Some interesting news out of Canada as we hear from the team at the Canada-wide Differential GPS Service (www.cdgps.com) the Canada-wide DGPS Service (CDGPS) is to be decommissioned by March 31, 2011. CDGPS, the free GNSS augmentation initiated as a public service by the Canadian Council on Geomatics (CCOG), has been broadcasting continuously since October, 2003, with a North American footprint that extends from Mexico to 15° north of the Arctic Circle. For more on this see details in the official announcement that we received.
Archives for April 8, 2010
Got an idea for ArcGIS? Enter ArcGIS Ideas
Got an idea… check out ArcGIS Ideas http://ideas.arcgis.com. We got some info from the GeoGeek New Zealand blog describing the idea for the ideas project and Jithen (@jiritech) describes some key points about Ideas:
- Is open to all worldwide
- Fosters collaboration
- Is integrated with the resource centers. A link to the web site is now live on http://resources.arcgis.com (bottom right, under Other Resources).
- Another link will be added to the support site at http://support.esri.com (under Community Content in the left hand navigation).
- Uses a community approach to handling enhancement request
- Gathers real-time feedback
- Acknowledges user ideas and provides users feedback on popular ideas.
10 Favorite Geo Tweets
Once again, I’m glad to share 10 interesting Tweets recently added to my “faves” – these are also 10 fine Geo-Tweeters you might wish to follow!
- @ WOMWorldNokia – Calling all Canadian Mobile Geeks. April is the month: 21st in Toronto 22nd in Vancouver
- @bernszukalski: Share your data – about ArcGIS Online community basemaps and the community maps program
- @google – So you think you can… code? Registration for our 2010 Code Jam is now open
- @ManoMarks – looks like a great use of Twitter (client+visualizing) + Maps API V3, plus direct chatting
- @LewisHowes – Ten Ways for Small Businesses to Use LinkedIn
- @josephkerski – URISA’s GIS Hall of Fame – Nominations Due 1 May 2010
- @nokconv Post: Nokia Research Center, Augmented Reality and Michael J Fox
- @yasminfodil How can U.S. federal agencies use social media to increase civic engagement?
- @HilaryPerkins – Any NY state #GIS folks know about this (@DonMeltz) Bills Only licensed surveyors can do GIS?
- @twbell – Missed or made #where20, read this cogent overview by @DiAnnEisnor on @gigaom:
iPhone 4.0 Features multi-tasking, folders, background apps, and iAd
Yes indeed, the much anticipated release of details of iPhone 4.0 came today from Steve Jobs as Apple Kool-aid drinking journalists, developers and the like gathered as requested to listen to “The Steve preach the next coming errr what’s coming next. As we all expected, multi-tasking will come at 4.0 (indeed a no brainer I would have thought at 2.0) … imagine, now you can run two apps simultaneously on the iPhone!
Multitasking services include:
- Background audio – Allows your app to play audio continuously. So customers can listen to your app while they surf the web, play games, and more.
- Voice over iP – Your VoIP apps can now be even better. Users can now receive VoIP calls and have conversations while using another app. Your users can even receive calls when their phones are locked in their pocket.
- Background location – Navigation apps can now continue to guide users who are listening to their iPods, or using other apps. iPhone OS 4 also provides a new and battery efficient way to monitor location when users move between cell towers. This is a great way for your social networking apps to keep track of users and their friends’ locations.
- Push notifications – Receive alerts from your remote servers even when your app isn’t running.
- Local notifications – Your app can now alert users of scheduled events and alarms in the background, no servers required.
- Task finishing – If your app is in mid-task when your customer leaves it, the app can now keep running to finish the task.
- Fast app switching – All developers should take advantage of this. This will allow users to leave your app and come right back to where they were when they left – no more having to reload the app.
Folders is another new concept, enabling users to stack their apps in folders that are ordered logically like Games, Travel, Social etc… another good idea as swiping pages until you run out of space is getting to be a bit old. Running navigation in the background will be a welcomed addition and apparently Voip services in the background will also come at 4.0. Finally, Apple will take aim at Google Ads with what’s being called iAd, a solution giving developers and advertising agencies a way to create in-app advertisements. According to Apple, developers can look forward to some 1500+ API improvements in the SDK See more about iPhone 4.0 via Cnet
See also more coverage on RWW & Business Week – Look for iPhone 4.0 to come this summer – See http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/ or jump HERE for the iPhone 4 Beta SDK
AT&T Plans $1 Billion Investment in 2010
AT&T have announced plans to invest approximately $1 billion in 2010 to scale its delivery of applications, mobility and cloud services for global companies, to expand small business services. AT&T’s 2010 program includes:
— Scaling Application Services – enhancing AT&T’s current portfolio of flexible collaboration services and applications such as managed hosting, cloud-based services, Telepresence, Unified Communications, Digital Media Solutions and security.
— Enterprise Mobility Applications – continuing AT&T’s focus on delivering mobile solutions, applications and integrated devices to companies of all sizes. — Vertical Industry Focus – creating and deploying applications in the finance, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, education and government sectors, expanding its presence in emerging applications including markets such as machine-to- machine communication and rolling out fixed mobile convergence and location based solutions, along withmobile platform and portal enhancements.
– Enhancing Small Business – deploying platforms and systems across its 22-state U.S. footprint to deliver an enhanced customer experience and to accelerate the provisioning of multiple products and services. AT&T also plans to increase broadband speeds up to 24 Mbps downstream where possible in more than 120 markets across AT&T’s 22-state U.S. footprint.– Global Network Expansion – continuing to build out its global network to deliver services and applications to the markets and geographies where multinational companies today are doing business and/or housing their operations. The AT&T network now reaches countries that represent 99% of the global economy.
— Continue to expand AT&T’s portfolio of mobile applications across multiple vertical industries, focusing on smart grid solutions and mHealth.
— Offer enhanced solutions that take advantage of AT&T’s converged fixed and mobile networks including network-based and premise based fixed mobile convergence and super femtocell technology.
— Increase support for the more than 750 wireless devices already connected to the AT&T network – such as e-readers, netbooks, digital photo frames, personal navigation devices, and home security monitoring and smart grid devices – for use by business customers.