Spatially Adjusted

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  • Minecraft, Second Life and Google Earth

    This hilarious article on abandoned Universities in Second Life got me thinking about 3D worlds and GIS.

    Colleges were among those that bought the hype of the Linden Lab-developed virtual world. Many universities set up their own private islands to engage students; some even held classes within Second Life.

    Most of these virtual universities are gone –– it costs almost $300 per month to host your own island –– but it turns out a handful remain as ghost towns. I decided to travel through several of the campuses, to see what’s happening in Second Life college-world in 2015

    I mean seriously, what the heck were we thinking with Second Life? But while Second Life was more hype than function, KML and Google Earth was our great hope.  KML export, Arc2Earth, SketchUp all were tools that were used liberally to export our GIS models to Google Earth in hopes we’d finally have a universal GIS viewer.  My site is littered with KML export articles that we all thought would change our lives.  But honestly none of them really have taken off.  In fact I rarely create KML anymore, my clients just doesn’t use Google Earth anymore.

    So where is Minecraft in all of this?  Safe Software has an Minecraft conversation as part of FME.  If I look at the analytics to this site, most of the top 10 search terms have some tie in to Minecraft.  But it feels so much different from Second Life or even Google Earth.  I honestly have put some thought into licensing FME and putting up a GIS to Minecraft conversion service due to the interest in it.

    But are we exporting GIS to Minecraft for visualization?  No but I think there is a different thing going on here.  Minecraft is as consumer as we get.  GIS is very enterprise and business focused.  We’ve always wondered how do we get ordinary people to use GIS data1.  What Minecraft does is bring all that analysis, data conversion, transformation and scripting into the mainstream.  I can’t recall my son ever being so interested in anything as he is in Minecraft.  I’m sure your kids are the same way.

    I’m still not really sure if Minecraft GIS is has any more traction than Second Life or KML for GIS professionals.  It could very well be that in 3 years I’ll look back on this post and laugh at my words.  But I’m betting that Microsoft will make Minecraft bigger than it’s ever been and Minecraft export format will be built into every GIS package.

    1. Well other than to find a Starbucks ↩

  • Simply GIS

    I had some endpoints of a lines that I needed to convert to GeoJSON today.  Before I started I do what every GIS professional does, take inventory of the multitude of ways to actually accomplish this.  I mentally jotted down the following:

    • Esri ArcGIS
    • QGIS
    • Online tools (csv -> json)
    • R
    • Python

    I started to realize that these are all pretty heavy tools to just accomplish something as simple as a line string to line.  We literally pull out a chainsaw when all we want it to trim a little piece of paper.  Nothing simple about converting some coordinates into JSON.  Enter Turf.js.

    turf.linestring – Creates a LineString based on a coordinate array. Properties can be added optionally.

    https://gist.github.com/cageyjames/400f050b24db613f83a3.js

    So simple, plus it’s JavaScript already.  Honestly I need to keep coming back to Turf.js, the docs cover easily 90% of what we mostly do with GIS every day.  I just run Turf.js on my laptop and now I don’t even have to open up QGIS to get my work done.  The best part, all JavaScript!  So who is writing the Turf.js book right now?

  • Python and Visual Studio

    I posted this a while back on twitter but someone asked me about it this morning and I thought I’d share it here on the blog.  The Visual Studio Blog has and article out on Why write Python in Visual Studio? which is worth reading for everyone writing Python on Windows.

    Recently, Visual Studio 2015 was released with support for Python. Python Tools for Visual Studio (PTVS) are available to help throughout Visual Studio in all the places you’d expect, from editing and IntelliSense, to debugging, profiling, and publishing to Azure. You can find all the details and some video walkthroughs, documentation, and other resources on visualstudio.com, and the post announcing Python Tools 2.1 and Python Tools 2.2 beta.

    The post is a great read into the choices the Visual Studio team made on how to integrate IntelliSense with Python.  Honestly when VS 2015 came out I’ve started using it for all Python development on Windows and when I switch over to my Mac I really miss the features.  GIS users have embraced Python and having a real IDE to help them is a huge plus.  In the past I’ve avoided IDEs where I didn’t need them but with Python projects getting larger and more important, it really makes sense to organize them better.

  • The Story Behind Google Buying Waze

    Waze cofounder tells us how his company’s $1 billion sale to Google really went down

    The sale was a milestone for Israel’s young but huge startup community: The first Israeli consumer-app company to be bought for over $1 billion. In an instant, the whole “Startup Nation” decided to quit aiming for fast exits and build billion-dollar companies instead.

    When Google bought Waze we were all amazed they paid $1B.  Not so much in that we didn’t think Waze was going to sell for $1B1 but that Google needed them.  In the end it was simple for Waze:

    What made Google pretty attractive for us that No. 1, the company stayed in Israel. No. 2, we remained with our mission, to help drivers avoid traffic jams.

    Well and that $1B was pretty attractive too.  I’m honestly not sure what is going to happen to Waze moving forward.  I still use it daily on my commute.  Waze is partnering with cities to improve traffic results and I know millions of others rely on it for better traffic results than Google Maps or Apple Maps.  But that’s the kicker right?  Questions that come to mind to me are:

    • What’s the incentive to innovate beyond improving traffic results?
    • What’s the status of the maps behind the application, are they being updated?
    • Does Google plan to shut Waze down and “integrate” traffic into Google Maps?
    • Is Waze just another example of supporting a proprietary map only to see it be pulled away from the community?

    Google bought Waze over 2 years ago.  We haven’t seen anything new from Waze beyond these “partnering” programs2.  I’ll continue to use Waze for my commuting because it is such a time save but the end game of Waze is probably not benefiting me.

    1. Facebook was going to pull the trigger ↩

    2. Which I’m not even sure are being pursued anymore ↩

  • DigitalGlobe has a Maps API and brought along Mapbox

    So DigitalGlobe has an API in beta.  Funny thing is when I first went to the page I saw this popup for the “first 100 customers”:

    Get DigitalGlobe Maps API now for the introductory price of $1 per 1,000 views

    I guess they don’t have 100 customers yet.  But let’s get beyond the question if it’s even relevant that DG has an API and look at their offering:

    They’ve got two versions of their imagery API.  One that is global and has high frequency updates and one that is color balanced but only regional (and probably not updated often).  But what we really want to see is the API, right?  Well look at the splash page:

    This is why we created a mapping API just for you: easily access our compelling high-resolution imagery of the earth along with fantastic stylized basemap content from Mapbox. We want you to use our imagery in your apps, no matter if you’re an industry giant or a promising startup. We believe our imagery is the standard upon which all others are measured, and we want you to benefit from our expertise.

    Remember this partnership from 3 years ago?  Don’t be so surprised to see Mapbox there.  The plans have been put into motion to see Mapbox integrated with many other vendors but here we have DigitalGlobe’s API built on top of Mapbox.  I’m not sure if DG’s API will be popular but at least we know it’s a robust, easy to use and powerful API.

    What’s the most interesting part of all this is Esri is not to be found.  DG and Esri have had a long time relationship but I think DG has realized that deals with Esri only benefit Esri.  Best of luck to DG and Mapbox!

  • The GIS Workflow

    If there is one thing I’ve learned over the years it is that workflows are critical to creating a repeatable, defensible process.  The thing with GIS is that we’ve got to use so many different file formats and systems1.  I’ve been working on a relatively simple workflow, one that must be automated.  The whole process is stuck on a proprietary format by a vendor who makes Esri look like an open book.  Workflows generally are very easy to automate because so much of what we do in GIS is based upon APIs.  Heck we were using APIs before we know what we were working with was an API2.  But too much of what we do is based upon needing a license to export a binary format into an open one.

    We can talk all we want about open data formats, LAS battles and every other GIS format war we want to argue about, but in the end we are usually up against a format that can’t be cracked, can’t be avoided or contractually is required.  The binary format industrial complex is strong but I refuse to be backed into these corners anymore.  Time to pivot into taking down this one.

    Run away from the binary file industrial complex!

    1. I was actually going to type “silos” there but I felt dirty.  Honestly thought that is what we do ↩

    2. Yea I think I said that right ↩

  • SpatialTau v2.10 — For Sale, GIS Data Provider, Will Take Best Offer

    SpatialTau is my weekly newsletter that goes out every Wednesday. The archive shows up in my blog a month after the newsletter is published. If you’d like to subscribe, please do so here.

    So over the weekend Bloomberg dropped this news:

    Nokia Oyj is exploring the sale of its maps business as the Finnish equipment maker focuses on boosting growth at its wireless-network unit and improving its debt rating, according to people familiar with the matter.

    Nokia has reached out to potential buyers including Uber Technologies Inc., the mobile car-booking application, and private-equity firms, the people said. A group of German carmakers has also shown interest, the people said, and bids for the unit are expected as soon as this month.

    A couple notes.  First I find it very interesting that they list Uber as a potential buyer over Microsoft and others.  Not that Microsoft wouldn’t be interested; just that Uber is the one they felt like they wanted to lead with.  Probably has to do much with Uber buying deCarta but I think it shows how little people value this data anymore given that Apple and Google already have their own map databases, OpenStreetMap is out there and available for everyone to use and most people don’t really think about owning the map anymore.

    Clearly my gut tells me that Microsoft will want to own the Bing Maps data but maybe they don’t really care.  The value for Apple/Google/Microsoft as mobile platforms is in the POIs and routing, not the visualization.  I’m sure that part Microsoft already has down solid (my 4Runner actually uses Bing Maps POI database for navigation, not that I actually use it myself).  A couple years ago everyone would have said Microsoft has to buy this but clearly when they bought the mobile phone division of Nokia, they didn’t care to buy the maps business with it (when it would have been a rounding error on the final purchase price).  I honestly doubt they’ll make a bid for it today.

    Thus maybe that’s why Bloomberg went with Uber as the lead company in their story, because they are who would most be interested in the data.  Uber itself probably has figured out if they can use OSM data or if they need to have a proprietary map database such as Navteq (or HERE as I guess it’s called now).  GIS data just isn’t as valuable as it once was.  ”Free” maps from Apple and Google along with free maps from OpenStreetMap have disrupted the GIS data business.  Most people would rather just pay someone else to handle the mapping (such as Google or MapBox) and use the APIs.  The need to buy Navteq or TomTom has greatly diminished and even Apple who prides itself on controling everything doesn’t seem to need to buy TomTom to control the data.  Thus I think Microsoft will follow suit.

    I’m honestly really interested to see if they can sell HERE/Navteq.  I don’t see much interest but I’m sure if they really want to move it, they’ll find someone to buy it.  If it is a company like Uber, it could mean the end to HERE/Navteq as a product.  Time will tell!

  • Google Map Maker Returns

    You may recall that Google took down Map Maker blaming it on algorithms.

    Certain offensive search terms were triggering unexpected maps results, typically because people had used the offensive term in online discussions of the place. This surfaced inappropriate results that users likely weren’t looking for.

    Well Google has apparently figured out a plan to allow people to start editing the Google map data.

    Map Maker will be reopened for editing in early August, and we’re looking for users to now have more influence over the outcome of edits in their specific countries. This means that edits on Map Maker will be increasingly made open for moderation by the community. While some edits will still require moderation by Google operators, our loyal users will recognize that this is a departure from how we have operated in the past where majority of your edits were reviewed by Google operators. This has been a request you’ve made for a very long time, and this change should, hopefully, come as good news.

    Community editing, who knew? Google will be “selecting” mappers around the world to be “Regional Leads” on Map Maker. I’m not sure why anyone would want this title but I guess we’ll see soon enough what it entails. Edits have to be moderated before they are published to the map so the quick updates that happened before (and of course happen with OSM) won’t work for Google. I think though considering how things went last time, any change is good for Google.

  • SpatialTau v2.9 – Geodatabase vs geodatabase

    SpatialTau is my weekly newsletter that goes out every Wednesday. The archive shows up in my blog a month after the newsletter is published. If you’d like to subscribe, please do so here.

    What does the word “geodatabase” mean to you?  I’m sure most of you answer that it’s Esri’s proprietary spatial data format, either the classic Microsoft Access Personal Geodatabase or the newer folder based File Geodatabase.  But really it also applies to any spatial database, Esri or not.  Spatialite is a geodatabase.  PostGIS is a geodatabase. CouchDB is a geodatabase.  I could go on of course.  But when we talk about geodatabases we sometimes get our wires crossed.

    Just last week I was talking with a client and they were using the word geodatabase to describe both File Geodatabases and PostGIS.  Internally they knew what they were talking about but I went back and forth between understanding what exactly we were discussing.  After a good laugh we talked about the concept of spatial databases abstractly and wondered if the word “geodatabase” was the right one to use.  When I search with the term “geodatabase” with Google, my first 3 results are Esri, and then we see a Wikipedia article on spatial database.  Google image search is littered with Esri examples of their Geodatabase with almost no other database being described.  You can see above I refer to Esri’s product at “Geodatabase” (big G) and the generic term as “geodatabase” (little G) but when we talk it is very hard to see the difference.

    So what right?  Does it really matter?  I’ve gone over this the past week since my discussion with the client and I’m of the mindset that Esri “owns” the geodatabase term.  If you search my blog you’ll notice I’m pretty good about making sure I use “Geodatabase” and “geodatabase” correctly but honestly I don’t see why I should.  Saying “spatial database” is so much more descriptive than geodatabase and honestly more understandable to non-GIS users.  I think in the bigger picture of Spatial IT, referring to something correctly generically matters.  I’m going to use Geodatabase (big G) to refer to Esri’s spatial formats and spatial database to describe spatial databases.  I think the clarification matters and defines the difference between a file format and an actual spatial database.  Heck I can even say a Geodatabase is a spatial database and sleep well all night.

  • SpatialTau v2.8 – Buying Your Own Mapping Company

    SpatialTau is my weekly newsletter that goes out every Wednesday. The archive shows up in my blog a month after the newsletter is published. If you’d like to subscribe, please do so here.

    deCarta has a soft spot for many of us. We saw them hit highs with Yahoo! and Google and then lows when they were dumped. Just 2 weeks ago I talked with Marc Prioleau about deCarta on my Hangout. Last night though the news hit that Uber was buying deCarta.

    Uber, the popular ride-sharing startup, is acquiring the mapping and search startup deCarta for an unspecified amount, Mashable has learned.

    The deal, which closes later this week, is for deCarta’s technology and talent. Founded in 1996, the San Jose startup provides a software platform that focuses on location-based features, including mapping, local search and turn-by-turn navigation.

    So deCarta is now owned by Uber. Uber told Mashable:
    “A lot of the functionality that makes the Uber app so reliable, affordable and seamless is based on mapping technologies,” an Uber spokesperson told Mashable. “With the acquisition of deCarta, we will continue to fine-tune our products and services that rely on maps –- for example UberPOOL, the way we compute ETAs, and others – and make the Uber experience even better for our users.”

    Makes total sense right? The whole point we use Uber and similar services is because they get a car to us in a couple minutes. Marc Prioleau wrote up his thoughts on the acquisition and came to the conclusion there is much to like about deCarta for Uber. I personally think deCarta helps the backend of Uber improve. Marc’s totally right about that (read what he wrote, it’s worth it). But on the consumer side, the one you and I see when we use the Uber.app I still don’t think they’ll replace Google Maps with deCarta. Marc has a theory that they may want to have a different look to their maps than what Google and Apple have but I honestly think consumers hate change and having Google as the visualization makes perfect sense for Uber.

    We’ve seen companies like Mapbox do custom tile sets for clients but these projects are the exception to the rule. On iOS and Android, Apple and Google control the maps and most developers just use what is given them by default. The backend system though, those that improve how Uber operates clearly will be given more support. That said, it isn’t like Uber fails to get their cars to their customers.

    I have no idea what Uber uses today, it could be some Google based application, some custom code created by them or a consultant or maybe even Esri. But having more staff that understand maps completely will only assist Uber in improving their service. Clearly every little thing helps Uber compete against taxis and Lyft so it’s probably money well spent. That and deCarta gets a nice landing spot. Wins all around!