Found on engadget, it appears that a company is claiming all rights to navigating spatial reference images via a database. Here is more from the summary :

The saga continues for Google's voyeuristic mapping service, but this time Microsoft Streetside and Aol's MapQuest 360 View may be the Bonnie to Street View's Clyde. Transcenic, Inc. is suing the tech giants for acquiring the tools necessary to offer 3D mapping by less-than-legitimate means. The Louisiana-based company alleges that all named parties borrowed, without permission, a bit from a patent it owns on a 3D cartography technology that captures spatial reference images and uses a database to navigate them on command. Google has been in hot water for its maps before, but it no doubt hopes this legal tiff ends as well as its one for trespassing, where it only paid a pack of gum's worth of damages. If you're into reading all the current legalese, check out the source for the full complaint. Meanwhile, we'll find out if Cousin Vinny's on the case.

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Having two daughters at home does require a lot of energy! That's why this edition of the 'pertinent geonews in batch mode' covers the last two weeks. On the open source front:

• A new GeoServer 2.1 workshop is freely available
• From the OSGeo-discuss list, I learned about Open Indicators Consortium's Weave (in beta), an open source visualization environment supporting geography
• The MapFish Framework version 2.2 has been released
• ImageI/O-Ext 1.1.0 has been released
• uDig gets its plugin Image Georeferencing View at version 1.0
• The Orfeo ToolBox 3.10 and Monteverdi 1.8 have been released
• GeoTools 2.7.2 has been released

On the Google front:

• Google their biggest ever update of Street View imagery, available for 13 countries: Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Romania, South Africa, Taiwan, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom.
• Google added lots of oblique 45 degrees imagery to Google Maps
• If you visited Google Maps, you probably noticed the new interface

On the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft announced that Bing Maps unveiled exclusive high res imagery with Global Ortho Project
• They also offer a new Microsoft Local Impact Map
• Their dev tip is Uploading Excel Data to the Bing Spatial Data Services

In the miscellaneous category:

• Via AGISRS, I learned about the charter edition of LiDAR Magazine is available free online
• Via email, I learned about the new online SDI Magazine, SDI meaning spatial data infrastructure in this context
• Regarding MapQuest, you can save maps and directions to your mobile and you can now add your business to MapQuest
• APB mentions TimeClock for iPhone, an app that logs your time spent at a specific location, such as work 
• MacRumors details the diverses mapping companies for iOS 5 in an entry named Evidence in iOS 5 that Apple is Building Its Own Mapping Solution
• Via a Twitter friend, I tried Rome's '3 Dreams of Black' interactive 3D music "video" in WebGL, reminiscent of Arcade Fire's interactive Google Maps / StreetView video

Slashdot ran a couple of geo-related discussions:

• Supreme Court To Weigh In On Warrantless GPS Tracking
• Tracking Bracelets for Autistic Kids and Senior Citizens
• Franken Bill Would Protect Consumers Location Data
• Weather satellites are losing funding

In the maps category:

• TMR shows a map of the increase of the new Normal Temperatures, for the U.S., scary
• The same site mentions ESA's map of of the Arctic Sea Ice
• MapTogether mentions Mapnificent, allowing you to learn how far you can go from a certain point in a certain time using public transit

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Earlier this week Microsoft announced changes to the way Bing Maps Streetside is displayed by desktop browsers. The introduction of the announcement: "If you take a look at a Bing map in Streetside view today you will notice that we’ve made a lot of changes. These changes represent a significant enhancement for desktop browsers, enabling you to quickly pan up and down the street to see the neighborhood and find businesses. We are doing this by providing street level panoramas so you can take a virtual walk through the streets with a view of locations and landmarks. As you slide the street level imagery sideways, the view of the sidewalk is seamlessly constructed including an overlay of business listings, street names and store fronts. Check it out in a flat, straight, New York street, or a steep, twisty, San Francisco one." A screenshot of what it looks like:

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Here's the Friday geonews in batch mode, exceptionally covering the last two weeks. We're now up to date regarding geospatial news! From the open source front:

• You can influence what the OSGeo priorities should be with this quick survey, here's funding ideas partial results
• Here's an entry on Sextant, a geoportal solution from IFREMER
• In a maintenance release, GeoTools 2.7.1 is now available

From the Google front:

• Google Transit is now available in Washington DC
• Google shared an entry named Make beautiful interactive maps even faster with new additions to the Fusion Tables API
• Google Places now supports in-business 360-degree perspectives, in another entry, the new Google Places API is described
• The GEB compares Nokia's new Ovi Maps 3D vs Google Earth
• The GEB discusses using Google Earth to confront government lies about damaged rainforest in Sarawak

From the ESRI front:

• Andrew Zolnai has en entry on ESRI's Change Matters website to compare satellite imagery, and that's possible thanks to Landsat imagery dating back to 1972 now available through ArcGIS Online

From the  Microsoft front:

• While we mentioned it before, Kurt too is, as I am, enthusiastic about Microsoft's free Photosynth iPhone / iPad 2 app
• There's a New Bing Maps iOS SDK
• Microsoft invites you to See AJAX 7.0 in action with the new interactive SDK

In the miscellaneous category:

• The MapQuest for Android Navigation App got updated and improves GPS capabilities
• Slashdot discusses using credit card transaction locations to determine CO2 footprints
• Spatial Law mentions a California Bill that would regulate 'Precise Geolocation Information'
• Vector One argues on Why Now is a Good Time to Invest in Geospatial Technology Stocks, and here's entries specifically on Trimble and DigitalGlobe stocks
• SS informs us Moscow Upholds Limits on the Resolution of Satellite Imagery

In the maps category:

• TMR links to an excellent series of 12 static maps of the Canadian federal election results 
• Mapperz mentioned WeatherSpark Beta, a Google Maps mashup to visualize historical weather patterns
• The FGT blog mentions Free Marine Chart Views, Plus An Online Waypoint/Route Editor With GPS Export
• Here's a New York Times's Natural Disaster Map for the U.S.

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With the Easter break at the door, here's the recent geonews in batch mode. From the Google front:

• The GEB offers an entry providing more information on Google Earth Builder announced yesterday but to be available in Q3 and APB sums up how the media views Google Earth Builder
• Google updated the photo clusters interface in Google Earth
• You can see the real-time edits done by contributors to Google Map Maker
• And there's new imagery available in Google Maps/Earth

From the open source/data front:

• APB informed of WorldMap (alpha), an open source experimental platform designed for viewing and interpreting maps collaboratively
• A U.S. national biomass dataset is now available
• The FOSS4G conference preparation is doing well, with almost 300 abstracts submitted. I can also confirm now that Slashgeo is a media partner of the FOSS4G conference

From the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft launched the free Photosynth iOS app to capture and share panoramas
• Seattle's SoundTransit now offer transit directions in Bing  Maps

In the miscellaneous category:

• The GEB offers two excellent summaries: Where 2.0 -- Day One and Where 2.0 -- Day Two
• Also from Where 2.0, SS shares a summary of Jack Dangermond's talk on the cloud enabling intelligent web maps
• MapQuest added a few new features detailed in this entry named Cycle Route Planner, Aerial and Languages
• VerySpatial mentions the 'Where on Earth' landmark-association game
• Slashdot discussed a story named Scientist Creates 3D Scanner App For iPhone
• and another one named Michigan Police Could Search Cell Phones During Traffic Stops

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Yesterday at the Where 2.0 conference, Microsoft shared their plans regarding Bing's "Read/Write World", presented by Blaise Aguera y Arcas. Here's what it is: "The Read/Write World is a project to index, unify, and connect of the world’s geo-linked media. Consisting of a cloud-based geo-indexing, matching and processing services, the scenarios it will enable include:

• Seeing your photos automatically connected to others.
• Being able to simply create immersive experiences from your own and others’ photos, videos,  panoramas, and models
• “Fixing” the world, when the official imagery of your street is out of date.
• Visually mapping your business, your rental apartment, or your local strip mall, and allowing everyone to explore it.
• Understanding the emergent information from the density and tagging of Geo-media"

There's plenty of screenshots in the entry if you want to see what it looks like. The announcement also mentions RML, "the new Reality Markup Language", I admit I never heard of it before. Also unclear is exactly what they mean when they mention open source in this sentence: "Microsoft will provide open source viewing code and cloud-based services to power the Read/Write World [...]". Read More »

 Geoweb Guru offers a book review of "Beginning Spatial with SQL Server" by Alastair Aitchison. From the review: "In conclusion, this is recommended for those who are already familiar with SQL Server but who are looking to us it for geospatial applications or to use it as a backend database for a geospatial web application. It should also prove useful for those with geospatial knowledge who need to use SQL Server's geospatial extensions for the first time. Such readers may find that a general SQL Server book will prove to be a good complement to this text." On Amazon: [amazon 1430218290 full]

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Here's the Friday geonews in batch mode. From the open source / open data front:

• Here's a quick look at the WFS GDAL Driver
• MapQuest added Japan to their open data initiative, still linked to OpenStreetMap
• It's been a year since we mentioned it, and now there's a new version of the OpenStreetMap plugin for Wordpress available

From the Microsoft front:

• Microsoft now offers 148 US mall interactive maps in Bing Maps, including the 9 largest
• The Bing team shares a tip on how to search by driving time with AJAX v7, REST, and Spatial Data Services

In the miscellaneous category:

• SS shares an entry the unveiling, by Autodesk, of their products, including AutoCAD Map 3D and plenty other products
• Slashdot runs a story on a surveillance robot that covertly maps its environment in 3D
• The FGT blog mentions a cheap GeoPDF to GeoTIFF converter in the context of use for Garmin Custom Map Imagery
• GeoCurrents offers two entries, named Caribbean Geopolitical Rivalry? and When Is an Island Not An Island? Caribbean Maritime Disputes
• Here's a link to a review of the Magellan RoadMate 9055 SatNav GPS
• APB mentions MapInfo Manager, a solution for geodata searches from Pitney Bowes
• We mentioned it in, and here's a preview of Depiction 1.3, which "aims to provide all the tools and necessary features for summarizing events such as disaster and emergency relief efforts, location events and situations where maps and information collections need to be integrated rapidly and easily"

In the maps category:

• Slashdot discusses Crowdsourced Radiation Maps In Asia and US
• Here's an informative Poster of the Great Tohoku Earthquake (northeast Honshu, Japan) of March 11, - Magnitude 9.0 from the USGS
• The Map Room analyses the New York Times radiation map and why it's an irresponsible map
• It seems Apple is still seeking to 'radically improve' maps for iOS
• TMR links to global migration maps
• SS mentions a new interactive Sea Ice Atlas
• Here's news of EPA launch of a Clean Water Violation Map

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Here's the recent geonews that haven't made it into an individual story in batch mode. From the open source / open data front:

• While we mentioned it indirectly in the past, we never specifically mentioned the existence of OpenCycleMap, based, of course, on OpenStreetMap
• The "open" MapQuest maps now support worldwide pedestrian and bicycle routing along with transit routes
• An article in Scientific American is using OpenStreetMap data to map the local 'food desert'
• The OpenGeo Suite Enterprise Edition 2.4.0 has been released

From the ESRI front:

• ESRI released their ArcGIS API for JavaScript version 2.2
• A third entry on useful ArcGIS Explorer add-ins III

In the everything-else category:

• GeoCurrents offers an informative serie of entries on Libyan maps: Libya’s Tribal Divisions and the Nation-State, Libya’s Geographical Divisions and the Challenge to National Unity, Libya’s Fezzan: A Bulwark of the Gaddafi Regime , Gaddafi’s Saharan Farming Schemes and Libyan Agricultural Hexagons. On the same topic, TMR shares an entry on the Libya Crisis Map
• Rememer that GPS positioning in the U.S. is in danger because of LightSquared? APB shares a followup including the mention of the 'Coalition to Save Our GPS'
• Following the earthquake in New Zealand, there's fresh imagery of Christchurch
• Google and Microsoft have teamed together to sue a patent troll who sued 397 companies over a geotagging patent
• Microsoft offers an entry on modular design and client side clustering with Bing Maps V7
• O'Reilly offers an article on location privacy named Privacy law needs a reboot
• A followup on a previous story, Slashdot discusses a student suing the FBI for planting a GPS tracker on his car. On this topic, SpatialLaw offers an entry named Government's Use of Tracking Technology: More Than A Constitutional Issue?
• It seems the FAA now allows iPad as an alternative to aviation charts
• TMR links to a review of Casio's geotagging camera
• APB mentions that Turtles Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Determine Longitude
• In a perspective entry, SS asks Is it time for an impartial auditing board on spatial data accuracy?

In the maps category:

• TMR shares a map of the index of potential unrest, on this topic, some claims Google Earth as a Factor in Middle East Unrest
• TMR shares a map of internal U.S. migration flows

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Here's recent geonews in batch mode. I will be away the reminder of the week, so expect less stories, but we'll take care of your submitted content. From the Google front:

• Here's Google Maps JavaScript API: A Year in Retrospect
• A third official entry, this time on how to Monetize your Maps API v3 application with AdSense for Maps
• The GEB mentions a collection of hearts in Google Earth
• There was new imagery published to Google Earth last Friday
• The GEB explains the 6 markers in Building Maker
• Here's an entry on planning new roads with Google Earth

From the ESRI front:

• Two entries on the File Geodatabase API: Esri releases the File Geodatabase API Beta 2 and the File Geodatabase API is now available on Linux
• The ArcGIS API for Android Public Beta is now available
• Here's a review of a new Estri book named GIS Tutorial for Humanitarian Assistance, by Firoz Verjee

From the open source / open data front:

• There's new 3D OpenGL-based OpenStreetMap rendering, for more on 3D OSM, head to the wiki
• Here's an entry on Harvard's WorldMap, an open source tool to support academic collaboration. Expect more news once the tool become Beta next month
• Here's an entry on cross layer filtering directly in GeoServer
• An entry on web based printing with QGIS server and a nice comparison of MapInfo to QGIS Styling

From the Microsoft front:

• Certainly major news in the smartphone arena, Nokia and Microsoft signed an important alliance, APB summarizes the tidbits related to their location and mapping business
• Microsoft also shared an entry named Next Gen Spatial Search Comes to the Bing API

In the miscellaneous category:

• MapQuest Introduces Walking and Transit Directions
• Here's O'Reilly on IssueMap, a U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) tool to convert "open data into information that people can distill into knowledge and insight."
• TMR provide links related to Canon and Pentax cameras with GPS and another entry on the Casio Exilim EX-H20G Geotagging Camera
• SS shares a short entry named The Cloud Gains Favor as GIS Storage Solution
• Wikileaks informs us that the U.S. and Australia signed a secret geospatial intelligence deal in

In the maps category:

• Via the OSGeo mailing list, here's a map of U.S. copyright treaties
• Here's a new approach to mapping the digital divide
• Here's a new map of global obesity
• The U.S. Census Bureau launched an interactive map

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