Top Stories
MapInfo achieves Siebel Validation
MapInfo Corporation has announced that the integration between its MapInfo MapX-based solution and Siebel eBusiness Applications version 6 has been successfully tested and validated by Siebel Systems. Siebel Systems, Inc., is a provider of eBusiness applications software. The Siebel Validation Program evaluates and documents integrated third-party solutions by putting them through rigorous technical testing. MapInfo is the first partner offering location-based solutions to complement Siebel eBusiness Applications. Knowing the location of a customer's prospects and assets is a springboard to providing better business intelligence and optimizing sales and marketing efforts. Many leading organizations have discovered that location intelligence capabilities provide an edge to best satisfy and service customers and prospects, while providing a competitive edge. With this validated solution, joint customers can now easily add location intelligence to their customer-centric eBusiness applications and realize high returns without investing technical resources to create custom capabilities. In addition, MapInfo and Siebel Systems can provide subject matter expertise in developing and delivering key customer-centric eBusiness capabilities that add true value to the business and its customers. Siebel Systems provides an integrated family of eBusiness applications software enabling multichannel sales, marketing, and customer service systems to be deployed over the Web, call centers, field, reseller channels, retail, and dealer networks.
Visit:
http://www.mapinfo.com/siebel
Space Imaging Names 2001 Top Ten Images Taken by the IKONOS Satellite
Space Imaging's IKONOS satellite, the world's first high-resolution, commercial earth imaging satellite, just completed it second year in mission on Sept. 24. After taking more than 500,000 images to date, Space Imaging is releasing the 10 most stunning images for 2001 to commemorate its second year anniversary. The images, which are featured on Space Imaging's Web site, include the tragic image of the World Trade Center destruction; the U.S. Navy EP-3 on Hainan Island, China; Venice, Italy; Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines; the island of Bora Bora in French Polynesia; the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; the new Invesco Field and the old Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo.; downtown Singapore; the Dolomite Mountains in Italy; and the Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran.
Visit:
http://www.spaceimaging.com/gallery/top1001/
WilsonMiller joins Syncline's MapCiti reseller program to offer web-based mapping services
Syncline, Inc., and WilsonMiller, Inc., a Florida-based planning, design and engineering firm, has announced that WilsonMiller has joined Syncline's MapCiti Reseller Program. WilsonMiller will now offer MapCiti(TM), Syncline's fully automated Web-based mapping service, to clients interested in leveraging GIS for interactive mapping, spatial analysis, modeling, data management, land analysis and planning. WilsonMiller provides a wide range of planning, design, engineering and GIS services to clients in government, public infrastructure, land development, transportation, and oil and gas exploration, as well as to land owners, banks and lending institutions, and realtors. These clients rely on GIS to better manage natural resources, to understand the impact of geographical features on planning and development, and to gather location-based information efficiently. As a member of Syncline's MapCiti Reseller Program, WilsonMiller can offer Web-based GIS without the software, hardware or programming expenses normally associated with in-house GIS development. Available through any standard Web browser, Syncline's MapCiti service allows organizations to easily and cost-effectively create, publish and share maps over the Internet. These maps instantly reveal trends, patterns and relationships not readily apparent with traditional decision support tools.
Visit:
http://www.syncline.com
Construction Fleet implements GPS Vehicle Tracking System to streamline operations
Radio Satellite Integrators, Inc. (RSI), a global provider of customized GPS-based vehicle tracking solutions, has announced its completion of a turnkey Automatic Vehicle Location (AVL) system for Malphrus Construction of South Carolina. With a fleet of over 100 heavy construction and other related vehicles, managing mobile assets is a major operational undertaking for Malphrus Construction. Based near Hilton Head, South Carolina the fleet consists of various types of vehicles including big rigs, dump trucks, rock haulers, fuel trucks, and crew transports. The logistics of knowing "who is where" in their 2000 square mile coverage area is now just another simple task since the fleet has been equipped with an AVL vehicle tracking system designed, manufactured, and implemented by Radio Satellite Integrators of Torrance, CA. Utilizing GPS positioning, standard Motorola 2-way radios, and RSI's powerful GIS mapping software, Malphrus can now see where any vehicle in its fleet is instantly on computerized maps. Whether it is to help navigate a crew transport to a job site, pinpoint a big rig on stand-by, or dispatch a fuel truck to someone in need, the ability to locate any of them with the click of a mouse is an invaluable tool.
Visit:
www.radsat.com
ImageLinks provides TrueTerrain visualization products to support operation enduring freedom
ImageLinks has been fulfilling several contracts to supply ImageLinks TrueTerrain(tm) visualization data sets that are being used in computerized flight simulators by pilots training for military missions and relief efforts in the worldwide war on terrorism. The TrueTerrain(tm) visualization products that were built for Afghanistan are similar to ones that ImageLinks has provided for several years to aircraft manufacturers and military commands for use in image generation simulators for training civilian and military pilots. The contracts to supply the Afghanistan data are continuations of a long-standing ImageLinks data delivery program. ImageLinks creates the TrueTerrain(tm) visualization and simulation products by merging and mosaicking multi-source satellite and aerial imagery of different resolutions to achieve the illusion of descending in an aircraft and seeing increasingly sharper ground detail. Highly accurate elevation data is integrated to provide realistic terrain features. ImageLinks then converts these extremely large data files into the unique format and tiling structure required by specific flight simulation image generators.
Visit:
www.ImageLinks.com
NovaLIS Technologies' Assessment Office provides definitive solution to property assessors
NovaLIS Technologies' Assessment Office 8.1release will provide all assessors with an affordable, off-the-shelf Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal System enabling them to do their job more efficiently and effectively on a day-to-day basis. Assessment Office 8.1 will continue to support all industry standard methods for valuing property including cost, market, income, and statistical approaches. The flexibility of AO enables users to customize valuation engines, reports, data models, and screen layouts to match property values, record card production, data, and screen requirements of their legacy system. AO 8.1's powerful data store is centralized and completely temporal meaning users can turn time backwards and forwards to see how property
characteristics have changed or enter data for a future assessment. AO 8.1 also provides workflow capabilities for replacing even the most intricate manual, paper based business processes with streamlined electronic notification and generation of work tasks. AO 8.1 provides enhanced GIS access to ESRI's ArcGIS software, as well as continuing support for ArcView and MapObjects.
Visit:
www.novalistech.com
NovAtel GPS receivers provide satellite reference information for QUALCOMM's SnapWARN
NovAtel Inc. has announced that its OEM4 Global Positioning System receiver is a core component of the SnapWARN(TM) Wide Area GPS Reference Network deployed by SnapTrack(TM), Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of QUALCOMM Incorporated. The NovAtel OEM4 GPS receivers are used in SnapTrack's commercially available SnapWARN GPS data feed service to provide constant, high quality GPS satellite information in support of gpsOne(TM)-based wireless location systems operated by wireless carriers in North America.
The SnapWARN system consists of an interconnected network of NovAtel OEM4 GPS reference receivers sited around the United States and fully redundant communications links connected to data gateways and location servers operating SnapSmart(TM) Position Determination Entity (PDE) software for QUALCOMM's gpsOne position location solution, enhanced by SnapTrack Wireless Assisted GPS(TM) technology. The SnapWARN GPS system continuously monitors the 24+-satellite GPS constellation via the NovAtel OEM4 receiver network, and provides this reference information to the PDE via a 24/7 high-availability backbone. The SnapWARN system provides coverage for North America, including Canada and Mexico, as well as Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The system can also be deployed to support service providers in other markets utilizing SnapTrack's location software products.
Visit:
www.snaptrack.com &
www.qualcomm.com
Asia News
New Population Geographical Information System Operational in China
YINCHUAN, December 18 -- A population geographical information system has been put into use in Yinchuan, capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently.
The system is the second of its kind in China following one in Shanghai, and experts say it is a sign of the progress in the modernization of western China.
The system collects together all population data from the city since the third national census, the digital geographic information and the social and economic information about the city, and systematizes them to form a comprehensive and functional data base.
The system integrates basic social information including education, medical care, real estate, city planning, employment and disaster relief records to ensure accurate and quick retrieval,classification, collection and analysis and various population-related data in any district of the city.
As a result it can offer accurate and scientific data for government administration, civil development planning and enterprise decision-making
Source:
Xinhua News Agency
Strong quakes jolt Japan, Taiwan
Tokyo: A fairly strong earthquake struck parts of southern Japan and Taiwan on Tuesday. There were no immediate reports of injuries or damages.
The quake that hit southern Okinawa generated a small tsunami, or ocean waves caused by seismic activity, officials said.
The quake which measured 7.3 on the Richter scale, had it epicentre off the coast of several small islands in Okinawa, Japan's southernmost prefecture (state), Meteorological Agency officials said. The exact location of the epicenter of the quake was being investigated.
The size of the tsunami was estimated by the Meteorological Agency at about 50 centimeters (20 inches).
Live video from one of the islands closest to the quake's epicenter showed no obvious damage, and all appeared calm. The video was broadcast on NHK, Japan's national television network.
A strong earthquake also rattled Taiwan's capital on Tuesday, but no damage or injuries were immediately reported.
Read complete article at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
The QuickBird satellite, built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., is providing the highest-resolution, commercially available imagery of Earth. The imagery, made public today by Ball Aerospace's customer DigitalGlobe, owner and operator of QuickBird, features two-foot (61-centimeter) panchromatic and 2.5-meter multispectral resolutions. ``This is a wonderful milestone for this industry,'' said Cary Ludtke, vice president of Ball Aerospace's Commercial Space Operations. ``QuickBird sets a new standard for commercial remote sensing and we are proud to take a leadership position in providing the complete system -- the camera and spacecraft bus -- that makes this world-class imagery possible. We offer a capability that is unparalleled in the marketplace.'' QuickBird is a Ball Global Imaging System 2000 product consisting of a Ball High-resolution Camera 60 integrated with a Ball Commercial Platform 2000 bus. The QuickBird bus is the fourth such bus completed by Ball Aerospace in as many years. As the highest-resolution commercial satellite in operation, QuickBird circles the Earth at a 450-km 98-degree sun-synchronous orbit, which provides consistent revisit time year-round. QuickBird was launched Oct. 18 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a Boeing Delta II launch vehicle. Images Available At: 