Batch Geonews: GeoPackage Webinar, Esri and Open Data, Future of Google Earth, OpenLayers 3 News, QGIS 2.2, and much more

Here's the recent geonews in batch mode. I've been struggling with many fires, I currently publish much less frequently than usual, but don't worry, everything major is in there!

From the open source / open data front:

  • Dubbed as the Shapefile replacement, we discussed the GeoPackage standard several times, next week March 5 there's a webinar about it
  • Certainly useful, GitHub adds visual history for maps, visualizing geojson updates directly on a map
  • In case you missed the press release, open source 3D city platform ViziCities released on GitHub
  • The power of open data, At Sochi Olympics, Crowdsourced OpenStreetMap Trounces Google Maps
  • And if you wonder, Sochi was not mapped for Olympics and look at the nice maps you can do with open data - Sochi, with love
  • News of OpenLayers 3 currently in beta 2, OpenLayers 3 Is Coming, Creating a custom build of OpenLayers 3 and there's even The book of OpenLayers3 is coming
  • Using MapServer on Windows? Announcing MapServer MapManager 1.0
  • In other updates, what's new in QGIS 2.2 which by itself could have deserved it's own entry, GeoTools 10.5 released and Rasterio 0.6
  • Interesting entry on PostGIS bugs

From the Esri front:

  • An article from readwrite, Esri Enables Federal Agencies To Open GIS Mapping Data To The Public
  • We mentioned it last November, Introducing Esri’s Geotrigger Service: Welcome to the Future of Geofencing
  • There's CityEngine key new features
  • And What’s coming in ArcGIS Online March
  • APB also offer Top 10 Take-Aways from the Opening Plenary of Esri’s Federal GIS Conference

From the Google front:

  • Here's a very interesting article from Frank Taylor on the future of Google Earth, which apparently is being left aside in favor of Google Maps
  • Google is Introducing Google Maps Gallery: Unlocking the World’s Maps
  • The Canadian north in Street View, Wandering in the footsteps of the polar bear with Google Maps
  • And it goes to India too, Discover the Taj Mahal and other iconic Indian monuments on Street View
  • And a frequent topic, Monitoring the World's Forests with Global Forest Watch
  • And if you don't like OpenStreetMap and open data, Expanding Google's Map Maker community in Southern and Eastern Europe
  • A book review, Google Maps JavaScript API Cookbook
  • Pretty nice and useful, Visualizing Google Search Results overlaid over 3D buildings

Discussed over Slashdot:

  • DIY, Radar Expert Explains How To Cheaply Add Radar To Your Own Hardware Projects
  • Video, not just photo anymore, New 360-Degree Video Capture Method Unveiled
  • After autonomous cars, Terrafugia Wants Their Flying Car To Be Autonomous
  • Don't tell me you're surprised, Lumia Phones Leaking Private Data To Microsoft
  • That's not fun for their users,  Major Vulnerability In Tinder Dating App Allowed User [ Location ] Tracking
  • Cellphone tracking, Death By Metadata: The NSA's Secret Role In the US Drone Strike Program
  • And some of the time there's hope, ICE License-Plate Tracking Plan Withdrawn Amid Outcry About Privacy
  • And there's the good uses, A New Use For Drones: Traffic Scouting
  • Not surprising, Australian Police Deploy 3D Crime Scene Scanner
  • A New Interactive Map For Understanding Global Flood Risks and here's a related article
  • It's not going well for our oceans, 3D Maps Reveal a Lead-Laced Ocean
  • It's actually from DigitalGlobe, Google Earth's New Satellites
  • Car navigation, Dead Reckoning For Your Car Eliminates GPS Dead Zones
  • And cars will chat together, Government To Require Vehicle-to-vehicle Communication

In the everything-else category:

  • Interested in Lidar? Read LIDAR Format Wars: Towards an Open Future and it matters, Report predicts that low cost LiDAR will be disruptive in next 5 years, also related, LiDAR Data Quality Standards, Certification Discussed at LiDAR Forum Session
  • Here's a list of Free GIS Apps on the Google Play Store
  • Earlier this month, the 'father of GIS, Roger Tomlinson, passed away
  • It has been a while since we discussed The State of CAD and GIS Integration
  • A new article on What Skills Does A GIS Analyst Require
  • An anniversary this month, Celebrating 25 Years of Not Getting Lost Thanks to GPS
  • Groups on Earth Observations? What is GEO
  • Microsoft, 15 New 3D Cities Available in the Bing Maps Preview App
  • Law, California Appeals Court Rules State Law Doesn't Prohibit Driver Use of Smartphone Maps
  • VIa OR, Mapping Twitter Topic Networks: From Polarized Crowds to Community Clusters
  • Via OR, after iBeacons and many others, here's the Nokia Treasure Tag
  • OGC news, OGC Activities and Mobile Industry Trends and the Candidate OGC IndoorGML standard available for public comment
  • Amazing what you can do for fantasy locations, If Middle-Earth Were Real, These Exquisite Shots Would Be Its Vacation Brochure
  • Here's a fake mapped town that became real, Agloe, the Paper Town Stronger than Fiction
  • New online courses, New Geo MOOC: From GPS and Google Maps to Spatial Computing

In the maps category:

  • Over Canadian national news website, there was a mention of the map of legal cannabis in the U.S.
  • Syria over Wired, Hyperlocal Neighborhood Maps Reveal the Chaos in Aleppo
  • Nice map, A Map of U.S. Intercity Bus and Train Routes
  • The First online Global Freshwater Biodiversity Atlas

And thanks to Andrew Zolnai for his recent donation to Slashgeo, we wouldn't be there without the community!

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