|
The past few weeks have been particularly busy for
geospatial technology. It's been so busy, in fact, that I've not been
able to comment on everything that's been formally announced, or just
trickled out. In this editorial I want to do just that, in part to be
sure my thoughts are shared and in part to be sure these stories don't
slip through the cracks.
Apple and Core Location
Apple news (geospatial and otherwise) has been focused on the iPhone
for the past year or so. But last week developers revealed some
operating system news related to location. Developers working on a
pre-release version of Mac OS X (10.6) called "Snow Leopard" noted the
inclusion of the ability to use networking hardware to determine
location. It's the same framework, called Core Location, that's
found in the iPhone. Core Location is the API that allows software
developers to access the location- aware features - be they from GPS,
Wi-Fi or something else.
Apple's Snow Leopard Will Triangulate a Mac's Location
Word is that moving the technology from the iPhone to the OS X
operating system is trivial since they're built on the same underlying
platform. I see this as a firm step forward; I've suggested in the past
that the further down in the stack we can push location, the easier it
will be for developers to take advantage of it and the more it will be
used.
New California Geospatial Coordination Website
California took a step in its quest toward leadership in geospatial in
February when Natural Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman and
State Chief Information Officer Teri Takai announced the Cal-Atlas Geospatial Clearinghouse Website
(press
release). It's part catalog, part gallery and part coordination
portal, and thus helps pull together previously disparate geospatial
resources. Some in the blogging community have noted the elegance and
accessibility of the site, but that the website has a limited amount of
actual
data available. The fact that this portal is acting as a "straw
man" of sorts as we contemplate the NDSI is fabulous! I found the
site's interface rather elegant and I especially like the option to
list only datasets that are "linked," and thus hopefully available
online, when "discovering" data. One (perhaps typo?) criticism: the
2007 copyright date.
 |
The
Cal-Atlas' compact query interface includes a check box to show
only "linked resources." (Click
for larger image)
API Bonanza
While there is much demand for data sharing itself, there are times
when it's not practical from a business perspective. The good news?
More software APIs that allow programmers to tap into valuable
geospatial databases are popping up. Urban Mapping offers a free mass
transit proximity API that taps into its database of "stops" (press
release). HopStop has an API that allows developers access to its
public transit directions (in the cities it serves) (All
Points Blog).
And, if you missed it, the New York Times now provides an API
to all
its content since 1981. The Web is getting more mashable all the
time.
Google
While much of the focus of the launch of Google Earth 5 last week was
on the geography beneath the ocean, the big news for me in the latest
iteration is the historical
imagery. I'm excited about it for two main
reasons. First, it means that the metadata for images in the database
are somewhere and perhaps in time we end users will have more access to
them. I've been lobbying for access to date-of-acquisition information
for imagery for some time on all the mapping portals. Second, it means
that more "non geo" people can explore what geospatial technologists do
with imagery. One thing we do is to study change detection in natural
resources, urban planning and other applications. And now, they can do
a bit of it themselves! I look forward to hearing about how educators,
in particular, are using this tool.
 |
The
interface to "walk through" historical imagery now available in
Google Earth 5. The tick marks represent times for which data images
are available. (Click
for larger image)
In related and perhaps overlooked news, Google asked for those with
imagery (historical or otherwise) to share
it via a new partner
program. Will this work better than previous efforts by, say, the U.S.
government? I'm aware of many localities that lower the burden on their
own servers for imagery, especially, by having portals like Google's do
the hosting for the public. The in-house servers are used for more GIS
applications of imagery or data.
I'm confident few if any readers managed to escape the announcement of
Google Latitude, the add-on for Google Maps that allows individuals on
cell phones and PCs to share (or not) their location. I observed a few
things about this announcement: The announcement was not addressed, in
particular, to the geospatial community. All the traditional online
tech sites got a preview and had the story before any of the geospatial
bloggers. That reinforces the fact that Google presents its tech as
general and for a general (consumer) audience, at least at the outset.
That continues to be 100% different from the focused GIS technology
companies.
As expected, the media went through the normal and expected stages of
positioning the announcement. This seems to happen with just about
every Google (and sometime non-Google) LBS announcement.
- statement of what it is (some used the terms
"spy" or "track," some, the term "friendfinder")
- horror at privacy concerns
- realization that others already have such
offerings
- conclusion that the app will be monetized by
(location-based) advertising
At least now I feel a bit more caught up and hopefully
you do, too.
More about this author...
|
