http://www.directionsmag.com/ Upcoming GIS Events and Conferences 2008-07-03 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2810 For a cell phone user living in a deep urban canyon, a GPS signal is often difficult to obtain and if you are indoors, nearly impossible. Location determination often requires other means if a clear GPS signal can't be acquired. Assisted GPS provides a backup to a clear line of sight based on triangulating cell tower locations but sometimes the accuracy falls short for some applications. Since its inception, Skyhook Wireless offered the ability to triangulate position based on a database of Wi-Fi hotspots to help solve both problems. Now, the company is offering a way to incorporate all three location determination technologies to solve the problem of indoor positioning and improving accuracy. 2008-07-01 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2809 Skyhook announced a hybrid location determination software solution that can tap into GPS, Wi-Fi, and cell towers to locate devices. What does that mean for knowing where you are anytime, anywhere? Is this step forward accompanied by an increased sense of location privacy comfort? Our editors explore the new technology and offer a suggestion for tackling the privacy bugaboo. 2008-06-26 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2804 On Monday, Nokia reported it would acquire Plazes for an undisclosed sum. Plazes is reasonably well-know in the geospatial arena for its location-tagged messaging offering. Outside our community, Plazes' geospatial focus and clever location-related name didn't necessarily come into play in reports about the acquisition. Adena Schutzberg explores how the media understands this small, but increasingly important company, and what it says about the terms the geospatial community holds dear. 2008-06-16 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2796 Who's #1 in GIS? How big is the GIS market? Is the impact of Google affecting the sales of GIS vendors? These questions are asked all the time and the answer is...nobody really knows. But more to the point, does it really matter? With the fragmentation of the geospatial technology market during the last few years, it is difficult to place a number on the total size of the market, despite the best efforts of market research firms. Editor-in-chief Joe Francica lays out a framework for the sectors of the geospatial market and what really needs to be considered when trying to size the market...but as importantly, why the numbers today are irrelevant. 2008-06-12 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2795 In an exclusive interview, Judson Green, president and CEO of NAVTEQ spoke with Directions Media Editor-in-chief Joe Francica about a broad spectrum of topics related to the growth of the location-based services market and the ability of NAVTEQ to address an exploding market for digital map products. Green spoke of the opportunities for NAVTEQ not just in terms of its current ability to serve a variety of market segments but provided some insights in what may be possible in the future with NAVTEQ data. "Don't think of our map going into a nav system in the front seat of the car; think of our map going into the engine of the car to help drive the car ... and therein you find dozens and dozens and dozens of applications which would fundamentally improve the safety of the car, the productivity of the car, the efficiencies, and we think that's a very exciting area," he said. Green, once the president for Walt Disney Attractions, now has the challenge of sorting through the opportunities that range from real-time dynamic content to advanced driver assistance systems. 2008-06-11 http://lbs360.directionsmag.com/articles/index.php?article_id=2792 Are you the type who grabs the latest cell phone with GPS? Or upgrades to the latest tools for tracking your hiking expedition or bike ride? Not all geospatial professionals are geo-gadget people. Executive Editor Adena Schutzberg isn't one when it comes to satellite navigation devices - she doesn't have one. In this editorial she explains the choice in one word: serendipity. She puts it this way: "It's my contention that if you follow a track too closely you are not open the wonders you may find along the way."