Articles

The LI 15 Minute Update: Short Conversations with Geo Technology and Data Providers – Part 2
Adena Schutzberg 05-09-2008
Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg challenged exhibitors and attendees to provide updates on their organization's latest news and products in just 15 minutes. She shares a sampling of interesting tidbits from WeatherBug, WeoGeo, Seisan, MapQuest and Quova in part two of a two-part article.

The LI 15 Minute Update: Short Conversations with Geo Technology and Data Providers – Part 1
Adena Schutzberg 05-07-2008
Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg challenged exhibitors and attendees to provide updates on their organization's latest news and products in just 15 minutes. She shares a sampling of interesting tidbits from Tele Atlas, Europa Technologies, Ubisense and Microsoft in part one of a two-part article.

Location Intelligence 2008: Maturing Market Players Look for New Relationships
Adena Schutzberg 05-06-2008
Directions Media hosted the fifth annual Location Intelligence Conference last week in Santa Clara, California. Adena Schutzberg shares how a location-savvy audience reacted to the possibilities for indoor location tracking, discusses a lightning panel, and details BP's work implementing location intelligence across the entire 100,000 person company. She also offers up the key themes of the event.

European Mobile Mapping Trends
Michael Fisher 05-06-2008
Where is Europe compared to the rest of the world with location-based services? What cultural differences suggest a preference for "locate services" or "friend finders" versus turn-by-turn navigation that is a staple of the U.S. market for LBS? And why does the word "free" raise skepticism in some parts of Europe? Michael Fisher explores some of these difference and adds his own forecast for location-based advertising.

Podcast: Why is it so Hard to Sell Geospatial Technology to the Enterprise?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 05-05-2008
Senior executives from leading technology companies, speaking at our Location Intelligence Conference last week shared that the entire value proposition for spatial enablement is a "push" to the market rather than a "pull" or demand for the technology. Our editors ask: Are we doing an adequate job of selling the technology to more of the people who will eventually implement geospatial tools with other IT solutions? Why is it still so hard? What are we not doing well? Will it take another "Google Earth" to push the technology deeper into corporate computing or a new crop of graduates to be more geospatially enlightened?

Top Ten Things I Learned at LI 2008
Joe Francica 05-05-2008
Location Intelligence 2008 provided a glimpse into some of the technology trends shaping the industry. Conference Chairman Joe Francica provides a quick takeaway on his observations of the event and the conversations he had with attendees. The conference took place last week in Santa Clara, CA.

GCI Sells Maptech
Adena Schutzberg 04-30-2008
Maptech, a company known in geospatial circles for its Terrain Navigator Pro and Pocket Navigator map applications, but even more well-known in marine circles for its paper and electronic marine navigation tools, quietly went on the block earlier this year. Adena Schutzberg takes a look at the company's interesting past and its expected future.

Podcast: Do You Think Spatially?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 04-29-2008
An interactive session at a recent regional GIS event prompted our editors to explore how we are trained in GIS, and how and if we use spatial thinking in our day-to-day work. Are we just pushing buttons and following recipes or are we truly using the underlying ideas of how people, places and things behave in space? Does it matter if you are trained in geography vs. GIS vs. another discipline? What does the future look like for those skilled (or not) in spatial thinking?

17th Annual GIS SIG Draws Genesee/Finger Lakes Region Geospatial Users to Tackle Local and Universal Challenges
Adena Schutzberg 04-28-2008
Adena Schutzberg has argued in the past that you can learn as much (or more) at a regional GIS gathering of a few hundred than at a multi-day event of several thousand. Case in point: the 17th GIS Special Interest Group Conference serving the Genesee/Finger Lakes Region of New York state held last week. Not only did neighbors learn what neighbors were doing, they also were forced out of their comfort zones to explore topics outside geospatial technology and at its heart.

Satellite Imagery Production Grows Up: Land Cover for Local Governments
Adena Schutzberg 04-24-2008
Earth Day 2008 has just passed providing solid evidence citizens and governments are turning their attention to all things green. Local governments are hearing the call of green as well and often look to acquire a land cover dataset to understand what's on the ground within their geography. Until recently such a dataset was the result of a one-off negotiation with an aerial firm and/or a imagery analysis specialist who could turn the image into land cover polygons. But there's a new game in town that takes advantage of high resolution satellite imagery and accelerated feature extraction, making land cover data more accessible for even the smallest towns. Adena Schutzberg explains how three companies have come together to introduce land cover datasets for the Chicago area next month, hoping to tap into the pent up demand.

Pitfalls of SDI's Hierarchy
Asmat Ali 04-22-2008
A spatial data infrastructure model must serve many constituents. Asmat Ali, the Assistant Director of the Survey of Pakistan, explains how the data may be developed by corporate, local, state, national, regional or global interests, and each potential creator imbues them with different characteristics "due to different needs at these different levels." That, he suggests, presents a potential pitfall, which he aims to address via a new SDI hierarchy model for federated nations.

Cost-effective Information Interoperability for All-Hazards Events in Spite of Decreasing Preparedness Funding - Part Two, The Solution
Ric Skinner 04-20-2008
Ric Skinner follows up on last week's article describing the environment of diminishing all-hazards preparedness funding, with a vision for a solution. He offers the concept of the "Disaster Management Interoperable Information System" (DMIIS) that would provide participating towns, agencies and other resources with a cost-effective capability for enhanced situation awareness, disaster response, resource request and allocation, and a collaborative environment for training and exercises.

Cost-effective Information Interoperability for All-Hazards Events in Spite of Decreasing Preparedness Funding - Part One, The Environment
Ric Skinner 04-17-2008
Emergency management agencies are expected to do more with less. The scope of responsibility is increasing at the same time as budgets are decreasing - and are likely to decrease even more sharply as federal and state agencies cut funding. Ric Skinner describes the environment and need in part one of this two part article, presented here. In part two, he will review a potential solution for how agencies can become better prepared for "all-hazards" events by implementing a cost-effective information interoperability solution.

Product Review: Maptitude 5.0
Michael Cline 04-16-2008
Caliper Corporation's Maptitude has a reputation for being a powerful, easy-to-use desktop mapping program. Version 5.0, released early this year, should turn a few heads according to reviewer Michael Cline. He suggests that GIS professionals will find more advanced analytical capabilities that take Maptitude beyond a simple mapping tool. Users will also like the low cost offering, which includes some functions unavailable in more expensive packages.

NGA and Mongolia Map New Horizons
Margaret Jorgensen and Chuck Boyer 04-14-2008
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has had an exchange and cooperative agreement with Mongolia since 2004. What's in it for NGA? The opportunity to collect gravity and elevation data over the country, gain access to the latest country maps and geographic names database, to name a few. What's in it for Mongolia? Access to NGA base data for mapping, use of loaner GIS workstations, training and more. There's an interesting "win win" situation going on as NGA helps develop geospatial capabilities in this fast-growing democracy on the other side of the world.

An Insider's View of Remote Sensing Fire Applications for Conservation
Rhett Butler 04-09-2008
Remote sensing is increasingly used as a tool for conservation management. Beyond traditional satellite imagery popularized by Google Earth, new sensing applications are allowing researchers located anywhere in the world to track fires, illegal logging and mining, and deforestation in some of Earth's most isolated regions using a computer or handheld device.

Podcast: BI and Web 2.0 and the Latest in Location Privacy Lawsuits
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 04-08-2008
This week our editors revisit two themes that continue to pop up as geospatial technology, ideas, visualization and data move into the mainstream IT world and popular culture. First we look at two announcements regarding the integration of Business Intelligence or BI, with online mapping. Then, we'll pick apart the latest data capture privacy lawsuit - where a couple is suing Google over StreetView images of their house.

ADCi's Barb Wenninger Discusses Company Strategy
Directions Staff 04-07-2008
Barb Wenninger was recently promoted to the position of director of Sales and Marketing at American Digital Cartography, Inc. (ADCi), where she has worked for six years. In her new position Wenninger will be responsible for managing and growing ADCi's sales activity, as well as planning, implementing and directing the company's marketing and public relations strategies. ADCi has been around for 20 years, and is best known as a provider of digital cartography data. Wenninger brings more than 20 years of experience to her new role. Directions Magazine asked her several questions about her career and the company.

Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging Rebrands as ERDAS and Takes Aim at the Enterprise Geospatial Market
Joe Francica 04-03-2008
Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging announced yesterday that it is rebranding the company as ERDAS. The new tagline, "The Earth to Business Company," is a clear signal ERDAS wants to be a more aggressive player in the enterprise geospatial market. Unshackling itself from the Leica name allows the company to develop a stronger, more focused software brand. Read more in this report from Editor-in-chief Joe Francica.

3D, BIM and Going Green: Cities Are Challenged by a New Geospatial Revolution
Joe Francica 04-02-2008
Green is the "new black." BIMs (building information models) evolved from 3D, and geospatial technology finds itself in the midst of so much disruption that revolution is afoot. The beneficiary of all these changes? Perhaps, Mother Earth. From the 2D world with which we "mappers" are most familiar to a third dimension that includes not just terrain but the buildings that occupy it, geospatial technology is trying to keep up with new demands from those seeking better visualization of their environment. Joe Francica reports.

Podcast: Deep Dive into Real-Time Traffic and Location-based Advertising on Mobile Handsets
Joe Francica 04-02-2008
What's new in receiving real-time traffic information on your mobile handset? What's the latest in location-based advertising? Discover the latest information in Editor-in-chief Joe Francica’s interview with Tim Lorello of TeleCommunications Systems. This is the second part of an interview conducted on March 20, 2008.

Podcast: EU Investigates Geodata Acquisitions; Pitney Bowes Plans Growth, Rebranding
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 04-01-2008
This week the European Union extended its investigations into the acquisition of Tele Atlas by TomTom and NAVTEQ by Nokia causing stocks to drop and some to wonder what's ahead. Here in the United States Pitney Bowes CEO talked up his plans for growth for its recently acquired MapInfo, along with a rebranding of the corporate parent. Our editors explore what's ahead on all three fronts.

Freese and Nichols Automates Field Data Collection with Digital Pen and Paper Software Platform from Adapx
Mark Valentino 03-31-2008
Mark Valentino of Freese and Nichols explains how the company recently integrated the new digital pen and paper software platform, Capturx for ArcGIS Desktop, into field operations. The company specializes in engineering and architecture, inventory and asset management, as well as environmental science, and collects a large volume of geospatial information for most of its projects.

How Current Household Geo-Demography Can Help With Site Location
Larry Martin 03-28-2008
In recent years spatial technology has evolved so that anyone with a personal computer and access to the Web can, with only a few mouse clicks, "see" almost any place on earth. That raises expectations when it comes to how current data are -- and for retail network planners (the folks figuring out where to open, close and move stores) having the most recent demographic data possible is critical. The Gadberry Group's Larry Martin describes the demand and touches on his company's offerings.

Addressing: The Revenge of Geography
Timothy Grayson 03-27-2008
Canada Post's Timothy Grayson takes a deep dive into addresses and explores their relevance in an increasingly online world. "Pondering a future for location intelligence is a speculative journey through geographic permanence and human transience that ends with proving location intelligence to be evermore crucial to businesses and governments," says Grayson. Read more...

Podcast: Location-based Emergency Alerts
Joe Francica 03-26-2008
In times of a natural disaster how will local authorities alert you to potential danger? Or, how will you be alerted in case something happens on the campus where your son or daughter is in school? Tim Lorello of TeleCommunications Systems talks with editor-in-chief Joe Francica to discuss short messaging services as well as other mobile alerting technology that his company and the wireless carriers are implementing to comply with WARN Act.

Five Questions About ((Echo))MyPlace
Nora Parker 03-26-2008
The Carbon Project received $100,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation to further develop its product, ((Echo))MyPlace. There is a possibility of up to $1.1 million in additional funding. The company is seeking $3 million in private investment. Nora Parker asked The Carbon Project's founder, Nuke Goldstein, and its CEO, Jeff Harrison, some questions about ((Echo))MyPlace.

Podcast: Google Map Edits, ESRI Dev Summit, RFID in the News
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 03-25-2008
Google's opened up "Point of Interest" editing to all. ESRI gives its third party developers new application development environments. China and Wal-Mart push the envelope on RFID. Our editors look at these developments and what they may mean to the geospatial community and beyond.

Exploration and GIS: Closing the Productivity Gap
Carmela Burns 03-21-2008
Exploration software and GIS are essential for geologists searching for petroleum and mineral deposits. With discoveries harder to find, geoscientists are collecting more data than ever before and examining their findings with greater scrutiny. This article, by Geosoft's Carmela Burns, discusses integration between earth mapping platforms like Geosoft and ESRI's ArcGIS environments, and describes a case study at Brazil-based mining company Companhia Vale do Rio Doce.

Oracle Pushes Deeper into the Enterprise with Vertical Applications: Highlights of the Oracle Spatial Users Meeting 2008
Joe Francica 03-19-2008
Oracle conducted its annual users group meeting following the GITA conference in Seattle on March 13. From the outset, it was clear that Oracle is continuing its rapid move from simply supporting core spatial data types for spatial data management to offering "full blown" application suites. Last year's meeting revealed the beginning of this trend. This year's customer and partner presentations further illustrated the move. Joe Francica reports.

Podcast: GITA 2008 - A Post Conference Interview with Bob Samborski, Executive Director
Joe Francica 03-18-2008
Just after the final session at GITA's Annual Conference, Executive Director Bob Samborski sat down with Editor-in-chief Joe Francica to review the association's new emphasis on infrastructure and its special track dedicated to emergency response. Samborski shared his thoughts on how the change affected this year's event planning and the conscious effort to highlight the importance that GITA members bring to solving the challenges brought on by the world's aging gas, water, electric and telecommunication utilities.

Podcast: Broadcasting Your Location on Social Networks, Blogs and Mobile Devices
Joe Francica 03-17-2008
The MyLoki service from Skyhook is location-enabling social networking websites like Facebook. Ted Morgan, CEO and founder of Skyhook provides his insights into the new service and the hurdles that must be addressed regarding privacy concerns as well as cultural barriers that come with publishing your location. Listen to this brief podcast with editor-in-chief, Joe Francica.

New Dimensions in Spatial ETL: Safe Software's FME User Conference 2008
Adena Schutzberg 03-17-2008
Safe Software's FME User Conference was a GIS conference that was not so much about GIS. The challenges are geographic, to be sure, but the conference was really about integration - integration of data, platforms, services, levels of government, etc. Adena Schutzberg reports.

Agile Adoption in the GIS Industry
Chris Spagnuolo 03-13-2008
The software development world has taken a keen interest in agile development practices and agile project management. The practices have crossed the chasm, becoming part of mainstream application development, according to Chris Spagnuolo. But has the geospatial development worldpicked up on agile? Spagnuolo explores the results of a recent survey on that topic.

An Expedition into the Abyss of Addresses: The IEE Conference Exposes the Achilles Heel of the Location Intelligent Enterprise
Joe Francica 03-13-2008
At the Intelligent Enterprise Expedition (IEE) Conference hosted by DMTI Spatial in Toronto on March 5-6, Joe Francica heard a recurring theme that is reverberating throughout the industry: Addresses linked to customer files are too often wrong. This problem is costing forward-thinking companies time and profits to fix and clean customer records before they even attempt spatial analysis. Even basic geocoding is still a major "pain point."

Podcast: Apple iPhone SDK and Yahoo! Fire Eagle Open Doors to LBS Apps
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 03-11-2008
This past week two of the many tech players with a toe in the geospatial waters, Apple and Yahoo, announced new developer offerings that will add to the twists and turns location based services have taken on the road to maturity. One of the services of the iPhone SDK is Core Location, meaning developers can develop native applications that take advantage of the pseudo-location abilities. We'll have a look at the iPhone SDK and Fire Eagle from a geospatial perspective plus explore what the real reason is for wanting navigation on your mobile device.

State of Delaware to Deploy a Public Health Preparedness System
Martin Jakobsson, Larry Mayer and Andrew Armstrong 03-10-2008
The state of Delaware tapped a team of three organizations, Integrated Warehousing Solutions, ESi and Towson University's Center for Geographic Services, to assemble and provide a "public health preparedness" system. Integrated Warehousing Solutions' (IWS) President Carl Brewer shared details of the project in this brief article.

Smooth Dataflow Assures Smooth Oil Flow
Jim Baumann 03-07-2008
During the long process from extraction to refining, crude oil is pumped through an intricate system of closely monitored storage tanks and distribution pipes that help maintain an uninterrupted flow of petroleum products to both industry and the individual consumer. In this article, ESRI's Jim Baumann discusses how Texas-based Plains All American Pipeline uses technology to control that process and adhere to strictly enforced federal regulations for storage and transportation of crude oil.

Follow up: Details on the USGS Use of Tele Atlas Data in USGS Product
Directions Staff 03-06-2008
At the ESRI Federal User Meeting (Feb. 20-22), Tele Atlas announced that some of its data would be used in USGS map products. Directions Magazine followed up with Tele Atlas, which put us in touch with USGS to provide some background. Kari Craun, director of the USGS National Geospatial Technical Operations Center, answered our questions on the agreement and use of the data.

5 Questions: IDV's Visual Fusion Server Explained
Nora Parker 03-05-2008
In this brief interview, IDV Solutions explains the "how and why" their Visual Fusion differs from other composite applications. Visual Fusion has the ability to focus the display of data around its "where" and "when" elements, and then display this in a rich, highly interactive user environment. Senior Managing Editor Nora Parker posed five questions to IDV Solutions' Product Manager Scott Caulk about the company's latest release, Visual Fusion Server 3.0.

Assemblymember Jose Solorio's Bill Threatens Public Access to Government Geodata - Background Documents
Bruce Joffe 03-04-2008
Background documents referred to in Bruce Joffe's article titled "Assemblymember Jose Solorio's AB1978 Threatens Public Access to Government Geodata"

Assemblymember Jose Solorio's Bill Threatens Public Access to Government Geodata
Bruce Joffe 03-04-2008
GIS consultant Bruce Joffe is leading an effort to oppose California legislation proposed by Assembly Member Solorio that would harm access to geospatial public records. This article, by Joffe, explains the situation, and includes links to the bill in question, the explanation of the bill from Solorio's office, and a list of individuals to contact to register your opposition.

Podcast: Report to NGA, NRO Questions Commercial Remote Sensing Mission
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 03-04-2008
The U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) commissioned the report titled, "Independent Study of the Roles of Commercial Remote Sensing in the Future National System for Geospatial-Intelligence" early last year. It explores four possible business cases for how the government and private companies might work together to provide needed imagery for those agencies and their government clients. The suggested path is not the status quo and may have implications for the two current U.S. commercial satellite providers, DigtialGlobe and GeoEye. Our editors try to tease out what the report means and its implications.

On-Demand Demographic & Consumer Demand Data For Better Business Intelligence
Nora Parker 03-03-2008
Asterop is a business intelligence data company based in France. The company recently announced Asterop On-Demand, an online software solution for retailers, real estate brokers, marketers and other consumer-facing businesses. The company's CEO and chairman, Christophe Girardier, will be speaking at this year's Location Intelligence Conference. This article features a one-on-one interview with Girardier by managing editor Nora Parker.

ESRI Emphasizes New Workflows through ArcGIS 9.3 Enhancements at Federal User's Conference
Joe Francica 02-27-2008
Joe Francica reports on the ESRI Federal User Conference. Included in the coverage is Jack Dangermond's keynote presentation and a discussion of ArcGIS 9.3 enhancements.

The FBI's GIS Initiative - iDomain
Joe Francica 02-26-2008
Until 2005 the Federal Bureau of Investigation depended on a "thick client" approach to GIS that included ArcGIS deployed at 12 field offices with limited means for sharing information. Despite recognition by the FBI's director of intelligence that GIS was a key technology for its work, no coordinated efforts to manage the GIS initiatives were forthcoming. That changed in 2005 with the Domain Management Initiative, iDomain. The initiative grew, and in January 2007 the FBI's goal was to provide specialized training and equipment for two or three users per field office. Joe Francica reports.

Podcast: Search and the Google Effect Two Years Later
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 02-26-2008
It's been two years since Google Earth blasted onto the scene helping neophyte and experienced geographers gain better appreciation for geography and their world. But where are we now? What's the future of globes? What are the next steps? Who will take them? Our editors have some ideas.

Autodesk Positions Itself for 2008 and Beyond
Adena Schutzberg 02-22-2008
Autodesk invited journalists from all over the world to learn about its vision for 2008 and beyond at Autodesk World Press Day in San Francisco last week. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg highlights how the company positions itself as a provider of prototypes, its success in utilities and, perhaps most interestingly, what's going on in Autodesk Labs that will be valuable to geospatial practitioners.

Travel a Key Theme for Two Speakers at Location Intelligence Conference
Nora Parker 02-21-2008
Fran Marshall of National Geographic Maps and Chris Ackermann of the Travel Channel are speakers at the Location Intelligence Conference, which takes place this year in Santa Clara, CA, April 28-30. They'll be sharing insights from projects that make information about places both far and near more accessible to more people, and also enhance the bottom line. Both companies expect to reap significant gains from these initiatives. Their repurposing of existing content will be relevant to many different industries.

Dr. Duane Marble Explains William L. Garrison Award
Nora Parker 02-19-2008
The Association of American Geographers and Dr. Duane Marble recently announced the third annual William L. Garrison Award. The purpose of this award is to encourage doctoral-level students to "increase their knowledge of computer science and to apply this knowledge to their research in geographic science." Nora Parker asked Marble to provide further background and information about the award.

Podcast: Two Newsworthy Maps, One Gets All the Glory
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 02-19-2008
Researchers published two studies this week that included important maps. One highlighted the human impact on the world's oceans. A second documented the past, current and future vulnerability of the U.S. population to natural disasters. Press coverage of the first study was considerable, with the map distributed far and wide on the Web and beyond. Coverage of the second was limited to the scientific and geographic press. Why the disparity? Our editors review the maps and offer their thoughts.

ImagePatch: Updating Imagery One Patch at a Time
Adena Schutzberg 02-18-2008
Perhaps you remember the old joke, "Everyone complains about the weather, but no one does anything about it!" An updated version for those using online and organizational mapping applications might be, "Everyone complains about how old imagery is, but no one does anything about it!" A company called TerraPixel is stepping up to address this challenge with a service called ImagePatch.

Capturing Speed and Location Yields New Applications
Joe Francica 02-14-2008
TCS was just awarded a U.S. patent for geographic monitoring that provides information on when a mobile phone or device user enters or exits an area, as well as the speed of that user. Joe Francica explains what this capability offers consumers and why it's exciting.

Neighborhood Boundaries: The Next Big Thing in Geographic Data
Adena Schutzberg 02-12-2008
Geographic databases of political boundaries, streets and water features are quite old, dating back nearly to the beginnings of GIS. Digital neighborhood boundaries are relative newcomers, dating back only a few years. With January's announcement from Zillow that the company would share its neighborhood boundary data for free, this seems a good time to explore the nature of this data layer and how some of the major players approach its creation.

Portland Police Bureau Makes Geospatial Widely Accessible
Nora Parker 02-11-2008
The Portland, OR, Police Bureau, is "pretty progressive as far as getting into new technology." Indeed - the organization's GIS unit built a public-facing Web-based CrimeMapper application that gets about 1.8 million hits a year. Nora Parker interviewed Christy Khalifa, a police crime analyst, to learn more.

Podcast: Super Tuesday, Geographic Alerts, and Maps in Election Coverage
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 02-08-2008
Super Tuesday was a day of severe weather in the South and some high tech mapping and analysis across the media airwaves and wires. Our editors examine the state of warning systems for severe weather and other hazards and praise the use of maps in election coverage.

The Strategic Power of OGC Standards
Christopher Tucker 02-08-2008
Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging's Chris Tucker discusses recent decisions their group has made that illustrate how OGC standards remove the barriers to information flow.

Spime's PositionOne Benefits GPS Chip Manufacturer
Joe Francica 02-06-2008
PositionOne from Spime is a Secure User Plane Location (SUPL)-compliant middleware solution that resides on the phone device. The technology acts as a gatekeeper between the GPS chip and the LBS application as well as accelerating the time to fix with it’s A-GPS capability. Joe Francica gives an overview of the new offering.

CEGIS Response to NRC Report
Adena Schutzberg 02-06-2008
Last week's podcast focused on the National Research Council Report titled "A Research Agenda for Geographic Information Science at the United States Geological Survey," which offered 12 recommendations to the Center of Excellence for Geospatial Information Science (CEGIS), a research arm of USGS. The acting director of CEGIS contacted Directions Magazine to provide a bit more information and to, in his kind words, "correct some misunderstandings."

Podcast: News roundup on Nuvifone, Microsoft Bid for Yahoo and OS' OpenSpace
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 02-04-2008
It was a big week for news from a variety of sectors. Our editors take a look at Garmin's announcement of its nav-phone, the Nuvifone, Microsoft's offer to buy Yahoo and the Ordnance Survey's opening of it's API for developers, OpenSpace.

GPS and GIS Technology Changing the Culture of Navigation
Eva Dodsworth 02-02-2008
Time, technology and user needs are constantly changing the way we do things, often making them easier and less expensive. When two great technologies are combined, a new innovation is created. Such is the case with GPS and GIS - into a fabulous little tool called the Personal Navigation Device. As is the case with many inventions, it changes the way we traditionally did things forever. But is that a good thing? Eva Dodsworth, Geospatial Data Services Librarian at the University of Waterloo Map Library, wonders.

Product Overview - LizardTech's GeoExpress 7
Nora Parker 01-31-2008
LizardTech's latest version of GeoExpress 7 integrates with its other imagery data management products into a new "suite" offering. Other upgrades include the ability to crop images by polygons using shapefiles, improved cropping tools (including one that automatically de-mosaicks an image), a series of despeckling tools, and the availability of a floating license. Nora Parker offers this overview of the latest version.

NASA Scientists Learn to Speak New Language
Dauna Coulter 01-30-2008
A group of atmospheric research scientists at NASA's National Space Science and Technology Center, or NSSTC, felt a little like they were in a foreign country when they first met with representatives from the University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Public Health recently to discuss a research partnership. But the partnership has taken off, and the group hopes to soon shed new light on reasons stroke rates vary based on geography and race.

Podcast: Going Down the Wrong Road?...Using MapShare by TomTom to Update PND Maps
Joe Francica 01-30-2008
Is your street in the wrong place on your personal navigation device (PND) or maybe not there at all? Did you see a McDonald's restaurant that's located on the wrong side of the road? Users of TomTom's PNDs can now make changes to the street network database from their in-vehicle PND and upload changes to TomTom via the Internet. Editor-in-chief Joe Francica interviews Tim Flight, editor of GPS Review, who has been performing an independent analysis on TomTom's MapShare program to see how soon updates are making it into the hands of consumers.

A Fluid Situation: Cities Seek Online Platform for Citizen Action to Fix Stormwater Problems
Lisa Epstein and Philip Pridmore Brown 01-27-2008
Pressure is building on public officials to embrace "green" building and management strategies, and constrain the skyrocketing costs of infrastructure projects. A movement is underway to use green infrastructure to counteract the environmentally damaging impact of urbanization. Urban stormwater and its associated pollution are a particularly acute problem. Lisa Epstein and Phillip Pridmore Brown of Thetus Corporation describe a project in Portland, OR, that addresses these concerns.

Podcast: USGS in the News: Landsat/NRC Report
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 01-26-2008
USGS is in the news this week as we learned that Landsat 5 is back in business after a battery scare and the National Research Council offered some specific recommendations for the USGS' research agenda. Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg examine these issues and their implication for remote sensing and The National Map, among other things.

Technology Convergence, Market Horizontalization and, Voila: Information Fusion
Sam Bacharach 01-24-2008
Some of us can remember when telephone, print media, film, radio, TV, phonograph, photographs and computer data (what little there was) were treated as separate or "stovepiped" technologies. Over the last several years, technology convergence has resulted in a new generation of multimedia and multimode communication products. The same is true of geo-enabled technologies - they are converging and their respective markets are becoming more horizontal. The OGC's Executive Director for Outreach, Sam Bacharach, explains how standards are playing a role in this convergence.

2007 Year-end Stock Performance Analysis of Public Location Technology Companies
Joe Francica 01-24-2008
Joe Francica takes a look at the wild ride that was the geospatial stock market of 2007. It would have been prescient to sell stocks on December 31, 2007 believing that the stock market gods had blessed the location technology sector with abundant gains during the year and so investors could be excused for taking some much-deserved profits. And perhaps some of you did just that. Despite the current tumultuous situation in the stock market, 2007 was a superb year for location technology stocks.

Emerging Tech You Should Know About: Jing
Adena Schutzberg 01-23-2008
New tech tools are arriving at an astounding pace and many are free. Adena Schutzberg explores a new image and video capture tool that might help you in your day-to-day professional (and personal) life - Jing. Jing makes it easy to record and demonstrate a particular workflow in a software product, for example, and eliminates the more tedious alternative of trying to explain the details in written form. Jing is a productivity tool that may have some quirks but gets the job done.

Transportation Projects Simplified with GIS Integration
Susan Marlow 01-21-2008
Growing demands on road infrastructure is making life more and more difficult for transportation professionals. State and local transportation agencies are using GIS tools to help alleviate the stress, solve problems and make informed decisions about rights of way. Susan Marlow of Smart Data Strategies explains and offers several state department of transportation case studies.

Palm Beach County Plugs Its Wastewater System
Lloyd Wander 01-18-2008
Protecting the environment is no longer a matter of civic conscience or discretion. Increasingly, municipalities are being held to strict federal standards for wastewater collection, wastewater treatment and related activities. Palm Beach County needed maps and data about its wastewater system and found a way to create and collect them quickly.

Geography Lessons for Online Retailers
Louella Fernandes 01-17-2008
Despite the broad reach of the Internet, successful online traders need to focus tightly on individual customers. One way of doing that is to identify exactly where they are located. Quocirca's Louella Fernandes explains.

Podcast: Agile Practices - An Introduction
Adena Schutzberg 01-17-2008
Did you ever wonder what happens to bring your GIS software to market? For many years a process referred to as the "waterfall method" was used. In the last 10 or so years a new method came on the scene, one referred to as agile practices. Today, with insights from agile proponents like Chris Spagnuolo and Dave Bouwman, GIS development organizations, including ESRI, are looking to this new way of managing and developing software.

West of Ireland Town Goes 3D
Joe Francica 01-16-2008
It's no secret that Ireland is in the process of transforming itself from Europe's sleepy backwater into a vibrant economic powerhouse many have taken to calling the Celtic Tiger. Technology is playing a major role in this transformation, and here is an interesting geospatial example. The quiet hamlet of Westport in the West of Ireland recently received support from Google to create an interactive 3D digital town on Google Earth. With its advanced visualization capabilities, the model will drive both economic development and tourism.

Podcast: Why is the Geospatial Marketplace so Difficult to Measure?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 01-15-2008
This week editors Adena Schutzberg and Joe Francica tackle a question that is difficult to answer (or, rarely has a clear answer). The question is: How big is the geospatial market or a part of it? That's often followed by: Who has the definitive numbers on how much money is to made and how many users and potential users are out there? They take a look at some resources and tease out why firm numbers are so difficult to acquire.

Mobile Today becomes What Tomorrow?
Christopher J. Andrews 01-14-2008
Chris Andrews takes a few minutes to imagine futuristic uses of geospatial technology and wonders how far off these kinds of applications really are. Mobile computing devices are rapidly becoming ubiquitous in our daily work and personal lives. Andrews looks at how technology drivers are pushing the integration of geospatial and mobile technology into the future.

NGA Supports Afghan Mapping Initiative
Bruce Kiracofe 01-11-2008
The Afghan Geodesy and Cartography Head Office (AGCHO) got a big boost in its national mapping program when the NGA stepped in to offer additional resources. The partnership has resulted in the Afghan Mapping Initiative, with its goal to essentially rebuild and modernize the national mapping program that was in place before the Taliban regime dismantled it.

Retailer Targets Growth in the Hispanic Sector
Nora Parker 01-10-2008
La Curacao is a small but rapidly growing department store chain specifically targeting the Hispanic demographic. Directions Magazine interviewed Jeff Forman, manager of real estate for La Curacao, about the company's use of location intelligence in its aggressive expansion plans. To put things into perspective, the stores are large (100,000 sq. ft. each) and the network currently consists of 10 stores, all located in California. According to Forman, for a small but growing retailer, using location intelligence tools is critical: "If you're a 600 store chain and you miss the mark with one of your locations, it's much easier to absorb the pain. For companies such as La Curacao that until recently was only a six store chain, if you open up a lemon it could have dire effects on the company's future."

Podcast: GITA's Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions Conference Explained
Nora Parker 01-10-2008
Nora Parker interviewed members of GITA's organization about the major changes the organization is making to its flagship annual conference. This year there will be a significant focus on infrastructure - an area that is screaming for attention, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers 2005 report card. "There is a huge need for technology to solve our current social and economic problems," said GITA's executive director, Bob Samborski, and this year's conference aims to provide the resources to do that. He was joined in the interview by this year's GITA president David Nemeth of Panhandle Energy and the 2008 program chair, Mike Cerkas of GeoAnalytics. This podcast is sponsored by GITA.

Creating an Extensible GIS with SOA and Web Services
Ross Smith and Andrew Sheahen 01-09-2008
Many GIS programs stem from the need to solve a specific business problem. But as soon as that initial application is set up, we've all had the experience of seeing demand for additional applications grow quickly. Ross Smith and Andrew Sheahan from PA Consulting advocate a SOA/Web services approach to your GIS environment so that you can move switftly to accommodate these needs - not only is it a solid approach, it can make you and your team look good, too!

Podcast: Oil at $100/barrel - Is GIS Part of the Answer?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 01-08-2008
Last week brought the news that oil was trading at a record high of $100/barrel. Will this price point demand more specialists and specialized tools for exploration, specifically geospatial ones? Is geospatial work associated with the oil patch seen as a potential career for GIS students? Our editors try to connect the dots between the renewed interest in oil prices, new sources of energy and geospatial technologies.

Product Review: Terrain Navigator Pro version 8.0
Paul Amos 01-06-2008
Terrain Navigator Pro lets you access the U.S. Geological Survey topographic quadrangle maps and USGS Digital Ortho Quarter Quads. The newest version offers new data enhancements and new functions to incorporate data from Google Earth. Paul Amos offers this review.

Public vs. Private Financing of Remotely Sensed Imagery Data - The Need for Both
Bill Gail 01-04-2008
It's easy to measure return on investment on commercially funded remotely sensed imagery; you can add up the costs and subtract them from the gross revenue of products sold. When such data are publicly funded, the equation is far more complex since the revenue value is rarely measureable in dollars paid, but rather in time saved, animals with a safe environment, floods prevented and the like. Bill Gale explains why both sourcing methods, in balance, are likely to contribute to a sucessful remote sensing future.

Top Ten of 2007
Adena Schutzberg 01-02-2008
Each year for the past seven Adena Schutzberg has picked out 10 events, ideas, themes, products, etc. that have stood out in over the preceding 12 months. There were many recaps of 2007 (including our Year in Review podcast and thoughts on the matter from insiders) so she's tried to pick out some items that were more subtle, more hidden, for this list.

Podcast: Holidays Kick LBS in Right Direction...More to Come in '08
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 01-02-2008
GPS devices were one of the big tech sellers this holiday season. More than likely you or a family member or friend gave or received one that's now settled into a single car, or caught in play between two or more vehicles. What might the large number of sales of these devices mean for the growth of location-based services in 2008? Editors Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg look into the crystal ball.

Product Review: Pharos Drive GPS 250
Hal Reid 12-20-2007
Hal Reid got a chance to put the Pharos Drive GPS 250 through its paces in the big city and the outskirts of town. He found quite a lot to like in the mid-range ($299) offering including some cool features such as the appearance of large black arrows when it is time to turn and crossed victory flags when you have reached your destination. Could this be the satellite navigation device for you?

GPS Pioneer Addresses LBS Market Fundamentals
Joe Francica 12-19-2007
Kanwar Chadha, founder and chief marketing officer of SiRF Technologies speaks to editor-in-chief Joe Francica about the ongoing hyperbole in the location-based services marketplace, the potential disruption of the Open Handset Alliance and the new paradigm facing device manufacturer for LBS. Chadha says, "The fact that location is native into all of these emerging platforms is a very strong indicator that people are serious about enabling multiple applications with location…there are some things that are fundamental to the nature of your business or your life in a mobile world…and location is one of those core elements."

Sea Changes and Ripple Effects of 2007 - Full Comments
Directions Staff 12-18-2007
These are the full comments of the contributors to the Sea Changes and Ripple Effects of 2007 article.

Qualcomm Enables Laptops with LBS
Joe Francica 12-18-2007
Gobi is a new chipset and reference design for notebook computers from Qualcomm that allows manufacturers to build a module that incorporates many types of cellular technologies like Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), or General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), which allows the consumer to not only choose what carrier he will subscribe to but provide a location-aware computer. Those buying laptops can pick the wireless carrier and the plan they want. Then, as they travel, consumers will be able to access cellular communications and location-enabled searching wherever and whenever, similar to today's wireless cards from the carriers.

Sea Changes and Ripple Effects of 2007
Directions Staff 12-18-2007
A few weeks ago we asked a number of industry insiders and executives to Directions Magazine to discuss the big sea changes and the ripple effects they saw in 2007, and where they expect those to take us next year. The responses roughly divided into three general categories: GIS, LBS and 3D/BIM.

Podcast: 2007 Year in Review
Directions Staff 12-17-2007
It's time to look back on the year with Directions Media's editors Joe Francica, Adena Schutzberg and Nora Parker. The industry watchers pick out a few themes and explore what they mean today and look a bit into the crystal ball. Among the topics: the value ($$$) of geo, the new geodata, "neogeography," convergence, the quick-deciding user and the GPS-enabled ski jacket.

Facet Builds New Street Centerline Database - How Does It Match Up to Current Digital Street Data?
Joe Francica 12-15-2007
Facet Technology Corporation could be the next NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas, at least for U.S. The company's new offering "includes the public roadways in the U.S. at high accuracy and includes full routing and connectivity." How do the data compare? Joe Francica questioned Andy Munyon, vice president of Business Development to find out.

Multimap's Founder Phelan on the Microsoft Acquisition
Directions Staff 12-13-2007
Multimap founder Sean Phelan answers our questions related to Microsoft's acquisition announcement on Wednesday.

Slashing Supply Chain Risk
Andrew F. Dailey 12-13-2007
Today's supply chain professional faces a dynamic range of natural and man-made risks including hurricanes, earthquakes, avian flu, political unrest and terrorism. Global sourcing and off-shoring reduce a company's visibility and control of issues within its supply chains. Additionally, lean supply chain valuation, just in time inventory, and sole sourcing create networks even more susceptible to environmental risk. Although corporate risk management mitigates potential loss due to these catastrophes, penalties and insurance cannot replace market share, repair harm to a company's reputation, or recover loss of customer confidence.

Neogeography is not GIS, not LI
Joe Francica 12-11-2007
Last week, we had many comments on a statement that Mike Hickey, president of Pitney Bowes Software, made at Korem's Geodiffusion event in Montreal. Hickey's key point was that "the explosion of neogeography is driving awareness [and] collaborative data consolidation. Hickey explained that while neogeography is focused on "where," there is no data creation and no spatial analysis. Hickey explained that neogeography is a visualization tool that has helped "cross the chasm from early adopters to an early majority."

Podcast - Developers: The New GIS Customers?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 12-10-2007
There is a slow and steady move from geospatial software providers as they move their focus from the end-user to the third party developer. More tools are available than ever. Developer conferences are growing. Demand for industry focused or custom solutions is growing as easy-to-use websites change end-user expectations. Editors Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg explore how this sea change will impact the geospatial marketplace.

Modeling Terrorism: the Intelligence-led Approach
Simon Sole 12-05-2007
In today's risk environment, where the threat of terrorism is real and significant, developing an appropriate system for accurately assessing this threat is of paramount importance to insurers and risk managers. Existing models use a defensive approach, assessing the maximum potential for damage to a building resulting from a terrorist attack - regardless of the likelihood of that building being targeted. Terrorism modeling should be approached in a much more strategic way. An intelligence-led model that analyzes the probability of an attack occurring at a particular location adds significant value. Simon Sole of Exclusive Analysis provided this article.

Educational Product Review: AGIS (A Geospatial Industry Series)
Adena Schutzberg 12-04-2007
Ever since the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced that there will not be enough trained geospatial technologists in the coming years, there's been a "land rush" to grow new practitioners. There are efforts aimed at the youngest students, at those a bit more mature and at those specifically looking to jump start a geo-career. Some of these are government funded; others are from entrepreneurial businesses reacting to demand. No matter the backing, we in the industry need to keep an eye on these efforts to ensure they are teaching the skills we need now and into the future. Adena Schutzberg looks at Digital Quest's first book in that company's new series: AGIS (A Geospatial Industry Series).

Judge Denies Request in Real Estate Mapping Class Action Motion
Scott Tatro 12-03-2007
We share this article submitted by Scott Tatro on the continuing lawsuit between REAL, llc and Diane Sarkisian, a real estate agent from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Briefly, Sarkisian is being sued for patent infringement for using software that does real estate mapping.

Podcast: ESRI to Go Agile; GeoBiz follows IT in M&A
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 12-01-2007
This week we couldn't agree on a single topic so we bring you two. First Adena Schutzberg explores ESRI's decision to hire a senior executive who will promote agile product management within the company. Then Joe Francica highlights parallels between what's going on in mergers and acquisitions in the broader IT market and in geospatial.

Does a Big Week for Google Maps News Mean a Big Week for GIS Practitioners?
Adena Schutzberg 11-29-2007
If you kept one eye on your work this week and another on tech news, no doubt you read that Google now includes a terrain button alongside map and satellite (replacing hybrid, which is now part of satellite) in Google Maps; offers collaboration and KML file support in Google Maps; and offers non-GPS locating called My Location in Google Maps Mobile. What does it all mean?

Is a Geographic Appliance in Your Future?
Adena Schutzberg 11-28-2007
In recent weeks the term "appliance," as it relates to geospatial solutions, has popped up quite a bit. Now is a good time to look at the phenomenon. Before looking at specific geographic appliances, let's start with the term "appliance" as applied to information technology in general. If your mind wanders to a classic toaster, you are not far off. Adena Schutzberg reports.

The New Surveyor - Geospatial Wise and Technology Savvy
Joe Francica 11-27-2007
The surveyor of today is not just the guy in a hard-hat you see along the road taking control points for road or building construction. In fact, you might say that surveyors must be as equally skilled at determining site measurements as they are at managing the resulting geospatial data they collect. Both the technology and business climate are pushing them to be just that. This article provides insights and ideas about an evolving type of survey professional that will leverage an expanding array of skills.

Rediscovering a Forgotten Landscape
Tammie Hall 11-27-2007
Using state-of-the-art geospatial technology, members of the Canadian Ape Alliance are mapping one of the last uncharted wilderness regions on the planet, with an eye to protecting the bonobo, one of our closest evolutionary relatives.

Getting the Right Field Service Person to the Right Job at the Right Time Servigistics Style
Nora Parker 11-27-2007
Field service management involves sending technicians or other staff into the field to install or repair systems or equipment - for example, appliance repair. Servigistics offers field service solutions and serves the needs of automobile manufacturers, computer hardware providers, appliance companies and medical equipment companies. Nora Parker reports on a demo of the product.

What I learned at deCarta's devCON 2007
Adena Schutzberg 11-25-2007
Adena Schutzberg attended deCarta's third devCON event for its partners and customers a few weeks ago in San Jose. deCarta, formerly Telcontar, provides a geospatial platform that serves the Web and mobile devices. Here are some of the key themes and takeaways.

Podcast: Black Friday and Cyber Monday from a Location Intelligent Perspective
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 11-25-2007
Retailers are reveling in the news that Black Friday saw a better than expected boost in consumer spending with Cyber Monday taking on a life of its own. Directions Magazine editors Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg try to make sense of the current retailing environment with an eye on the location technologies that are contributing to the way consumers think about getting to the mall or shopping online.

Safe Software's Take on SQL Server 2008
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 11-16-2007
SQL Server 2008 will include spatial types. Safe Software, one of Microsoft's third party developers, is among the first to work with the upcoming release expected to ship next year. Directions Media asked its principles about working with SQL Server 2008.

Microsoft Readies SQL Server CTP-5 with Spatial Datatype Support
Joe Francica 11-15-2007
Directions Media has learned that Microsoft has just released, internally, the first public beta of SQL Server 2008 (code named "Katmai") with support for spatial. This Community Technology Preview (CTP) is the long-awaited CTP-5 and should show up on the Microsoft web site as the "November CTP." Read more...

devCON07
Adena Schutzberg 11-14-2007
Adena Schutzberg is attending deCarta's developers conference (devCON07). deCarta (once Telcontar) provides a geospatial development platform. It’s used by the likes of Google, Ask.com, NIM (developer of phone-based navigation system VZ Navigator for Verizon) among others. More than 200 of the company’s partners and customers gathered in San Jose to learn about new developer tools and what their peers are doing at devCON 2007. While the majority of the attendees are technical, their colleagues in business development and marketing are represented. Schutzberg offers these report.

Geography Awareness Week 2007
Adena Schutzberg 11-13-2007
Adena Schutzberg noted some years ago (2002, 2004) that Geography Awareness Week had gone dark and this year, alas, seems the same. Perhaps it's time, she suggests, that we stretch events like Geography Awareness Week and GIS Day out across the year, to be part of everyday events.

Report Highlights the Impact of Spatial Information and Technologies on Australian Economy
ACIL Tasman for ASIBA 11-09-2007
David Hocking, CEO of the Australian Spatial Information Business Association (ASIBA), provided the following report that was compiled for ASIBA by ACIL Tasman, an economic consultancy. Hocking said, "We are keen for the industry around the world to be excited by what ACIL Tasman has uncovered, particularly as it can reasonably be said that every country would have much the same results. ..."

Commercial Imagery Strategy Focused on End-user
Jeff J. Leonard and Lynn Mueller 11-08-2007
As an unclassified source, commercial imagery is used extensively when data sharing and interoperability are critical; this ability to share is an immensely valuable asset. Commercial imagery is available in many different resolutions, spectral bands, modes and accuracies, supporting a diverse array of defense, intelligence, federal, civil and coalition partners. Applications range from defense and military operations to disaster response and relief efforts. This article, reprinted from NGA's Pathfinder describes NGA's Commercial Remote Sensing (CRS) program.

The International Committee on Global Navigation Satellite Systems - Establishing a System of Systems
Katharina Stoffl 11-07-2007
In 1999, a United Nations declaration called for action to improve the efficiency and security of transport, search and rescue, and geodesy by promoting universal access to, and compatibility of, space-based navigation and positioning systems. An action team on Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) was established in 2001 which subsequently led to the establishment of an international committee on GNSS (ICG) to promote the use of GNSS infrastructure on a global basis. This article is a brief report on the group's 2007 meeting.

CityGML Comes of Age
Adena Schutzberg 11-06-2007
Over a bit of Halloween candy on the last day of October, a small but technical group gathered at Harvard to learn about CityGML from its principle author Thomas Kolbe, professor at the Technical University of Berlin. The presentation's title warrants exploration: "A Shared Vocabulary for Representing Cites in Three Dimensions."

Company Overview: GeoAge Helps Capture Location-based Business Intelligence with GPS Application
Joe Francica 11-06-2007
GeoAge of Jacksonville, FL serves a growing audience of mobile professionals who are generally not GIS professionals. GeoAge offers a toolkit for non-GIS professionals to rapidly capture information by building mobile forms and integrating GPS information as well as digital images, video etc.

Podcast: Local News Aggregation: Compelling or Repelling?
Adena Schutzberg 11-05-2007
As geospatial practitioners we are firmly committed to the idea that geography matters. The media knows this, too; that's why the local news is on at 6 pm and the national news at 6:30. But what about local news on the Web? How well are new technologies, including smarter search algorithms and automated maps, doing at making local sites compelling? Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg tours a few such sites and renders her verdict. The podcast is 15 minutes long and was recorded on November 5, 2007.

Steven Ramage's invitation to participate in OGC survey
Nora Parker 11-05-2007
1Spatial's Steven Ramage contacted us last week in his capacity as a member of the Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC's) Data Quality Working Group regarding an effort in which he is involved. He wanted to make our readership aware of an OGC survey to collect data to "ascertain what organizations involved in the market place currently understand and mean when using the term spatial data quality." Here are Ramage's reasons why you should pay attention to this effort, and respond to the survey.

In the Middle of a Firestorm – Literally ... The Southern California Fires, and Support from ESRI
Joe Francica 11-01-2007
Although the Santa Ana winds did not blow the fires as far east as Redlands this time, ESRI still found itself on the front lines in support of the effort to control the southern California fires that swept through Orange, San Bernardino, Riverside and San Diego counties last week. This was not the first time ESRI has supported fire fighting in this region. The company already had resources in place, as well as established personal relationships which had developed during and after the fires of 2003.

Consumer Awareness Driving GPS-enabled Device Adoption
Owen Shapiro and Bob Yovovich 11-01-2007
Today's online mapping tools have achieved striking penetration into the everyday lives of Americans, and new GPS-enabled personal navigation devices (PNDs) are leapfrogging past early-adopter growth and surging almost directly into widespread, mainstream usage, according to data from a just-completed study by the Leo J. Shapiro and Associates (LJS) research firm.

NSGIC Initiatives-Imagery and Transportation for the Nation
Joe Francica 10-31-2007
The National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC) meeting this past September in Madison, Wisconsin focused on major initiatives to support public/private cooperation including "Imagery for the Nation" and "Transportation for the Nation." Editor-in-chief Joe Francica interviews John Auble, director of Tele Atlas's public sector division and a member of NSGIC's Transportation for the Nation Working Group.

Perspectives on the LBS Ecosystem - Notes and Observations from SiRF's Location 2.0 Summit
Joe Francica 10-31-2007
SiRF Technology convened a conference to address the "ecosystem" for location-based services (LBS). SiRF's Location 2.0 Summit, held on October 23rd at the St. Regis Hotel in San Francisco, drew approximately 300 stakeholders representing carriers, application developers, content providers and device manufacturers. Kanwar Chadha, founder of SiRF, envisioned and created the event and Andrew Seybold, a wireless technology analyst and consultant, hosted it. Joe Francica reports.

Heard and Seen On the Floor at CTIA
Joe Francica 10-31-2007
Joe Francica reports on what he saw on his tour of the CTIA exhibition floor.

Navigating the Road to GIS Success: Key Components of the Montana Department of Transportation's Strategic Plan
Marlin Sander and Don Kiel 10-31-2007
For many transportation agencies, the prospect of implementing or expanding enterprise GIS capabilities or applications can trigger more questions than answers. Where do you start? What are your current capabilities, and where do you want to go? What will work at your agency? How do you set realistic deadlines? This article by Marlin Sander of the Montana Department of Transportation and Don Kiel of GeoDecisions, addesses these and other questions.

Podcast: California Fire Maps - How Can We Do Better?
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 10-29-2007
Mash-ups and other Web 2.0 tools took center stage at many California media outlets this week as they tried to keep up with the latest information on the fires in that state and serve it to readers. The efforts were truly spectacular, and one My Maps implementation became a Web favorite (1.2 million views) as well as a resource for first responders. This week we look at those efforts and look ahead to what might be done better in the future. The podcast is 16 minutes long and was recorded on October 29, 2007.

'Control Freaks' Mapping the World
Kevin Corbley 10-28-2007
An interesting solution unveiled unveiled last week at the 2007 GEOINT Symposium is the Automated Ground Control Service offered by CompassData Inc. of Centennial, Colorado. The service provides users with online access to a worldwide archive of more than 10,000 highly accurate, photo-identifiable ground control points that have already been collected and are available for image orthorectification and photogrammetric quality control projects.

Mobile LBS Applications are Growing and Networks in Motion is Benefiting
Joe Francica 10-27-2007
Market awareness of location-based services is driving a high adoption rate for applications on mobile devices. Of the $118 million in revenue that downloadable mobile applications such as LBS, weather applications, chat/community, and personal organization tools generated during Q2 2007, LBS represented 51 percent. Networks In Motion (NIM), an LBS navigation publisher for products including Verizon Wireless' VZ Navigator, secured a 27 percent share of carrier revenue from mobile applications and leads all mobile application publishers. Unlike buying an "off-board" navigation system like a Garmin or TomTom, "leasing" your navigation system from a carrier that uses a solution from NIM or others compares quite favorably in cost. In addition, the smaller form factor for a phone versus a wider screen navigation device provides some additional convenience. Editor-in-chief Joe Francica spoke with Steven Andler, Director of Marketing for NIM to get his take on why LBS applications are attracting such a large percentage of the growth in downloadable mobile applications. The podcast is 14:05 and was recorded on October 18, 2007.

CTIA Wireless 2007
Joe Francica 10-24-2007
Editor-in-Chief Joe Francica is attending the CTIA Wireless 2007 conference in San Francisco and offers these reports.

GEOINT 2007
Joe Francica 10-23-2007
Editor-in-Chief Joe Francica is attending the GEOINT 2007 Symposium this week in San Antonio, TX, and offers these reports.

Podcast: Impressions of GEOINT 2007
Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg 10-22-2007
USGIF's GEOINT Symposium runs this week in San Antonio, Texas. It's a gathering of those in and around the defense and intelligence communities to explore collaborating and integrating geospatial intelligence to support the national security mission. Editor-in-Chief Joe Francica attended the first day's presentations and shares his thoughts on this largest GEOINT event ever, persistent surveillance, getting actionable intelligence to the war fighter and a move beyond 3D.

Directions Magazine Francais is Now Launched!
Luc Vaillancourt 10-22-2007
Directions Media has launched a French edition of Directions Magazine, Directions Magazine Francais. The new publication is a French counterpart to Directions Magazine's Web portal which contains original and translated material along with content from the French speaking community.

NGA Establishes Unified GEOINT Operations
Frank Calabrese 10-19-2007
For the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), collaboration is the deliberate linking of people, the processes they employ and the systems they use across the National System for Geospatial Intelligence (NSG) and the national security community. NGA recognizes the importance that collaboration plays in analyzing and reporting on crucial geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) issues and strives to be a lead partner in using this important tool. In fact, the director of NGA has challenged the NSG community and NGA to set the collaboration standard for the broader community in a multi-intelligence (multi-INT) environment.

Rocket City: John Christy Keynote
Nora Parker 10-17-2007
Dr. John Christy of the University of Alabama-Huntsville, and the Alabama State Climatologist, gave the keynote presentation this morning at the Rocket City Geospatial Conference in Huntsville. Dr. Christy received (along with the other scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and Al Gore) a Nobel Peace Prize last week.

Podcast: The Maturation of the Software Buyer
Adena Schutzberg 10-16-2007
This week Adena Schutzberg offers a commentary focusing on changing attitudes in the technology and geospatial marketplace. In particular, she suggests we are growing more and more comfortable with smaller software providers, smaller consulting firms and non-traditional development/distribution and licensing models, that is with open source. The podcast was recorded on October 12, 2007 and is 12 minutes long.

NAVTEQ's Map Reporter
Directions Staff 10-16-2007
Directions Magazine asked NAVTEQ questions about the company's website (Map Reporter) that allow consumers to suggest basemap updates.

UN's IPCC Wins Nobel Prize; Lead Author to Speak at Directions' Rocket City Geospatial Conference
Directions Staff 10-15-2007
The lead author of the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Dr. John Christy, will be the keynote speaker at Directions Media's Rocket City Geospatial Conference this week. The IPCC was awarded the Nobel Prize last Friday (Oct. 12), along with former U.S. Vice President, Al Gore, for its work on bringing attention to climate change issues. Christy, a professor at the University of Alabama-Huntsville, is skeptical of some of Gore's work on the issue. "Climate has evolved from a topic dealt with by a few bookish, pocket-protector scientists to a multi-billion dollar industry that has begun to drive legislative policy on Capitol Hill, to embolden high-profile environmental activists... and to create anxiety among the largest industries (and thus people) of the world."

Product Overview: Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition Plus now Supports Oracle MapViewer Maps
Oracle Staff 10-11-2007
Oracle has integrated its spatial and location software with Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition Plus (Oracle BI Suite EE Plus), Oracle's standards-based suite of BI infrastructure and tools products, providing customers with added value from location intelligence and improved decision support for business processes throughout the enterprise. Initial customer implementations are in the insurance industry and public sector constituent services, and interest is expected to grow rapidly in other verticals.

Mid-America GIS Consortium Approaches 20th Anniversary
Members of MAGIC 10-09-2007
Susan Norton recently contacted Directions Magazine to let us know the Mid-America GIS Consortium (MAGIC) is approaching its 20th anniversary, and in April of 2008 will hold its 11th symposium, with the tag line of "20 years of MAGIC." Norton coordinated these responses to our questions about MAGIC with a team of eight members of the consortium.

Johnny's Lunch Plans Franchise Expansion with LI
Nora Parker 10-08-2007
Directions Magazine interviewed George Goulson, President and Chief Development Officer of Johnny's Lunch to learn how its location intelligence strategy would help the restaurant with its aggressive franchising plan.

Podcast: Where is the Line in Exposing Critical Infrastructure Data through Online Public Mapping Websites?
Directions Staff 10-08-2007
Local governments are faced with the possibility of keeping some information behind the firewall of public-facing mapping websites in the name of critical infrastructure protection. What features should be hidden in the name of suppressing information from would-be terrorists? Is it an all or nothing decision and where do you draw the line? Editors Joe Francica and Adena Schutzberg explore the topic and why some information can be obtained regardless of whether it is exposed by Web-based mapping portals.

How Much is Location Technology Worth?
Joe Francica 10-07-2007
This past week, Nokia offered to buy NAVTEQ for $8.1 billion, nearly 14 times NAVTEQ's 2006 earnings of $581 million. NAVTEQ acquired Traffic.com earlier in the year for $177 million. In July, TomTom offered $2.5 billion for Tele Atlas, a 32% premium over the stock price at the time. Pitney Bowes acquired MapInfo in March for $408 million, or approximately 2.5 times MapInfo's 2006 fiscal revenues of $165.5 million. It is a scenario that is likely to be played out again in the future, as location technology is increasingly sought as a differentiator in a business war to connect people and things to places.

NAVTEQ Purchased by Nokia: Implications for LBS and Related Markets
Mike Ippoliti 10-05-2007
In a deal announced October 1st 2007, Nokia declared its intention to acquire NAVTEQ for $8.1 billion. Most of the industry had been waiting for the other shoe to drop after PND-maker TomTom purchased TeleAtlas, but the majority had expected another of the PND makers (Garmin, Magellan), or the big internet mapping portals (Google, Microsoft) to be the purchaser. ABI Research Director of Telematics & Automotive, Mike Ippoliti explains more about the deal and prospective market implications.

The Location Intelligent Enterprise: Enhancing Business Intelligence with Location
Louella Fernandes 10-04-2007
Location is a critical component i