GPS to be found on European handsets in 2007

An interesting read from the BBC... the article provides some numbers on the state of the GPS industry, noting that some 12 million+ gps devices were sold in Europe in the first 9 months of 06. That number is expected to double in 07. They note that most of the users are sailors and hikers - you know, those people that need to know their exact location all the time. But that's expected to change in 07 with more GPS enabled handsets hitting the shelves - like the new Nokia N95 (see allaboutsymbian.com for a nice review of this device) - for more on this topic see this article on the BBC new channel - are you using an y location-sensitive apps on your cell phone yet? I use google maps (although its a bit of a pig on my nokia N80), however, once my position is known by the device and my search results are automatically "localized" the potential uses of location-sensitive apps will be much more compelling. I'm alreadu geotagging my flickr photos (occasionally) but there's so much more that I'd like to do... where am I apps, locate a shop near me, friend finder apps, directions etc... looks like 07 just might be the year. In a shameless plug see also our own www.lbszone.com for the latest updates on location technologies and LBS.

Trimble scores some nice revenues in Q4 2006

Looks like positioning and GPS is a nice money maker if the recent financials from Trimble are any indication. I know these financial results are usually a long,boring read but the numbers are definitely interesting to say the least. check this out... Trimble today announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2006, ended December 29, 2006. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $234.1 million, up 25 percent from revenue of $186.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Fiscal 2006 revenue was $940.2 million, up 21 percent when compared to fiscal 2005 revenue of $774.9 million.

MIT GIS Lab Open House

MIT Libraries is reminding us of an open house this week-end. Here's some details - MIT GIS Lab Open House - Jan. 26, 3-5 pm
Where: MIT GIS Lab, Rotch Library, 7-238
What: Play with virtual globes likeGoogle Earth &World Wind
Explore powerful geographic information systems (GIS), such asArcGIS andPCI Geomatica
Investigate tools for mapping US Census and Demographic information such asPCensusGeolyticsCensus Tool on the MIT Geodata Repository
Come meet the GIS staff from the MIT Libraries and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education over refreshments. See http://libraries.mit.edu/gis for more info

FOSS4G scheduled for Victoria, Canada, September 24-27

Also from OsGeo... a timely announcement as I have just relocated from Vancouver Island (figures!)... FOSS4G in Victoria, Canada, September 24-27, 2007 - This fall, the Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference will be presented by OSGeo in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from September 24th to 27th, at the Victoria Conference Centre. See details at http://www.foss4g2007.org/ 500+ attendees are expected in 2007. Sponsorship opportunities at FOSS4G are available, see http://www.foss4g2007.org/sponsorship_exhibition.html

MapGuide Open Source 1.1.0

This message recently hit the OsGeo mailing list... The MapGuide Open Source developers and project steering committee are pleased to announce the release of MapGuide Open Source 1.1.0.  This release contains many bug fixes as well as the following notable enhancements:

* FDO 3.2 API support - MapGuide now supports the latest FDO API
* Direct KML support - allows layers styled in MapGuide to be displayed as layers in Google Earth

Details of all enhancements and defect fixes are described at:

http://download.osgeo.org/mapguide/releases/1.1.0/ReleaseNotesMapGuideOpenSource-1.1.0.html

The new release can be downloaded from http://mapguide.osgeo.org/downloads.html

MARS FreeView free viewing application for LiDAR

Merrick & Company today announced the free download availability of
MARS® FreeView™, an intuitive, easy-to-use viewing application for LiDAR, high-resolution imagery and GIS datasets. About the app -- Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing (MARS®) software is a stand-alone, Windows-based application specifically designed for processing, analyzing and managing terrain data. MARS® provides unparalleled application and visualization performance for massive LIDAR datasets and includes a modular tool suite that is used to manage field collection, data analysis, quality assurance, production, and client deliverable workflows. To download MARS® FreeView™ see here

Conduit - Immersive 3D Viewing of Google Earth

Just announced this week, VRCO Conduit(TM) for Google Earth(TM) Pro Enables High-Resolution, Motion-Tracked Stereo Viewing Driven by PC Clusters. Imagine standing in a room and a large, 3D display on your wall flies you through a cave or a canyon, courtesy of Google Earth Pro... essentially extending Google Earth's display from your PC and onto your wall... its way cool! Imagine this (from the developer)... With Conduit for Google Earth Pro, applications can leverage ultra-high resolution stereoscopic display capability and a range of advanced 3D visualization features. The Conduit middleware package enables a desktop application, like Google Earth Pro, to natively drive advanced visualization environments. This maximizes the potential insight and data interpretation accuracy, since stereoscopic viewing provides a realistic sense of depth that is especially useful when experiencing spatially complex datasets. Conduit makes it possible to use the multiple graphics outputs of PC clusters to drive the multiple projectors used for large-scale walls or walk-in immersive rooms, creating life-size experiences that completely fill peripheral vision and engage more of the senses. The Conduit package supports ultra-high resolution displays, using a series of tiled projectors or new 4096 x 2160 native projection technology, such as the Sony SXRD projector that forms the core of Fakespace's Beacon 8MP stereoscopic PowerWall™ display system. It also enables user motion tracking that provides real-time, realistic perspectives as the viewer physically moves around when viewing the data. For intuitive navigation and manipulation of models, the middleware enables the use of wireless virtual wands, gloves and joysticks either on the desktop or in large-scale displays. Check out the video demonstration available at www.mechdyne.com