In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

This is an abnormally long version of our 'batch geonews' edition, covering the news since the holiday break.

On the open source & open data front:

• This entry discusses the new geocoding client API in GDAL/OGR
• Good news, QGIS gets built-in Oracle support, along with New QGIS PDF and HTML manuals and New QGIS Symbol Packages
• James informs us on the GeoPackage Comment Period is Open, GeoPackage what? Read this previous entry named OGC Draft GeoPackage Specification - Finally the Shapefile Format Replacement?
• James is also enthusiastic about D3.js for its map visualization capabilities
• More in the useful chaining Rendering Transformations in GeoServer
• In case you missed the press releases, GeoTools 8.5 released and GeoServer 2.2.3 released
• Freely available course named Java Open Source GIS Development - From the building block to extending an existing GIS application
• Here's an entry on using PgRouting with Mapserver

On the Esri front:

• The ArcGIS API for JavaScript Version 3.3 Released

In the miscellaneous category:

• It's really the end now, mission accomplished, Landsat 5 will be decommissioned (via VS)
• Follow this link if you have an interest in 30+ years of LAI and FAPAR data for Your research use
• Microsoft shares an entry on Getting started with Bing Maps Windows Store Apps
• Here's an interesting top 10, Top 10 Spatial Law and Policy Stories from 2012
• DM shares an article named Intergraph Retools, Revamps Entire Geospatial Product Suite
• Beidou, aka as Compass, China’s GNSS, is now available for Commercial Use in Asia
• O'Reilly discusses the inevitability of smart dust, where geospatial-aware sensors are to be found everywhere
• Here's geospatial studies of atmospheric lead as a dangerous pollutant
• Here's a funny xkcd cartoon on 'simplifying' map directions

A bunch of minor geo-related stories discussed over Slashdot:

• Nice use of drones: Drone Photos Lead to Indictment For Texas Polluters
• Also on drones: Researchers Seek to Use Drones For Brushfire Forecasting
• A real-time map of those bushfires was up: Australia Is On So Much Fire, You Can See It From Orbit
• Remote sensing satellites in jeopardy thanks to the fiscal cliff: Going Off the Fiscal Cliff Could Mean Missing the Next Hurricane Sandy
• Slashdot just discovered OpenFlights, which we mentioned years ago: Visualizing Personal Flight Data With OpenFlights.org
• Benefits and inconveniences of being tracked: Disney Wants To Track You With RFID
• Also on RFID: Texas High School Student Loses Lawsuit Challenging RFID Tracking Requirement and Texas State Rep. Files 2 Bills To Ban RFID In Schools

In the maps category:

• Pretty interesting map, one that more or less works both upside down and... upside up! (screenshot below)

That's the name of a story discussed over Slashdot, Starting Next Year, Brazil Wants To Track All Cars Electronically.

Their summary: "As of January, Brazil intends to put into action a new system that will track vehicles of all kinds via radio frequency chips. It will take a few years to accomplish, but authorities will eventually require all vehicles to have an electronic chip installed, which will match every car to its rightful owner. The chip will send the car's identification to antennas on highways and streets, soon to be spread all over the country. Eventually, it will be illegal to own a car without one. Besides real time monitoring of traffic conditions, authorities will be able to integrate all kinds of services, such as traffic tickets, licensing and annual taxes, automatic toll charge, and much more. Benefits also include more security, since the system will make it harder for thieves to run far away with stolen vehicles, much less leave the country with one."

Car tracking is a topic regularly discussed, even in a 2008 story about National Car Tracking System Proposed For US.

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode.

From the open source / open data front:

• This interesting entry by Paul Ramsey on the challenges of polygon intersections when the polygons are huge and involve multiple cartographic projections, a case study in PostGIS
• Via Geonames, I found out that SRTM-DEM CGIAR-CSI is now at version 4.1, but I failed to find what's changed since version 4
• Geopaparazzi 2.6.0 has been released
• APB shares a few interesting OpenStreetMap news, including raising $800k to build maps for pedestrians

From the Google front:

• Here's an entry on the jQuery UI module for the Google Maps API
• In Google Maps, links to directions have been added to the saved locations in My Places
• There's the first Map your University competition with Google Map Maker
• Here's realistic SketchUp renderings using Maxwell
• And there was new Google Earth imagery released last Friday

In the everything-else category:

• Here's a pertinent O'Reilly article on the NoSQL movement
• mattwynn shared an entry named Why ESRI (as is) can’t be part of the open government movement
• The OGC mentions the Geospatial World Forum 2012 to be held in Amsterdam in April
• Here's a link to an article on the need of location standards for business intelligence, there's an OGC GeoBI DWG too
• Directions Mag offers an article named Safe Software Execs Address the State of GIS and FME 2012 and another one named Business models for LBS shift to freemium and advertising
• Slashdot reports that LightSquared will try using lawyers to save their plan to mess with the GPS spectrum
• Via O'Reilly Where, I found this infographic on the local and location-based advertisement ecosystem
• Are you ready? China’s Geographic Information Industry Takes the Lead Globally
• Here's a 5-minutes video on Microsoft Layerscape, I wasn't impressed - should I be? Spatial Sustain has an entry about it
• APB shared an entry named Pitney Bowes Software CEO O’Hara Discusses Autodesk Relationship and Software Strategy
• Slashdot shared a story named Scientists Print Cheap RFID Tags On Paper
• And another one from the same source named Australian Police Spying On Web, Phone Usage [including location data] With No Warrants

In the maps category:

• SS mentions the NASA release of a New Global Forest Height Map
• Slashdot ran a story named FCC Maps the 3G Wasteland Of the Western US
• APB shares a crowdsourced map of Iranian nuclear sites

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. Some of those news seem important enough to deserve their own entries, but I dare share them in a single one. Yes, that's another unusually long post. Normal posting frequency should resume next February!

From the open source / open data front:

• SS shares an entry named MIT Releases Smartphone Data Tracking Tools as Open Source Software, it's called Funf
• There's now an OpenStreetMap Inspector, a quality evaluation service to help improve OSM data
• Here's a short entry on using OpenStreetMap data, tidbit: the entire database is 250GB
• Here's an entry on generating contours using GDAL (via shell or QGIS)
• Paul explains Indexed Nearest Neighbour Search in PostGIS
• Here's the FOSS4G 2011 WMS Performance Shootout 2011 slides, and I haven't shared this yet, James Fee's Guide to what was important at FOSS4G 2011

From the Esri front:

• Mandown reports that Esri updated their deprecation plans for ArcGIS 10 and 10.1
• SS indicates Esri Releases a Map Story on Global Carbon Dioxide Emissions

From the Google front:

• Finally, single-language labels made their way to Google Maps, that's making it much less confusing
• Here's in simple words why Google offers Google Maps / Earth
• Ogle Earth shares an entry on using Google Earth to hunt illegal mining in Goa, India

From the Microsoft front:

• Bing Maps added detailed airport maps, 42 U.S. airports so far 

In the miscellaneous category:

• SS reports that TomTom Launched a Geospatial Platform with Oracle: "The service will offer geocoding, vehicle routing and mapping information, all hosted on Oracle’s 11g database."
• V1 writes about INTERGEO, the German geospatial conference that attracted 17,000 attendees, making it one of the largest geoconferences in the world (the largest?)
• James Fee linked to the U.S. and Canadian top 10 largest cities GIS web maps
• We mentioned it before, but here's another article on the completion of the ERS satellite missions after 20 years
• O'Reilly shares an entry named Why indoor navigation is so hard and another entry on the state and future of local news
• If you have interest in the GTFS (General Transit Feed Specification), here's data model diagrams
• MapQuest launched a Mobile Flash Maps API
• VerySpatial mentioned the National Geographic Challenge game for the PS3, XBox360 and Wii
• On a more serious topic, VS shares an entry on The Geography of the Death Penalty

Slashdot discussed a few geospatial-related stories:

• Don't you wish you were a student again, Put On Your 3D Glasses — Class Is About To Start
• Not the first time we hear such news (from any OS phone), HTC Android Backdoor Leaks Private User Data, including GPS locations
• US Military Seeks Non-Cooperative Biometric Tracking Technology
• A story named California Governor Vetoes Ban On Warrantless Phone Searches, including GPS logs
• An on the same theme, a Senator Goes After 'Brazen' OnStar Privacy Shift
• With a search, you'll find plenty of similar stories, German Researchers Crack Mifare RFID Encryption, in other words, RFID can be of great use, but can't be considered secure 
• There's also a story about using stereo-vision mapping to visualize the oldest submerged city

In the maps category:

• TMR shares a few map books for Fall 2011
• Here's the first global map of ocean salinity
• Here's the Japanese tsunami mapped in detail for the first time

In the coming days, I'll be at Géomatique 2011, the major geospatial event in the province of Québec. Slashgeo is a media partner of the event.

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. As we can see by the lower number of stories shared recently, a lot of people are on holidays.

From the open source front:

• In an entry on GIS salary results, GeoChalkboard mentioned that after Esri software at 93%, open source GIS came second at 14% as their primary platform
• Two entries on QGIS, one on the upcoming massive improvements to raster performance and the second the upcoming new hatching modes

From the Esri front:

• If you like betas, ArcGIS 10.1 Beta 1 is now available

From the Google front:

• Google offers new 45° imagery for 35 cities: "Augsburg, Germany. Barstow, CA. Bartlett, TX. Big Bear, CA. Blackstone, VA. Catalina Foothills, AZ. Córdoba, Spain. Delano, CA. Desert Hot Springs, CA. Richmond, VA. Elgin, TX. Healdsburg, CA. Helendale, CA. Hemet, CA. Houston, TX. Mendoza, Argentina. Midlothian, VA. Napa Valley, CA. New Braunfels, TX. Ojai, CA. Ottawa, Canada. Pensacola, FL. Porterville, CA. Plant City, FL. Rancho Del Lago, AZ. Rosario, Argentina. Santa Clarita, CA. Sarasota, FL. Taylor, TX. Temecula, CA. Treasure Island, CA. Troy, IL. Twentynine Palms, CA. Wakefield, VA. Yucca Valley, CA."
• I also liked this example, using Google Earth to preview what you'll see from your seats at a Paul McCartney show

From the Microsoft front:

• We mentioned Microsoft exposing the location of PCs and devices,  they took action and their wifi location database isn't publicly available anymore

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB mentions tablets in grocery stores using RFID to provide location-based information, and instant deals, to shoppers
• C3 Technologies has been acquired by an unknown but presumably big company, they focus on generating impressive 3D  "maps" from aerial imagery, such as this example in Oslo
• Slashdot reports that working UAV aircrafts can be built by 3D printers within minutes
• V1 mentions GeoHive, a website offering world statistics on various themes, including population, and India will surpass China in population pretty soon

In the maps category:

• SS mentions that the online CORONA Atlas of the Middle East, based on spy imagery from 1968-1972, is now available  
• O'Reilly mentions the oldest surviving map of Great Britain, from the 14th century, now digitized. Also for the same region, there's a new Great British Picnics maps

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. Some of those news could have deserved individual announcements.

From the open source / open date front:

• Regarding the FOSS4G 2011 conference, the community can now vote to determine the program of the FOSS4G 2011 conference, and there will be an Introduction to Geospatial Open Source day-long event
• The final version of MapGuide Maestro 3.0 has been announced
• OpenStreetMap has been recognized by the United Nations Foundation
• OpenStreetMap data can be used in the X-Plane flight simulator
• GeoTools 8.0-M0 has been released
• Here's a new review of the PostGIS in action book, which is now available on Amazon:
  PostGIS in Action
• Talking about books, here's the new Locate Press, focussing on publishing on open source geospatial projects
• O'Reilly offered and article named open source tools look to make mapping easier
• GRASS GIS now has a barb module

From the Google front:

• Ogle Earth shares a long entry named Finding Osama Bin Laden’s Abbottabad mansion with Google Earth, with numerous screenshots
• Slashdot runs a story named Your Location 'Extremely Valuable' To Google
• The official Google Lat Long blog shares an entry named Post-tornado mapping in Google Maps and Earth
• Slashdot also discussed a story named Using Google Maps To Simulate Tsunamis

From the ESRI front, Mandown shares several entries, including:

• ArcGIS 10 Service Pack 2 Released
• Learn The Basics Of Developing Applications With The ArcGIS API For iOS and ArcGIS API For iOS 1.8 Now Available
• ArcGIS Viewer For Flex 2.3.1 Released and ArcGIS API For Flex And ArcGIS Viewer For Flex 2.3 Released

In the miscellaneous category:

• VerySpatial shares iOS Apps for learning Geography while APB mentions the MagicPlan App to easily map your house
• MacRumors shares a story named Apple Hints at Future Turn-by-Turn GPS Directions With Traffic for iPhone
• On the same topic, Slashdot ran a story named Share Your iPhone Location Data Like You Mean It
• While SS shares an entry named Where’s the Geospatial Industry’s Response to ‘Locationgate’?
• The timing was ripe for O'Reilly to share an article named What does the attention around tracking mean?, especially in the context of online payments
• V1 informs us that Russia's Putin Invites Sweden Into GLONASS
• MapQuest is celebrated 15 years of existence
• It's been a while since RFID has been mentioned, Slashdot discussed a story named Hotel Tracks Towels With RFID Chips

In the maps category:

• TMR shares an entry named Mapping Long-Term Radiation Exposure at Fukushima too bad Japan lost one Earth Observation Satellite on Tsunami Mapping Mission
• TMR also shares an interactive map of oil production from 1960 to 2010

Slashdot runs a discussion named Finding Lost IT With RFID.

Their summary: "Vendors are increasingly trying to sell users on the idea that they need to stick RFID tags on IT equipment to keep track of it. Users are interested in this technology because they would much rather automate inventory tracking then go server-to-server with a bar code scanner and clipboard. But the new push for RFID tags in data centers also hints at a larger issue: There may be a significant amount of equipment that can't be located. And while out-of-sight, out-of-mind is not always bad, there's a least one nagging problem: 'Ghost server' systems, which may still be drawing power but perform no work and may be difficult to locate. One vendor at the Afcom data center conference suggests IT shops get some 'GPS for your assets.'"

As you know, with the website migration and my attendance at FOSS4G, there haven't been a 'Friday geonews' batch mode for a while. Well, there it is!

In the LBS category:

• A Slashdot discussion named "Burglary Ring Used Facebook Places To Find Targets"
• O'Reilly discusses local ads, check-ins and place pages
• There's a new Twitter's Tweet With Your Location feature
• If you wonder, RFID is still not secure: "New German Government ID Hacked By CCC"

In the GPS category: