A reminder from ESRI points out that the First annual Dev Summit is only 17 days away. Normally I would blast off to such an event but this year I’ve opted to hang out at home on March 17th for a change so I can celebrate my kids birthdays – ya that’s right.. 2 of them have St. Patrick’s Day birthdays on the 17th – as a result, a ski trip is on the horizon instead of the usual requisite March trip to an event (March is always the start of a busy travel season!). Speakers lined up to keynote the event include ESRI’s Scott Morehouse (ESRI Director of Research and Development), as well as reps from IBM and Microsoft. More info can be found at http://www.esri.com/events/devsummit/index.html
Archives for February 2006
More on Microsoft Windows Live Local Technology Preview
Today, via the Internet, Windows Live Local is offering up a limited Technical Preview of ‘street-side’ a new feature that Microsoft is building for its Windows Live Local consumer local search and mapping site. Street-side provides three new street-level vantage points for Windows Live Local users wanting a sneak preview of desired destinations, and surrounding visual cues on how to get there. I just spent some time driving around Seattle and San Francisco using the technology. The 3 different viewer perspectives are quite cool, similar in concept to what you see at A9 if you’ve ever walked the streets using their fine mapping app. I wasn’t too big on the Race Car concept, although I’m sure some will find it quite cool! Walking the streets to get a feel for an area is very interesting and the imagery definitely make it simple and fun. you can see more from my tour at http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/8274/28/ or try the technology for yourself at http://preview.local.live.com. Of note, those interesting in hacking the service to create a mashup can forget about it… that’s not a supported feature at this time!
Windows Live Local consumer local search and mapping to expand with street-side – new functionality
Later Today Windows Live Local will preview some new functionality — the company will be showing yours truly (and others) a Technical Preview of ‘street-side’, a new feature Microsoft is building for its Windows Live Local consumer local search and mapping site. As its name implies, street-side provides three new street-level vantage points for Windows Live Local users wanting a sneak preview of desired destinations, and surrounding visual cues on how to get there. Some features:
– Street-side imagery will be available in a split screen navigation window. In the upper navigation pane, Windows Live Local users can view street-level imagery of their destinations. In the lower navigation pane, Windows Live Local users can switch between three navigation vehicles – race car, sports car, and walk-by… cool!
– The preview will focus on 2 cities – Seattle and San Francisco.
Stay tuned. More info available later today at local.live.com
ASK adds maps but you’ll likely ASK yourself why here and not at Google?
As if there isn’t already enough choices for online maps and directions, ASK.com (you know – that search portal that used to have that annoying Butler named Jeeves) has ditched Jeeves and has “relaunched” with a number of new features, including maps. Users can search by address and view a Street, aerial, or mixed view. The resulting images from GlobeXplorer and Navteq are very reminiscent of what you’d get from a search at Google Maps, including the balloon and information panel to go with it (ASK uses a sign instead of a balloon). Visiting http://www.ask.com results in a simple “searchenginish” looking doorway offering options of news, images, maps, shopping, yadayada. You can use ASK to search for “stuff” by I would have to ASK.. why would you use this instead of Google??
ASK adds maps but you’ll likely ASK yourself why here and not at Google?
As if there isn’t already enough choices for online maps and directions, ASK.com (you know – that search portal that used to have that annoying Butler named Jeeves) has ditched Jeeves and has “relaunched” with a number of new features, including maps. Users can search by address and view a Street, aerial, or mixed view. The resulting images from GlobeXplorer and Navteq are very reminiscent of what you’d get from a search at Google Maps, including the balloon and information panel to go with it (ASK uses a sign instead of a balloon). Visiting http://www.ask.com results in a simple “searchenginish” looking doorway offering options of news, images, maps, shopping, yadayada. You can use ASK to search for “stuff” by I would have to ASK.. why would you use this instead of Google??
Mapping the real Vancouver in preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics
Did you watch the closing ceremonies from Torino? If so you got a glimpse of what things are like in Vancouver and what to expect. Mind-you, what you saw was the actually the politically correct, gratuitous kiss-up to the Aboriginal population and the French (do they even speak French in Vancouver?) that you always get from the British Columbian & Canadian Government. To get a good feel for what you can expect in Vancouver you might check out some of the innovative web mapping applications available from the GIS community (like VanMap and WhistlerMap). Many local governments including the City of Vancouver, North Vancouver, Delta, Surrey, and Whistler have dedicated web mapping resources… these have been explored along with a number of others in this information piece now at http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/8264/55/. FYI, do you need to speak French in Vancouver??? NO (hardly anyone speaks French) and you’ll be hard-pressed to find any Inukshuks!
The MapXtreme 2005 – v6.5: FREE Online Seminar
I’m not usually the first one in line to hype MapInfo’s stuff, however, here’s details of a free webinar that may be of interest to you… MapXtreme 2005 – v6.5: FREE Online Seminar – 9th March 2006 – 2.30pm (GMT) An overview of the latest release of MapXtreme 2005, MapInfo’s industry leading location based development environment. MapXtreme 2005 SDK is a single offering providing the ability to develop both desktop and web applications using the .NET framework. This seminar will outline many of the new features of this major release as well as a quick glance at what you can expect in the coming 12 months as MapInfo continues to develop and expand this popular product. See http://www.mapxtreme.com
Mapping Seinfeld via Google Maps – a fun Mashup
Like many of you, I’m a Seinfeld fan… not just a fan, but I’m a huge fan… likely able to ramble off the plot, quotes etc… from virtually every episode… anyway, of interest to all you other Seinfeld-a-holics out there, check out this innovative Google Mashup (from stolasgeospatial) that maps locations in New York City that actually played a part in Seinfeld episodes. Each icon offers up a place description as well as a detailed description of the episode of interest and the role that the physical location played in the script. To date there’s only a couple of dozen locations posted and I look forward to many more being added. See http://www.stolasgeospatial.com/seinfeld.htm
WEB-based Geoinformation Data Warehouse Prototype
Dimitri Goldman has introduced me to The WEB-based Geoinformation Data Warehouse Prototype (GIS DW Prototype) – a WEB-GIS decision support system, based on using of: reliable and productive ORDBMS Oracle 10g; universal and effective J2EE platform; simple and flexible XML-based technologies. GIS DW Prototype includes more than 40 thematic layers of SAND – the information about USA Counties, obtained from: USDA Forest Service; National Weather Service; U.S. Geological Survey; USDOT/BTS; Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and other. A lengthy description of the project is offered in the About section. Check it out at http://dgoldman.narod.ru/index.html
Suggested GIS and Geospatial Technology Events, 2006
This week I spent a bit of time going over some conference literature in an effort to try and decide which events to hit, which ones sound cool, and what new events might be of interest to GIS users, mashers, and other geospatial technology enthusiasts. I compiled the results into a list of what I bill my Top 15 GIS/Technology events of the coming year. Most are no surprise to you, however, there are a few interesting new events that you might wish to follow or even attend if you happen to have the travel budget. Descriptions of each event are provided along with the requisite contact info and a few notes. To spice it up a bit I’ve also added a few images from some recent events I’ve attended and also list off some pointers to smaller regional events and GIS training and a few fun travel tips that you might find useful. See the article”GISuser Suggested Geospatial Technology Events, 2006″ HERE – http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/8240/ – Did I miss anything that you would list on your TOP list?