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'.

Two days ago the new open source iD editor we mentioned a few times has been officially launched, here's the official announcement OpenStreetMap launches all-new easy map editor and announces funding appeal.

From the announcement: "The new editor, codenamed ‘iD’, boasts an intuitive interface and clear walk-throughs that make editing much easier for new mappers. By lowering the barrier to contributions, we believe that more people can contribute their local knowledge to the map – the crucial factor that sets OSM apart from closed-source commercial maps. [...] The new iD editor is a pure HTML5 experience, using the cutting-edge D3 visualisation library. Behind the clear design and intuitive interface is a sophisticated back-end that automatically recommends the most popular ‘tagging’ conventions used by the OSM community."

Numerous sources discussed the new iD editor, you'll find more technical details on iD on the MapBox blog, MapBox built iD, including multiple links to media coverage. Slashdot also discussed two stories, OpenStreetMap Launches a New Easy To Use HTML5 Editor and OpenStreetMap Adds Easier Reporting of Map Problems.

I was abroad last week. I'll catch up the recent geonews in the coming days.

The open source library at the core of most open source geospatial software and numerous commercial geospatial software just got better, version 1.10.0 of GDAL/OGR has been released a week ago. The previous major version 1.9.0 was released about 16 months ago.

From the release notes: "

• New GDAL drivers:
  • ARG: read/write support for ARG datasets (#4591)
  • CTable2: read/write support for CTable2 datum grid shift format
  • DDS: write-only support for DirectDraw Surface format (#5017)
  • IRIS: read support for products generated by the IRIS weather radar software (#4854)
  • MAP: read OziExplorer .map files (#3380)
  • MBTiles: read-only support for MBTiles rasters (needs libsqlite3)
• New OGR drivers:
  • ElasticSearch: write-only support to write into ElasticSearch databases (needs libcurl)
  • ODS : read/write support for OpenOffice .ods (Open Document Spreadsheets) (needs libexpat)
  • OSM : read-only support for .osm / .pbf OpenStreetMap files
  • PDF: read/write support for vector/structured PDF files
  • XLSX: read/write support for MS Excel 2007 and later Open Office XML .xlsx spreadsheets (needs libexpat)
• RFC 39: OGR Layer algebra methods : http://trac.osgeo.org/gdal/wiki/rfc39_ogr_layer_algebra
• Add a SQL SQLite dialect :  http://gdal.org/ogr/ogr_sql_sqlite.html
• Make GDAL loadable as a SQLite3 extension (named VirtualOGR) (#4782)
• /vsicurl_streaming/: new virtual file system handler designed to read in streaming mode dynamically generated files
• GDAL API_PROXY mechanism to run GDAL drivers in a separate process:  http://gdal.org/gdal_api_proxy.html
• Significantly improved drivers : PDF, SQLite, JP2OpenJPEG
• Add a geocoding client :  http://gdal.org/ogr/ogr__geocoding_8h.html
• Upgrade to EPSG 8.0 database"

The gvSIG Association announces the publishing of the gvSIG 2.0 final version [1]. The main novelty of this version is its new architecture. The way gvSIG manage the data sources has been redesigned with the objective of improving the reliability as well as the modularity, benefiting the users as well as the developers. Besides it permits an easier maintenance and evolution of the technology. Therefore it has been an investment in the future with the aim of not limiting the technological evolution and establish the bases for a quick evolution.

However this new gvSIG Desktop version includes a series of new features:

• New installer that supports typical and custom installation.
• Add-ons manager that allows to install new extensions and customize gvSIG from the same application.
• Some changes in the interface of data management tools like:
  • File import/export
  • Table operations
  • New layer
• Layer load improved
• WMTS (Web Map Tiled Service) support
• Raster data cache
• Unified geoprocessing interface
• Import symbols, making the creation of symbols libraries easy.
• Export symbols, that allows to share complete symbols libraries with other users easily.
• Scripting framework (languages: Jython, Groovy and Javascript).

Nevertheless it's the last version of gvSIG, it has to be taken into account that it's really a new gvSIG, so you will find that some of the gvSIG 1.12 functionalities are not included. These functionalities will be included in following and continuous updates according to their migration to the new architecture. The main functionalities that are not included are the following:

• Georeferencing
• Legend by proportional symbols, graduated ones, dot density, quantities by categories and by expressions.
• Extensions: Network analysis and 3D

In the same way, there are several projects based on this new architecture that will allow to include new functionalities and improvements directly in gvSIG 2.0 in the next months.

Also it has to be taken into account that the level of stability of this new version is not as high as we would have wished, considering it a final version in order to be used by the community in an official way, and mainly to tackle the new developments on it.

For that, we encourage you to test it and send us any errors in order to fix them in the following updates. The known errors of this version can be consulted in [2].

From this version, several mirrors are now available to download the packages from gvSIG. These mirrors will be available within a few days.  

We hope you enjoy the new features of this version and you help us to improve it.

[1] http://www.gvsig.org/web/projects/gvsig-desktop/official/gvsig-2.0/downloads
[2] http://gvsig.org/r?r=bugs200

Slashdot discusses a story named OpenWLANMap: Free WLAN-Based GPS Replacement. I don't think we mentioned OpenWLANMap.org before, but we did mention MAC address mapping. Here's the OpenWLANMap.org website.

The Slashdot summary: "There are a couple of commercial products which can tell you where you are by the MAC addresses of access points in your neighbourhood. E.g. the iphone uses a system like this. There's now an open offering for this: OpenWLANMap. With this website, you can enter your access point mac address with your GPS location and then others can use that to navigate. There is also an app for your mobile which automatically enters this data, and you can upload data from e.g. Airomap and other wardriving applications."

After v2.4 last fall, MapGuide Open Source 2.5 has been released. Can anyone share thoughts or links regarding MapGuide's user community? Is it still vibrant as it used to be?

Major new items from the release notes: "

• PDF-based QuickPlot? for Fusion (RFC 124)
• Google Street View widget for Fusion (RFC 125)
• Support for user coordinate system dictionaries (RFC 127)
• Integrated IDE API documentation support for Java/.net (RFC 129)
• New enhanced Java wrapper API (RFC 129)
• Streamed HTTP feature/data/SQL query results (RFC 130)
• Various AJAX Viewer UI and functionality improvements
• Enhanced Redlining widget with expanded data format support  more info
• Fixes and enhancements to assorted Fusion widgets and templates  more info"

The open source java desktop GIS uDig released its version 1.4. uDig also officially joined LocationTech recently (here's our previous entry on LocationTech).

What's in the 1.4 release: "

For users:

• GeoScript editor allowing scripting directly from the uDig application
• Document view for working with attachments and hot-links
• New graticule map decorator supporting metric coordinate reference systems
• WMS 1.3.0 now enabled by default

For developers:

• Provided under a dual EPL and BSD license with associated refresh of a all headers, plugin license and about.html files.
• Transition to Maven command line build is complete with both product and SDK builds
• SDK is a complete target platform (no longer requires an Eclipse Download).
• Based on GeoTools 9.0-M0

Release notes:

• uDig 1.4.0 Release Notes"

The FOSS4G-CEE 2013 conference will be held in Bucharest, Romania, on June 17-19. It was mentioned in a recent press release, and today I'm glad to announce that Slashgeo will be a proud media partner of the event!

From the press release: "This year's edition has a target of approximately 300 participants interested in geospatial open source applications. They will enjoy the presence and talks given by important personalities in the geospatial field, that have already confirmed their attendance. The event will take place in Bucharest in the newly built National Library of Romania. Activities will unfold during three days (17-19 of June), being shaped as oral presentations and hands-on workshops. All of these will address, in detail, the way in which free and open source software for geospatial (FOSS4G) can be successfully applied in the following:

• Application development;
• Interoperability and open standards;
• FOSS4G implementations for INSPIRE;
• Transition to FOSS4G;
• Case studies of FOSS4G implementations:
• FOSS4G in education;
• Analysis, manipulation and visualization of geospatial data;
• Open geodata;
• Digital and historical cartography"

Still catching up, here's the recent open source geospatial news.

New software:

• VIa OGD, an easy to use website, OSM2GIS to directly download OpenStreetMap data in GIS formats such as shapefiles and kml
• MapTiler.org (mentioned in 2009), which is an open source map overlay generator for Google Maps / Earth and a GUI for GDAL2Tiles, now has a free Mac App Store version

Software updates front:

• Version 6.5 of the OSGeo-Live GIS software collection has been released, including 50 quality geospatial open source applications installed and pre-configured
• There's Leaflet.draw 0.2 released, and as you can guess it's for drawing/editing vectors in Leaflet
• Via UD, the color advice for cartography, ColorBrewer 2.0 has a no-flash version now
• Updated, MapStore 1.1.0 released
• Also available, GeoServer 2.2.5 released
• And so is GeoTools 8.7 Released
• Another one, ImageI/O-Ext 1.1.6 Released

Everything else:

• Here's an entry on the OSGeo Board priorities
• Related, a nice graph of the Moments in the History of OpenStreetMap
• Hyper-local data and news tool Everyblock closed, and it's open source code will continue as the OpenBlock Project, related, DM shared an article named OpenBlock Rural Finds Three Key Audiences for Open Data
• We love numbers right? At the beginning of last month was a user test between JTS Union VS ArcGIS Dissolve, result: 25 seconds vs 1.5 second in favor of the open source JTS
• Probably of interest to some of you, an entry on Optimizing OpenLayers for Mobile Applications
• DM shares an article named [U.S.] FedGeoDay: Advocating for Open Source, the summary: "FedGeoDay, held in Washington, D.C. this past week, can best be described as an advocacy forum for open source geospatial technology and data. Some of the leading organizations, government agencies and companies invested in open source tech sponsored the conference."
• Another article from the same source, The Arches Project: Turning Open Source GIS into a Heritage Inventory and Management System
• And a last article from DM, Palantir: An Open Source Development Success Story, which is really about leveraging PostGIS, the summary: "In late 2007 Palantir launched Gotham, a new geospatial and comprehensive analytics platform designed to meet the challenges of their vast array of customers. This article provides more information on Gotham that enables data integration, search and discovery, knowledge management, secure collaboration, and algorithmic analysis across a wide variety of data sources."

https://www.coursera.org/course/maps

Learn how advances in geospatial technology and analytical methods have changed how we do everything, and discover how to make maps and analyze geographic patterns using the latest tools.

The world's first geo-MOOC. At least according to Directions Magazine.

[MOOC stands for massive open online course]