In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

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

A lot of interesting geonews in this 'batch mode' edition.

On the Google front:

• Unsurprisingly, you can track Santa Claus again this year in Google Earth, thanks to NORAD
• As SA points out, Garmin went back to Google Maps in addition to Bing, due to popular demand 
• Google Maps improved its handling of the display of multiple stores in a shopping mall or doctors in hospital  
• Here's the official entry on last week's imagery update

On the Esri front:

• Esri is phasing out their Certified Trainer Program

In the miscellaneous category:

• In this press release, it was the first time I heard about MapInfo Stratus, a web based mapping application, related, PBBI also recently launched Geosk, their data as a service platform
• The GEB mentions access to seamless topographic USGS maps
• This O'Reilly entry details the GreenGoose stickers that are used as sensors
• LAS, the Lidar exchange format, has been updated to version 1.4
• Via O'Reilly, here's a new data structure for spatial search, named VP Tree, "Vantage Point Trees"
• Mapperz mentions qrd.by, a Geottager for QR Codes
• APB mentions the size of the Chinese GIS market
• Slashdot is discussing a 3D display we can touch, using cold fog and lasers
• DM shares an article named What are the Latest Developments in the Mobile LBS Market in Europe?
• James Fee reviews the Wacom Inkling digitizer for GIS work
• These five disruptions from Autodesk's CTO are interesting
• Here's a perspective from SS named Is it inevitable for BIM and GIS to force different pathways?

In the maps category:

• APB links to the new Wikileaks Spyfiles interactive map
• SS shares an entry named Himalayan Glacier Reductions Mapped
• Here's every death on every road in Great Britain 1999-2010 mapped

And as a bonus for reading this, see this wonderful time-lapse movie from the International Space Station around the world in 90 minutes

Pitney Bowes Business Insight SaaS Solution Saves Money and Enables Service Improvements for Local Community

Windsor, Berks,  6 December 2011 – Pitney Bowes Business Insight (PBBI), a global leader in customer data, analytics and communication software and services,  today announced that Barnsley Council has successfully deployed MapInfo Stratus, a web-based mapping application, to publish data internally across the organisation and externally to improve communications with the local community.

Customer and Geographical Information Analyst at the Council, Andrew d’Andilly says, “We chose the MapInfo Stratus SaaS (Software as a Service) option because the cost and flexibility of the solution far outweighed any risks associated with not having the technology in-house. It is half the cost of alternative solutions and PBBI guarantees 99.9% availability.”

Using the Stratus Rich Internet Application Controls (RIA Controls), Barnsley has created MyProperty, a service whereby citizens can enter their postcode and access all the necessary information about their area, including, schools doctors and service schedules. Citizens can also access Barnsley Council Interactive Maps – an interactive mapping service that enables them to activate overlays on top of a detailed map of the area – for example, clicking on ‘Car parks’ instantly highlights the relevant areas on the map. Other overlay options include ‘waste recycling sites’, ‘police stations’, ‘highway closure diversions’ and ‘pedestrian areas’. Citizens are also able to access aerial photography and historical mapping of the region.

Barnsley Council also uses PBBI’s MapInfo Professional® for mapping and geographic analysis and MapInfo Manager to build, maintain and manage centralised catalogues of spatial data. The addition of MapInfo Stratus, as a SaaS solution, now enables the sharing of data within and outside the council. 

The integration between MapInfo Manager, MapInfo Stratus and MapInfo Professional forms the backbone of Barnsley’s enterprise data strategy for GIS (geographical information systems) and allows it to push boundaries that were not possible previously. But for d’Andilly, MapInfo Stratus is the key to another level: “To me it is not an application, it is a tool kit. I can sit there and pick off the bits that I want to make a customised application.”

When MapInfo Stratus went live it marked the culmination of four years’ work which d’Andilly says has moved Barnsley Council from ‘no GIS to bleeding edge’. “With PBBI, we now have a strong partner to work with when it comes to developing new products and services and together we have been able, with limited resources, to roll out an applications suite that is transforming us into a pioneer in the field.”

The Council’s Interactive Map and MyProperty application are just a first step with further major enhancements in the pipeline. These include: integration with the Siemens traffic management system to deliver real-time traffic information through digital road signage; a facility for reporting street light failure and other maintenance tasks; and its use by NPS Barnsley as a platform for managing council properties.

Driving the two year evolution at Barnsley Council have been some very specific business goals:

• Improve customer interaction 
• Enable online information and reporting on properties, locations and other assets
• Make information more accessible inside and outside the organisation
• Shift customer interaction away from the call-centre to online channels

Within the Council feedback is overwhelmingly positive with people reporting that it is exactly what was needed and makes many jobs a lot easier to perform. According to d’Andilly, ‘you can see those light bulbs turning on’ when they are shown what it can do. ‘This technology is a great enabler when it comes to more efficient use of limited resources. It’s the key to developing better relationships with our customers and it provides us with the tools and business intelligence to be more productive.’

I used to share the most interesting - yes that's subjective - Directions Mag articles once every month or two. From now on, I'll try to integrate them in the pseudo-weekly "batch mode" edition instead. You'll then get those articles quicker. Here's the recent DM articles for the past month.

• Here's nine elements of geocoding accuracy and why it pays to be accurate 
• Shared a month ago, here's a review of MapInfo Professional Version 11.0, which was released last Summer
• Here's an aggregation of links, serving as a Recap of News from the 2011 GEOINT Symposium, held in Texas in October where 4,400 geospatial intelligence professionals convened, and here's an article on the growth predictions for geospatial intelligence
• Even if the tips aren't surprising, here's Five Ways to Make Your Geospatial Cover Letter and Resume Stand Out
• Here's a short article, but with a screenshot that explains it all, named Visualizing Crime - A “Data Rose” Blooms
• Here's an analysis of how geospatial companies are using Twitter
• Here's an Introduction to the Second International Workshop on 3D Cadastres
• Here's an article named Virtual City: a Cost-effective Approach to Information Sharing for More Secure Borders

Here's the geonews in batch mode, covering a bit more than a week (exception made of a few minor geonews I forgot to mention in our last 'batch mode' edition).

On the open source / data front:

• A new MapGuide Instant Setup utility has been introduced
• Here's a detailed entry on scale-dependent generalization in PostGIS and QGIS
• Here's an entry on time and elevation support in GeoServer
• If you're new to OpenStreetMap or want to introduce new people, here's OpenStreetMap editing for beginners videos
• Plenty geoblogs mentioned the Magicshop Frontdoor (Beta) tool, with which you can easily improve address search results for Bing Maps and OpenStreetMap

On the Google front:

• Ogle Earth mentions Google JV applied for online mapping license in China
• Ogle Earth also mentions the constraints on high-resolution satellite imagery of Israel in Google Earth/Maps
• There's New Building Maker cities available in Argentina and Canada
• Google unveiled the new My Places tab on Google Maps, "which helps you quickly view and interact with your saved maps, starred locations, and rated businesses"
• ​They also introduced descriptive terms in Local Search results
• The GEB mentions the Touristo and Skydiver games for Google Earth
• Some readers like to know when there's new imagery available in Google Earth, well, there is 

On the Microsoft front:

• An entry on The Value of Bing Maps Spatial Data Services

In the miscellaneous category:

• Mapperz informs us of the Yahoo! Maps APIs Service Closure, due 13th September 2011     
• James Fee summarizes What Was Up at the Pitney Bowes Business Insights Conference, with news of MapInfo 11, and APB has more on MapInfo Spatial Server
• APB shares a long article named Intergraph and ERDAS: From GeoMedia to IMAGINE-The Big and Little Picture for this Geospatial Marriage, Spatial Sustain also shares an entry on the same topic, named Intergraph ‘Reinforces the House’ Under Hexagon
• A study concludes that Schematic Transit Maps Affect Passengers' Travel Choices
• Slashdot discussed a story named New Projects Use Phone Data To Track Big Cities' Mass Transit Use
• Slashdot also offers a story named NASA's Aquarius Launched To Help Map the Oceans' Salt
• Still from the same site, we learn the Nissan LEAF Leaks Speed & Location To RSS Feed
• And last story from that site, if you're interested in tools to map wifi networks, this discussion named What's Killing Your Wi-Fi? will interest you

In the maps category:

• The Strange Maps blog offers maps of the U.S. States, with what they do best and worse, worth a quick look of you're American
• Slashdot mentions a map of the Universe called the 2MASS Redshift Survey
• Not a geographic map, but O'Reilly has an article on generating a map of your LinkedIn contacts with InMaps, I found the result pretty interesting

Here's the Friday geonews in batch mode.

From the open source / open data front:

• Here's a quick look at the WFS GDAL Driver
• MapQuest added Japan to their open data initiative, still linked to OpenStreetMap
• It's been a year since we mentioned it, and now there's a new version of the OpenStreetMap plugin for Wordpress available

From the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft now offers 148 US mall interactive maps in Bing Maps, including the 9 largest
• The Bing team shares a tip on how to search by driving time with AJAX v7, REST, and Spatial Data Services

In the miscellaneous category:

• SS shares an entry the unveiling, by Autodesk, of their 2012 products, including AutoCAD Map 3D 2012 and plenty other products
• Slashdot runs a story on a surveillance robot that covertly maps its environment in 3D
• The FGT blog mentions a cheap GeoPDF to GeoTIFF converter in the context of use for Garmin Custom Map Imagery
• GeoCurrents offers two entries, named Caribbean Geopolitical Rivalry? and When Is an Island Not An Island? Caribbean Maritime Disputes
• Here's a link to a review of the Magellan RoadMate 9055 SatNav GPS
• APB mentions MapInfo Manager, a solution for geodata searches from Pitney Bowes
• We mentioned it in 2009, and here's a preview of Depiction 1.3, which "aims to provide all the tools and necessary features for summarizing events such as disaster and emergency relief efforts, location events and situations where maps and information collections need to be integrated rapidly and easily"

In the maps category:

• Slashdot discusses Crowdsourced Radiation Maps In Asia and US
• Here's an informative Poster of the Great Tohoku Earthquake (northeast Honshu, Japan) of March 11, 2011 - Magnitude 9.0 from the USGS
• The Map Room analyses the New York Times radiation map and why it's an irresponsible map
• It seems Apple is still seeking to 'radically improve' maps for iOS
• TMR links to global migration maps
• SS mentions a new interactive Sea Ice Atlas
• Here's news of EPA launch of a Clean Water Violation Map