In+ersec+ion for Spatial People

​This batch mode edition is unusually long. It covers the past month and a bit more. Yes, that's way too much and I won't try to repeat the experience ;-) Here's what I considered pertinent enough to share with you. Exceptionally, in some cases I haven't gave attribution to the source of the news, thank you for your comprehension.

On the geospatial open source front:

• I just recently became aware of PostGISonline, a site for testing and learning spatial SQL
• You can now create and manipulate SLD (the OGC Styled Layer Descriptor standard) in Python with python-sld
• Via the AGISRS list, I learned about OpenQuake.org, for calculating seismic hazard and risk at any scale, which of course ingest geospatial data and outputs maps
• Here's WherePost.ca, which crowdsources the location of mailboxes and post offices for Canada
• Here's the Switch2OSM website promoting OpenStreetMap, OpenStreetMap might go indoor too
• Still on the OSM topic, V1 shares an entry on the use of OpenStreetMap data in agriculture
• Here's an entry on the future of GeoCouch and CouchDB
• GeoServer gets database-level security
• There's now a plugin to run Python scripts in QGIS
• Here's about improvements to the QGIS rule-based rendering
• On a similar topic, here's a guide to beautiful reliefs in QGIS
• Did you know you can add Google Maps, OSM, and Bing Maps directly in QGIS? You can via the OpenLayers plugin - hey, there's even a Profile plugin
• There's an updated book published by Gary Sherman, now named The Geospatial Desktop , subtitled Open source GIS and mapping
• GEOS 3.3.2 has been released

On the Esri front:

• Mandown shares how to convert GPX files to Features using ArcGIS 10
• From the same source, Learn The Basics Of Working With The ArcGIS Runtime SDK For Android
• There were updates to ArcGIS for SharePoint, ArcGIS Mobile and to the ArcGIS API for Windows Phone
• James and SS talks about ArcGIS Online as the Esri Content Management System

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced a few new Bing Maps features, such as traffic incidents and find near route
• They announced the Bing Maps Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) Control v1
• There's new Bing Maps V7 modules too along with a new routing engine
• James Fee shares an interesting entry named Bing Maps gets Nokia Brand and Possibly the Boot

On the remote sensing front:

• This is pretty interesting to many: SS shares an entry named USGS Now Offers OrbView-3 High-Resolution Images for Free, 180,000 scenes at 1m spatial resolution available
• China launched their first high-resolution remote sensing satellite, Ziyuan I-02C
• Slashdot discussed the newly released version of Blue Marble high definition (and beautiful) satellite image of the Earth from the Suomi NPP satellite
• Slashdot is running a story named Who's Flying Those Drones? FAA Won't Say and related, O'Reilly mentions OpenPilot, open source UAV with cameras
• And another named Launch Your Own Nanosatellite Into Space

On the GNSS / GPS front:

• It's coming, car makers are preparing for augmented reality driving
• Not exactly GPS but via radio-tagging, see the nice and short video of whale 3D paths in the ocean
• Slashdot is also discussing a story named New Mexico Is Stretching, GPS Reveals
• MapQuest launched an html5 app-like site for Android and iPhone for using MapQuest

In the miscellaneous category:

• The 7 geo predictions for 2012 of Cédric are interesting 
• Microsoft's Flight Simulator, renamed Flight, will be available for free next Spring, with paid extra content
• We never mentioned it before, but now Indiemapper is free, it "helps you make static, thematic maps from geographic data by bringing the best of traditional cartographic design to internet map-making."
• SS mentions the new alliance between Autodesk and Pitney Bowes, APB also discuss this new relationship
• SS also shares an entry named Safe Software’s Expanded Role as a Conduit Between Sensors and Systems
• The U.S. EPA in their Locations Challenge introduced a crowdsourcing project of georeferenced photos of environmental problems
• Slashdot ran a discussion on assembling your own 3D printer
• The OGC shared a summary of the Eye on Earth Summit held in December
• Another OGC entry was named Status of the OGC's Water Resource Activities
• DM shares an article named GIS Adoption and Use on College Campuses: An End-of-Year Review and Look Ahead to 2012
• The GEB mentions a new 3D San Francisco website
• I found interesting the possibility of a .data TLD
• A new free iPad app: GeoViewer from LizardTech, supports MrSID format and more
• It's been a while since we mentioned them, GISCorps were recently in 7 countries, including Libya

In the maps category:

• APB summarizes this: Comparing Maps of Obesity and Car Travel
• Here's an entry on cleanly using symbols on maps
• Here's U.S. routes as a subway map and the U.S. National Wind Energy Map
• Fox News shared a map with missing or wrongly placed countries
• TMR shares an obligatory animated map of rising global temperatures since 1880

Or for geospatial purists, via 'satellite navigation systems' for pedestrian. In any case, Slashdot discusses a story named Microsoft Patents Bad Neighborhood Detection.

Their summary: "With the grant of their US Patent #8090532 Microsoft may be attempting to corner the market on GPS systems for use by pedestrians, or they may have opened a fertile ground for discrimination lawsuits. ... Described as a patent on pedestrian route production, the patent describes a two-way system of building navigation devices targeted at people who are not in vehicles, but still require the use of such a device to most efficiently route to their destination. ... For example, the user inputs their destination and any constraints or requirements they might have, such as a wheelchair accessible route, types of terrain they are willing to cross, the option of public transportation, and a way point such as the nearest Starbucks on the route. Any previously configured preferences are also considered, such as avoiding neighborhoods that exceed a certain threshold of violent crime statistics (hence the description of this as the 'avoid bad neighborhoods' patent), fastest route, most scenic, etc."

Two days ago (yes, I was busy) Slashdot discussed a story named Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google Chase 'Got Milk?' Patents.

Their summary: "Among the new iOS 5 features is Reminders, which Apple explains this way: 'Say you need to remember to pick up milk during your next grocery trip. Since Reminders can be location based, you'll get an alert as soon as you pull into the supermarket parking lot.' But does Reminders infringe on a newly-granted patent to Amazon for Location Aware Reminders, which covers the use of location based reminders to remind a user 'to purchase certain items such as, for example, as milk, bread, and eggs'? Or could Reminders run afoul of Google's new patent for Geocoding Personal Information, which covers triggering a voice reminder or making a computing device vibrate when a user approaches a location if 'one of the user's events is a task to pick up milk and bread'? Not to be left out of the 'Got Milk?' patent race, Apple also has a patent pending for Computer Systems and Methods for Collecting, Associating, and/or Retrieving Data, which covers providing a reminder to a user whose 'to do' list includes 'get milk' when the user's location matches 'a store that sells the item "milk."'

That should not be confused with Microsoft's pending patent for Geographic Reminders, which allows users to specify reminders such as 'pick up milk if I am within a ten minutes drive of any grocery store.' That all four tech giants chose to pursue remember-the-milk patents — and the USPTO is considering and granting them — is all the more remarkable considering that Microsoft suggested location-based reminders were obvious in a 2005 patent filing, which informed the USPTO that 'a conventional reminder application may give the user relevant information at a given location, such as 'You're near a grocery store, and you need milk at home.' So much for that immediate patent quality improvement promised by the America Invents Act!"

​You bet the patent system needs to be overhauled!

Here's the latest geonews in batch mode. But first, as a media partner of the Geomatique 2011 event, if you participated to the conference, we invite you to fill this survey and get a chance to win an iPad 2.

On the Google front:

• The GEB introduces the free Maxwell Render Suite to make your SketchUp models more realistic, the screenshots are impressive 
• You can now Share biking and walking directions with Custom Maps
• We told you before that Street View is available inside businesses now, and here's a Slashdot discussion about it
• The 2012 Google Model Your Town Competition has begun
• Google requests feedback for their map news channels, if you fill that survey, you can tell them you're reading Slashgeo ;-)
• And there was new imagery released yesterday for Google Maps and Earth

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced several updates and new features in the Bing Maps REST web services and the Bing Spatial Data Service
• In another entry, Microsoft informs us that the improved map sharing and Bing Maps route modifications

On the Esri front:

• Mandown mentions that the ArcGIS API for iOS 2.1 is now available

On the open source front that wasn't mentioned yesterday:

• Via O'Reilly, I learned about an jQuery open source Country Selector that has autocomplete
• I also forgot to share this DM article named Experiences Teaching Free and Open Source GIS at the Community College Level

In the miscellaneous category:

• APB reports that Yahoo Maps is now powered by Nokia
• The U.S. Geoplatform.gov launched based on Esri's Portal for ArcGIS, here's the direct link
• V1 has an interesting perspective named What Do You Think GIS in the Cloud Will Be Like? and on the same topic, DM shares an informative article named Is Geospatial Cloud Computing a Commodity?
• SS mentions a iOnRoad, free Android app that includes colision avoidance
• MapQuest Vibe is now available for the iPhone
• O'Reilly tells us about Dark Sky's app Kickstater project for "hyperlocal hyper-realtime" weather prediction, with similarities to NowCasting
• If you're into podcasts, VerySpatial mentions another geospatial-related podcast now in English, Geografree
• APB informs us of a OGC survey of the business value of geospatial standards
• V1 lists what he thinks are the Hottest Jobs In The Geospatial Sector Today
• APB has excellent coverage of the SimpleGeo acquisition by Urban Airship
• Remember we told you about Atanas Entchev? There's now a petition to help him

In the maps category:

• StrangeMaps shares an informative map of electric sockets of the World
• Here's a Google Maps mashup on disease risk and migration
• O'Reilly shares an animated map of how dance music travels
• APB share their disappointment at the map of the American Jobs Act

That's probably our biggest "geonews in batch mode" issue ever. That's the price I have to pay for three weeks of holidays! ;-) I tried to keep only the most pertinent geonews. After reading this unusually long entry, you and I are back to being up to date in terms of geonews.

On the Google front:

• Here's a Google Earth mashup of Fukushima and Chernobyl meltdowns side-by-side
• Google added a Regional Expert Reviewer Program to Google Map Maker
• The tool Shaderlight to create awesome SketchUp models is now at version 2
• Google purchased Zagat Survey, a firm offering local ratings of restaurants and much more  
• And there's new imagery in Google Earth released on September 7

On the ESRI front:

• ArcGIS 10.0 SP3 is coming next month
• Spatially Adjusted has an entry seemingly confirming You Can’t Edit Spatial RDBMS with ArcGIS for Desktop without SDS
• V1 reviews the Esri Map Book, volume 26

On the open source front:

• Via no solo I read this informative QGIS and gvSIG comparison, useful to understand the differences between what are probably the two most mature open source desktop GIS packages available
• The FOSS4G 2012 conference will take place in Beijing, China
• We did mention them before, but only indirectly - here's osmdroid, OpenStreetMap tools for Android (maybe that's what missing for iOS?)
• In case you don't read our geospatial press releases, the OSGeo-Live 5.0 DVD has been released
• If you're interested in Brazilian topography, see this entry on TOPODATA's version of SRTM-DEM for Brazil

In GPS news:

• North Korea forced a US reconnaissance plane to land by jamming GPS signals
• Via Spatial Law, Bangladesh Mandates Use of GPS in Vehicles

In Apple news:

• Autodesk released the 'Lite' version of AutoCAD for MacOS X, in addition to the full version available since a year
• For their iOS devices, Apple is exploring enhancing maps with augmented reality
• APB mentioend Apple's patent application on crowdsourcing data for local searches
• The class-action lawsuit against Apple in South Korea over location data collection has started 

In Microsoft news:

• Streetside is now available for parts of London
• Microsoft shares an entry on the Bing Maps v7 Module CodePlex Project
• Even if Virtual Earth 3D is discontinued, Microsoft posted details to enable you to use it longer
• Microsoft released the Bing Maps 'Windows Presentation Foundation' (WPF) Control
• Here's an entry on the Wall Street Journal using Bing Maps in their hurricane tracking tool

In transportation news:

• SignalGuru system that change your route to avoid red lights
• Regarding tracking and privacy, the NYC mayor wants traffic cameras at every corner

In remote sensing news:

• A critical milestone has been reached for Landsat's LCDM mission in 2012, aka "Landsat 8"
• Both NigeriaSat-2 and NigeriaSat-X remote sensing satellites have been launched successfully
• The ERS-2 mission is completed, its last image has been taken
• Can you believe that over 700 government satellites will launch in the next 10 years? Obviously not all for remote sensing purposes
• The bankrupted RapidEye has been purchased

In the miscellaneous category:

• It seems UniStrong has 40% of GIS marketshare in China
• V1 shares a perspective named Where Did All the Talk About Spatial Data Quality Go?
• The data provider Infochimps have a new GEO API
• Slashdot discusses a story named Judge Nixes Warrantless Cell Phone Location Data
• Of course I'm a bit too late, but here's a recap of mapping and mobile data for Hurricane Irene
• Here's an entry named Everything you wanted to know about UK Coordinate Systems
• It's confirmed, Kansas is flatter than a pancake
• Do we need another map building website? There's the new Build-A-Map site in Beta
• APB mentions 'Location Aware', a free location-aware task management app for Android

In the maps category:

• O'Reilly shared a map of U.S. job losses
• Here's the U.S. National Parks as seen from space
• Tthe USGS launched their Historical Topo Map Collection

Users of this site will remember that "locationgate" affected most modern smartphones OS. A new episode is discussed over Slashdot in a story named Lawsuit Claims Windows Phone 7 Spies On Users.

Their summary: "Microsoft wants to emulate the success of the iPhone, but they probably didn't want to follow in Apple's footsteps this way: a class action lawsuit claims that Windows Phone 7 is collecting location data on users, even when they request that it stop. But a look at the internals shows that Microsoft might not be acting as Big Brother-ish as it appears."

Slashgeo will resume geonews aggregation (and catching up the last three weeks too) pretty soon. Thanks for bearing with us.

Frisco, TX – ThinkGeo today introduced Map Suite Windows Phone Edition, the newest entry in their family of GIS controls for .NET software developers.  Built upon the powerful and successful Map Suite GIS engine, Windows Phone Edition is designed to bring interactive maps to Windows Phone 7 devices through the use of a simple Visual Studio .NET control.

Map Suite Windows Phone Edition gives .NET developers the ability to deliver a completely custom GIS solution to Windows Phone 7 handsets.  It also integrates with the device’s GPS and boasts full support for touch events, including pinch zooming and tapping to draw and edit shapes.  WP7 apps built with Map Suite Windows Phone Edition can utilize custom map data (including consumption of WMS services), perform spatial queries, track vehicles, draw thematic maps and much more, going far beyond what’s possible with the simple map services built into Windows Phone 7.

Additionally, since Map Suite Windows Phone Edition is built upon the established Map Suite core framework, developers who are already working on applications for the desktop or web using other Map Suite editions can now easily port their projects to Windows Phone 7 handsets, broadening their potential market to include the fast-growing world of mobile computing.

Map Suite Windows Phone Edition is currently available as a public beta with special introductory pricing and can be purchased online from ThinkGeo’s web store at http://gis.thinkgeo.com/store/.  Free 60-day evaluations are also available for download from ThinkGeo’s web site.

ThinkGeo is an industry leader in GIS mapping components and customizable GPS tracking solutions.  The company offers a wide variety of high-quality geospatial products for software development, asset tracking and much more.  They have clients from a wide base of industries ranging from agriculture to aerospace.  For more information about ThinkGeo products or professional services, visit www.thinkgeo.com or contact a ThinkGeo sales representative at sales@thinkgeo.com or (866) 847-7510.

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

Slashdot started a discussion named Microsoft Exposes Locations of PCs and Phones.

Their summary: "Microsoft has collected the locations of millions of laptops, cell phones, and other Wi-Fi devices around the world and makes them available on the Web without taking the privacy precautions that competitors have, CNET has learned. The vast database available through Live.com publishes the precise geographical location, which can point to a street address and sometimes even a corner of a building, of Android phones, Apple devices, and other Wi-Fi enabled gadgets. Unlike Google and Skyhook Wireless, which have compiled similar lists of these unique Wi-Fi addresses, Microsoft has not taken any measures to curb access to its database."

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode covering the last two weeks. It's a bit longer than usual.

On the open source front:

• Almost two weeks ago, the OSGeo released their 2 minutes video promoting the FOSS4G 2011 conference, Slashgeo is proud to be a media partner
• The FGT blog offers a long entry on the portable version of gvSIG, an open source GIS - portable meaning running from a USB key with a host computer with no intallation required
• Several sources mentioned that Canada's British Columbia opened their province-wide open data portal, with plenty of geospatial data in it
• While we mentioned the its preview in May, here's more documentation on the upcoming GeoRepository, an advanced authorization manager for GeoServer
• ImageI/O-Ext 1.1.1 has been released
• uDig 1.2.2 has been released too
• There's a PostGIS Drupal module in the works

On the Google front (well, new since yesterday):

• Public transport directions of London is now available in Google Maps
• Google details the new Google Maps version 5.8 for Android, adding photo uploads and My Places
• Mapperz tells us how to load OpenStreetMap data in Google Earth via FME with BBOX.ME

On the Microsoft front:

• Most visible changes for users are updates to the Bing Maps road map style, they even offer a 9-pages guide to detail what 's new
• APB reports that Microsoft will use Gigwalk to enhance Bing Maps search results
• Microsoft announced Bing Maps updates to Account Center, REST Services, and Documentation
• Another entry enumerate what's new in the Bing AJAX Map Control

In the miscellaneous category:

• O'Reilly links to a free shapefile of the TZ timezones of the world
• SS mentions the GeoTime software that "displays movement over time in an intuitive manner"
• Here's an article on the technical, scientific, historic and political background to the GPS system
• On the topic of the future of GPS, V1 shares an entry named the Significance of LightSquared Debate to Europeans and APB shares ESA's reaction to LightSquared potential interference with Galileo
• MacRumors have an entry named Apple Pays $946 in Korean Lawsuit Over Location Data Collection, New Class Action Suit Coming
• In the funny category, APB mentions (video included) ToyToyota's Backseat Driver GPS iOS game for kids that uses the real-time itinerary of the car

Discussed over Slashdot:

• 3D Hurts Your Eyes
• Chief NSA Lawyer Hints That NSA May Be Tracking US Citizens
• Google Grabbed Locations of Phones, PCs
• Undersea Cable Map Shows Where The Data Pipes Are

In the maps category:

• SS shares an entry named eLEAF Maps the World’s Water for Food Security
• Ready for the hurricane season, the UK Met Office launched their Storm Tracker (beta), with free and paid versions, and on the same topic, the GEB offers an entry on tracking hurricanes in Google Earth
• V1 mentions Africover WebMap from the UN, offering geodata for Africa
• O'Reilly have an entry on cellphone connections in the U.S.