Location-based Services

License plate identification, picture-taking drones and GPS tracking devices are legal in certain cases and their users may have only the best of intentions. So, what could possibly go wrong if these tools are deployed for purposes other than those for which they were intended? Welcome to the new privacy.

Just before Christmas the Lower Hudson News published a map of gun permit holders in two New York counties. The map included names and addresses of permit holders and was published in response to the shootings in Newtown, CT the week before. Most local readers and even those who viewed the map from afar have criticized the paper for its actions. Did the paper make the right decision?

Our editors step up to the plate to evaluate last year's predictions and offer new ones for the geospatial marketplace in 2013.

Are there any truly innovative GIS companies? Are there any LBS companies? What’s innovative in the mapping world these days?

Are there any innovations in maps or mapping applications on the near horizon that are going to substantially change consumers’ lives? Maybe.

This week we get the lowdown on all of Nokia's recent mapping announcements from Jim Reid, president of ADCi, a long time Nokia partner.

Last week Apple announce the well-anticipated iPad Mini. About a dozen articles focused on the fact that the wi-fi version of the device does not have a GPS chip. That's true of its big brother, the iPad, and its tiny cousin, the iPod Touch. The cellular versions all do have GPS. Why do these wi-fi versions miss out?

Last week Esri announced at its European User Conference that it had acquired LBS firm, Geoloqi. Our editors look at why Esri might be interested in the firm and the new market areas it might open.

StackMap is a tool to literally map the stacks of libraries. It offers patrons maps and directions to books of interest and makes the lives of those who manage those stacks easier. Is StackMap, now just a few years old, a long-term winner or is it another mapping solution that is here today and gone tomorrow?

Last week Senator Charles Schumer of New York requested an investigation and began pondering legislation to help prevent trucks from causing accidents related to use of GPS and satellite navigation tools. What’s the real issue? Can legislation help?