Month: December 2006

Categories
Thoughts

What a week !!!

Phew..

I am not going to comment on the wild rumours, speculation and conspiracy theories bouncing around the blogosphere relating to my departure from OS, instead I just want to say thank you for the many kind comments and best wishes posted here or via email, skype, phone calls etc.

I have been really moved by some of your comments and I very much appreciate people taking the time to write.

For me now I’m trying to concentrate on “business as usual” for the next few weeks… and then a bright new future begins

Thanks again everybody

ed

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

Categories
GIS Thoughts

Time to move on..

The following is an agreed statement that was posted earlier today on the Ordnance Survey Intranet,

“Ed Parsons is leaving his post as Chief Technology Officer of Ordnance Survey to pursue new challenges in the increasingly dynamic Geographic Information (GI) Industry.

Since his arrival in June 2001, Ed has developed Ordnance Survey’s IT strategy and has led OS Research labs. Ed has been instrumental in moving the organisation’s focus from mapping to the creation of geographic information.

Ed is keen at this stage of his career to help develop more innovative areas of the GI industry. His decision comes as Ordnance Survey is focusing on a period of a consolidation in its strategic IT development and direction.

Vanessa Lawrence, Ordnance Survey’s Director General and Chief Executive, says “We wish Ed every success for the next stage of his career and offer him sincere thanks for his contribution to the direction of our IT development and research activities.”

For those of you who want to say goodbye to Ed personally his last working day will be Friday 22 December 2006.”

I am not is a position to add any more to this statement, but of course I am sorry to be leaving a great group of very committed GI professionals, the future for me is not completely clear at this point – but whatever it turns out to be, you will read it here as it happens !!

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

Categories
GIS opensource Thoughts

OpenStreetMap and Mainstream GIS start dating..

The image below tells us quite a lot about own the GI industry is developing.

OpenStreetmap data and ITN

Click on the image for a full resolution screen-shot of openstreetmap (OSM) data and OS ITN data in Cadcorp‘s SIS desktop GIS, which can now import OSM XML.

What do we have here…

1. Cadcorp a progressive but mainstream GIS vendor supporting open source data!
2. OK, it is Isle of Wight data, where OSM has particularly good coverage, but as one can see community generated open source data is comparable geometrically with “professional” Ordnance Survey data.
3. OSM data lacks the rich attribution of Ordnance Survey (e.g. classification A road, B road, Minor, path etc), which will restrict its use in many applications, but which will still meet the needs of many.

The story the image does not illustrate are the difficult problems of keeping the data current, and completing national coverage, areas which will be future challenges for OSM.

As I have blogged before the “Traditional” GI industry is only slowly beginning to wake up to the potential of community generated geodata, so full marks to Martin Daly and Cadcorp for recognising the potential.

One day very soon, community generated geodata will sit side by side with commercial professionally produced data for many GIS applications – as of today that day is a little closer.

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