The ENTCHEV GIS Blog

NOAA's National Data Buoy Center Online Map

Atanas Entchev — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:27:00 GMT

I don't know how new this is, but it's exciting news to me and my fellow sailors, so I'll share.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s National Data Buoy Center has published an interactive online map of 1003 stations (at press time), providing near-real-time marine observations such as air and water temperature, wind speed and direction, wave height and period, and much more. These data have long been publicly-available in other formats (web, text-only, or by phone ("Dial-a-buoy")). But the map interface makes searching for and comparing marine data a breeze.

The National Data Buoy Center uses Google Maps.

Hat tip to fellow sailor, planner and GISer Kelly Robinson.

Woodbridge Township Retains ENTCHEV

Atanas Entchev — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:29:00 GMT

ENTCHEV GIS Architects has been retained by Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, to assist with the assembly of an enterprise geodatabase for the Township. ENTCHEV will provide assistance with geodatabase design, data conversion, and staff training.

Murder: New York City

Atanas Entchev — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 23:26:00 GMT

The New York Times released a very impressive interactive online map of homicides in New York City. Clear, simple, fast, intuitive, impactful. Powered by Google.

Archie Belaney, a commenter on The All Points Blog, nominates Eric Schmidt, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, and Marissa Mayer as the most influential people in GIS. (S)he has a point.

Projection on the Fly -- Steak or Sizzle?

Atanas Entchev — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 20:19:00 GMT

James Fee challenged his blog readers to respond to another reader's request -- "Please list all the pros and cons of ArcView 3.1". Many obliged, and collectively came up with a fairly comprehensive list of pros and cons. Several responses (three at the time of this writing) included lack of projection-on-the-fly as a con.

But how important is on-the-fly projection? For any serious GIS work one needs to project their data anyway. I think projection on the fly as a feature was introduced by ESRI in response to Intergraph’s similar feature, which Intergraph wasn’t shy flaunting in sales presentations prior to ESRI having it. It’s just sales sizzle.

What do you think?

When the Doctor Is Also the Pharmacist

Atanas Entchev — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 18:57:00 GMT

An online friend shared a story about his young daughter’s visit to the optometrist. The optometrist determined that the child was farsighted and needed glasses. My friend then wrote: “The only thing that bothers me is that optometrists not only tell you that you need glasses, they also sell them!”

Of course it bothers him. It bothers me, too, when I seek (and pay for) professional advice, only to find myself on the receiving end of a product sales pitch. Without fail, the “professional” stands to gain financially from the product sale.

Yet the same practice it prevalent in the GIS industry. “Independent” consultants are routinely partnered with software or service vendors. Big surprise, then, that the consultant recommends the product (and lots of it) whose sale they stand to profit from.

I was reminded of the optometrist story as a GIS press release popped up in my RSS reader – about a New Jersey town that just bought a technologically outdated web-based GIS, on the advice of their GIS consultant. As it turns out, the doctor in this case was also the pharmacist.

People: If you ask the GM salesman, he’ll recommend a Hummer (Hummer being sold to China as I write this).

Let's Connect on Facebook

Atanas Entchev — Sun, 24 May 2009 19:40:00 GMT

Let's connect on Facebook! Click on the Facebook badge below.

ENTCHEV GIS Architects's Facebook Page | Promote Your Page Too

New Jersey Appeals Court Strikes Down Standardized OPRA Forms

Atanas Entchev — Fri, 22 May 2009 16:09:00 GMT

The Star-Ledger serves the latest installment in the seemingly never-ending New Jersey Open Public Records Act (OPRA) saga. Standardized OPRA request forms are illegal (for now).

"UNION COUNTY -- A state appeals court today struck down standardized request forms many towns and counties require citizens to fill out to view public records; the court said that letters, faxes and even e-mails containing the specific request are sufficient under the state's Open Public Records Act."

GPS upgrade behind schedule and over budget

Atanas Entchev — Mon, 18 May 2009 23:18:00 GMT

[UPDATE 05/20/2009] WIRED chimes in: "Tax GPS to Save GPS?"

cnet reports about a variety of problems that could jeopardize the continuous operation of the Global Positioning System (GPS). From the article:

"The US plans to invest more than $5.8 billion through 2013 to modernize and replenish the existing GPS satellite constellation. But facing cost overruns of $870 million and "significant" technical problems, the US Air Force, which is in charge of GPS acquisition, has struggled to build and deploy the next generation satellites on schedule, according to a Government Accounting Office report. A failure to complete development next year before old satellites begin to fail could have wide-ranging impacts on all GPS users, the report warned."

Full article.

New York City uses GeoServer, Oracle Spatial for Web GIS

Atanas Entchev — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 13:52:00 GMT

New York City recently relaunched NYCityMap2.0 -- a web GIS application built in-house using the open source GeoServer plus Oracle Spatial. The effort is noted in Government Technology (hat tip to Adena Schutzberg), along with discussion of why Google Maps or Microsoft Virtual Earth were not a good fit. No mention of ESRI or Arc anything.

LAS (LiDAR) Files for Somerset County New Jersey Now Available on the USGS CLICK Webpage

Atanas Entchev — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:56:00 GMT

Title says it all. Hat tip to Ron Pristas. USGS CLICK Webpage.

Los Angeles Times Scathing Report on LAPD Online Crime Map

Atanas Entchev — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 19:58:00 GMT

The Los Angeles Times today has an article about LAPD's online crime map -- focusing on its many inaccuracies, and their implications. Of serious concern is the danger of spreading the bad data to other databases and systems. Particularly disturbing is the LA Times finding that the LAPD did not know about the map inaccuracies until the paper alerted the department.

Naturally, viewers of online maps expect (and assume) the maps to be accurate, particularly when published by solid and authoritative organizations such as the LAPD. And when the maps aren't accurate, the mapping industry's credibility (not just a particular system's developer, who usually remains unknown) takes a hit.

Geocoding does work, but it's an iterative process of data refining, not a one-shot deal. This LA Times article illustrates the pitfalls of blurring the lines between professional-grade systems/processes and consumer-oriented tools, and the difficulty of distinguishing between the two. It also underscores the importance of having an experienced GIS architect on your side when specifying and contracting the development of a complex mapping system.

Adena Schutzberg also blogs about the LA Times article, though I was first alerted to it by a general IT discussion list I subscribe to. I only mention this to highlight the general acceptance online mapping has achieved, and the far-reaching implications an inaccurate product now has.

From the LA Times article:

"Since the inception of the LAPD's online crime map three years ago, the 200 block of West 1st Street has consistently shown up as the most likely place in Los Angeles to be victimized by crime.

But don't believe everything you read on the Internet. The spot, directly in front of the Los Angeles Times and a block from the new LAPD headquarters, is actually quite lawful.

Behind the apparent enigma is a case of virtual unreality. The crimes reported there were real, but they actually happened somewhere else. The only thing they had in common was an address that proved impossible for a computer to find.

The distortion -- which the LAPD was not aware of until alerted by The Times -- illustrates pitfalls in the growing number of products that depend on a computer process known as geocoding to convert written addresses into points on electronic maps."

Here is the actual online map.

2009 ESRI Developer Summit Summary

Atanas Entchev — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 15:01:00 GMT

My friend Donny Velazquez attended the 2009 ESRI Developer Summit in Palm Springs, California, and offers an extensive, very detailed summary on his blog. A few notable announcements:

No support for IE6, VB6, VS2005, Oracle 9i, SQL2000, Win2000 & Win Server 2000 in ArcGIS Desktop 9.4
Support for native SQL, no ArcSDE required in ArcGIS Server 9.4
Virtual Earth data will be available in ArcGIS Explorer 900 (important clarification from James Fee -- only if you have an ArcGIS desktop license)

Here is a bit that I find intriguing. Donny tells us that a new buzzword this year is 'story':

"'Story' is taken from Microsoft and basically its [sic] a way to assign emotion to a product."

The mention of Microsoft in a seemingly unrelated context looks like a Freudian slip to me (on ESRI's part, not Donny's). Does Microsoft's influence on ESRI extend beyond technology and into marketing? It certainly appears that way.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Tracked Down on Google Street View

Atanas Entchev — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:16:00 GMT

Google Street View shows E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial hiding in the bushes in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. So claims the UK Telegraph, quoting UFO experts, and presenting this image as proof. You be the judge.

Web Map Service (WMS) for the 2007 New Jersey Orthoimagery Available

Atanas Entchev — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 19:39:00 GMT

This announcement just came from Andy Rowan, Director, NJ Office of GIS. I am publishing it with Andy's permission (thanks, Andy!).

Most notable is the fact that the New Jersey Office of GIS is publishing "an OGC-compliant map service that is compatible with a wide variety of desktop and web clients." Way to go.

"For any who haven't visited the NJGIN portal lately: NJ Office of GIS has published a WMS -- Web Map Service -- of the 2007 orthoimagery. This is an OGC-compliant map service that is compatible with a wide variety of desktop and web clients. Details are at njgin.nj.gov under the "Orthoimagery" link on the left. Sub-layers are available for natural color and false-color IR.

(The WMS is also what provides the imagery preview that appears in the Information Warehouse download application.)

-Andy"

If above NJGIN link does not work, try this one.

Map of Congressional Votes, Butchered by GIS Software

Atanas Entchev — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:11:00 GMT

This is art, right? More amazing GIS bloopers on Matthew Bloch's site.

(via Kottke)

NJSLOM 2009 – Is Exhibiting Worth the Expense?

Atanas Entchev — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:55:00 GMT

[UPDATE June 9, 2009] Joe Francica tweets that the Information Builders' conference attendance is down 30% from 2008.

This post began as a status update on my Facebook page, and generated a lot of comments. I am summarizing the thread here, hoping to gather feedback from a larger pool of readers.

The New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJSLOM) is a voluntary association created to help communities do a better job of self-government through pooling information resources and brain power. It holds an annual conference and expo in Atlantic City, designed to bring together municipal officials and vendors of municipal goods and services. I have exhibited at the NJSLOM show close to ten times now – first while working for others, the last three years for my own firm ENTCHEV GIS Architects.

The conference and expo bring together thousands of vendors and tens of thousands of municipal officials in a carnival-like atmosphere. The show resembles a county fair, with loud noises, music and fire trucks. It is also referred to, among vendors, as trick-or-treating for adults, referencing the hordes of visitors grabbing vendor giveaways with little regard to who the vendor is and what they have to offer.

It is expensive to exhibit at the NJSLOM show. The booth space is expensive, and so are the furniture, electricity, carpeting, and internet access you must purchase separately. Add accommodations and meals for staff and self, throw in the cost for tchotchkes, travel, show preparation and follow up, factor in opportunity cost (time not billed), and you are talking real money.

Is the expense and effort worth it just to show your face to the market? I am not so sure any more; all respondents to the original Facebook post said “no.” While I have made new contacts at NJSLOM that have led to GIS contracts, those are few and far between. Mostly, the show serves as a venue to establish and maintain presence in the market, to earn mindshare. But is it justifiable?

Is it?

Archie Belaney on Open GIS Data Formats

Atanas Entchev — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:01:00 GMT

[UPDATE March 19, 2009] Several readers, and now another blogger, have misconstrued this post's intent (for which I am singularly to blame). When I wrote this post, I thought it was clear that Archie's comment was mocking some software vendors' efforts to keep data formats proprietary. Apparently this was not clear at all.

So, for the record, I am all for open GIS data formats.

Note to self (again): Sarcasm and irony do not transfer well over the Internet. As if I did not know...

The All Points Blog features today another round in the never-ending discussion on GIS data formats. We have, too, in the past, lent our voice to the discourse ("Proliferation", "Katmai", "File Geodatabase"). A commenter on Adena's blog, Archie Belaney, sums it up perfectly. This is the comment to end all discussions:

"Remember, it's not about the software, it's about control of the data and the services required to help 'expose' these data through 'open' software products.

If your company loses control over access to the data by opening the formats, you've lost control over the need for your software, your services, and your ability to control the market."

Full comment.

New Jersey Highlands LiDAR Data on CLICK

Atanas Entchev — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 14:05:00 GMT

The New Jersey Highlands LiDAR data is now online at the CLICK website. Enjoy, elevation junkies! (via Ron Pristas)

Google Latitude Verdict

Atanas Entchev — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:21:00 GMT

[UPDATE February 17, 2009] As a true scientist(*), I decided to give Google Latitude a try in order to put my initial hypothesis to the test.

Three of my friends, all with Google accounts, decided to "share" their locations with me through Google Latitude; I reciprocated. One of them never shared a location at all. One ceased to share on day two. And one has been sharing continuously, enabling me to follow his travels across several states in near-real time. As for me, not having a GPS-enabled phone, I have been updating my location manually from the office (so it’s always the same, New Brunswick, NJ, USA).

To sum it up – only 25% of my *geek* cohort continue to use Google Latitude after one week. Maybe more will discover its appeal in the days and weeks to come? Where does that leave the technophobes and the paranoiacs? Stay tuned.

(*)I understand that there is nothing scientific about this "experiment." The sampling size is too small, I am not really a scientist, and I forgot how to do multiple regression analysis a long time ago. I think it is interesting nevertheless.

People don't want to be found.

After Google Earth Is Banned, What’s Next?

Atanas Entchev — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 18:29:00 GMT

This is what my favorite non-GIS blog, NYT's Freakonomics, asks today. The occasion?

"Now an Indian court is considering a ban on Google Earth, hoping to deprive future terrorists of a crucial technology."