A GIS user, Geospatial Technology Christmas Elf Party

I ran into Don Cooke, Roger Tomlinson, And Jack Dangermond at a GIS technology meet-up Christmas party... after a couple of egg nogs you never know what can happen... enjoy! See our Holiday message here


Roger, Jack, Don, and Glenn shaking it up!

Happy Holidays!

Dunno when I'll be posting over the next week but I'm sure I'll be dropping tidbits every now and then... until then, I'll wish everyone celebrating Christmas a very Merry Christmas... if you take offense to that, maybe your celebrating something else, or simply not celebrating then Happy Holiday to you and yours... have a good one!
Merry Christmas to you if Christmas is your thing!

Happy Holidays if Christmas isn't your thing!



Happy gaming if you happen to be a gaming type waiting for the N-Gage service to launch!

Have fun at the beach if you're lucky enough to have flown south for the winter!

Happy Festivus if you're planning on putting up a Festivus Pole this year!

or... Best Wishes if you happen to simply be a GISer glad to have a few days off... enjoy!

The GPS-enabled NavJAcket... for the outdoor enthusiast

You can't get one now but maybe next Christmas... the NavJAcket from O'neill... details... The NavJacket instead allows you to easily navigate through the mountains with the help of the integrated display on the sleeve and the audio instructions in the hood. See more on http://www.oneilleurope.com/ (Source)

NGA Visiting Scientist Opportunities - Geospatial Information Science

NGA is sponsoring a visiting scientist fellowship program to attract highly qualified individuals from the academic research community to work with NGA scientists at NGA facilities to investigate, research and address the agency’s most significant and difficult research problems. One position available is as follows: Geospatial Information Science (open through Jan. 25, 2008)

ESRI User Conference 2008 facebook Group

I've been doing a bit of pre-planning for the coming ESRI UC in 08... as part of it I decided to add an ESRI User Conference group on facebook where attendees can plan, share ideas, discuss the event, share tips, etc... Join the group and if it takes off hopefully I can help organize a pre-conference meet-up! Cheers... maybe we'll see you in San Diego next summer!

Nokia Research - Sports Tracker gets a major update

hey Sports Tracker fans and mobile sports enthusiasts, we have news of a great gift for you in the latest upgrade to the Awesome, Sports Tracker Application now at R. 1.66. Now the mobile app is tightly integrated with the Online Beta Service. Just today I updated to version 1.66 and to my surprise the service is now compatible with the newly launched Nokia Sports Tracker Online Beta web service. FYI, sports tracker is a location-aware app from Nokia Research labs enabling users to track their routes when running, walking, riding or ??? Ideally suited for GPS enabled smartphones like the Nokia N95, the app tracks the user's location, direction, speed, and other variables. Now it enables the user to grab photos and associate them with the track, and even more, the user can now upload the saved workout to an online service... hands-down, this is my favorite location-aware mobile app of 2007 - see details here

when you think of the staggering number of people aaround the World that could potentially be using the mobile Sports Tracker, this crew could join the likes of the Open Street Map project and share their data... hmmm. See more on Open StreetMap from Montreal.

Feel free to friend me in Sports Tracker - search user gisuser

See sample trek - http://sportstracker.nokia.com/nts/workoutdetail/index.do?id=19183

read more | digg story

Off Topic - lessons from the kids...

You gotta love when kids surprise you or simply make you proud that they are getting it. Yesterday my 12 year old had returned from basketball tryouts at his school and his first thoughts on results to date were not the fact that he hadn't been cut from the team tryouts (they have some tough competition with 60 vying for 18 spots), but rather, he was saddened by the disappointed looks on the faces of his friends and other kids when they saw that they had been cut - now that's some cool holiday spirit!

Google announces FTC clearance of planned acquisition of DoubleClick Inc

This from Google re. the FTC reports... In its clearance opinion released today, the FTC explicitly rejected any current or potential competition concerns. Google and DoubleClick are complementary businesses and do not compete with each other. Google's current business primarily involves the selling of text-based ads, while DoubleClick's core business is delivering and reporting on display ads. DoubleClick does not buy ads, sell ads, or buy or sell advertising space. Rather, it provides technology to enable advertisers and publishers to deliver ads once they have agreed to terms, and to provide advertisers and publishers statistics relating to those ads. The FTC's opinion also noted the robust competition in the online ad serving space, and Google's acquisition of DoubleClick is just one of several recent transactions that underscore this strong competition. In recent months, several major transactions in the online advertising space were announced, including Yahoo's acquisition of Right Media; AOL's acquisition of ADTECH AG and TACODA; WPP Group's acquisition of 24/7 Real Media; and Microsoft's $6 billion acquisition of aQuantive and acquisition of AdECN Inc. Google cannot close the acquisition until the European Commission, which is still examining the transaction, grants clearance of the deal.

ArcGIS Explorer 440 now available

Just checking out the newly released ArcGIS Explorer - enhancements in this build include improved performance and support for KML and ArcIMS, added more symbols, and provided sample tasks and results in the Resource Center. More additions:
Extended Cache Management
Popup Content
Improved Map Handling
Geocoding Improvements
Geocoding Limit Raised
Popups Using HTML
also... The ArcGIS Explorer SDK has been enhanced with more sample code
See http://resources.esri.com/arcgisexplorer/
Installation required a 34MB download although some errors may be encountered depending on your system configuration and OS... see below what I get on my machine (make sure you consult the system requirements section -- I'll see if I can load it on my notebook instead!):



OOPS!

O'Reilly Launches "Graphing Social Patterns" Conference - GSP West

GSP West to cover social networks, application platforms from Facebook, MySpace, Google, LinkedIn -- About the event... Graphing Social Patterns West, a new O'Reilly conference on social networks and platforms, will take place March 3-4, 2008 at the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina. The conference will cover business and marketing topics around popular social networks such as MySpace, Facebook, and LinkedIn, as well as technology and applications for these new platforms. Previously an exclusive event for Silicon Valley insiders, Graphing Social Patterns (GSP) has been expanded into a bi-coastal conference through a partnership between O'Reilly Media and startup advisor and technology blogger Dave McClure. Learn more about GSP West by visiting: http://conferences.oreilly.com/gspwest

Yahoo! maps adds drag and drop routes and compare routing

New from Yahoo! maps... drag and drop your routes, compare old and new routing options. Don't like the route that Yahoo! maps suggests... no problem, now you can simply drag and drop to create an updated path, perhaps avoiding road closures, congestion or ?? This from the Yahoo! local blog... Now following your favorite freeway on Yahoo! Maps is as easy as drag & drop. Once you get your directions to your destination, if you don’t quite like what you see, you can pick up your route and drop it somewhere else, and we’ll drive you through the area you select in the most efficient manner. If that’s still not quite right, you can tug on the route again until it’s perfect.



I really like the compare the routes dialog box that shows up after you alter your route. Shows distance in old route compared to new option

Nov 2007 US Foreclosure Map - foreclosures drop 10% - for now

The latest map and figures are out from Realtytrac giving us a picture of the November foreclosure stats... Nevada, Florida, Ohio post top state foreclosure rates - With one foreclosure filing for every 152 households -- more than four times the national average -- Nevada continued to register the nation's top state foreclosure rate for the 11th straight month. A total of 6,694 foreclosure filings were reported in the state for the month, up 1 percent from the previous month and up 167 percent from November 2006. (Red indicates higher foreclosure rate, blue is lower)


See www.realtytrac.com

For Sale... The world's largest topographical map of British Columbia

Oh man, the perfect Christmas gift for the GIS user that has everything, a topo map Measuring 12 metres by 23 metres... Yes indeed, recall that massive 3D topo map of British Columbia that was the focal point of a museum (for a short time) and was also featured in the Sail area at the 2006 ESRI User Conference... well, it can be all yours if you have some green, otherwise it's destined for the trash heap! This from the Globe & Mail:

The map, installed in Victoria's historic Crystal Garden 18 months
ago as part of the ill-fated BC Experience tourist attraction, has to
be moved to make way for a convention centre project in the
80-year-old heritage building.

"It has to move in order for us to start renovations on the
facility," city communications manager Katie Josephson said. "The map
can be landfilled, but that's not our first choice. Our hope is
there's somebody out there that may have an interest or be able to
find space for it."

Measuring 12 metres by 23 metres, the $90,000, high-density
polyurethane map formed the centrepiece of the BC Experience when the
$12-million private venture opened its doors in June, 2006.

Image of BC Experience map captured by G. Letham (GISuser.com) at ESRI User Conference

FYI, The map's maker, California-based Solid Terrain Modelling, was among dozens of unsecured creditors who walked away empty-handed when the BC Experience closed last fall.
See The Globe & Mail

This may be a dumb statement, but isn't there some public building in British Columbia (like a School, Airport, Museum, Government building etc...) that could be a good home for this piece??

Related items:
BC Experience - 20 MILLION NEW REASONS TO VISIT VICTORIA
BC Experience bankruptcy means the end of the line (likely) for World's largest 3D map
The World's Largest Solid-Terrain Model

Fugawi adds (USGS) topographic maps, air photos and urban photos to cell phone users

A cool new, mobile app today announced by Fugawi (yes, that's their real name!)... Touratel is a free service for hikers, hunters, anglers, mountain bikers, or other outdoor enthusiasts who wish to locate, view and print copies of USGS topographic maps or air photos on their PC. How it works... Fugawi Touratel is a Web 2.0-based cell phone navigation software product that delivers high-resolution US Geological Survey (USGS) topographic maps, air photos and urban photos to a wide variety of cell phone models within the USA. In addition, users receive a host of other useful third-party location based applications, such as detailed streets maps of the USA, all for one low monthly fee. The site contains all of the USGS topographic maps for the USA, including Hawaii and Alaska, at all available scales, including 1:24,000, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000.

- GPS-enable your cell phone
- See your actual GPS location on your cell phone as you travel using USGS topographic maps
- Currently supports Alltel, Sprint and Boost (USA Only) with expanded coverage coming soon
- Bonus: See your position on road maps, find stores, current shopping bargains and much more - dozens of useful GPS widgets and fun applications included as part of a low cost monthly package


Coming soon.. add waypoints and tracks; search by place name
See http://www.touratel.com/ - (unfortunately there's no GSM support so AT&T and T-Mobile users and thus users of the most popular smartphones are out of luck)

WhereBoutz... a cool concept, too bad the mobile client doesn't exist

Just went to load up the whereboutz application (nice name although I want to keep typing and saying WhereAboutz...) - I heard about it on facebook as a contact (James Fee) had loaded it. On the surface it looks quite cool.. using your mobile you can send updates about, well, your whereaboutz... the map is updated on your facebook, suing Google maps... quite cool. Here's the problem though... I have the app loaded on facebook just fine, however, loading it on my mobile is another story. So, upon further investigation I read the following disclaimer...You need a Java (J2ME) enabled phone - OK, that's fine as most people have Java enabled devices.. then I read this... BREW, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Palm, Symbian, and iPhone devices are NOT supported at this time... ok, you can pick yourself up off the ground from laughing now! Are you freaking kidding me??? What kind of devices does this app support??? Hey developer, maybe offer up support for at least a couple of the most widely used devices on the planet and maybe your app will get some uptake... Thanks James for leading me to the facebook app! FYI, you can grab the app on your mobile from m.whereboutz.com (although T-Mobile isn't supported at this time!) Check out Whereboutz for yourself at http://www.whereboutz.com good luck getting it mobilized

Nokia's MOSH gets a new look

Been to MOSH lately? If not you'll notice a new look next time you go there. The site is reoganized slightly and the experience when you browse and upload is slightly different. Most notable is the seek visibility... you can seek for items based on name, title, tags etc... so for example, seek "maps" and whenever new content gets posted that meets your criteria you'll be notified. Or, if you upload something you'll then be notified of people that are seeking what you just uploaded.. quite intelligent really. See http://mosh.nokia.com/user/gisuser
FYI, MOSH is a resource that enables users to mobilize and share any of their content - we share wallpapers, images, videos, newsletters, and other items of interest.. all accessible via mobile as well.

AT&T to target k-12 schools with RFID and GPS tracking services

This interesting tidbit from AT&T... AT&T Inc. has announced the availability of interoperable radio frequency identification (RFID) and GPS-based mobile resource management (MRM) solutions for the K - 12 education segment. The solutions will enhance visibility into the facility and vehicular operations of K - 12 institutions, increasing staff productivity, reducing costs and improving student safety. AT&T's RFID application works in conjunction with MRM location-based services that use GPS technology, AT&T's wireless data network and specialized hosted and managed applications. These applications enable K - 12 institutions to track school bus locations, monitor their speed and condition while on the road and report on events within vehicles. The service enables school districts to improve student safety and to save money by routing their school buses as efficiently as possible -- cutting down on fuel, maintenance and labor expenses. See more at http://www.att.com/edu

Watch those UPS charges - UPS, you guys suck!

Just a short tip for any of you looking at doing a bunch of bulk mailing etc... my wife recently went to UPS to mail some packages, something I do quite often... she also had a stack of Christmas cards (most going to Canada). She asked if she could mail them and they gladly obliged. Unfortunately, rather than selling her a book of stamps using the proper postage rate they instead ran the cars through a meter charging her almost double what the standard rate would be. Unfortunately since she doesn't mail a ton of stuff she didn't realize that she had been over-charged. What I have to woncer is that why they wouldn't simply say "hey, we can sell you a booklet of stamps"... rather, in the true Holiday spirit they stick it to her! UPS, you guys suck... oh, and FYI, a ship loads of packages, typically via UPS, however, I'll be stopping by the Fed-Ex shop next time. Some food for thought... let the buyer beware!

Any mobile developers in Colorado interested in Contract work?

I'm relaying a request I received from a local contact here in Fort Collins, CO... teh company is looking for some local help (preferably) to help in porting their mobile app to the latest Symbian OS S60 3 environment. Some details on the request...

There is sort of a time frame issue so it would probably have to be an established team with a history of Nokia development (although one great coder with sufficient caffeine could probably do the job.). The job chiefly involves refactoring the existing code, breaking the functions down to more manageable and supportable size and rendering to all form factors for Series 60, 90 and probably UIQ. OS9 also has some significant new security components that would need to be addressed as well.

As a second piece, if there isn't anyone who leaps to mind to fit the immediate bill, we would also like to look for someone who can work/consult directly with us in terms of project/product management for our Symbian products.

Anyone interested, contact me directly (glenn at gisuser dotcom)

A new favorite mashup! Get Taxi Fare estimates and maps on your mobile with TaxiWiz

TaxiWiz - what a clever mashup and a fine mobile app.. TaxiWiz is now available for 9 cities and hopefully more soon! Enter a start point and destination and taxiwiz routes you on Google maps, predicts a fare, and even can provide directions and routing... this is awesome! Using the PC version simply click a start and end point on the Google map and your route is traced. You are then presented with distance of trip, suggested taxi fee + tip, and then optional routing directions. The site also offers taxi tips to users as a handy extra. See www.taxiwiz.com

• New York City (mobile version)
• Boston (mobile version)
• Chicago (mobile version)
• Las Vegas (mobile version)
• Los Angeles (mobile version)
• San Francisco (mobile version)
• Toronto (mobile version)
• San Diego (mobile version)
• Vancouver (mobile version)

Results of a search for a taxi route in New York City using the PC client. Notice the suggested route and fee listed in upper left.

The TaxiWiz Mobile app as seen using Nokia N95 8GB device. Ideally I'd love to see this app taken a couple of steps further, for example, how about integrating it with Google Maps mobile? Since I have Google maps on my device perhaps an option to see the route on a map would be a nice offering. I'd also like to see an option to call a cab company or search for local cab companies... this app could be HUGE!

Tomlinson Interviewed in Globe and Mail - One day of GIS training in Ontario makes you a specialist

Another great read in the Globe and Mail as a new article touches on the birth and history of GIS and it's Canadian roots from Tomlinson. I love this paragraph which is so bang on...
"It's not for lack of trying. Every school in Ontario has a free GIS software package... but the subject often doesn't get taught because of a shortage of trained teachers. "One day of GIS training in Ontario makes you a specialist," Dr. Tomlinson grumbled. "That's abominable!"

Indeed, how often have you seen that one person in an office or organization that has used Google Earth or maybe ArcView or ArcExplorer for a day and they are the one that moves on to be the champion of GIS within the organization. In this day and age with so much training, certification, post-grad edu programs etc... yet most people are likely learning about GIS from novices that share a slight interest in maps or computers. Check it out - I also love this quote.. "A map is one thing, but knowing exactly where you are on a map is another"

Mainstreet GIS and Municipal site hosting

An interesting company that I just ran into (never heard of them before) at MainStreetGIS... the crew seems to offer a hosted GIS solution for local government - similar to the awesome solutions from Latitude Geographics I would assume... from the company " An online GIS hosting service that provides parcel searches, property information, and an intuitive web application for GIS map browsing over the internet. Your town can be online in one week" licensing starts at about $2500 a year. Unfortunately the company has no "about" section on their website - a MUST have in my mind - and they don't list the address either so I have no idea where they are located, although their fax line has a 309 extension, wherever that may be - see http://www.mainstreetgis.com/MunicipalGIS.htm

Texas job opp. GIS Tax Appraisal Team (ESRI shop)

I was asked to make a quick mention about a cool job opportunity in Tyler Texas for a talented individual to join Tyler's team. Some details... This position requires the candidate to participate in product analysis and design. Our ideal candidate is a team player that wants to work with small, dynamic groups of highly motivated individuals. We offer a casual family environment where attitude and skills outweigh tenure. At Tyler you can make immediate contributions to mission-critical projects without enduring a long apprenticeship. The company's Appraisal and Tax product integrates with ESRI’s ArcGIS Server/ArcIMS mapping software. More details here and good luck!

SiRF Creating Location Awareness on the Android Platform

Finally some news on the Android front from a developer... it's been some time since we've heard anything! This announcement comes from SiRF - SiRF is actively working on the Android platform to include some of the more innovative features of Secure User Plane Location (SUPL), a standards-based protocol that allows a mobile handset client to communicate with a SUPL Location Platform (SLP), including transport layer security (TLS) for location privacy and multiple session capabilities to provide the most compelling user experience. SiRF is also implementing support for Android-based assisted GPS (A-GPS) handsets, including mobile station based (MSB) and mobile station assisted (MSA) positioning methods to facilitate the Android platform passing Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and 3GPP conformance testing for third-party certification. More details here

Schlumberger Grabs Rights to MetaCarta for Oil & Gas

Announced today, Schlumberger announces the acquisition of exclusive distribution rights to the oil and gas sector for the MetaCarta map-based geographic information search technologies, from MetaCarta, Inc. Schlumberger will acquire all existing contracts for MetaCarta in the oil and gas sector, resulting in a single source for sales and support of this technology in the industry. Recall... MetaCarta search technology combines map-driven geographic search, geographic referencing, temporal filtering and data visualization capabilities, for both structured and unstructured content, making that content "location-aware".

A gift... Free Nokia N95 Holiday Themes

A couple of Christmas gifts for you Nokia N95 users (actually, you can download and have them resized for any mobile device)... enjoy the holiday themes... I created a couple in my spare time.




Download To Mobile Phone: Christmas Blue 1



Download To Mobile Phone: Christmas Red




Download To Mobile Phone: Christmas Classic Red



Download To Mobile Phone: Holiday Reindeer


Download To Mobile Phone: NorthAm-map




Download To Mobile Phone: Antique Map




And a cool one for you fans of New Belgium's Fat Tire Ale!



Download To Mobile Phone: Fat Tire Beer Theme

No Twitter for T-Mobile users? It's working for me!

I've been reading today that T-Mobile apparently cut off access to twitter by its users.. I don't get it! I just sent a message to Twitter via my mobile device using txt messaging enabled via Twitter and it works just fine! Mindyou, I have an unlocked device that I use so perhaps that's the issue! I guess if T-mobile users really can't send to twitter they could use a third party app like Twibble - see also the Twitter blog

Tip for Apple iPhone and iPod users

no more sync just hit play! Orb Networks (http://www.orb.com/) today announced that you can now play your PC music collection on your Apple(R) iPhone(R) or iPod(R) touch without having to sync with iTunes. Responding to a user study that found repeated syncing of the iPhone to a PC to be 'a pain in the ass,' Orb(R) enables users to play their PC music on their iPhone or iPod touch from anyplace they have a wireless Internet connection, right away.

Here's how it works: install the free Orb application on the Windows(R) PC where you have your music. Then go to the free service at http://mycast.orb.com/ from the native Safari browser on your iPhone or iPod touch to play what you want right from your PC.

Dash Express orders now available

For a mere $599 you can now pre-order your Dash Navigation express device... from Dash Navigation... As manufacturing ramps up, initial quantities of the Dash Express will be limited and we will be reserving devices on a first-come, first served basis. Therefore, as someone who has expressed interest in the past, we wanted you to be the first to know about - and take advantage of - this opportunity.
Apparently the rush is on!! For now, I'll stick to my google maps mobile and save the $600! See www.dash.net

O'Reilly and the dream phone and the Internet and cell phone on a collision course

A nice piece in the NY Times (online Opinion) from O'reilly Media founder Tim O'Reilly... the piece discusses the impending collision course, the state of the US Carriers, and the race for competitive advantage. I like this statement from O'reilly...

This is not “open.” It’s just a little less closed. A true open platform like the Internet doesn’t have certification of trusted devices or applications. Developers get to do anything they want, with the marketplace as their only judge and jury.

See the article here

A reminder about some free mobile apps

Just a quick reminder, every Friday Handango is featuring a cool mobile application for free.. you have to grab it on Friday's so try and remember to bookmark it and have a looksee. If you don't see something you like there you can also try S60.com, mosh.nokia.com, or the nokia research labs for other great, free mobile apps - Symbian S60 - see http://www.handango.com