GIS News

8^th - 15^th April 2001

NASSCOM chief Dewang Mehta found dead in hotel room

High-profile NASSCOM president Dewang Mehta was found dead in his hotel room on Thursday morning. Mehta, who was part of a delegation of information technology experts led by IT Minister Pramod Mahajan, was slated to catch the morning flight for home but was found dead by some hotel staff when they went to look for him in his room after being told that he had missed the flight.

Application of GIS

China Planning CAD Land Information System Database [ 11/04/2001 ]
China's Ministry of Land and Natural Resources will launch a national-level CAD land information system by the end of this year to provide illustrated information on China's blueprint for the land distribution for various purposes over the next 10 years.

Tracking Migratory Birds with a Satellite [ 09/04/2001 ]
In order to learn more about tundra swans, the Pennsylvania Game Commission recently began using satellite technology to track the migratory birds. The two-year research project is intended to shed light on their annual migrations, movements and important stopover locations in the remote areas of Canada and the United States.

Boeing Delta II Paves the Way to the Red Planet [ 09/04/2001 ]
Boeing Delta II rocket has lifted off NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft to the red planet. The mission is a continuation of NASA's exploration of Mars

Products/Services

MapInfo Introduces MapMarker Plus Canada [ 14/04/2001 ]
MapInfo Corporation has announced the release of MapInfoŽ MapMarkerŽ Plus Canada v3.5, the Canadian version of its powerful geocoding engine. For the first time, organizations using MapMarker Plus US and MapMarker Plus Canada will be able to geocode both Canadian and US addresses on one server.

SPSS Ships SPSS Data Entry 3.0 for Linux and Sun Solaris Systems [ 14/04/2001 ]
SPSS Data Entry 3.0, the latest version of the survey design and data collection software from SPSS Inc., is now available for the Linux and Sun Solaris platforms. SPSS Data Entry 3.0 features a new architecture, which delivers better Web performance, faster processing times and increased online security.

SSET installs demo of iP3 broadband satellite gateways for CNPC [ 14/04/2001 ]
SSE Telecom has announced that it has installed a system demonstrating its iP3 Gateways at China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Gu'An, China. SSET iP3 Gateways are being used to provide high-speed broadband communication over satellite via Internet Protocol (IP) packets

MAPublisher version 4.0 for FreeHand Available [ 14/04/2001 ]
Avenza Systems has announced the release of MAPublisher version 4.0 for Macromedia FreeHand version 9.x for the both Microsoft Windows and Apple MacOS platforms.

Vodafone Multimedia Selects MapInfo for Location-based Wireless Services [ 12/04/2001 ]
MapInfo Corporation has announced that Vodafone Multimedia, has selected MapInfo's 'best of breed' location-based software and data for a new service they have developed for Vizzavi Find & Seek, Vodafone's consumer portal.

L-3 to Build Remote Sensing Satellite Antenna System for the AUSLIG [ 12/04/2001 ]
L-3 Communications has announced that its EMP Systems division has received an award to supply an X-band satellite tracking antenna system to the Australian Surveying and Land Information Group (AUSLIG) for its Australian Centre for Remote Sensing (ACRES) ground station.

Trimble's FirstGPS Technology Now in Low Power, Miniature Module [ 11/04/2001 ]
Trimble has launched its M-Loc MPM module, a tiny measurement platform module using the Company's innovative FirstGPS technology that allows OEMs to easily integrate GPS location in mobile products.

Maptech: Terrain Navigator 3D - Like the Movies! [ 11/04/2001 ]
Maptech has announced two new Super 3D features to its award winning Terrain Navigator CD-ROMs. Wearing the glasses the topographic maps jump out at you in true 3D movie-like fashion. The visual impact gives you a deeper appreciation and understanding of the lay of the land.

China Targets Late 2002 For Launch of First Yuhangyuans [ 11/04/2001 ]
China would launch the first manned space mission in late 2002 according to a report in Japan's largest newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun. According to a senior official, China had planned to launch three more unmanned test flights of the Shenzhou ("Magic Vessel") manned spacecraft before the first yuhangyuan ("astronaut") crew would go into space.

GISTrans announces MAPublisher 4.0 for FreeHand [ 10/04/2001 ]
Avenza Systems has announced the availability of MAPublisher version 4.0 for FreeHand.

@Track introduces new product, 20/20V, for transportation industry [ 10/04/2001 ]
@Track Communications has announced the introduction of 20/20V(TM), a simple and affordable GPS satellite-tracking product that offers fleet managers greater truck, load and driver location visibility.

Caliper Delivers Maptitude for the Web- Mapping Software [ 10/04/2001 ]
Caliper Corporation has released Maptitude for the Web a new mapping software product which makes it easy to design, publish, and manage interactive GIS applications and location-based services for the World Wide Web.

Intergraph launches GeoMedia Transportation & GeoMedia Transportation Analyst Products [ 10/04/2001 ]
Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions, a division of Intergraph Corporation, has announced two new products, GeoMedia Transportation and GeoMedia Transportation Analyst. These industry-specific products give transportation organizations the ability to transform their GIS into a spatially enabled asset management information system.

"XM Roll" Launch Slated for May 7 [ 09/04/2001 ]
XM Satellite Radio's second satellite, "Roll," is scheduled for launch May 7. Its first satellite "Rock," has achieved several critical performance milestones and continues easing toward its final orbital position.

Turn-by-turn Mobile Navigation Technology [ 09/04/2001 ]
Mobile navigation specialist YEOMAN, have launched the world's first in-car, 'turn-by-turn' navigation technology through conventional mobile phones. YEOMAN's technology uses a GPS tracked vehicle, real-time traffic information and a mobile phone to guide the driver, turn-by-turn to their final destination.

ILS Announces Successful First Flight for Proton M [ 09/04/2001 ]
The first vehicle in the Proton M series was successfully lifted off at 7:47 a.m. Moscow time carrying a satellite for the Russian government. The Ekran-M satellite was successfully separated from the rocket's Breeze M upper stage into geostationary orbit about 7 hours later.

Garmin Brings WAAS to Aviation Portables [ 09/04/2001 ]
Garmin International Inc. is offering pilots improved GPS accuracy for its GPSMAP 295 by enabling the popular portable to accept enhanced position data from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS).

Merger / Alliances

Intergraph and Navigation Technologies in European Deal [ 14/04/2001 ]
Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions Europe has announced that it has signed an agreement with Navigation Technologies Corporation (NTC) as a preferred European data supplier. NTC will provide NAVSTREETS digital map data in a ready-to-use format with GeoMedia.

Handspring and Palm Agree to Extend Palm OS License [ 12/04/2001 ]
Handspring and Palm have announced that Handspring has extended its license of the Palm OS operating system. Under the terms of a new agreement reached this week, Handspring can continue to develop and market products based on the world-leading Palm OS through April 2009.

LizardTech to acquire Altamira technology [ 12/04/2001 ]
LizardTech has announced that it will acquire Altamira's Genuine Fractals technology, solidifying its presence in the digital camera and scanner manufacturers' market.

Intermap Announces US $660,000 contract with mPOWERł [ 10/04/2001 ]
Intermap Technologies has announced that it has signed a US $660,000 contract with mPOWERł to supply precision digital elevation data of Los Angeles County.

General Business News

New Facility at Glenn is something to RAVE about [ 14/04/2001 ]
The ability of researchers to become completely immersed in an exploration of their data or to realistically simulate how a potential experiment would be performed in space will soon become a reality-a virtual reality-using twenty-first century technology. A new facility, the Glenn Reconfigurable User Interface and Virtual Reality Exploration Laboratory, known as the GRUVE Lab, which opened at NASA Glenn Research Center will make that possible.

Cellcom teams with Openwave to bring Mobile Internet Solutions to Israel [ 14/04/2001 ]
Openwave Systems, has announced that Cellcom, the largest mobile operator in Israel, has chosen to implement the Openwave(TM) Mobile Access Gateway. Through its commitment to creating and operating a nationally accessible cellular network at affordable prices, Cellcom leads the telecommunications revolution in Israel.

Intergraph Responds to Court of Appeals Ruling in Intergraph v. Intel Lawsuit [ 12/04/2001 ]
Intergraph Corporation issued the following statement in response to the April 9 order by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit denying Intel Corporation's petition for rehearing.

ERDAS on California's Multiple Award Schedule [ 12/04/2001 ]
ERDAS has announced that it is now listed on California's Multiple Award Schedule (CMAS). The CMAS program provides California's state and local government agencies with an easy and value-effective purchasing vehicle, for both information technology and commodity products and services. Being listed on the CMAS means that agencies of the California government can now choose an ERDAS product or service according to their business needs.

Japan's Space Agencies heading towards a merger [ 12/04/2001 ]
Japan's three major government agencies involved with space related research have taken the first tentative steps to a possible merger later this decade. The three space agencies involved are, The National Space Development Agency of Japan, The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, and The National Aerospace Laboratory of Japan, which are all affiliated with the new super Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.

Europe leads U.S. by 12 months in integrating Mobile Technologies into CRM applications [ 12/04/2001 ]
Aberdeen Group, has announced, in their report- Customer Relationship Management: Europe 2001, that Europe has a 12 month head start integrating mobile technologies into customer relationship management (CRM) applications.

Positive System extends contract with the University of California - Berkeley [ 12/04/2001 ]
Positive Systems has announced the extension of their contract with the University of California - Berkeley. Positive Systems will provide their custom multi-spectral digital aerial photography and mosaic services to aid the university researchers in studying Sudden Oak Death (SOD) syndrome.

First-Ever Wavelength Service Deal in Asia Pacific [ 11/04/2001 ]
Asia Global Crossing has announced that it has formed an agreement with Deutsche Telekom to supply two 2.5 Gbps wavelengths, with an option for the Deutsche Telekom to buy another two 2.5 Gbps, marking the first-ever wavelength deal in Asia Pacific.

IDEAL wins Golden Scanner Award third time consecutive [ 11/04/2001 ]
IDEAL.com won the coveted Distributor of the Year award once again for Contex Scanning Technology. Previously, IDEAL earned Distributor of the Year for 2000, 1999, 1998, 1994 and 1993.

Palm to open Asian development center [ 11/04/2001 ]
Palm Inc, Temasek Polytechnic and the Info-communications Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) have signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) to establish a center to train Palm OS developers in Singapore.

Ericsson lands China deals valued at over US$ 400 million [ 11/04/2001 ]
China has signed a series of contracts this week with Ericsson involving GSM multi-service networks and construction of IP backbones. In a comprehensive contract of the package, Ericsson will supply radio and switching infrastructure elements, prepaid systems, network planning and operational support services and customer and project services

SPACE.com launches the Space News Business Report: a new online news service [ 10/04/2001 ]
SPACE.com has announced the launch of The Space News Business Report, a new online news-service covering the global space industry. The Space News Business Report will be a subscriber-only service utilizing the reporting resources of SPACE.com and Space News.

President's FY 2002 Budget for USGS-$813 million [ 10/04/2001 ]
The President has proposed a budget of $813 million for the Interior Department's U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in fiscal year 2002. The 2002 budget focuses resources on core USGS programs, such as mapping and hazards, and those that directly support better land and natural resource management by the Department of the Interior (DOI).

ImageAmerica Receives Orthoimagery Award From Erie County, Ohio [ 10/04/2001 ]
ImageAmerica Inc. announced that it has been chosen to provide new orthophotography for Erie County, Ohio after winning a competitive bidding to supply their TerraSource(TM) Startup product to Erie County.

3M selects Intergraph's GeoMedia WebMap for its TAMS [ 10/04/2001 ]
Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions has announced that 3M's Traffic Control Materials Division has selected GeoMedia WebMap as the Internet GIS component for its Transportation Asset Management System (TAMS).

Education/Training

Autodesk Announces New Virtual Internship Program Print [ 12/04/2001 ]
Autodesk has announced the launch of the Autodesk Virtual Internship Program, a new program intended to complement students' education, while giving employers increased access to future employees who are developing cutting-edge design skills using Autodesk software.

Introduction to Successful Marketing using ArcView GIS- A New Course from ESRI's VC [ 11/04/2001 ]
Introduction to Successful Marketing using ArcView GIS, a new course available on the ESRI Virtual Campus, showcases the power of GIS in the world of marketing.

GIS Applications for Tax Assessors-A New Course from ESRI Virtual Campus [ 11/04/2001 ]
GIS Applications for Tax Assessors, one of the latest courses from ESRI Virtual Campus, is a self-paced, online course showing how to apply GIS in the local government tax assessment process, focusing on property valuation and the defense of assessed values.