tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157647922011-12-14T18:59:42.343-08:00Virtual globes are three-dimensional representations of the earth and universe. A few examples of virtual globes are: Google Earth, NASA World Wind, ESRI ArcGIS Explorer, and Skyline's TerraSuite. This blog is maintained by Josh Bader, Alan Glennon and Karl Grossner at UCSB's Department of Geography to facilitate discussion on virtual globes and related technology. Contact: glennon at gmail dot comAlan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comBlogger1131100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-73911533322719814112007-04-12T22:12:00.000-07:002007-04-19T01:10:16.046-07:00

Paper Session:4510 Virtual Globes: GIS for the Masses?is scheduled on Friday, 4/20/07, from 4:00 PM - 5:40 PMRoom: Franciscan A, SF HiltonSponsorship(s):Cartography Specialty GroupGeographic Information Science and Systems Specialty GroupOrganizer(s):Josh Bader - UCSB GeographyJ. Alan Glennon - UCSB GeographyChair(s):Josh Bader - UCSB Geography4:00 PM Defining a Digital Earth SystemAuthor(s): *

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-48959029699299239672007-04-12T22:09:00.000-07:002007-04-12T22:10:53.297-07:00

Spatial Technology Gallery:a special event at the 2007 Association of American Geographers Annual MeetingWhen:Wednesday, April 18, 2007, 7:00pm-9:00pm,Where:Conference Room Yosemite B, Hilton San Francisco, located at 333O'Farrell Street San Francisco, CA 94102What:On Wednesday evening, a select group of researchers from academia, government labs, and industry have been invited to demonstrate

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1158179572068464442006-09-13T13:27:00.000-07:002006-09-13T13:32:52.106-07:00

Just like last year, we are organizing a virtual globe session for the American Association of Geographers conference. Last year's session was very successful and we hope the 2007 version will match it. Here is the call for papers: Call for Abstracts "Virtual Globes: GIS for the Masses?"Session ID: 3232 Association of American Geographers (AAG) Annual Meeting, April 17-21, 2007, San

Josh Baderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03766795421896208484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1156471050198502502006-08-24T18:43:00.000-07:002006-08-24T19:50:43.786-07:00

Originally coded as a Sci Foo party favor, follow this link (turnhole.com/rapid) to see my proof-of-concept implementation of a mobile Google Earth KML maker. I've been meaning to add error handling to the code, but have been busy on other things. Since it's too much fun to keep to myself, I thought I'd throw the idea and code into the wild, and see what the world does with it. Enjoy. ~Alan

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1156242401337341282006-08-22T02:29:00.000-07:002006-08-22T03:33:40.036-07:00

While coding a spreadsheet-to-KML parser for the online spreadsheet EditGrid, I noticed that they created one themselves. You'll need to register for a free account to access the tool (via My Workspace -> Add-ons -> Grid2Map). The EditGrid developers have also exposed the source code! Two weeks ago, Ogle Earth blogged about users calling individual EditGrid cell values from a Google Earth

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155938391087400032006-08-18T14:36:00.000-07:002006-08-18T14:59:51.126-07:00

Concerning indoors spatial data, Mike Goodchild mentioned CityGML. References to interior models, which the University of Bonn initiative tags "LoD4" (level of detail 4), are not obvious on the main entry page, but are described in their presentation slides (pdf) and articles. Besides the CityGML site itself, Directions Magazine has an overview of the effort.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155857721747794462006-08-17T16:24:00.000-07:002006-08-17T16:39:33.066-07:00

As usual, the blog train rolls on: this blog posted about an entry on this blog and now you're reading it here. Anyway, the point is that Google Maps for Mobile now supports KML (link).Changing topicsConcerning Photosynth, one interesting avenue may be the inside of buildings. As I ate lunch today, I thought about some work I did on 3D cave mapping in 1999. It involved me taking images and survey

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155788552475813222006-08-16T21:18:00.000-07:002006-08-16T22:00:42.386-07:00

All the standard sources have covered Microsoft Photosynth, but I wanted to mention a few additional links. For those who have not heard about it, Photosynth is a Microsoft Live Labs product that takes a collection of photographs, finds similarities, and arranges them in three-dimensional space.As Stefan Geens at Ogle Earth points out, the technology "certainly looks like a prime candidate for

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155773557605793912006-08-16T17:02:00.000-07:002006-08-18T14:36:45.326-07:00

Rumor:AGI might adopt NASA World Wind as its visualization engine.Acknowledgements:Also, referring to my previous entry about conferences, I'd liketo express my appreciation to the people that fed me, housed me,and invited me to hang out with "the cool kids" over the last week. These include:Declan Butler and Nature (for Sci Foo)Chris DiBona and Google (for Sci Foo)Tim O'Reilly and O' Reilly

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155768944336615082006-08-16T15:50:00.000-07:002006-08-16T16:01:26.010-07:00

I have not watched this video yet, but am posting it for my own notes. I thought others might be interested in it too.Spatial query processing utilizing Voronoi diagrams (video)Mehdi Sharifzadeh, USC Ph.D. Student, Presented at the Googleplex, August 10, 2006.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1155766871631557012006-08-16T14:35:00.000-07:002006-08-17T02:45:33.360-07:00

While mostly I've been hunkered down coding, the brief pauses have been outstanding -- particularly the ESRI User Conference and Nature's Sci Foo. ESRI User ConferenceOther geobloggers have talked about the ESRI User Conference, but I'll add my two cents from a virtual globes perspective. First, I should disclose that I was only at the conference for two days, and did not attend any of the ArcGIS

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1154630787227447922006-08-03T11:32:00.000-07:002006-08-03T11:46:27.246-07:00

Sony announced a GPS gadget that triggers from your camera's hot shoe. The device records location and time, to be later synchronized with your photograph. Here's a link to a story at Digital Photography Review. The device will go on sale next month for about $150.00.Of course, if you have a logging GPS, you can do this already by synchronizing the timestamps on your photos with the time/location

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1154594061057818042006-08-03T01:15:00.000-07:002006-08-03T03:08:11.270-07:00

A few weeks ago, Matt Nolan hosted a Virtual Globes Conference in Boulder, Colorado. Here is the link to Matt's summary, as well as a synopsis from participant Ron Schott.Matt Nolan also sent me an email regarding several sessions on virtual globes at the December 11-15, 2006, American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco:The Use of Internet-Based Virtual Globes in the Earth Sciences (

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1154591561180329202006-08-03T00:40:00.000-07:002006-08-03T03:18:51.526-07:00

Okay, we haven't completely vanished. The three of us graduate students have been busy studying, reading, and writing. Karl is writing a manifesto on Digital Earth; Josh has been working on a paper related to infrastructure for virtual globes spatial analysis; and, I've been reading about mirror worlds, pondering nested coordinate systems, and making pushpins drive the streets of Santa Barbara

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1151660288290313782006-06-30T02:32:00.000-07:002006-06-30T02:50:27.720-07:00

I just read the Virtual Globes Scientific Conference agenda, and it looks like a fine program: a day of introductory talks on software, a day of user talks with a panel, and a third day of tutorial/demonstrations. The conference, organized by the Matt Nolan and the EarthSLOT team, will be held July 10-12, in Boulder, Colorado. See the schedule and get details at the conference website.Since no

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1151537984767288452006-06-28T16:36:00.000-07:002006-06-28T19:31:14.963-07:00

This is the New York Times article that seems to be floating around a lot today: geo-enabled mobile phones with attribute information about their location (article here).[update 28Jun06, 1915Pacific: Yuk! The NY Times website just changed the access so you have to register to read the article. It's free, but highly inconvenient.]

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1151530752989532732006-06-28T14:26:00.000-07:002006-06-28T14:40:11.266-07:00

I just got the First Call for Papers for the 2007 AAG Annual Meeting in San Francisco, April 17-21, 2007. Let's put some virtual globes / mashups / neogeog sessions together! Since it's right down the road from Silicon Valley, it's a prime opportunity to infuse a techgeek vibe into AAG. Contact me if you have ideas.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150851883109194032006-06-20T18:04:00.000-07:002006-06-21T10:14:43.620-07:00

For Dan Montello's Cognitive Issues in GIScience class here at UCSB, I was asked to write two short essays, "for and against" the use of naive geography in geospatial software design. Normally, such essays would disappear into an archive on my hard drive, but since virtual globes are referenced a few times, I thought I'd post them.Comments Against Naive Geographyby Alan GlennonEgenhofer and Mark

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150850672982000742006-06-20T17:44:00.000-07:002006-06-21T10:13:55.596-07:00

For Dan Montello's Cognitive Issues in GIScience class here at UCSB, I was asked to write two short essays, "for and against" the use of naive geography in geospatial software design. Normally, these things disappear into an archive on my hard drive, but since virtual globes are referenced a few times, I thought I'd post them.Comments Supporting Naive Geographyby Alan GlennonWhen new users are

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150524494239112462006-06-16T22:34:00.000-07:002006-06-19T15:24:52.880-07:00

Last Wednesday, Patrick Hogan, Project Manager of NASA World Wind, spoke at Where 2.0 in San Jose. Hogan's fifteen-minute talk was a straightforward description of the software, including comments on its open-source nature, Earth and planetary visualization functionality, and ongoing data import development. As Hogan spoke, World Wind Designer Randy Kim demonstrated and drove the software. The

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150413763009460042006-06-15T16:03:00.000-07:002006-06-15T17:37:19.583-07:00

Before the conference, I gave four Where 2.0 expectations I had for Google, ESRI, NASA, and Microsoft concerning virtual globes. Here are my post-conference impressions:Google will talk about their time browserGoogle did not launch the time browser I was hoping for, but did introduce an attractive new version of Google Earth. When asked about spatiotemporal data at Geo Developer Day, Michael T.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150412515937334962006-06-15T15:58:00.000-07:002006-06-15T16:01:55.956-07:00

In the hallway at Where 2.0, I saw Gary Lang of Autodesk. He is a lead in the Infrastructure Solutions Division. While my prodding did not glean any information about the possibility of Autodesk introducing a Google-Earth-like virtual globe, he did provide the following statement about their numerous three-dimensional and geospatial offerings: "we are working to provide common visualizations

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150273429739985442006-06-14T01:22:00.000-07:002006-06-14T01:59:33.400-07:00

While talking to one of the guys from Microsoft Live Local, I learned a little bit about the way they do their internal business. According to the Microsoft rep, the Live Local team works in what he called "100-day sprints." The workgroups are expected to produce a predetermined, measurable result every 100 days. My thoughts are that a natural result for the Live Local Team is updated

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150272705844209652006-06-14T00:42:00.000-07:002006-06-14T01:11:45.856-07:00

I had a nice talk with a developer of the KML support for Google Maps. He said that the dialog window sizing problem is a persistent, known issue, and Google is working to solve it. As a workaround, if you close and reopen any problematic placemark window, the window resizes properly when opened the second time. Concerning the other issues I noted in my previous post, Google spells out what KML

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150245013703601392006-06-13T17:26:00.001-07:002006-06-13T17:37:40.670-07:00

Skyline launched a full-fledged, internet-based virtual globe today at the Where 2.0 Conference. Skyline President Ronnie Yaron test drove the application for me, and it looks promising. The client is about 5MB and can be downloaded at www.skylineglobe.com. As expected, it looks like Google Earth, with various tweaks to differentiate it. I'll post more about the details when I get a chance to

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150179684748489712006-06-12T23:13:00.000-07:002006-06-13T13:59:21.713-07:00

[update: I have several Ph.D. students checking out my bug report. It's probably just related to the memory cache issue reported at Ogle Earth. A memory issue on my side seems likely since my computer is old and creaky.]Using Google Earth Pro v4 beta, the software crashes consistently when I try to "Add Polygon." Anyone else having the same problem?

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150169276143388042006-06-12T20:16:00.000-07:002006-06-12T21:13:55.813-07:00

Having KML work in Maps is a fine idea, so I thought I'd test it with my KMZ of Chilean geysers. To use the new KML/KMZ functionality for Google Maps, you just type in the URL of the KML or KMZ in the Google Maps Search box. For instance, my geysers database is at: http://www.alanglennon.com/geysermap/chile.kmzWhen I try it, I get the following error message at the lower lefthand side of the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150155184531190872006-06-12T15:57:00.000-07:002006-06-12T19:51:26.900-07:00

Well, after an early morning drive, I made it to the Googleplex in time for Geo Developer Day. After lunch, Google herded us (maybe ~250? people), into an auditorium to show off their new stuff.Here are the items the Google team mentioned that I found interesting:Google Earth has had 100,000,000 product activations.Thirty thousand have registered to use the Google Maps API.They are going to

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1150095058035749422006-06-11T23:29:00.000-07:002006-06-12T00:29:33.576-07:00

I'm packing clothes and on my way to San Jose and Where 2.0. In terms of virtual globes, the traditional big players will be in attendance: Google, NASA, ESRI, and Skyline. Some Second Life guy(s) are giving a virtual-globesque talk; it'll be interesting to hear their spin. Lately I have been concentrating on my own virtual globes research, so I haven't thought enough about what to expect from

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1149285516989356132006-06-02T14:40:00.000-07:002006-06-02T15:03:25.140-07:00

According to the Harvard Center for Geographic Analysis' new website, on May 5, 2006, "Harvard returned to geography." On that date, Harvard had the official opening of its new geographic research center. Among the attending dignitaries, ESRI's Jack Dangermond remarked, "what happens with this center and what starts today will set off shockwaves in the academic world."The Center's website makes

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1147914606587382892006-05-17T17:35:00.000-07:002006-05-17T23:19:37.246-07:00

I've taken the bait, and plan to contribute here on a semi-regular basis. Like Geography 2.0 host Alan Glennon, I'm a PhD student in geography at UC, Santa Barbara. I too am following closely the progress of this remarkable new cartographic medium. I've updated the 11/05 listing of virtual globes, adding a few and arranging them in date order, most recent first. Recent additions include:Wayfinder

KarlGnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1147495521247174922006-05-12T21:43:00.000-07:002006-05-12T21:45:21.260-07:00

NASA released World Wind 1.3.5 today. Download it here. See the release notes here.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1146736866492876572006-05-04T02:52:00.000-07:002006-05-04T03:03:09.063-07:00

Concerning the ArcGIS Explorer release data...Directions Magazine reports that ArcGIS Explorer will be released in June 2006.Concerning future NASA World Wind releases...On 3May06 Chris Maxwell of NASA World Wind posted about upcoming releases:We're going to do a 1.3.5 within a week, and perhaps a 1.3.6 perhaps a month after that. Version 1.5 is a longer-term thing that we expect to show itself

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1146640455453870372006-05-03T00:07:00.000-07:002006-05-03T00:14:15.466-07:00

See the World Wind Markup Language (WWML) description.There have been a couple of new virtual globes introduced recently. I'll try to get Karl Grossner to post something about them: Wayfinder Earth and Global-I. Otherwise, Ogle Earth has additional information.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1146546050888214022006-05-01T21:54:00.000-07:002006-05-01T22:00:50.900-07:00

According to Bull's Rambles, NASA just released World Wind 1.3.5 beta 1 (download). The World Wind forum is down; they've set up a temporary forum site.I haven't looked at the new beta yet.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1146119817240247482006-04-26T23:35:00.000-07:002006-04-27T00:02:05.946-07:00

Google SketchUp is now free (download). Details can be found at Ogle Earth or aecnews. The differences between the free and pay versions can be found on the SketchUp website.Google also has introduced the 3D Warehouse for sharing SketchUp models.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1146084681709024112006-04-26T13:30:00.000-07:002006-04-26T13:51:21.736-07:00

Google's Summer of Code program allows college students to compete for summer stipends (US$4500) to work on open-source projects. One of the projects is the Free Earth Foundation (aka NASA World Wind). Check out how the program works at Google's Summer of Code website. The World Wind Wiki offers several project proposal ideas, including:OpenGL portMono PortStudent-Teacher Interaction SystemEasy

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1145578953282736792006-04-20T17:20:00.000-07:002006-04-20T17:44:47.220-07:00

NASA World Wind 1.3.4 has now been released, 20Apr2006, 1521PDT. Sourceforge: Download (Windows/~61MB)Since it just released, if the download is slow, you might consider grabbing the software from one of the mirror sites (listed on the sourceforge download area).

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1145511413307143002006-04-19T22:32:00.000-07:002006-04-19T22:36:53.320-07:00

Is the Microsoft acquisition of Vexcel finalized? According to the blog rumor mill, like this 18Apr06 Liveside posting, the answer is, "Yes."

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1145497285687479382006-04-19T18:34:00.000-07:002006-04-19T18:52:42.410-07:00

The blogs Ogle Earth and Aviran's Place note the 18Apr06 Google Librarian newsletter. The newsletter contains some comments from Mark Aubin about the origins of Google Earth, as well as a few Google Earth mini lesson plans.Stefan Geens makes the following observation regarding Mark Aubin's entry:So now we have Keyhole co-founder John Hanke claiming the inspiration was Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1145215324231701342006-04-16T12:10:00.000-07:002006-04-19T18:16:20.686-07:00

Beta 4 was released Friday, 14Apr06. According to this post by developer Randy Kim, final may be ready as early as Monday. [NASA released beta 5 about an hour ago, so looks like it may be another day or two. --17Apr06/1853PDT].[Beta 6 released 18Apr06/1537PDT][Beta 7 released 19Apr06/1458PDT]

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1144747861963689512006-04-11T02:23:00.000-07:002006-04-11T02:33:29.156-07:00

I noticed the Celestia site is currently inaccessible. Maybe it got swamped since Celestia was on a PCWorld list of high-quality, free software.Changelog from Celestia 1.4.1--version released 16 Feb 06 (download).

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1144746480251464692006-04-11T01:37:00.000-07:002006-04-11T02:08:00.950-07:00

A Jupiter plug-in/add-on has been released for World Wind. The total add-on size is 84MB.NASA World Wind 1.3.4 beta 3 is out. Developer Randy Kim states that beta 3 has minor code changes and is "almost there." Again, I recommend visiting the World Wind Forum beta discussion before installing. Otherwise, the direct download link is here.Experimenting with the Geography 2.0 RSS feed--which is off

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1144307315042365982006-04-05T23:55:00.000-07:002006-04-06T01:58:26.626-07:00

I wanted to make some additional comments about Casey Chesnut's Virtual Earth plug-in and World Wind in general. To address possible speculation, my understanding of the NASA World Wind philosophy is that it includes the desire to keep the software's data public domain. Thus, though Microsoft is allowing data and functionality from their Virtual Earth business unit to be used within World Wind,

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1144294548595465992006-04-05T20:34:00.000-07:002006-04-05T23:21:29.566-07:00

New builds of NASA World Wind 1.3.4 are being released every few days. Unlike the commercial software world, the ongoing releases of NASA World Wind 1.3.4 really are beta. As such, I would not recommend installing the beta unless you are a developer.World Wind developer Randy Kim demonstrated today's build (5Apr06) in Santa Barbara, and it seemed pretty stable. I'm running beta 2, which is

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1144291302220704132006-04-05T18:49:00.000-07:002006-04-05T20:28:50.603-07:00

I heard today that Microsoft is allowing the integration of its Virtual Earth data with NASA World Wind. Here is a plug-in from Casey Chesnut that does it:http://www.brains-n-brawn.com/default.aspx?vDir=veworldwind

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1143628284761144172006-03-29T02:14:00.000-08:002006-03-29T02:55:05.693-08:00

Dr. Matt Nolan of the University of Alaska-Fairbanks and EarthSLOT project, has announced the call for abstracts and registration for the Virtual Globes Scientific Users Conference. The three-day conference and workshop will be held at the University of Colorado, Boulder, July 10-12, 2006.The conference hopes to foster community-building among earth scientists and educators interested in virtual

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1143593881727028652006-03-28T16:24:00.000-08:002006-03-29T00:20:13.790-08:00

Here is a step-by-step guide for interacting with the eclipse using the free virtual globes software Celestia:1) Open Celestia.2) Under the Navigation menu, select Eclipse Finder. The Eclipse Finder dialog box will open.3) When the window opens, click Compute. All the defaults already should be set properly to view a solar eclipse. If not, copy the settings from the screenshot.4) To select the 29

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1143193105330828672006-03-24T01:02:00.000-08:002006-03-24T12:48:38.103-08:00

Google Earth blog reports several imagery upgrades for Google Earth. The official word is that most of the updates are for Germany. As someone with an affinity for geysers, I have noticed improvements, though arguably minor, for Kamchatka (Russia), Chile, Iceland, and New Zealand--the location of the world's largest geyser fields outside of Yellowstone. These basemap 15-meter resolution areas are

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1143065917694667382006-03-22T14:06:00.000-08:002006-03-22T15:26:26.006-08:00

The article in Nature (23Mar06 issue), 2020 Computing: Everything, Everywhere by Declan Butler, discusses the proliferation of sensor networks and the expected, building data flood. An important issue only briefly mentioned in the otherwise excellent article is the need to handle vast amounts of data and produce meaningful products. Infinite data are often similar to no data at all. In fact, so

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142935735547838062006-03-21T01:49:00.000-08:002006-03-21T02:14:05.206-08:00

Since I did not even mention Google's acquisition of SketchUp when it happened a week or so ago, I thought I should at least acknowledge it. There's been quite a bit of speculation and analysis of the purchase; here's the latest from Directions Magazine (21Mar06).In mid-February, I had the pleasure of having coffee with a prominent AEC businessperson. As we discussed various strategies and tools

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142916274623730372006-03-20T20:36:00.000-08:002006-03-21T01:31:43.213-08:00

For those interested in the release dates and expected functionality of the next NASA World Wind version, check out the "World Wind Wiki Road Map" page. According to the site, v.1.3.4 is expected in April. The developers will skip v1.4, and v1.5 will be released in September/October 2006. The road map enumerates several of v.1.3.4 features, including: 1) the ability to refresh elements in a layer

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142850966860633592006-03-20T01:44:00.000-08:002006-03-20T02:40:03.460-08:00

While watching the video of the AAG2006 virtual globes sessions, I heard Microsoft's Tim McGrath mention the ability to share and manipulate maps within MSN Messenger. Actually, McGrath used a phrase like "users can have a map tug of war." I went online to try it out, but unfortunately, none of my contacts were online. For readers with friends, this 30Sep05 MS Live Local blog entry describes how

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142584146929594012006-03-17T00:21:00.000-08:002006-03-17T00:29:06.946-08:00

NASA World Wind Project Manager Patrick Hogan will be presenting a talk entitled "NASA World Wind Technology Geospatial Data Management Tool as Applied to California" at the CalGIS conference (Location: Fess Parker Doubletree Inn - Santa Cruz Room, Santa Barbara, California; Time: Wednesday, April 5, 2006, 3:30-5:00pm).

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142547467140251042006-03-16T14:16:00.000-08:002006-03-16T14:21:15.343-08:00

I just received the following statement via email from a Microsoft spokesman:Microsoft has entered into an agreement with Vexcel Corporation to acquire the company. The agreement requires regulatory approval in the United States and in certain EU countries (Germany and Italy). More details will be available once the deal is closed.The acquisition is part of Microsoft’s exciting vision to deliver

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142540505894183412006-03-16T12:18:00.000-08:002006-03-16T14:19:22.300-08:00

Tracking down an acquisition rumor (see last sentence of earlier post), I called Vexcel. On March 16 (noon Pacific), the operator answered, "Microsoft Corporation". I told the operator I was trying to reach Vexcel, and she confirmed that I had dialed the correct number. The operator forwarded me to marketing, but I was greeted with a "mailbox full" message. It's not 100% confirmation, but it

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1142499390464483342006-03-16T00:42:00.000-08:002006-03-16T01:21:44.953-08:00

I have received numerous positive emails about the AAG2006 virtual globes session. Thanks to everyone who participated and attended. After I have a chance to meet with my co-organizer and review the video, we'll post our impressions. For now, several blogs mention the activities:Directions Magazine: Editorial (March 15, 2006), AAG: In the Groove?Very Spatial blog, (March 10, 2006), Virtual Globes

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1141697373173671192006-03-06T18:08:00.000-08:002006-03-06T18:12:33.273-08:00

Attendees to the Association of American Geographers meeting are invited to a reception sponsored by ESRI, on Thursday, March 9. The ESRI reception will follow the virtual globes panel, so we expect the reception to start at ~6:30-6:45pm. ESRI is providing hors d'oeuvres and drinks. In fact, ESRI has done it right...they are providing heavy hors d'oeuvres and an open bar! Place: Palmer House

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1141619457027015722006-03-05T20:26:00.000-08:002006-03-05T20:30:57.073-08:00

Per request, I have placed a higher-resolution version of the AAG2006: Virtual Globes logo online. It is available here (123K/jpg).

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1141432675759599262006-03-03T16:27:00.000-08:002006-03-03T16:48:47.873-08:00

Though not on virtual globes, this is a "related" topic. James Fee mentioned ESRI's new cartography tools for ArcGIS 9.2 (see: post), and I wanted to point out an AAG presentation in one week that may be of interest. Rhonda Glennon of ESRI will be discussing several of the new cartography tools at a presentation entitled Karst watershed cartography within ArcGIS. Time and Place: Friday, March 10,

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1141431559811488742006-03-03T15:40:00.000-08:002006-03-03T17:39:58.366-08:00

I received the following email from Dr. Keith Clarke:The report [Priorities for GEOINT Research at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency] is no longer embargoed, and is now publicly available in pre-release form at the following web site:http://www.nap.edu/catalog/11601.htmlI--Alan Glennon--haven't had time to read the report yet, but did skim the executive summary. The report defines the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140523520529112812006-02-21T03:02:00.000-08:002006-02-21T04:08:10.393-08:00

Recently, a UCSB graduate student said she dreamed of having Google Earth or NASA World Wind work on her PDA. "You know", I said, "I think I remember that from an old blog entry--for World Wind". I did a quick search and found it. From his May 13, 2005, blog entry (updated January 10, 2006), Casey Chestnut traces his experiments toward a Compact Framework version of NASA World Wind. The entry

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140481027985654462006-02-20T15:45:00.000-08:002006-02-20T16:31:16.963-08:00

Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, a German research institute, will be presenting a new 3D display at the CeBIT tradeshow, March 9-15, 2006, Hannover, Germany. The engineering team states that the monitor is "specially designed for use as a travel aid", and their test software has been a slightly-modified version of NASA World Wind. To maintain a stereographic view, a camera tracks the user's eye position

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140475290140030802006-02-20T14:36:00.000-08:002006-02-20T14:41:45.800-08:00

ESRI posted a FAQ about ArcGIS Explorer. It provides information on system requirements, data types supported, and customization details. For instance, the FAQ states that the software will be less than 20MB and work with Windows 2000/XP. Also, the following local data types can be used within ArcGIS Explorer: ESRI Shapefiles, File Geodatabases, JPEG 2000, GeoTIFF, IMG, KML, and KMZ.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140474128336177372006-02-20T14:03:00.000-08:002006-08-01T21:46:10.053-07:00

Geography 2.0: Internet-based Virtual Globespapers, panel, and discussion to be held in conjunction with the 2006 Annual Meeting of the Association of American GeographersThursday, March 9, 2006Crystal Room, Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, USAPRESENTATIONSSponsored by the AAG GIS Specialty Group3:00pm-3:20pm, David Maguire - ESRI. Geographic Earth Explorers: A new software paradigm for visualizing

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140249383214035682006-02-17T23:16:00.000-08:002006-02-18T00:32:05.146-08:00

Another graduate student--Karl Grossner--and I were staring at a Mars panorama, and it made me recall Keyhole NV Mars. I did a websearch, and it's hard to find much mention of it anymore. You can read Keyhole/Google's announcement of it going offline here.For those wishing to explore Mars, you still can do it with Skyline TerraExplorer. A free Mars virtual globe can be found on their main website

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140038369979884782006-02-15T13:05:00.000-08:002006-02-15T13:28:34.006-08:00

While reading Declan Butler's articles in the weekly version of Nature, I did notice the following new-to-me information: Skyline Software Systems, based in Chantilly, Virginia, was one of the first companies to offer a virtual globe: TerraExplorer. Later this year it will release Skyline Online, a browser-based tool similar to ArcGis Explorer. "It will empower users at home as well as

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1140037485679272142006-02-15T12:50:00.000-08:002006-02-15T13:43:26.933-08:00

The weekly version of Nature has several articles about virtual globes in its 15 February 2006 edition. The cover shot is of Google Earth with the byline, "Mapping for the Masses". The articles, most authored by Declan Butler, discuss how virtual globes are being used by scientists in various disciplines, how they work, translating the technology into tools for mapping the universe, and using the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139956497127480692006-02-14T14:31:00.000-08:002006-02-14T14:48:33.510-08:00

Overall, I try not to post items that are easily found elsewhere, but Stefan Geen's Ogle Earth posting about an exporter from Maya to Google Earth is worth repeating. The exporter was created by Eyebeam. Visit Ogle Earth or Eyebeam for additional details, screenshots, and commentary. As mentioned in my February 10th post, Maya software is now a property of Autodesk.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139787784927031962006-02-12T15:14:00.000-08:002006-02-12T15:47:35.733-08:00

On March 1, the Massuchusetts Microsoft developer community is holding a half-day workshop, "Virtual Earth Madness", on building mashups for their online mapping technology. According to Thom Robbins, it's happening in Boston and also online. I guess it should be called "Live Local Madness"--but that sounds like a call for chaos.Details on the virtual event can be found on the Microsoft website (

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139567880221640542006-02-10T02:37:00.000-08:002006-02-10T15:00:17.246-08:00

We have lots of entertainment industry people in town this week for the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, so films are on my mind. One item brought to my attention was the January acquisition of Alias by Autodesk. Alias' Maya software, which is particularly useful for modeling particles, collision deformations, fluids, hair, cloth, and other realistic textures, is used widely in the film

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139566309106939052006-02-10T01:56:00.000-08:002007-06-04T19:31:01.971-07:00

In my January 28th post on Edushi, I made a passing mention of a digital earth conference being held June 2007 in San Francisco. I received several inquiries about it, so I thought I'd post the website--the 5th International Symposium on Digital Earth.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139525023240637452006-02-09T14:27:00.000-08:002006-02-09T22:03:11.006-08:00

Everyone else has read the NASA World Wind blog and knows this already. However, if you haven't, in a January 18th posting, Chris Maxwell, one of the World Wind developers, says that they are committed to releasing their next update (v.1.3.4) in mid-to-late-February. Among the updates, they plan functionality for refreshable xml data. In the same post, he says v1.5 will be a huge leap forward and

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139523179475492952006-02-09T14:05:00.000-08:002006-02-09T14:13:54.240-08:00

I was speaking to Don Janelle at the Center for Spatially Integrated Social Science (CSISS) yesterday, and we began talking about mapping non-spherical worlds. It turns out that one of his colleagues--Philip J. Stooke---at the University of Western Ontario has done a great deal of work on the topic. Stooke's website, though most of the pages stem from 1999-2000, covers a number of related topics-

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139339333303014992006-02-07T10:52:00.000-08:002006-02-07T14:01:27.790-08:00

USA Today mentioned that the Washington, DC, government had created a SimCity-looking webmap of the Mall. It's interesting, but only 1% of what's over at Edushi. (see my Jan 28 post for more on Edushi)Also, Karl Grossner at UCSB sent me a note about Leica Geosystems. They have a demo online for their Leica Virtual Explorer. I downloaded the client, but could not get their demo data to run. The

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139302244795826332006-02-07T00:44:00.000-08:002006-02-07T12:15:17.136-08:00

I just noticed that Celestia moved from 1.3.2 to 1.4.0. The release occurred late December 2005 (changelog). The software is available for Linux, MacOSX, and Windows.Four days ago Lunar Software updated their Earthbrowser software to version 2.9. Here's a few of the improvements they list: "fixed problem with near real time satellite overlays", "significant speed improvements", "Universal Binary

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139084432502916742006-02-04T12:03:00.000-08:002006-02-05T18:32:06.363-08:00

In reference to my earlier post on satellite tracking, Sean Benison, a graduate student at NCGIA, showed me NASA's web satellite tracking tools. Several data delivery and visualization options are available. Their J-Track-3D display tracks satellites in real time with up to a 0.25 second refresh rate.I've attached a screenshot. As a thumbnail, the satellites are not visible, so click the image to

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1139083295733524622006-02-04T11:42:00.000-08:002006-02-04T13:39:18.526-08:00

I noticed that ESRI added a few more ArcGIS Explorer screenshots to their site. The images, one of the Washington Monument, one of the moon Europa, and one of the moon Ganymede, reflect a newer iteration of the software. So, ESRI is showing their software's ability to customize the coordinate system--in this case, with various iterations of a planetographic coordinate system.The navigational

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138967759510817552006-02-03T03:49:00.000-08:002006-02-03T03:55:59.530-08:00

The February 2006 Wired has a fascinating article about amateurs tracking spy satellites. On its last page, the article provides tips on do-it-yourself tracking, and references an orbital inventory website Heavens Above. I need to look through their data and see if it's possible to get a glimpse of IKONOS or Quickbird.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138878455143319142006-02-02T02:45:00.000-08:002006-02-02T03:11:19.316-08:00

Intrepid Defense and Security Systems of Birmingham, Michigan, has developed a display that shows volumetric 3D images in free space. The display produces something akin to a full-color hologram without requiring users to wear glasses. Unfortunately, their webpage does not include any photographs or video of the unit in use. The rack-mountable rectangular unit looks somewhat similar to a

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138857732217962792006-02-01T19:17:00.000-08:002006-02-01T21:51:33.096-08:00

In the January 2006 Geoworld magazine, I found two items that may be of interest to virtual globe enthusiasts and scientists: an article comparing functionality of several virtual globes and a commentary on the challenges posed by internet mapping to traditional GIS.The comparisons article focuses on providing short descriptions of Google Earth, Skyline Terra Suite, GeoFusion GeoPlayer, NASA

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138787064298504012006-02-01T01:01:00.000-08:002006-02-01T03:34:46.193-08:00

According to this post at scrappad, ESRI's virtual globe--ArcGIS Explorer--is now in closed beta. Since the beta users are not allowed to talk about it, I thought I would. After all, much of the functionality of the product is revealed in the numerous screenshots shown at ESRI's ArcGIS Explorer Gallery. Just to be clear, I have not previewed this product other than seeing Bernie Szukalski's

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138491874761907802006-01-28T15:07:00.000-08:002006-01-28T18:13:26.636-08:00

Given the Chinese enthusiasm for digital earth, I've been eager to learn about their latest innovations. I am expecting to get a full update at the next International Symposium for Digital Earth, San Francisco, 2007. For now, however, the website www.edushi.com reflects some interesting work that is happening.Using an ajax-enabled interface with similar look and feel as other popular map sites,

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138392107044162802006-01-27T11:38:00.000-08:002006-01-27T12:04:42.833-08:00

Dr. Keith Clarke, the department head here at UCSB Geography, just forwarded me an email regarding the Geoweb 2006 Conference, Vancouver, July 24-28, 2006. Though their website is not really developed, they describe it as:...the premier conference for Web-based geographic information systems--the meeting point of consumer location services and professional geographic information technologies:

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138366478990362362006-01-27T04:44:00.000-08:002006-01-29T05:15:04.270-08:00

In the last paragraph of my previous post, I refer to having a strong cognitive connection to being able to "view a scene from the same position where I originally took a photograph". To clarify, here is a screenshot. Using the KML "LookAt" tag, an image can be referenced to both its geographic location and the camera vantage. Note that the horizon and ground coloration approximately match in the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138359888133384642006-01-27T00:01:00.000-08:002006-01-29T05:12:09.220-08:00

So, will Microsoft launch something that looks like Google Earth? As seen in the preview screenshots for Flight Simulator X, Microsoft has the ingredients in place to do it. PC Magazine has a review of the game, which is expected to be released later this year. Further, through their agreement with Orbimage (now GeoEye), Microsoft can play with enough imagery to go head-to-head with the other

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138310543587859132006-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:002006-01-26T13:22:24.523-08:00

Microsoft has created two new incubation units--Search Labs and Live Labs--aimed at the rapid cultivation of internet technology. The Live Labs announcement included a request for proposals on a new grant program. Details about the labs can be found at:Official MS AnnouncementMicrosoft Live Labs

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138268352128385692006-01-26T01:34:00.000-08:002006-01-26T01:40:04.330-08:00

Word on the street is that some sites just received their betas of ESRI ArcGIS 9.2.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1138228663627349412006-01-25T14:22:00.001-08:002006-01-25T14:41:05.633-08:00

While collecting biographical information on the presenters and panelists for the upcoming AAG meeting, I came across a few-months-old (22 Nov 05) article on NASA World Wind. Written by Microsoft to promote their .NET and DirectX technology, the article provides some details on how World Wind was conceived and designed.Link: http://www.microsoft.com/net/business/articles/nasa_worldwind.mspxIf you

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1137391795646305002006-01-15T21:54:00.000-08:002006-01-15T22:09:55.660-08:00

According to this story in Die Welt, Google and Volkswagen are working on prototype in-vehicle navigation using Google Earth. Google's Larry Page made the announcement at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It makes me wonder about their strategy to get all that high-bandwidth data to the vehicle.I'm curious to see how the Skyline vs. Keyhole/Google lawsuit progresses too.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1137198204638283312006-01-13T16:18:00.000-08:002006-01-13T16:23:24.666-08:00

If you want to know more about GeoEye (the Orbimage acquisition of Space Imaging), there's a FAQ:http://www.orbimage-acquisition.com/faq.htmThe FAQ addresses the schedule for their next satellites, company vision, company acquisition price, and a few other nuggets.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1135384821251098892005-12-23T16:35:00.000-08:002005-12-23T16:40:21.303-08:00

Though it has not received much press, the reintroduction of geography to Harvard University--through the establishment of its Center for Geographic Analysis--makes my list as one of the more important spatial stories of the year. An October Harvard press release outlines the justification and purpose of the center. By the way, they are hiring; the Harvard career website has postings for the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1134599708958132662005-12-14T14:32:00.000-08:002005-12-14T14:35:08.970-08:00

The Association of American Geographers has released the preliminary schedule for its annual meeting (Chicago, March 7-11, 2006). The virtual globes activities will be occurring on Thursday afternoon. So far, the AAG website has been too tied up to get any other additional information. link: AAG2006 schedule

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1134418977771398482005-12-12T12:06:00.000-08:002005-12-12T12:22:57.786-08:00

Scanning the lastest GIS-centric entries at Planet Geospatial, I was delighted by the posting of some new KML-GML-ArcGIS conversion scripts by Christian Spanring and Matt Perry. Also, today's postings link to tutorials on Local Live Bird's Eye and the Google Maps API. By the way, I'm still working on my wiki for kml--the point being an open spatial database. It's likely to be unimpressive, but

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1134274197605233802005-12-10T19:48:00.000-08:002005-12-10T20:09:59.116-08:00

Microsoft's Steve Lombardi details the latest functionality of Virtual Earth on their MSDN Channel 9 site (here). They mention a few things that I didn't notice when I was playing with it (like printing and direction upgrades). He also demonstrates a map control application showing realtime traffic information.So--- enough propaganda. Nevertheless, it is nice to actually to see the software

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1134271629482555182005-12-10T19:19:00.000-08:002005-12-10T19:27:09.500-08:00

The buzz is all about the prerelease of Google Earth for Mac. Sites like Ogle Earth, Google Earth Blog, and Apple Insider have some first reviews and impressions. I thought I should at least mention it for those who don't look at other blogs. My Mac friends (okay, so that's something like two people) seem to have disappeared into their offices to play with the new software. I look forward to the

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1134175660385186852005-12-09T16:43:00.000-08:002005-12-09T16:50:30.776-08:00

After I gave a quick demonstration on virtual globes' education potential at yesterday's SPACE organizers meeting in Santa Barbara, several participants asked about the Google Earth Education Initiative. The program's coordinator is currently on sabbatical, so response may be somewhat delayed. Nevertheless, here's the information:---------------Google is investing its heart and soul in education.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1133752965832643832005-12-04T19:15:00.000-08:002005-12-04T19:22:45.833-08:00

How about a wiki that creates an associated globes-readable file? I'm thinking about KML, but mostly because I don't know any other easy option. The point would be to allow community creation/collaboration/review of spatial databases (ie. an open source spatial database). Anyone seen a site that does this yet?

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1133751960305821502005-12-04T19:02:00.000-08:002005-12-04T19:07:39.720-08:00

People ask me about the differences between the various globes software. A good place to start is EarthSLOT's comparison of 3D engines--a page that discusses some of the strengths and weaknesses of Skyline, Google Earth, GeoFusion, and NASA World Wind.http://www.earthslot.org/earthslot_3Dengines.php

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15764792.post-1133683632328193362005-12-04T00:05:00.000-08:002005-12-04T00:07:12.386-08:00

ESRI has created a screenshot showcase for ArcGIS Explorer. The page says to expect a public beta in Q1 2006.

Alan Glennonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00497967344049055994noreply@blogger.com