geography of Personality: The United States of Mind

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

On the open source / open data front:

• Here's an excellent summary of OpenStreetMap's State Of The Map US - 2012, on Steve Coast's presentation, Dr JTS shared: "He said that the top thing OSM needs to continue to grow is addressing.  He singled out Google Mapmaker as being a clear and present danger to the growth of OSM."
• James shows us how to easily download OpenStreetMap data from WeoGeo
• There's a new Open Source Geospatial Research and Education Lab established at North Carolina State University
• MediaGoblin, an open YouTube, Flickr and the like competitor, now supports 3D models
• If you're interested by the uDig desktop GIS, there's now video tutorials
• You can publish maps direction from ArcGIS to MapBox Publishing with Arc2Earth Sync
• There's even more and updated OpenStreetMap tiles offered by MapQuest
• Here's how to create dynamic contour maps with server-side processing with WPS, GeoServer and PostGIS 2.0
• GeoServer 2.2.1 has been released

On the Esri front:

• Using ArcGIS Online? There's a the ArcGIS Online Health Dashboard, to let you know if any service is down

On the Google front:

• The GEB tells us about Tracking KMZ file usage with Google Analytics
• Here's an entry on Trekking the Grand Canyon for Google Maps, for Street View of course

On the Microsoft front:

• The ridiculous patent war continues, Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Mapping Patents
• A U.S. State identification game for MS MapPoint

Geo-related Slashdot discussions:

• I had to happen, Apple Maps Accidentally Reveals Secret Military Base In Taiwan
• Remote sensing helped monitor a Huge Geoengineering Project Violates UN Rules on Canada's west coast
• An Arctic Investigation Underway Into Solar Storm Sat-Nav Disruption
• We'll probably see this often, Texas Schools Using Electronic Chips To Track Students; Parents In Uproar
• Implementing geospatial isn't always easy, Uber [mobile app] Gives Up On New York Taxi Service
• Privacy is dead right? How Hair Can be Used To Track Where You've Been
• Reusability, NASA Working On Refueling Satellites

In the everything else category:

• Using Verizon? They sell where you are; Verizon Sells App Use, Browsing Habits, Location (via O'R)
• DM shares an article named Prepare to Get That Job: 20 Challenging GIS Interview Questions, and also related to jobs, GeoSearch Tracks U.S. Geospatial Employment in Q3 2012
• Drones for geospatial? Home-made 3D-Printed Drones (via O'R)
• The promise of WebGL, while this article isn't specifically on geospatial uses of WebGL, it's worth taking a look at the WebGL demonstration video (wait at least until colors kick in, after about one minute)
• Fearing supervolcanos? For those in South America, ESA's story on the 'sombrero uplift' seen by remote sensing, the largest active magma body in Earth's continental crust
• Geospatial brings value? A DM article on Location Intelligence unlocks the power of your data

In the maps category:

• Good timing, United Swing States of America: Presidential Election Battle Map
• Several readers might be interested by North American Cartographic Information Society's Atlas of Design, now available
• APB reports on that the UK Met Crime Map is Overwhelming for Users

While I wait until next week to share geonews in batch mode, James made me aware of a great MapBox project: the Maki open source point of interest icon set for cartography.

What it is? "Designed pixel-by-pixel to look great at small sizes but scale up elegantly. We designed Maki specifically for TileMill with the goal of creating an international, comprehensive, and stylistically unified point of interest icon set. Each symbol is drawn three times at different sizes to maximize crispness and readability. Maki symbols are based on international recognized symbols, following precedents set by AIGA and other international symbol systems, but preserving a unique look at feel.

Use Maki for everything from adding context to the base map of your mobile app to highlighting critical data on your disaster map. Just download the icons and start using them with TileMill or put them on your server to integrate with another mapping API."

As pointed out by James, The Noun Project jumped in the Maki train. Looking for previous related entries, I found, those two: Impacts of Symbology Changes for Organizations and Map Symbols and A Summary of Thematic Mapping Techniques.