Event of interest - 130 of the world’s greatest maps

A cool event for those of you lucky enough to be near Chicago... Maps: Finding Our Place in the World, is part of The Festival of Maps Chicago. The Festival of Maps Chicago is a citywide celebration, made up of more than 30 cultural and scientific institutions, dedicated to exploring and understanding the discoveries and history of wayfinding across time, space, and cultures.
Details
The exhibition is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see more than 130 of the world’s greatest maps, including those from ancient Rome and ancient Babylon, cartographers Leonardo da Vinci and Mercator, as well as the great libraries of the world, including the Vatican Library and the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle. Visitors also will discover the oldest road map of Britain and another with the first boundaries of the new American nation. These famous maps will be juxtaposed with modern ones, including in-car navigation systems powered by NAVTEQ.
Maps: Finding Our Place in the World
November 2, 2007 — January 27, 2008
See more at http://www.fieldmuseum.org/maps/

Socialight - user-generated sticky notes all around the World - LBS social networking at its finest!

Another one of those way cool technologies on display at the recent CTIA Wireless IT event was socialight - i actually first saw this app and met the founder last year at CTIA when the service was first in Beta. Socialight is essentially location-based social networking where the users share sticky notes... any time, anywhere. Using your cell phone location of a GPS fix, socialight knows where you are and delivers the information you need based on that location. What's cool about socialight is that it's already very popular... social networking services like this really are only useful if there's loads of users and loads of user-generated content so they are well on their way. See socialight.com to grab an account - promo video below:

checking out Platial again and creating a GIS user Directory map

It's been some time since I've messed around with my Platial map (I created one as a test bed about a year ago or so). I decided today to look into it again and create a simple GIS directory map where company's can easily add to the listing.
Recall Platial recently acquired Frappr, another social mapping application. Feature-rich and simple to use, Platial enables anyone to quickly and easily create a community map for personal use or to open up to others. See below for a simple Platial map that I created in minutes that enables any GIS user to add their company's listing to the map. Simply add a place then enter some related information... quite cool and fun! Add yourself or your company to the map by simply clicking the little add a place to this map icon.

google Opens up OpenSocial - gloves come off, its Google vs Facebook, round 1

Google expanding the social web and making it better -- Loads of buzz on this one but Gogole has made it official and opened up a set of APIs for cross-app development over a number of social networking applications... think write once, deploy over many. This from Google... OpenSocial is currently being developed by Google in conjunction with members of the web community. The ultimate goal is for any social website to be able to implement the APIs and host 3rd party social applications. There are many websites implementing OpenSocial, including Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, MySpace, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING. http://code.google.com/apis/opensocial/



Video introducing OpenSocial at CampfireOne Event:

GISuser Frappr map - remember this one?

It's been some time since I created and messed around with this Frappr. I decided to poke around a bit today and see what was happening with Frappr and Platial since the two are now the same company... nothing new yet although I did go in and update the url of my frappr to something a little more user friendly - www.frappr.com/gisuser - My frappr map is below (Flash required)... feel free to join up!

Free Adobe Acrobat 8 eseminar series

A tip for those interested in brushing up on Adobe Acrobat - During this series of eSeminars, you will learn how Acrobat 8 simplifies communication by: * Easily sharing one, powerful PDF * Energizing Adobe Reader with a full set of markup and commenting tools * Reducing inefficient, paper-intensive processes * Reducing risk with secured distribution

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NFL news, scores,schedules and more for your mobile and a widget too

OFf topic but you know how I love sharing my tips and tricks with our readers.. here's a great NFL widget as well as a fantastic mobile app.. how often have you fumbled around looking for a football score on the week-end, forever clicking on your phone, waiting etc... I use Yahoo! mobile but really, it's simply way too slow for my liking (perhaps its the crappy T-Mobile network too... Anyway, read on for a cool week-end tip. Here's a great mobile resource for the bookmarks from plusmo. Simply bookmark http://nfl.plusmo.com and visit with your mobile web browser... very handy! Even cooler, plusmo (www.plusmo.com) makes available a widget that users can customize and embed on their website or blog... nice! PS: I'm not a huge Bronco fan but you get the idea!

A new Satellite-Based Emergency Messenger and Personal Tracker - SPOT

A new satellite messenger service (not to be confused with the satellite imagery provider with the same name)... it's Small, rugged and simple to use, the SPOT satellite messenger is a lifesaving device designed to improve personal safety for the millions of people who spend time in the outdoors – whether for recreation, work or daily life. With the push of a button, SPOT can transmit a user’s exact location and message to a 9-1-1 emergency call center in times of need, or to friends, family or co-workers to request help, track their location, or just keep in touch. Because SPOT sends a user’s exact GPS satellite location over a commercial satellite network, SPOT works in much of the world regardless of cellular coverage. Viewing messages and locations is easy using the SPOT Web service with included Google Maps™ technology.
Functionality:
# Alert 9-1-1 signals
# Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family
# Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are OK
# Track Progress
See www.findmespot.com.

Integrated USGS Topographic Maps, Street Overlays and Google Earth

Maptech Terrain Navigator Pro is a time-tested and popular mapping source for professionals working in land surveying, real estate, firefighting, search and rescue, forestry management, and off-road exploration. New at V8, Maptech Terrain Navigator Pro 8.0 Adds 1-Meter Color Aerial Photos NationwideTNP 8.0 --- Additional Highlights & New Features:• Township & Range: TNP 8.0 displays TSR grids on topographic maps and aerial photos.• Overlay "U.S. Streets Module" on topo maps and aerial photos: $149.95 nationwide add-on. The ability to overlay streets and routes on topos and aerial photos lets the user create updated maps and photos with current street data—a feature not found in other street-based and topographic programs.• Touch Screen Friendly: The mouse swap button lets you interact with the TNP and map data either using the mouse or by moving your finger on a touch screen computer display.• Print Overlays: Overlays on topo maps and aerial photos can be previewed in the print window.• TNP 8.0 Tour: See how the program works and major features in action at www.maptech.com.

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More on Dustin Moskovitz (facebook founder) comments including a prediction on Google and the gPhone perhaps?

At CTIA Wireless IT recently, facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz was on stage and left us with an interesting message as he closed his keynote session. The message to developers from facebook - The key to opportunity is openness. Makes sense and truly, words of wisdom. However, get this... As the session came near the end Moskovitz offered up some advice to those looking to build on or extend facebook. Faster has met smaller; we have better battery power, access to carrier data networks, WiFi, hardware convergence… this is indeed your opportunity to be disruptive. It’s was then interesting to note that Moskovitz then dropped a line that in February 08 Apple will release their SDK opening up development on their mobile platform - no doubt we'll see facebook mobile on Win Mobile 6 devices just like we now see on Blackberry devices (FYI, Blackberry is the device of choice for moskovitz and crew). But get this... "Also in 2008 Google will do something and its going to be big and it will be open!" Any ideas??? I see that many people are on the rampage again blogging about the gPhone... will it come? My bet... indeed it will. Google is likely throwing their hat in next year's wireless spectrum auction, Google search, google maps, and gmail are becoming must-have apps on ALL mobile devices so whay wouldn't google want to provide the spectrum, the bandwidth, the hardware, the APIs and the advertisements for all mobile device users?

On the floor at CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2007

At the recent CTIA fall gig I had several hours to browse the floor, checking out the latest applications, devices, services, and enabling technologies. The following are a few of the announcements and demos that got my attention. Some Hot topics this year include: GPS-aware devices, social networking, security, mobile TV, device convergence, open APIs, and location.

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Accurately Position ArcGIS Maps in AutoCAD

With ArcGIS for AutoCAD, CAD users can define the coordinate system they are using within AutoCAD. When they connect to an ArcGIS Server map service in a different coordinate system - ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a free, downloadable tool - see www.esri.com/autocadapp.

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NGA makes California fire imagery available via NGA Earth

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) is providing public access to recent pictures of the fire-damaged areas of Southern California. The pictures, taken during the week of Oct. 22, are accessible by the general public and are hosted on NGA’s crisis response portal, NGA Earth. NGA Earth provides access to geospatial data over the World Wide Web. This service brings timely geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) to all users with an Internet connection. Via this access point, NGA has been able to bring current imagery to first responders, aiding in rescue and recovery efforts, while also providing unclassified views of the world in support of its traditional military and intelligence customers. See http://www.nga-earth.org/

ArcGIS Maps in AutoCAD

The New Version of ArcGIS for AutoCAD Allows Users to Define Coordinate Systems and More. ArcGIS for AutoCAD is a free, downloadable tool that provides access to ArcGIS Server map services and allows AutoCAD users to view and query GIS data from the AutoCAD environment. To download this application and to learn more, visit www.esri.com/autocadapp

The joy of the mobile contract

Off topic but still fun... I just got off the phone with my mobile carrier (T-mobile).. this is interesting but maybe not a total surprise. I see that I'm not coming close to using all the time I have on my current plan so it would make sense to downgrade to a plan that offers less minutes - which is also cheaper. The carrier can gladly do that, however, there's one hitch... in order to do that they NEED to extend my contract by one year... are you freaking kidding me??? Unreal... hey T-Mobile, you guys are scumbags... take your contact and ...well, use your imagination! Let the buyer beware

LBS ready for prime time - LBSzone Alert, Oct 31, 2007 - A weekly update

Last week many of us got an earful of location technologies at the annual CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment event in San Francisco. LBS was front and center in many booths and venues and the technology is indeed ready for prime-time.. so it would seem! Navteq (and lead sponsor Nokia) used the event to prep developers - read on for more

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Garmin Sweetens offer for Tele Atlas - Trumps TomTom by 15%

Well, there's been loads of speculation over the past couple of months but it's official, looks like Garmin is trumping TomTom in a bid for Tele Atlas. Obviously the recent Nokia Navteq deal (to the tune of $8+ billion)  served as fodder to sweeten the pot and as a result Garmin is coming up with cash... lots of cash! Garmin is outbidding Tomtom by 15%. The bid of 25.5 Euro per share value Tele Atlas in this offer at about 1.8 billion Euros!

Jason Birch and City of Nanaimo's Google Earth efforts featured on National TV program

Google Earth hits prime time on Canada AM... nice to see Jason Birch and my old hometown of Nanaimo, BC, Canada getting more recognition... this time on nationallly televised news show Canada AM. Jason has referenced the video from (Canadians on the cutting edge - http://tinyurl.com/2oshr7) his weblog - http://www.jasonbirch.com/nodes/ - a nice plug and once again a reminder to some local governments out there what they can do when they build on the platform provided by Google. The city was also featured in the National Newspaper as well

YELLOWPAGES.COM Mobile from AT & T (supports iPhone too)

New from AT&T subscribers, another cool local search application. YELLOWPAGES.COM has also created a free, downloadable mobile application for 20 AT&T handsets that makes it easy for consumers to find what they need, when they need it. This enhancement allows consumers to search easily for whatever they want — local restaurants, ATMs, gas stations, airports, etc., and to save their favorite listings and locations for even quicker use in the future. The auto-complete feature makes searches faster. See www.yellowpages.com/mobile and www.apple.com/webapps
Naturally, I have T-Mobile so I can't test it!

Local News on Your Street

Another cool local news aggregator - this one with a sweet map UI - from YourStreet. The app searches out news, blogs and other content that's close to your location... presenting the news in a friendly tabular format or accessible via a map.. very nice. See http://www.yourstreet.com

Go Google, Linux, or Open source or go home! Google tops wireless application developers for LBS apps

Interesting research findings today as a New Evans Data Survey Shows Google is the first choice among wireless developers for developing location-enhanced apps. The survey, which was conducted worldwide in September, showed that 38.4 percent of developers preferred using Google technologies for location based development. The closest competitors were Microsoft followed by Nokia. This quote from the report is a testatament as why I'm always touting mobile applications to the Geo developer community... “Given that there will be approximately three billion mobile phone subscribers by end of 2007, Google sees tremendous potential in further extending their presence with content aimed squarely at this market.” Think about the third screen because its rapidly becoming the first screen! Another interesting finding from the study reports that almost two-thirds (60.5%) of wireless developers plan to be using open source or Linux-specific tools to build applications for mobile devices in the next year. See www.evansdata.com - see also www.lbszone.com for the latest on LBS

Interesting DHS update - the Three year TN Immigation Visa?

Technically the TN is not a visa although it is commonly referred to as one... I just stumbled on to this interesting update in the DHS Fact Sheet: Improving Border Security and Immigration Within Existing Law, Release Date: August 10, 2007

The Department Of Homeland Security Will Extend The Visa Term For Professional Workers From Canada And Mexico To Attract More Of These Talented Workers To The United States. The United States must compete for foreign professional workers, and those who elect to lend their talents to the U.S. economy should be welcomed with open arms, not given a bureaucratic runaround. Yet the roughly 65,000 workers who enter the United States each year on the TN visa must go to the trouble of renewing their visa every year. This regulation will extend the TN visa duration to three years – the same term as other popular professional visas.

See http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1186757867585.shtm

OSGeo RFP for hosting FOSS4G 2009 conference

This from the OSGeo Conference committee... The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, has released a request for proposal, or RFP, (available here as a PDF) for the hosting of the FOSS4G 2009 conference. With the overwhelming success of the recent FOSS4G 2007 conference in Victoria Canada (http://www.foss4g2007.org/), and as excitement begins to build for
FOSS4G 2008 in Cape Town South Africa (http://www.foss4g2008.org/), OSGeo again aims for the 2009 conference to be a major geospatial conference during that year. The RFP solicitation closes January 11th, 2008.

Watch the EarthNow in almost real-time from space

Have you followed Landsat 7 using EarthNow before? If not check it out the next time you have 3 minutes to kill. Follow Landsat 7 as images are streamed to earth from the Satellite. An amazing scene as you wander the earth and view some incredible scenery... enjoy - http://landsat.usgs.gov

Nokia N810 internet tablet ready for prime time??

According to LAPTOP Magazine, the Nokia N810 has won the Best of CTIA Award for Best Overall Product The Linux tablet is the newest device in the company's Nseries line, was honored with LAPTOP's Best of CTIA Award in the Best Overall Product category at the CTIA Wireless IT & Entertainment 2007 Show. Featuring a unique, sleek tablet form factor, and equipped with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a 400 MHz processor, a Mozilla-based browser and up to 10GB of storage space, the Nokia N810 provides a premier, portable internet experience. With VoIP calling, instant messaging and e-mail, you can easily stay connected with your colleagues, friends and family. But is Joe consume ready for a Linux Tablet PC? The N810 was a high profiled device last week at cTIa, however, given Nokia's problems at garneing marketshare in North America with any of the high-end Symbian smartphones do you think it's realistic that a Linix Internet tablet will have more success?? I doubt it - see http://www.nokia.com/A4136017?category=n810.

ProfessionalTravelGuide.com opens up database for free access

Starting today at  ProfessionalTravelGuide.com, travelers will get unfettered free access to industry insider information that was only available to travel professionals until now. According to the company, ProfessionalTravelGuide.com is the world’s most comprehensive online trip planning resource with a database of more than 159,000 hotels, 7,000 destinations, and 10,000 professional hotel reviews worldwide. So, what does this mean? ProfessionalTravelGuide.com will offer the most extensive collection of professional hotel reviews, restaurants, breaking travel news, images, videos and destination guides ever assembled on the Internet. It will be the world’s most comprehensive online trip planning resource featuring a database of more than 159,000 hotels. 10,000 hotel reviews and more than 7,000 destinations are continuously updated by 200 professional journalists based around the world. For the first time, travelers will get unfettered, unbiased free access to industry insider information that previously was only available to travel professionals. See ProfessionalTravelGuide.com - PS: anyone interested in a mobile travel client, I suggest you have a search for Mobimate's WorldMate application. It provides free weather, clocks, forecasts, currency exchange etc.. a pro update includes real-time travle notifications and updates (flights etc...)