In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

- Geospatial PDF reader updated with new features and tools -

Toronto, ON, December 21, 2012 - Avenza Systems Inc., the leading developer of cartographic software –including MAPublisher® for Adobe® Illustrator® and Geographic Imager® geospatial tools for Adobe Photoshop®– is pleased to announce the release of PDF Maps 1.6, the latest version of the popular map and navigation app on the Apple iOS platform. The PDF Maps app allows users to explore and navigate maps offline without having to worry about cellular data connectivity or incur data roaming charges compared to other streaming map apps.

"The focus of this release is about enhancing existing features and tools to allow our users to experience, navigate, and view maps on Apple iOS devices even better" said Ted Florence, President of Avenza. "Many of the optimizations and improvements have stemmed from user feedback. We're listening to our users and creating tools that suit their needs. In the end, we're making a much better product than even we anticipated," he added.

This release of PDF Maps offers many features including:

• Data collection - You can now create, import, and export attribute schemas with pick lists.
• Improved organization - Added folders to the Map List and the ability to move maps between folders.
• Nearby maps - Maps within 100 km will be shown when panning to the edges of a map.
• Measure Tool optimization - Measure Area and Measure Direction tools are now merged into one tool. There is also a new option to create custom units.
• New coordinate display format - Added the Degree Decimal Minutes format.
• Add placemark optimization - Placemarks can now be added while following your current location.
• GPS mode optimization - GPS mode is more tolerant to movements and allows adding placemarks while following your location.
• Photos taken within the app are now saved to the Camera Roll.
• Improved KML/KMZ file compatibility with Avenza MAPublisher and Esri software.

The PDF Maps app takes advantage of geospatial technology that allows travelers to view and measure real world locations and attributes. Paired together with mobile devices that utilize GPS, such as an iPhone or iPad, the PDF Maps app provides constant access to geographic locations and even points of interest without the risk of losing reception due to cell tower proximity – making it the ultimate traveling accessory for those that are enthusiastic about travel or anywhere internet bandwidth is not available or is cost-prohibitive when roaming internationally. In combination with the embedded map store PDF Maps takes map use commerce into the iTunes-like digital age previously reserved for music, books and videos.

PDF Maps is available now on the iTunes App Store free of charge for personal use. For more information about the app and Avenza Map Store , visit the PDF Maps website at www.pdf-maps.com. Pricing of each map is set by the publisher and free maps remain free to users through the PDF Maps in-app map store.

More about Avenza Systems Inc.

Avenza Systems Inc. is an award-winning, privately held corporation that provides cartographers and GIS professionals with powerful software tools for making better maps. In addition to software offerings for Mac and Windows users, Avenza offers value-added data sets, product training and consulting services. For more information visit the Avenza website at www.avenza.com.

For further information contact:
Tel: 416-487-5116
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.avenza.com

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

Bloggage update: I'm a big fan of the British Library (London UK), whose an amazing array of old maps they just finished georeferencing via crowd-sourcing. These maps are now linked to Old Maps Online, and being an amateur medievalist myself, I found a 1610 map of "Cambridgshire : described with the deuision of the hundreds, the townes situation, with the armes of the colleges of that famous vniuersiti and also the armes of all such princes and noblemen as haue heertofore borne the honorable tytles & dignities of the Earldome of Cambridge [sic]" - read on for little map R&R (restoration and reading) around my in-laws' home village.

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

I hope that my message finds you well .

We work for Saffronart, India’s largest auction house. We have currently launched The Story by Saffronart which brings together curated collections of hard-to-find, beautiful and significant objects. Essentially the idea behind this is that now one doesn’t have to wait for an auction to acquire these objects as they will be available for immediate sale every day.  The collections include art, jewelry, maps, early-edition books, unique home accessories, rare watches & pens, unusual designed objects and memorabilia.

I’m not sure how you plan your content, but I thought you might be interested in a collection of magnificent old and rare maps we have on sale. Some of them include maps of India from (1525-1619), The German cartographer Sebastian Munster (1488-1552), A Venetian cartographer Jacobo Gastaldi (1500-1566) etc.

Do have a look at our website www.saffronart.com and let me know if this is of any interest to you.

Link to The Story By Saffronart: https://www.saffronart.com/TheStory/Default.aspx

Looking forward to hear from you.

Via James I learned that earlier this month was released Natural Earth v2.0.0. A quick reminder: "Natural Earth is a public domain map dataset available at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110 million scales. Featuring tightly integrated vector and raster data, with Natural Earth you can make a variety of visually pleasing, well-crafted maps with cartography or GIS software." We mentioned this dataset in the past quite a few times.

From the 2.0.0 release notes: "The 2.0.0 release focuses on 7 major areas and is available to download today à la carte at NaturalEarthData. ZIP combo downloads of all vectors: SHP (279 mb) or SQLite (222 mb) or QuickStart kit for ArcMap and QGIS (165 mb). [What's new:]

• Economic geography
• Remastered geometries
• Introduc Gray Earth rasters
• New file name and field name schemas
• Address user submitted bug reports
• Moved to GitHub
• Adopt semantic versioning"

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy on one side of the world is the gradual disappearance from maps of Sandy Island (Sable Isle in French, apparently) on the other side of the world. Richard Chirgwin notes that amateur radio "DXers" had concluded a decade ago that there was no good evidence for the island's existence. 

Seeing that navigation charts claimed depths of 1400 m at the location of the supposed island, Dr. Maria Seton of the University of Sydney directed the research ship she was on to travel right over the coordinates of the island, and the popular press has taken this as proof that there never was or will be a Sandy Island.

A tumblr.com site excerpts maps which cover the area in question. While popular accounts state that even modern navigational charts include this island, no examples seem to be readily apparent.

I came across the Sound Around You website which asks users to contribute sound-bites of the everyday world around them to create a "sound map". The website explains it better than I do...

"The Audio and Acoustic Engineering Research Centre at the University of Salford is building a sound map of the world to investigate how sounds in our everyday environment make us feel.

We’re calling people across the world to use their iphone (or any other audio recorder) to record clips of around 30 seconds in length from different sound environments, or ‘soundscapes’ from a family car journey to a busy shopping centre, and to upload them to our virtual map, along with their opinions of them and why they chose to record it."

The project aims to raise awareness of the soundscape around us and its influence - the project indicates that it may have implications for groups such as home buyers and planners. I could see something like this being quite useful when doing an initial search for a house. Streetview may give you a visual impression of a location but not the whole picture?

That's the name of a story discussed over Slashdot, Geomapping Racism With Twitter.

Their summary: "Megan Garber writes that in the age of the quantified self, biases are just one more thing that can be measured, analyzed, and publicized. The day after Barack Obama won a second term as president of the United States, a group of geography academics took advantage of the fact that many tweets are geocoded to search Twitter for racism-revealing terms that appeared in the context of tweets that mentioned 'Obama,' 're-elected,' or 'won,' sorting the tweets according to the state they were sent from and comparing the racist tweets to the total number of geocoded tweets coming from that state during the same time period. Their findings? Alabama and Mississippi have the highest measures followed closely by Georgia, Louisiana, and Tennessee forming a fairly distinctive cluster in the southeast. Beyond that cluster North Dakota and Utah both had relatively high scores (3.5 each), as did Missouri, Oregon, and Minnesota. 'These findings support the idea that there are some fairly strong clustering of hate tweets centered in southeastern U.S. which has a much higher rate than the national average,' writes Matthew Zook. 'But lest anyone elsewhere become too complacent, the unfortunate fact is that most states are not immune from this kind of activity. Racist behavior, particularly directed at African Americans in the U.S., is all too easy to find both offline and in information space.'"

Interactive U.S. election 2012 maps were unsurprisingly everywhere. Here's some of them and related content.

• Interesting analysis comes from GeoCurrents, in a set of videos on the geography of U.S. presidential elections, and also in an informative entry named Preliminary Observations on the 2012 U.S. Presidential Election
• MapBox explains how they built USA TODAY's Election Night Maps (example below)
• The GEB provide links and allows you to quickly compare CNN, Huffington Post and Google elections maps
• The New York Times has their own set of interactive maps, and so does CNN
• VerySpatial links to a Smithsonian article named When Republicans Were Blue and Democrats Were Red