I recall first hearing about the initial Beta last year and thought to myself… WOW… I can’t wait to see where this one goes from here. Well the Idelix Crew in Vancouver BC has expanded the LookLOCAL app in the form of Beta 2. Simply put, imagine searching for directions, a business listing, traffic conditions etc… using one application where you can toggle your map view between services provided by Google maps, Yahoo! Local, or Windows Live Local. Now add to that even more functionality provided by an embedded birds-eye window that embeds the Idelix pliable display technology so you can zoom in on an area of interest within the birds-eye window. Forget about zooming in, waiting for a refresh etc… you can also toggle on/off satellite imagery within the birds-eye window… SWEET! When searching for a business (e.g.. Starbucks in Seattle) the hits are displayed on the side-bar in a very neat, organized manner. This mashup is awesome! Try it for yourself at http://looklocal.idelix.com
Archives for January 2007
Cingular and West Orange High School TXT Bee Event – TXT your way to a scholarship!
Now here’s a cool event, created for high school students who can’t get enough of txt messaging… the Cingular and West Orange High School TXT Bee Event. Here’s the skinny from Cingular… The Cingular TXT Bee is an innovative event that is designed to bridge the communication gap that sometimes exists between parents and teens through text messaging. It is a first-of-its-kind grassroots effort that utilizes the spirit of competition to encourage parents to start communicating in the “language” that has become so popular with teens. Five parent/student teams from West Orange High School, to be randomly selected the night of the event, will compete in two rounds of competition in a game show style format with the second round determining the winner. Essentially it is the Newlywed Game meets Family Feud — with text messaging as the way to submit answers. The winning parent/student team will win a $5,000 scholarship. Cingular is also donating $5,000 to West Orange High School Project Graduation. WHEN & WHERE: Friday evening, January 19, 2007 at 8:30pm, West Orange High School, 51 Conforti Avenue, West Orange, New Jersey 07052.
A Tip – Cell Swapper – no more contracts?
Something off-topic but perhaps of interest to a few of you out there. Have you ever been stuck in a cell phone contract and wanted out? This website appears to offer a way to get out of a contract… no hassles. Simply put, the service “shops” the remainder of your contract to someone else who wants in. No termination fees etc… you simply post details of your plan (eg. 6 months left on T-mobile) and others that want in can pick it up. Sounds too good to be true but if you want out it may be useful! See http://www.cellswapper.com/
Webinar Reminder: ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework
A reminder to those of you interested in Building Applications with ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework. ESRI is offering a free webinar today, Jan 18 at 9 AM, 11 AM, or 3 PM Pacific (Los Angeles); 12 PM, 2 PM, or 6 PM Eastern. To register simply go to http://www.esri.com/training and in the Free Live Training Seminar area,click “Building Applications with ArcGIS Server for the Microsoft .NET Framework.”
VanMap gets an update with Dec 2006 orthos and 07 property values
Looks like the VanMap web service has received a number of recent updates, although the site was already outstanding! According to Jonathan Marek of the city, they have just added an orthophoto layer of Stanley Park based on photographs taken on December 28, 2006 (thats orthos from 3 weeks agao… nice! Sorry but you won’t find that on Google Earth ;0). Marek notes that the reason for this update was to help with the damage assessment and re-forestation planning processes – See http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/vanmap/o/orthophotos.htm
Also new; the ability to calculate areas of polygons in VanMap and those of you monitoring the soaring property values in Vancouver will appreciate the assessed values for 2007 which are also now available – See http://www.city.vancouver.bc.ca/vanmap/p/propertyInformationRpt.htm
Job – GIS professional (ArcFM) needed
Just a quick plug here as I got a call from a head-hunter this morning wanting some help locating some potential GIS talent skilled in ArcFM as well as ArcInfo, ArcView, ArcIMS, ArcSDE, and ArcGIS Server. Here’s the short blurb… “Our client, a leading management consulting company, is looking for experienced GIS professionals to serve in their Utilities practice. ” Since the guy took the time to call its the least i can do to give a shout out. For the commplete listing and contact info see this job listing… Good Luck!
Location-based geography from Ricoh
It’s good to see another GPS camera on the market specifically for the GIS workforce. I’ve never been able to figure out exactly why there’s been a gap in this space for so long since there’s definitely a huge demand for this product.. enter the latest from Ricoh – the Ricoh 500 SE – also billed as location-based photography. I recall it was back in 2000 that i tested and reviewed in detail a similar solution from Kodak called the FIS-265 (i think) this very cool product integrated your GPS until with a camera and it also came with an ArcView extension enabling seamless communication with ArcView.. i have to admit that in its day it was absolutely amazing.. the odd thing about it though was that nobody at koday knew anything about it and users really didn’t know about it either – except for the fact that i was promoting it. Lets see if the Ricoh 500 SE catches on and is supported by the company. Of interest, this product is a follow up to a unit launched by Ricoh back in 2005 – the GPS-ready Ricoh Pro G3 (thanks to Anaonymous coward for the tip ;0) What sets these devices apart from the rest is the ability to encode location information and easily incorporate that information into GIS workflows. More on this device in the official blurb HERE
T-Mobile USA and RIM Unveil New ”Pearl White” BlackBerry Pearl
I’m not a “berry” user, however, I know many of you would like to get your hands on a new pearl.. so, here’s the skinny on a new offering from T-mobile who are now supporting this slick smartphone. FYI, T-mobile offers up a decent my-faves plan for about $49 a month (1,000 minutes of air time) + Unlimited personal e-mail and web browsing for an extra $19.99/mo. – $29.99 will get you all you can eat data (a good deal!).
features of the BlackBerry Pearl include:
BlackBerry® Internet Service – allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts Popular instant messaging clients: AOL®, Yahoo!® MSN® and ICQ®3 1.3 megapixel camera with 3 zoom levels (up to 5X) and built-in flash Multimedia player with stereo headset jack with support for MP3 and AAC music files, as well as MPEG4 and H.263 video formats High-performance HTML browser for visiting your favorite web sites while on the go4 A newly enhanced version of RIM’s popular SureType™ keyboard technology that makes typing email quick and easy An incredibly intuitive user interface with an easy-to-use trackball, dedicated ‘menu’ and ‘escape’ keys, and context-sensitive menus that make navigation feel instinctive and fast Intuitive call management features such as smart dialing, conference calling5, speed dialing, and call forwarding5 First-rate phone features with Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), dedicated ‘send’, ‘end’, and ‘mute’ keys, speakerphone, and Bluetooth® support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits and Bluetooth peripherals Quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE network support for international roaming6 BlackBerry Maps – a new application which adds mapping and location-based services to the BlackBerry Pearl. BlackBerry Maps works together with other BlackBerry applications, enabling the user to send maps via email and launch maps from other applications, including contacts in the user’s address book Support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones3 A large, ultra-bright 240×260 color display that brings images to life An innovative light-sensing technology that automatically optimizes the screen, trackball and keyboard lighting for indoor, outdoor and dark environments 64MB built-in flash memory, expandable via microSD expansion slot BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support – integrates with Microsoft® Exchange, IBM Lotus® Domino® and Novell® GroupWise® environments and features a new set of IT policy controls for IT departments to manage camera and expanded memory usage The new white BlackBerry Pearl also comes with a complement of white accessories – stereo headset, travel charger and USB cable — that are included in the box. Additional accessories for BlackBerry handsets, including premium leather holsters and totes, an automotive charger, and Bluetooth® headsets are available online and through T-Mobile retail outlets.
T-Mobile USA and RIM Unveil New ”Pearl White” BlackBerry Pearl
I’m not a “berry” user, however, I know many of you would like to get your hands on a new pearl.. so, here’s the skinny on a new offering from T-mobile who are now supporting this slick smartphone. FYI, T-mobile offers up a decent my-faves plan for about $49 a month (1,000 minutes of air time) + Unlimited personal e-mail and web browsing for an extra $19.99/mo. – $29.99 will get you all you can eat data (a good deal!).
features of the BlackBerry Pearl include:
BlackBerry® Internet Service – allows access to up to 10 supported personal and corporate email accounts, including most popular ISP email accounts Popular instant messaging clients: AOL®, Yahoo!® MSN® and ICQ®3 1.3 megapixel camera with 3 zoom levels (up to 5X) and built-in flash Multimedia player with stereo headset jack with support for MP3 and AAC music files, as well as MPEG4 and H.263 video formats High-performance HTML browser for visiting your favorite web sites while on the go4 A newly enhanced version of RIM’s popular SureType™ keyboard technology that makes typing email quick and easy An incredibly intuitive user interface with an easy-to-use trackball, dedicated ‘menu’ and ‘escape’ keys, and context-sensitive menus that make navigation feel instinctive and fast Intuitive call management features such as smart dialing, conference calling5, speed dialing, and call forwarding5 First-rate phone features with Speaker Independent Voice Recognition (SIVR) for Voice Activated Dialing (VAD), dedicated ‘send’, ‘end’, and ‘mute’ keys, speakerphone, and Bluetooth® support for hands-free use with headsets, car kits and Bluetooth peripherals Quad-band GSM/GPRS and EDGE network support for international roaming6 BlackBerry Maps – a new application which adds mapping and location-based services to the BlackBerry Pearl. BlackBerry Maps works together with other BlackBerry applications, enabling the user to send maps via email and launch maps from other applications, including contacts in the user’s address book Support for polyphonic, mp3 and MIDI ring tones3 A large, ultra-bright 240×260 color display that brings images to life An innovative light-sensing technology that automatically optimizes the screen, trackball and keyboard lighting for indoor, outdoor and dark environments 64MB built-in flash memory, expandable via microSD expansion slot BlackBerry® Enterprise Server support – integrates with Microsoft® Exchange, IBM Lotus® Domino® and Novell® GroupWise® environments and features a new set of IT policy controls for IT departments to manage camera and expanded memory usage The new white BlackBerry Pearl also comes with a complement of white accessories – stereo headset, travel charger and USB cable — that are included in the box. Additional accessories for BlackBerry handsets, including premium leather holsters and totes, an automotive charger, and Bluetooth® headsets are available online and through T-Mobile retail outlets.
Google Maps API Takes Prize for Web Service Product of the Year
JupiterWeb, a division of Jupitermedia Corp have announced the winners for the Developer.com Product of the Year Awards for 2007. These 2007 awards mark the fifth year for this competition. The winners were nominated and selected by the users of Developer.com (www.developer.com). Under the category of Web Service Product of the Year the familiar Google Maps API took the award (no huge surprise and definitely a boon for geospatial technologies). Other winners of interest include:
Technology of the Year – Mozilla’s – AJAX
Development Tool of the Year – IBM WebSphere Studio
Database Tool or Add-in of the Year – Microsoft SQL Server 2005
JSR (Java Specification Request) of the Year – JSR 244
Open Source Tool of the Year – IBM WebSphere Application Server Community Edition
.NET Tool/Add-in of the Year – Microsoft AJAX Library, ASP.NET AJAX Control Extensions and ASP.NET AJAX Control Toolkit
For more on the awards and the winners see www.developer.com