søndag den 31. august 2008

Hurricane Gustav Hydrologic Impacts Map



Se stormen komme! Følg udviklingen real time på nettet.
/Sik



See the storm comming! Follow the events real time on the net.
/Sik


Quote


The “Hurricane Gustav Hydrologic Impacts Map” shows the location of streamgages where the water level is currently at or above flood stage (depicted as a black triangle) or at a historical high discharge (depicted as blue circles); other USGS streamgages are depicted as open circles. The map also shows the location of storm surge sensors (red squares) which monitor water levels in rivers and canals. The high flow conditions are expressed as percentiles that compare the current (i.e., within the past several hours) instantaneous flow value to historical (period of record) daily mean flow values for all days of the year at that site. The real-time data used to produce this map are provisional and have not been reviewed or edited. They may be subject to significant change.

Please note that flood conditions may be more extensive than shown on the map because the National Weather Service (NWS) has not identified a flood stage (for flood forecasting purposes) at all USGS streamgages. Also, the NWS has determined flood stages for some non-USGS streamgages that are not shown on the map. The most complete depiction of streamgages at or above flood stage is on the
NWS River Observations Map.

[...]


Read more: http://water.usgs.gov/waterwatch/gustav/

TypeBrewer: A Map Design Help Tool for Selecting Typography



Nogen gange skal det ses før man kan se det for sig. En anden font og en anden størrelse ...
/Sik



Seeing is believing. Sometimes you need the hit and miss approach.
/Sik


Quote


TypeBrewer is a free help tool that gives non-specialist mapmakers a chance to explore typography in a semi-structured environment. It is not mapmaking software. Instead of providing the functionality of a graphic design program or GIS, TypeBrewer offers a quick and easy way to explore typographic alternatives and see the impact that various elements of type have on the overall look and feel of a map. TypeBrewer is designed for mapmakers who want to learn more about map typography and get practical design specifications for starting a map project.

TypeBrewer templates are based on sound typographic and cartographic principles, as well as best professional practices. They can be applied to a wide range of possible projects:
To use TypeBrewer, you'll need the Adobe Flash Player, version 8 or higher.

[...]

lørdag den 30. august 2008

ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 Raster Renderer Patch

Date Submitted: August 29, 2008
Last Modified: August 29, 2008

Summary:
This patch resolves an issue where an error message is displayed when applying the classified renderer on some raster datasets that contain many unique values, especially floating point datasets.

Description:
Introduction
Issues Addressed with this Patch
Files Installed in this Patch
Installing this Patch on Windows
Patch Updates
How to identify which Patch is installed
Getting Help

Introduction
ESRI® announces the ArcGIS Desktop 9.3 Raster Renderer Patch. This patch resolves an issue where an error message is displayed when applying the classified renderer on some raster datasets that contain many unique values, especially floating point datasets. Users who work with these types of raster data should install this patch. The specific issues addressed in this patch are listed below.


Read more: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=downloads.patchesServicePacks.viewPatch&PID=17&MetaID=1443

GeoEye to Launch World's Highest Resolution Commercial Earth-Imaging Satellite Sept. 4, 2008



Se opsendelsen af GeoEye på nettet!
/Sik



See the launch of GeoEye on the Net!
/Sik


Quote

GeoEye-1 Satellite Launch to be Broadcast on the Internet

DULLES, Va., Aug. 29 -- GeoEye, Inc. (NASDAQ: GEOY),a premier provider of satellite, aerial and geospatial information, announcedtoday the launch of the world's highest resolution, commercial Earth-imagingsatellite is scheduled for Sept. 4, 2008, from Space Launch Complex-2 atVandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB), California. The planned launch time is11:50:57 a.m. PDT (2:50:57 p.m. EDT). A Flight Readiness Review was conductedon Aug. 28 and the launch vehicle, launch range, the GeoEye-1 satellite, andall other program elements are ready for launch.

GeoEye-1 will be lifted into a near-polar orbit by a 12-story-tall UnitedLaunch Alliance Delta II 7420-10 configuration launch vehicle. The launchvehicle and associate support services were procured by Boeing LaunchServices. The GeoEye-1 satellite is expected to deploy the spacecraftapproximately 58 minutes after liftoff and will reach its proper orbit about90 minutes after launch. In order to achieve the proper orbit, the launchwindow will only be open for 84 seconds. Once in orbit, GeoEye-1 will undergosystem calibration and testing. The company expects to offer imagery andproducts to customers in the mid- to late-October timeframe.

[...]


Read more: http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/15475/

3D Printing For Everyone



Design, bestil og få en 3D udgave ...
/Sik



Design, oder and get a 3D model ...
/Sik


Quote

We discussed 3D printers and their potential use for geospatial products less than a year ago, but earlier this month Slashdot discussed how "cheap" 3D printing has become. Their summary: ""Technology Review has up an article about Shapeways, a new online rapid-prototyping service that allows users to upload digital designs which are then printed on 3-D printers and shipped back. A spinoff from Philips Research, the service gives small businesses, designers, artists, and hobbyists access to prototyping tools that were once available only to the largest corporations. The fee for a typical printed object is $50-$150. Their video shows the steps behind the process." We've been talking about 3D printing for years ."

[...]


Read more: http://technology.slashgeo.org/technology/08/08/29/2128227.shtml

fredag den 29. august 2008

Yahoo! GeoPlanet™




Prøvede at oprette en account, men fik en serverfejl ...
/Sik




Tried signing up but got a server error ...
/Sik


Quote

Yahoo! GeoPlanet helps bridge the gap between the real and virtual worlds by providing an open, permanent, and intelligent infrastructure for geo-referencing data on the Internet.

In practical terms, Yahoo! GeoPlanet is a resource for managing all geo-permanent named places on Earth. It provides the geographic developer community with the vocabulary and grammar to describe the world's geography in an unequivocal, permanent, and language-neutral manner. Developers can geo-enable their applications by using GeoPlanet to traverse the global spatial hierarchy, identify the geography relevant to their users and their businesses, and in turn, unambiguously geotag, geotarget, and geolocate data across the Web.

Originally introduced as "the Internet Location Platform", we are formally launching as Yahoo! GeoPlanet, a name which emphasizes the international breadth and local depth of the places we make accessible.

[...]


Read more: http://developer.yahoo.com/geo/

iPhone for phonies



Når man nu ikke har råd til at anskaffe en rigtig iPhone, så er det godt at man kan få en gratis ...
/Sik



When you can't afford a real iPhone it's good you can have one for free ...
/Sik


Quote



[...]



Read more: http://apps.facebook.com/miphone/

Map reading skills 'dying out due to internet and satnavs'



Da lommeregneren blev billig nok holdt børnene op med kunne regne ...
/Sik



When calculaters were given to school children they stopped knowing about calculus ...
/Sik


Quote

Map-reading is a dying art because of the increasing reliance on the internet and satellite navigation systems, the country's top cartographer has warned.

By Louise Gray Last Updated: 6:31AM BST 29 Aug 2008

Mary Spence, MBE, President of the British Cartographic Society, said the ubiquitous sat nav in cars means people now concentrate only on going from A to B without noticing where they are or how they got there.
As a result the whereabouts of the thousands of churches, ancient woodlands, stately homes and eccentric landmarks which make up the rich tapestry of the British landscape could disappear from public consciousness.


[...]


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2639307/Map-reading-skills-dying-out-due-to-internet-and-satnavs.html

First Google Android Developer Challenge winners announced



Hvem kunne ikke bruge 100.000 dollars?
/Sik



Could you spend $100.000 ?
/Sik


Quote

In Google’s first Android Developer Challenge, Google has judges and chosen the top twelve developers, and these twelve developers, be they individuals or developer shops will find themselves considerably richer for entering.

Out of the fifty applications which made it through to the final round in the Android Developer Challenge, ten have been awarded a cool $275,000 each while another ten receives an equally cool $100,000.

[...]


Read more: http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2008/08/29/first-google-android-developer-challenge-winners-announced/

Portable Search Engine Concept with GPS for Travelers



Det er ikke så længe siden at jeg fortalte om en tidlig gadget (fra 1920'erne - (http://gisdk.blogspot.com/2008/08/1920s-wristwatch-style-routefinder.html) som var udformet som et armbåndsur og som sammen med en strimmel kort fungerede som datidens 'GPS' - nu er der kommet en opdateret version!
/Sik



Not so long ago a wrote a post about a gadget (from the 1920s http://gisdk.blogspot.com/2008/08/1920s-wristwatch-style-routefinder.html) describing an armwrist like mechanics which together with a paper map on a tiny roll functioned as the 'GPS' of those days - now it has been updated!

/Sik


Quote

Seek is a portable search engine or you can say it’s a guiding device by Jukka Roitto. This portable search engine is a helpful guide for people stuck in an unknown city. The device is meant to help novice and experienced looking for local theaters, restaurants, clubs etc. The device puts into use of the GPS system and the beauty of the product is that it can be personalized while also be strapped to the wrist. Also, it has touch screen based functions with other functions like a portable music player to keep you entertained. So if you are in a new town, no sweats just seek the guidance of Seek and you will see the whole city as if you knew it forever!

[...]



Will digital city models become one über model or separate models for specific domains?



På mange måder er vi her hjemme langt bagud når det gælder den digitale by model og den digitale forvaltning. Det er ikke mange år siden at jeg blev mødt med påstanden om at en given kommune nu var digital og at det ved nærmere eftersyn blot betød at lokalplanerne var omsat til PDF dokumenter - det er heldigvis ikke niveauet idag, meeeeen man savner stadig nogle flere visioner imod den digitale model for den digitale kommune.
/Sik



In many ways Danish municipalities are far behind when it comes to digital city models and digitals business logic when servicing the people living in the municipalities. It is not so long ago that I was told that a municipality was now digitalized because it's local planning was converting from analogue text to PDF's. That is fortunately not the level of ambition today - still though I miss the visions and the courage to build the fully digital municipality.
/Sik


Quote

Geoff Zeiss of Autodesk moderated a spark panel at the GeoWeb Conference, and one question he posed that’s stuck with me is whether digital city models would become an über model or many models for specific domains. There are many ways to look at this question. When considering an über model, there’s the issue of organization, and the need to determine whether the digital city will reside within an interoperable framework or as a central collective repository. Another way to look at this is to assess the different requirements of specific domains to determine if there’s a compelling need for separate modeling environments for different professions or workflows. The issue of ownership and governance of the model also comes into play, particularly in light of security-related issues, which will demand a level of centralized control.

There’s no easy means to build a digital city model for wide interaction and adoption. The number of potential users is equal to the number of citizens that inhabit our real-world cities, and competing and overlapping interests makes it an impossible task to address the issues of all users at once. A measured approach with good groundwork is necessary, and first and foremost is a workable business model.

[...]



Read more: http://vector1media.com/spatialsustain/?p=846

Hjælp os med at skrive en bog - fortsat



I et tidligere indlæg (http://gisdk.blogspot.com/2008/08/hjlp-os-med-at-skrive-en-bog.html) fortalte jeg at ComputerWorld gerne vil have skribenter til at skrive om et af 8 emner. De første 4 emner blev præsenteret dengang - her følger de sidste 4.
/Sik



Only Danish
/Sik


Quote

5. Udvikling: Findes der overhovedet udviklere mere? Altså dem der kan kode. Og gør det noget? Er det bare noget for indere, kinesere og russere? Og med SOA skal vi jo til at fabrikere, orkestrere og assemble og jeg ved ikke hvad. Godt, skidt eller forkert?

6. Organisation: Hvordan får man organisationen til at bruge softwaren, når den endelig er færdig? Hvordan undgår man at bruge al sin tid på brandslukning og drift? Har brugerne for meget magt? Har it-afdelingen? Er der brug for flere coaches og parterapeuter?

7. Cost-benefit: Der var vist ikke nogen, der lavede cost-benefit på internettet i sin tid. Er det ikke kun i de mest oplagte tilfælde, hvor man laver en business case? Er cost-benefit den sikre vej til at kvæle innovationen? Er ‘just do it' vinderformlen i det nye årtusind?

8. It og samfund: Kan vi tiltrække ‘de unge mennesker'? Bliver det nogensinde cool at være it-ordfører på Christiansborg? Er it ligegyldigt om 10 år? Er det derfor, vi skal skrive det med små bogstaver nu? Er grøn it vores redning? Hvad med økologisk it eller social bevidst it, fair it, eller….

Ordet er dit. 500 ord. Så langt må et indlæg være. Vi vil gerne have skarpe analyser, beskrivelser af trends, personlige oplevelser, opbyggelige historier fra den virkelige verden, nyttige handlingsanvisninger, tegninger og billeder.

Du har to uger!
Send til henrik@zangenberg.biz

[...]



Read more: http://www.computerworld.dk/art/47646?page=2

ArcSDE 9.2 ST_Geometry Spatial Index Patch

Quote


Date Submitted: August 28, 2008
Last Modified: August 28, 2008

Summary:
This patch resolves an issue with re-creating the spatial index on the Adds table of a versioned ST_Geometry feature class after the spatial index has been dropped then re-added to the feature class.


Description:
Issues Fixed with this Patch
Files Installed in this Patch
Installing this Patch

Server
UNIX
Windows
ArcSDE SDK
UNIX
Windows
ESRI Products connecting to ArcSDE (Application and Direct Connect connections)
UNIX
Windows
How to identify which Patch is installed
Patch Updates
Getting Help

[...]



Read more: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=downloads.patchesServicePacks.viewPatch&PID=66&MetaID=1442

ArcGIS 9.3 Service Pack 1 Announcement

Quote

Date Submitted: August 28, 2008
Last Modified: August 28, 2008

Summary:
This is an announcement for the upcoming ArcGIS 9.3 Service Pack 1, planned to available for download in November. It contains a list of the issues targeted for ArcGIS 9.3 SP1.


Description:
Please see attached PDF.


Supporting Files:
ArcGIS 9.3 Service Pack 1 – Announcement PDF - 22 kb

[...]



Read more: http://support.esri.com/index.cfm?fa=downloads.patchesServicePacks.viewPatch&PID=17&MetaID=1441

Google introduces Android apps store



Den nye innovatør kopierer den gamle innovatør ...
/Sik



The new innovator copies the old innovator ...
/Sik


Quote


Android Market is a concept similar to Apple's iPhone App Store and will feature YouTube-style feedback and rating systems


By Nancy Gohring, IDG News Service

August 28, 2008

Google unveiled on Thursday its plans for a store where mobile users can find Android applications, a concept similar to the iPhone's App Store.

The first handsets running Android, expected to appear later this year, will include a beta version of the Android Market, Google's Eric Chu wrote in a
blog post. Initially, users will at least be able to find free applications there. After that, Google expects to update the Market to allow users to buy and download paid content.

[...]


Read more: http://www.infoworld.com/archives/emailPrint.jsp?R=printThis&A=/article/08/08/28/Google_introduces_Android_apps_store_1.html

torsdag den 28. august 2008

Export ArcMap Layers To A Google Map Page



Endnu et ArcMap til Google Map værktøj ...
/Sik



Yet another ArcMap to Google Map tool ...
/Sik


Quote

mapz: a gis librarian has updated his ArcMap2GMap script for exporting ArcMap layers to a standalone Google Map page; in addition to points and lines, it now includes support for choropleth polygon layers:




Runs on ArcGIS 9.1 and 9.2, not yet tested on 9.3.

[...]


Read more: http://freegeographytools.com/2008/export-arcmap-layers-to-a-google-map-page

Ecoinformatics Climate Change Demonstrator



Nu hvor vi allesammen har adgang til globale kortværker og løbende hører om hvorledes jorden er på vej mod nye ragnarok så er det godt at man arbejder på at vise os den almene tilstand så vi (måske) alle kan forstå hvad det er som foregår.
/Sik



Now that we all have access to global map data and at the same time are told about the poor condition our common earth is in it is great though that some people work on a way to visualize and (perhaps) make us all understand what's going on.
/Sik


Quote

The Ecoinformatics Platform will be an online collaborative and shared resource for managing climate, ecosystem and environmental data and information products. The Ecoinformatics eScience contribution will develop this platform and data and models for research, development and policy/community applications. In recognition of the magnitude of the task of creating a fully integrated Ecoinformatics Platform, the project aims to develop a demonstrator applying the principles of an Ecoinformatics Platform to undertake research into climate change impacts and adaptation within primary industries. This document provides details of the technical implementation of the climate change demonstrator for the Ecoinformatics Platform.

The ability to simulate climate and its variability at regional and local levels is an essential policy making tool. The method of dynamical downscaling is the most physically consistent approach to refine coarse resolution meteorological data to finer spatial scales. Models currently applied in climate predictions have been developed from numerical weather prediction models. These atmospheric global circulation models (GCMs) are usually coupled with ocean and terrestrial models and hence are known as coupled GCMs or more recently, climate system models (CSMs). Because of limited computational resources, GCMs generally have a spatial resolution of around 200 km, which is too coarse to provide detailed information on climate at regional and local levels. In dynamical downscaling, output of a GCM provides initial values and boundary conditions for a regional climate model (RCM). The high resolution RCM output is downscaled from the GCM output using detailed topography and other surface characteristics, physical parameterisations and high resolution (non-hydrostatic) flow dynamics. The requirement to accurately refine climate data using an RCM is especially important over the regions of varying topography, like mountain regions and coastal zones, of which Victoria is a good example. Additionally, a simpler, computationally less demanding approach is applied produce refined climate data from GCM output.The implementation of the climate change demonstrator for the Ecoinformatics Platform provides high resolution climate data for crop modelling and land suitability analysis at a regional scale and serves to demonstrate the applicability of the concept of the Ecoinformatics Platform to other users. The major goals of a fully functioning system are:
  • Understand the extent of Climate change with respect to Victorian plant industries.
  • Understand the impact of Climate Change on management options for Victorian plant industries, aquaculture and similar.
  • Engage and communicate with the communities of interest on the likely impacts, extent and management options for Victorian plant industries.

[...]


Read more: http://arts.monash.edu.au/ges/research/regclim/projects/eiccd.php

Introducing Ubiquity



Mozilla har netop lanceret en tidlig prototype af et nyt stykke mashup software til den populære Firefox-browser. Det smarte ved Ubiquity, som denne software hedder, er at mashup-softwaren tilgås direkte fra den aktuelle side i browseren via et lille ekstra-vindue, så du ikke skal åbne nye sider for at finde informationerne. Læs mere her: http://www.computerworld.dk/art/47631?a=rss&i=0
/Sik



Mozilla has released an early prototype of a new mashup software to Firefox. It's called Ubiquity and it enables the browser to access informations from various services on the net and then add it to the current page - a gmail, facebook? etc.
/Sik


Quote



An experiment into connecting the Web with language.

It Doesn’t Have to be This Way

You’re writing an email to invite a friend to meet at a local San Francisco restaurant that neither of you has been to. You’d like to include a map. Today, this involves the disjointed tasks of message composition on a web-mail service, mapping the address on a map site, searching for reviews on the restaurant on a search engine, and finally copying all links into the message being composed. This familiar sequence is an awful lot of clicking, typing, searching, copying, and pasting in order to do a very simple task. And you haven’t even really sent a map or useful reviews—only links to them.

This kind of clunky, time-consuming interaction is common on the Web.
Mashups help in some cases but they are static, require Web development skills, and are largely site-centric rather than user-centric.

[...]



Ubiquity for Firefox from Aza Raskin on Vimeo.


Read more: http://labs.mozilla.com/2008/08/introducing-ubiquity/

GeoWeb presentation: The Power of Future Location for Social Networking


En god introduktion til fremtidens GeoWeb og de udfordringer som venter ...
/Sik


A good introduction to the future of the GeoWeb and challenges awaiting ...
/Sik


Quote



GeoWeb presentation: The Power of Future Location for Social Networking from Peter Batty on Vimeo.

[...]



Read more: http://www.vimeo.com/1399109

Capturing 3D Surfaces Simply With a Flash Camera



Nogen gange er det den gode simlpe ide som løser problemet ...
/Sik



Some times it's just the simplest idea that may solve the problem ...
/Sik


Quote

Creating 3D maps and worlds can be extremely labor intensive and time consuming. And ultimately the final result might not survive the close scrutiny of those expecting real-world emulations. A new technique developed by scientists at The University of Manchester's School of Computer Science and Dolby Canada, however, might make capturing depth and textures for 3D surfaces as simple as shooting two pictures with a digital camera--one with flash and one without.

[...]





Read more: http://www.hothardware.com/News/Capturing-3D-Surfaces-Simply-With-a-Flash-Camera/

2008 ESRI International User Conference Plenary - Keynote Address



Jeg havde en fordom om at alle amerikanere var lige glade med miljøet og menneskets påvirkning på samme. Peter her brugte en god times tid på at revse amerikanerne og deres måde at tænke, agere og leve på.
/Sik



Until recently I had the prejudice that all Americans didn't care about the enviroment and human pressure on it. Peter Raven spent an hour at the ESRI UC thundering about the way Americans think, act and live.
/Sik


Quote

2008 ESRI International User Conference Plenary—Keynote Address
—Dr. Peter H. Raven, President, Missouri Botanical Garden

Listen or download:
MP3 [57:17 39.3 MB]

Dr. Peter H. Raven, president of the Missouri Botanical Garden and renowned botanist, environmentalist, and biodiversity expert gives the keynote address at the 2008 ESRI International User Conference.

[...]


Read more: http://www.esri.com/news/podcasts/speaker_series.html

WOW Technologies and down-right cool stuff on the floor at the 2008 ESRI UC



Jeg fik ikke kikket så meget på udstillingerne ved dette års ESRI UC, men det var der heldigvis andre som gjorde ... Jeg fik dog tid til at se Virtalis 3D kortvisning. På med brillerne og så der ud af - jeg havde dog forventet lidt mere wow end det jeg fik set.
/Sik



I didn't get to look too much at the exhibition at this years ESRI UC but others did ... I did however get time to see Virtalis' 3D map show - not so impressed though.

/Sik




Quote



On the floor at the ESRI user conference. It’s always a flurry of activity and it’s always one of my favorite things to do at the UC… browse the exhibition hall floor and see all the great new apps and gadgets, while getting the low-down straight from the ESRI partners and solution providers. Read on for details of just a few of the great things we found on the floor at the 2008 International ESRI User Conference.

[...]