Author: Ed Parsons

Categories
LBS Thoughts

TBL at 3GSM attacks the walls.

Hope I have not lost you with the acronyms, the translation- Tim Berners-Lee gave in my mind quite an important speech at the 3GSM mobile conference last week.

TBLHe argues that for the innovation needed to really develop the Mobile Web to take place the industry must adopt open standards and turn away from the walled garden approach taken so far. You can’t argue with that !

There also needs to be a different approach to charging for bandwidth, I’m just about to change my mobile operator from vodafone (£7.50 per megabyte!) to three or t-mobile who offer better value data packages.. it’s not about talk minutes any more!
Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11n network – yes “n” !!.

Categories
GIS

MapInfo acquires London based GDC

MapInfo has taken over one of its largest UK partners, GDC who have developed a strong range of solutions targeted at Local Government users in the UK. Seems to make a lot of sense for MapInfo, I wonder if this makes the begining of another round of consolidation in the small UK GI systems suppliers market ?

Written and submitted from an Internet Cafe, in Kirchberg, Austria.

Categories
GIS OGC Ordnance Survey where 2.0

The OS at Where 2.0

I’m really pleased to see the Ordnance survey presenting at this years where 2.0Where 2.0 Conference this May in San Jose, California. Its important because it demonstrates that both “old” geography and neogeograhpy can learn from each other. This was a point well made by Jack Dangermond at last years event, and hopefully Ian and Mikel’s presentation will demonstrate the real benefit of this mash-up of approaches

Categories
Data Policy GIS

UKHO privatisation – where is the value ?

The Free Our Data campaign this week asks “Will the government try to privatise the UK Hydrographic Office?” – Such a development I believe has been on the cards for some time and is a result to some extent of the continuing lack of focus or understanding of information as an asset.

You get the impression that the management of information is seen by government purely as a cost to endure rather than the potential benefit it would be, if government information was better managed and shared across .gov.uk.

In saying that, UKHO is actually more an aggregator of information rather than a producer, its value as an organisation comes from the systems and processes to carry out the complex task of rapidly bringing together global datasets produced by 100’s of other marine data collectors – quite a specialised field.

If this niche is seen as valuable enough to consider privatisation, then how much more interest can the treasury have in the other agencies which create information and therefore sit on more valuable assets ?

Written and submitted from the Apple Store, London, using its free 802.11 network.

Categories
Apple

Apple Store Kingston opens Saturday…

The long awaited Apple Store in the Bentall Centre Kingston, opens this Saturday. I happened to be in New York in 2002 for the opening of the first Apple Store in SOHO, and now I will be able to walk to an Apple Store – that’s progress !

Apple Store SOHO

And yes it is Steve Jobs making a call outside the store on his mobile.

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

Categories
GPS LBS

Maybe this year..

I have very happy memories of attending 3GSM in 2001 in Cannes with the newly formed Autodesk Location Services, this year 3GSM is a much bigger show, but very few of us in the suite at the Carlton Hotel in 2001 would have thought that in 2007 we would still be waiting for Location Based Services to take off.

3GSM LogoThere have been as we all know issues with the usability of applications, reliability of mobile networks and poor data rates and the problem I have often commented upon the “walled garden” mentality of the mobile operators.

This year at 3GSM we are seeing the handset manufactures beginning to side-step the networks with Nokia’s announcement of the their recently acquired Smart2go mapping software as a free download as well as a major component of the new GPS equipped N95, and RIM”s new Blackberry 8800 again with GPS and its own mapping application.

The networks are not out of the picture quite yet, I’m interested to seen what the Vodafone/Google Maps agreement actually looks like, but whatever else happens it does finally seem that there is a momentum building behind mobile mapping applications, not LBS yet, but progress at last.

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

Categories
Apple

Coming to a sad realisation

Apple Ad
By a long way the funniest of the Apple Get-a-Mac campaign videos, “Security” gets all nasty at Vista’s new approach to application level security – Very Funny and a good reminder for my old friends in Southampton to pop along to the new Apple Store which opens on Saturday – Get there early for the T-Shirt !!.

Me, I’m waiting for the Kingston Apple store, quite fancy a job on the genius bar..

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

Categories
GIS web 2.0

Geoware

GeowareYou can almost sense the building excitement around the development of “Neogeography” services and applications, following on from yesterdays very positive news from Plazes, I have just realised that I am presenting at the Geoware event next month with its founder Felix Petersen.

Geoware is the perfect example of the new more innovative approach now driving forward the development of new services which make use of Geographical Information.

Organised by the Innovation Lab in Århus, Denmark, Geoware brings together an international community of researchers, scientists, entrepreneurs and artists who are developing new business opportunities using place.

If you can make the trip I would recommend it, if not, keeping with the theme of exploiting the potential of technology, the event will be webcast at www.innovationlab.dk/uk

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

Categories
LBS web 2.0

How much is Neogeography worth ?

Could be quite a lot ! Techcruch report that Plazes the European LBS/Social networking website has raised €2.7 million of VC funding.

Plazes

Not bad for a system with a small but growing user base, OK this is not in the realms of youtube yet, but clearly the potential value of such services is recognised, as the VC guys are valuing this at about €50 per user!

Congratulations to Felix and the plazes team, now I must go and update my plaze !

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.

Categories
GIS GPS

Maposauraus prepare to meet your doom

You can tell that Geospatial technology is mainstream, when a GI company can afford the rates to place a Superbowl ad on US Television. Step up Garmin, with their very cheesy but entertaining Godzilla inspired ad for the Nuvi.

Another nail in the coffin of the road atlas ? Not a bad game this year either !

Written and submitted from home, using my home 802.11 network.