Anything Geospatial from a GIS user for GISusers and Technology Professionals

Longmont CO based DigitalGlobe has announced the launch date for WorldView 2 - October 6 and the place - Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As the third satellite in DigitalGlobe’s constellation, WorldView-2 is expected to nearly double collection capabilities to nearly 2 million km2 each day (WorldView-2 alone will be able to collect nearly 1 million km2). Its addition to the constellation will allow revisit time to drop to below one day, and provide more same-day passes over any desired region than any commercial high-resolution satellite constellation. The “bird” will have 8-band multi-spectral capability - which has a more robust color palette and enables enhanced analysis of the earth’s surface. The company expects imagery to be commercially available about 90 days after the launch - see http://worldview2.digitalglobe.com/

A few useful Mobile apps and mobile web resources via mobile friendly urls - some handy bookmarks for your mobile as you hit the road this summer - enjoy!

Travel Apps

• MobiMate Travel app
• Google Mobile for S60
• Facebook Mobile
• FlightStats
• NAVTEQ Traffic.com
• Traffic.com

Other Useful Apps

• Qik
• Shozu - mobile media upload
• GasBuddy
• Dopplr
• Nokia Location Tagger
• locr GPS Photo for Symbian (S60 3)
• Brightkite
• Twitter mobile

Mobile Airline Check-in

• AA
• Air Canada
• Alaska
• Continental
• Delta
• Southwest
• United
• West Jet

News & Sports

• SymbianOne
• LBSzone
• GISuser Mobile
• MLB Mobile
• ESPN Mobile
• Yahoo! Mobile
• CNN Mobile

In what is being termed location-aware web browsing, Firefox is boasting location provisioning in release 3.5. The idea is that users will be asked where you are in an effort to deliver more relevant, local content to your search results. When using mapping functionality, the idea is that the browser will know where you are so all you need to do is enter where you want to go in order to get directions etc… Location browsing is totally optional, however, you can set it up by entering the following in the url browser bar - Type geo.enabled See more at http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/geolocation/

In a relatively quiet move, Flickr recently added Twitter integration to their service - enter Flickr2Twitter. Using the service, Flickr users can now easily “blog” their existing photo to Twitter with one click or they can send their photos directly to flickr and Twitter in one move from their mobile or via email. Flickr2Twitter Beta can be found at http://www.flickr.com/groups/flickrtwitterbeta

In order to use the service, Flickr users will first need to provide the proper authorization and give Twitter access to your account- see  www.flickr.com/account/blogs/add/twitter
Then, to easily start flick/Twitter posting from your mobile simply post to your unique email+Twitter address.  Then, when you upload via email, the subject line will be taken as your Twitter tweet, and a special Flickr-y short URL to the photo will be appended. For an example see photo here http://twitter.com/gletham/status/2431210430

See more at the Flickr Blog

A sample photo sent to Twitter from Flickr using the “Blog” this function

The same photo in Flickr - notice the “blog” option

This from Skyhook wireless as Dell prepares to start (finally) rolling out laptops with pre-installed location-provisioning. This information comes via Skyhook wireless… The Dell Wireless 700 location solution includes the hybrid GPS and Wi-Fi Positioning location engine from Skyhook Wireless (www.skyhookwireless.com), the same engine deployed on tens of millions of Apple iPhones and iPod Touch devices. Initially two apps will be offered with the Dell Wireless 700 location solution: CoPilot and the Loki Dashboard. CoPilot is a fully functionally navigation application giving turn-by-turn driving directions as well as local search of key points of interest like. The Loki Dashboard is a web portal that uses the netbook’s location engine to customize widgets for news, weather, tweets, photos, events and people around you. Dell Wireless 700 location solution owners can easily access the Loki Dashboard via Internet Explorer on the netbook (dell.loki.com).See more over on the Dell blog

An event of interest while in San Diego at the ESRI UC… Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com) will be holding their Blue Marble User Group meeting on Tuesday, July 14th from 12:00-1:00 in Room 14A during the ESRI User Conference in San Diego, CA. The User Group Meeting is open to current users of Blue Marble’s suite of data conversion solutions. Lunch will be provided at this working session, which will focus on creating a feedback list to include requests for feature function items to incorporate in our new products.  The latest updates to Blue Marble’s Geographic Calculator and Geographic Transformer will also be on display. Attendees are asked to pre-register at http://www.bluemarblegeo.com/products/ugsignup.php to guarantee a space.

Adobe’s Acrobat User Community will be presenting a free webinar July 22 at 10am Pacific on using the new geospatial features in Acrobat 9 to communicate geospatial information and provide mapping capabilities to field workers and other users. Join Tomas Lopes from Farallon Geographics, as he demonstrates how easy it is for GIS professionals to share geospatial information and facilitate data maintenance workflows with individuals in the field by combining Acrobat 9 with professional desktop GIS software. Registration for this 60-min eSeminar with live Q&A is free - see more details HERE

The USDA has launched a new Web site at USDA.gov/recovery enabling people to learn about, share, discuss the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding in states and communities throughout the country. The site provides users with access to a blog, podcasts, RSS feeds and other interactive tools so users can interact and share stories and providing feedback about how USDA impacts the community.Interactive Features on www.usda.gov/recovery Provide Functionality for the American People to Share Their Recovery Stories, Provide Feedback on USDA Efforts - see more info here or jump to the recovery Map HERE

Interesting to see the MLB team from Baltimore providing fans with a 3D experience via Virtual Birdland - developed by Harris Corp, the app was created from ground, aerial and satellite imagery using technology developed for government customers. Virtual Birdland provides Orioles fans with a clear view of what they will see prior to arriving at Oriole Park, and helps familiarize them with traffic patterns, ample parking options, and other area attractions surrounding the ballpark - check it out at http://www.orioles.com/virtualbirdland

Camden Yards in 3D

Here’s a tip for a great app for iPhone that uses your location to locate cool events nearby! The Spoonfed Event Radar answers the simple question: What’s on around me now? The location based application puts thousands of events at your fingertips, wherever you are whenever you want and is available to download from the iPhone app store.

Spoonfed’s Event Radar is a location-based event guide that makes it quick and fun to find the best events in London and help you make plans while you’re on the move.

• Over 30,000 events listed every month so you’ll never be stuck for things to do
• All the information you need including location, time, cost, distance and a detailed preview of what to expect from the event
• Browse by nearly 100 wide-ranging genres from Rock, Jazz and Cabaret to Photography, Stand up and Karaoke
• Use Google Maps to get directions to where you want to go

See more HERE or simply hit www.spoonfed.co.uk/mobile/iphone/