Google Earth 6

Recently there was a new release of Google Earth 6.
According to Google:
With Google Earth 6, you can explore the streets in 3D like never before. Fly from outer space down to the streets with the new Street View and easily navigate your way around. Switch to ground-level view to see the same location in 3D.

Now you can see 3D trees in locations all over the world. We have also made it easier for you to know when historical imagery is available in the location that you are viewing














I think the Streetview and the historic mapping are big steps forward for Google Earth, I will definitely be making use of the Historic Mapping functionality on a regular basis.

Data Visualisations: Art or useful?

Recently with a plethora of datasets becoming made freely available there has been a surge in data visualisations as illustrated below. These are a particular favourite of WIRED magazine. I know look amazing but what actual use are they? Are they designed purely as Art, then great. Would I use one to illustrate a point for one of my projects? Probably not. Don't get me wrong I think they look great but what is their real value?

Thoughts on these visualisations welcome......

Airspace: Europe from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

Could it happen.......

This is a great presentation from the recent Ignite (www.ignitelondon.net/about) presentations in London.

Shows the real essence of the internet at the moment.

Growing Knowledge - The Evolution of Research

The latest exhibition at the British Libray is focused on 'The Evolution of Research', if their previous exhibitions ar eanything to go by this will be well worth a visit.  I haven't been yet but will do in the next few weeks.

On the website is also a huge selection of digital research resources and tools.

http://www.growingknowledge.bl.uk/

Location Data

As Location Based Services and Location/GeoSpatial Data become more mainstream introductions to the subject for non-geospatial increase in number. The article below one of the better ones a and is a good introduction to and an overview of the industry at the moment.



http://www.informationweek.com/news/mobility/business/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=228000281

Esri Releases ArcGIS API for iOS

ESRI officially released a few weeks ago its API for the iOS.
http://resources.arcgis.com/content/arcgis-ios



The video gives some worked examples of the API in action.  Please note the ESRI word of choice 'Leverage' used remarkably early in the video even for ESRI..........

A colleague and I have been using the beta version of this for a few months now and have an 'App' going live in a UK City within the next couple of months and a proof of concept for another city.  This is a great step forward for the providing and sharing of geospatial data to a demographic that wouldn't neccessarily be interacted with otherwise by Local Authorities.

A note of caution for UK users is that the API does not have the out of the box capacity to project to British National Grid from the APIs native WGS84, this becomes an issue when using the GPS to locat the phone, giving a positional error. There has been no support from ESRI on this and requires it to be hard coded by the user to do the projection.

Beauty of Maps

This is a great mini site on the BBC website produced  to support the Beauty of Maps series earlier in the year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/beautyofmaps/index.shtml