[Sdi-northamerica] ESRI Canada SDI News, February 2011
Kate Lance
klance_remote at yahoo.com
Tue Mar 1 07:43:49 EST 2011
http://www.esricanada.com/email/sdi/newsletters/SDI_feb11_web.html
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From: ESRI Canada <sdinews at esricanada.com>
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Subject: ESRI Canada SDI News, February 2011
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SPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE NEWS - VOL. 5, NO. 9; FEBRUARY 2011
FEATURES
Canada Announces Emergency Mapping Symbology Web Site
The Emergency Mapping Symbology (EMS) Web site is intended as a resource for the
symbols used for emergency mapping applications. It includes detailed
descriptions of EMS, as well as Crime Mapping Symbology (CMS). The licensing of
both symbologies allows for free use and modification. The EMS was designed to
support emergency management applications across Canada, including the national
Multi-Agency Situational Awareness Systems (MASAS). It was developed as part of
the efforts to create a Common Operational Picture both for emergency management
agencies and the public. It targets Web applications, but can also be used with
traditional desktop applications. The development was funded by the
GeoConnections program.
>>Read more
Industry Leaders and Ontario Privacy Commissioner Report on Smart Grid Privacy
Ontario Information and Privacy Commissioner Dr. Ann Cavoukian, along with Hydro
One, GE, IBM and Telvent, released a highly-anticipated report that shows the
way forward for utilities working to embed privacy into the emerging Smart Grid.
The new guidance document is based on a cutting-edge Smart Grid project in Owen
Sound, Ontario and is the first of its kind. The paper, entitled
“Operationalizing Privacy by Design: The Ontario Smart Grid Case Study,”
demonstrates how the principles of Privacy by Design – the gold standard for
privacy – may be operationalized as a foundational requirement in emerging Smart
Grid systems.
>>Read more
Canadian Civil Servants Forge Ahead with Open Data Strategy as Feds Dither
The Canadian Press reported that civil servants are forging ahead with an
open-data strategy for the federal government while politicians drag their heels
on a formal policy. A parliamentary committee has been studying the issue, but
documents obtained under Access to Information show that bureaucrats already
started drafting a plan. Unlike the US and Britain, Canada has no formal federal
policy of making raw, taxpayer-funded data freely available to the public.
According to the article, the goal of the plan was "to create economic
opportunity and promote informed participation by the public by expanding access
to federal government data.” It would include a common "front door" to
government data, a searchable catalogue and easy downloading. But the rollout
has bogged down over issues such as bilingualism, licensing and security.
>> Read more
DATA
OneGeology: World's Geologic Survey Data Shared
OneGeology is the first-ever open-access portal to the geologic survey data of
the world. Its Web mapping service (WMS) makes the world's geologic data
available at a general scale of 1:1 million, and for some countries at scales of
1:50,000. All the data is available to view for free, and an increasing amount
is available to download for free. OneGeology ushers in a new era of geography
services with the launch of distributed Web service systems, much of them using
ESRI technology. Many geologic surveys are using ArcGIS Desktop to capture,
attribute and prepare data for the Internet, and ArcGIS Server to serve the WMS.
GIS users can use geologic survey data to generate specific maps, show
correlations and create basemaps that can be brought as map layers directly into
their project environments.
>> Read more
Canadian Communities Sign Up for Community Maps Program
The ESRI Canada Community Maps Program provides a cost-effective and efficient
framework for organizations to share their geographic information with the
public. The program enables organizations across Canada to contribute their
geographic information to be published as community maps on ArcGIS Online.
Available maps are rendered with uniform cartography, cached and integrated into
a World Topographic Map on ArcGIS Online. The latest communities to have their
data published to the World Topographic Map include Oak Bay, BC; Surrey, BC; St.
Albert, AB; and Fredericton, NB. They join other Canadian communities who have
participated in the program such as Nanaimo, Kamloops, Toronto, Moncton and
Saskatoon.
>> Read more
Google Maps Switches from Government Data to VGI Data in Australia
Google Maps switched from using PSMA Australia (formerly Public Sector Mapping
Authority) data to a Sensis database because it wanted more detailed data,
according to Sensis. Previously, Google used cadastral data from PSMA Australia
processed by MapData Sciences to support its Google Maps service in Australia.
But recently, the Internet giant switched data suppliers, prompting the Spatial
Industries Business Association (SIBA) to issue an alert that the potential for
errors and omissions in the data may increase, because the Sensis data will be
maintained by ‘crowd sourcing’. Rather than consistently taking information from
Sensis, Google bought a snapshot of the database at a single point in time,
which it will then maintain through a number of methods, one of which will be
crowd-sourcing or “public feedback”. It was noted that Sensis hooks its data to
the yellow pages and white pages, making it more useful to Google in terms of
advertising.
>> Read more
ESRI Canada to Resell High-Resolution Earth Imagery from DigitalGlobe
ESRI Canada announced that it has signed an agreement to resell high-resolution
earth imagery solutions from leading global content provider DigitalGlobe. The
partnership enables users of ESRI technology to access the most current and
comprehensive library of earth images and data available to enhance their
applications. DigitalGlobe's constellation of satellites, advanced Cloud-based
infrastructure and vast ImageLibrary allows the company to offer a full range of
constantly refreshed satellite imagery and complementary products and services
to customers worldwide. They can access clear, accurate and up-to-date images
delivered in the way they want it – online, offline, on mobile devices or
directly into their GIS.
>> Read more
WEB WATCH
Canada Participates in GEO Architecture and Data Management Evaluation
The Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) has formed an Evaluation
Team to assess the progress of GEOSS implementation in the area of Architecture
and Data Management. The evaluation will consider multiple lines of evidence
consisting of, among other elements, an analysis of GEO documentation and
scientific literature, interviews with selected experts, surveys conducted among
the broader audience of stakeholders and a review of literature and relevant
documentation. The team will also execute test-case scenarios against the
current GEOSS implementation. The study will conclude in May 2011.
>> Read more
Making Valuable Flood Information Accessible via the Web
Flooding is one of the most common natural hazards in Polk County, Florida.
Approximately 46% of the county is located in one of the Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) designations. A
significant percentage of the county's population lives or works in areas at
risk of flooding. Hurricanes, prolonged rainfall, flat topography and expanding
development contribute to the county’s sensitivity to flooding. The county
started a project to provide recent flood study information online via a GIS
portal. Once completed, this will be a major source for flood protection data
that can be accessed, analyzed and shared internally and externally. It will
significantly save time and money for the county and its residents.
>>Read more
Court Orders Canadian Federal Government to Make Web Sites Accessible to Blind
The Globe and Mail reported that the Canadian federal government was ordered to
make its Web sites accessible to visually impaired users. The judge who issued
the directive says he'll be watching to make sure the government follows
through. Federal Court Justice Michael Kelen gave the government 15 months to
update its Web sites after a blind Toronto woman said she was unable to apply
for a public service job online. Donna Jodhan, a special-needs business
consultant with a MBA, launched a constitutional challenge aiming to grant
visually impaired people equal access to the services and information on several
federal government Web sites. The court found the government “has not
implemented existing accessibility standards and that some of the standards are
obsolete.” The court will monitor the government's progress in making the
change.
>> Read more
PRODUCTS
Community Analyst Fosters Better Decision Making
Vast amounts of data, along with instant reports and online maps for the USA,
are now available through ESRI’s Web-based Community Analyst. With this new
tool, government agencies, civic organizations and policy makers can quickly
explore the geographic characteristics of any area and develop the right
strategies for policies and resource allocation. This decision-making tool
includes demographic, health, economic, education and business data. It is
designed to help users understand community characteristics for any geographic
region including block groups and hand-drawn areas. Community Analyst supports:
1) fast discovery of patterns, relationships and trends; 2) customized searches;
and 3) sharing of results through easy-to-understand, interactive maps.
>>Read more and sign up for the public beta program
Safe Software Announces Release of FME 2011
Safe Software launched a new version of its flagship spatial data transformation
product, FME 2011. Built to address industry advancements and customer feedback,
FME 2011 offers new functionality to help organizations take command of spatial
data and overcome the latest data interoperability barriers more quickly and
easily. FME 2011 introduces support for point cloud data, enabling organizations
to efficiently handle LiDAR and 3D data by creating new ways to visualize and
analyze information. FME 2011 also introduces many usability improvements and
innovative features that not only make creating and maintaining spatial data
transformation workflows faster and easier, but also help new users quickly
learn how to use FME to solve a wide range of data interoperability challenges.
>> Read more
Latitude Geographics Announces Geocortex Essentials 3.3
Latitude Geographics announced the release of Geocortex Essentials 3.3. New
features focus on REST technology and fall into three categories: 1) Viewer
Template Engine now has a seamless connection to Essentials sites; 2) over a
dozen new features have been added to the REST platform; and 3) a number of
defects were fixed and several usability and performance improvements were
added.
>> Read more
ESRI White Paper: Taking a COTS-Based Approach to Implementing Enterprise GIS
ArcGIS 10 represents a significant milestone in GIS technology, because ArcGIS
is a complete system for geographic information. It is easier and more powerful
than previous releases, and is designed to be pervasive – people can access the
system through a variety of clients regardless of their experience with GIS.
With this release, ArcGIS provides the tools, capabilities and capacity to
implement enterprise GIS using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) software. The
potential cost savings and improvements to efficiency are significant. This
white paper provides a framework for planning a COTS-based enterprise GIS based
on real-world implementation experiences of the ESRI Professional Services team.
>> Read the white paper
NEWS
ESRI Releases Beta File Geodatabase API for Developers
The beta release of the highly anticipated ESRI File Geodatabase API is now
available. It will help developers improve the interoperability of applications.
The API allows developers to create applications that can interact with a file
geodatabase without using ArcObjects so that applications can be run on
computers that do not have an ArcObjects license. The File Geodatabase API is a
C++ library that allows developers to create, open, delete, read, edit and
perform some queries. The API only creates and supports file geodatabases from
ArcGIS 10, and is only supported on Windows. ESRI still recommends using
ArcObjects, a library of software components that form the foundation of ArcGIS
Desktop, ArcGIS Server and ArcGIS Engine, to create and interact with file
geodatabases.
>> Read more
Geospatial World Reports on the Rapid Development of the Geospatial Industry
The geospatial industry has evolved from being a highly specialized scientific
endeavor, and grown significantly over the past five decades to become a
full-fledged specialized industry. Today, it is on its way to becoming part of a
larger consumer industry. This transformation has been made possible by the
vision, competence, dedication and commitment of many professionals, programs,
institutions, associations, companies and geospatial thought leaders who have
provided direction to this industry. The article traces the journey of the
geospatial industry and attempts to draw a roadmap for continual growth.
>> Read more
EVENTS & TRAINING
Spring 2011 ESRI Canada User Conferences Kick Off in London, Ontario on April 5
As some of Canada's most important annual events for the GIS community, the ESRI
Canada User Conferences provide an opportunity to discover exciting new
developments about ESRI's GIS solutions and network with peers. Be sure to
attend in a city near you to learn how you can get the most out of your
technology investments. Year after year, these must-attend conferences grow in
size and stature: over 3,000 ESRI GIS enthusiasts participate across Canada.
>> Read more and register
ESRI Canada Recorded Web Seminar: Searching for and Discovering GIS Data
Organizations invest heavily in data to use in a GIS. These data holdings are
often spread across an organization on different computers, file shares and
databases. This makes it challenging for the GIS user to easily locate and use
the data they require. There are several tools available that provide an
effective means to search for and discover spatial data. This seminar examines
how the ArcGIS search capabilities can be used to find locally installed
datasets and data across an organization. Learn about the enhanced tools
available in Voyager for finding data across the enterprise through a
simple-to-use Web-style search. Explore how Geoportal Server provides a central
access point where producers of data can share their resources, and users can
discover them.
>> View the recording
New Book Released – Mapping the Nation: GIS for Federal Progress and
Accountability
This map book showcases the many ways that federal government agencies rely on
GIS analysis and maps. It makes transparent the results of agencies’ complex
analyses based on extensive data. Everyone who works in or with a government
agency related to health and human services, land management and natural
resources, science and exploration, tribal affairs, public safety, defense,
homeland security and global affairs will find that this book tells the story of
their remarkable efforts through their maps.
>> Read more
BEGINNER'S CORNER
What is Cloud Computing?
Cloud computing is location-independent computing, whereby shared servers
provide resources, software and data to users on demand. Details of cloud
computing are abstracted from consumers, who no longer have need for expertise
in, or control over, the technology infrastructure. Cloud computing also
describes a new consumption and delivery model for IT services based on the
Internet. It typically involves over-the-Internet provision of dynamically
scalable and often virtualized resources. It is a by-product and consequence of
the ease-of-access to remote computing sites provided by the Internet. This
frequently takes the form of Web-based tools or applications that users can
access and use through a Web browser as if it was a program installed locally on
their own computer. Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business
applications online that are accessed from another Web service or software like
a Web browser, while the software and data are stored on cloud servers. Cloud
computing access often appears as a single point of access for consumers'
computing needs. Commercial cloud services include Amazon, Salesforce, Rackspace
and Azure.
>> Read more Share:
IN THIS ISSUE
FEATURES
* Canada Announces Emergency Mapping Symbology Web Site
* Industry Leaders and Ontario Privacy Commissioner Report on Smart Grid
Privacy
* Canadian Civil Servants Forge Ahead with Open Data Strategy as Feds Dither
REGULAR COLUMNS
* Data
* Web Watch
* Products
* News
* Events & Training
* Beginner's Corner
INTERESTING READS
Police Department Dashboard Flex Viewer Demo for Crime Reporting and Task
Assignment
Port of Los Angeles Provides Information and Awareness via Data Portal
OGC Seeks Comment on Ordering Services for Earth Observation Products Interface
Akamai Publishes Quarterly "State of the Internet" Report
Proposed US Federal Budget Offers Increase in Imagery and Infrastructure Funding
W3C Unveils HTML5 Logo
GeoWeb 2011 Smart World Applications - Call for Presentations
CRTC Studies Possibility of Capping Internet Usage in Canada
Geospatial World Forum 2011 Provides Selected Session Video Streams Online
Daratech Says Global Sales of Geospatial Software, Services and Data Grew 10.3%
in 2010
ESA's CryoSat Ice Data Now Open to Help Understand Relationship between Ice and
Climate
Online Databases with Climate, Health, Finance, Economics, Traffic and Lots More
Data
US Public Health Assessment Teams Benefit from GPS/GIS
Web Application Combines Mapping and Analysis for Australia Floods
PCI Geomatics Developing Operational SAR Tools for ESRI’s ArcGIS technology
ESRI Sets Up Map Viewer to Track Social Media Related to the Protests in Egypt
IBM Goes Live with Canadian Public Cloud Offering
Time is Running Out for IPv4: It’s Time to Move to IPv6
ESRI Web Application of Australia Flood Supplied through the Ushahidi Social
Network
ESRI Contributes to Fighting Texting While Driving Sixth Edition of the INSPIRE
State of Play Reports Published
UPCOMING EVENTS
SKI – Spatial Knowledge and Information – Canada
March 4-6, 2011
Fernie, BC
ESRI– 2011 ESRI Developer Summit
March 7–10, 2011
Palm Springs, California
ConFoo.ca – Web Techno Conference
March 9-11, 2011
Montreal, Quebec
TheWhereBusiness.com – Enterprise Strategies for Location Intelligence USA 2011
March 30-31, 2011
Chicago, USA
EGU - European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2011
April 3-8, 2011
Vienna, Austria
GEO-11: A World of Geomatics and GIS Innovations
April 6-7, 2011
London, UK
GITA – Geospatial Solutions Conference
April 10-13, 2011
Dallas, USA
AAG - Association of American Geographers 2011 Annual Meeting
Apr 12-16, 2011
Seattle, Washington, USA
ASPRS 2011 Annual Conference
May 1-5, 2011
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
USGS – National Map Users Conference and USGS GIS Workshop
May 10-13, 2011
Lakewood, Colorado
GEOIDE 13th Annual Scientific Conference
May 16-17, 2011
Toronto, Ontario
FIG Working Week and General Assembly 2011
May 18-22, 2011
Marrakech, Morocco
View ESRI Canada Course Catalogue
Browse the current course schedule
Virtual Classroom Courses Now Available
OTHER SDI-RELATED NEWS
GSDI Regional Newsletters
February 2011
UN-SPIDER Update
January 2011
Land Information Ontario Newsletter – January 2011
January 2011
GISCorps Newsletter
February 2011
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