Parrot AR.Drone now available

An inexpensive, iphone-controlled, super cool looking hover craft - can we use it for our local aerial imagery acquisition? Check it: from Engaget.

GIScience added to federal list of STEM disciplines

ICE announces expanded list of science, technology, engineering, and math degree programs Qualifies eligible graduates to extend their post-graduate training

WASHINGTON-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) today published an expanded list of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degree programs that qualify eligible graduates on student visas for an Optional Practical Training (OPT) extension-an important step forward in the Obama administration's continued commitment to fixing our broken immigration system and expanding access to the nation's pool of talented high skilled graduates in the science and technology fields.

The announcement follows President Obama's recent remarks in El Paso, Texas, where he reiterated his strong support for new policies that embrace talented students from other countries, who enrich the nation by working in science and technology jobs and fueling innovation in their chosen fields here in the United States, as a part of comprehensive reform. 

By expanding the list of STEM degrees to include such fields as Neuroscience, Medical Informatics, Pharmaceutics and Drug Design, Mathematics and Computer Science, the Obama administration is helping to address shortages in certain high tech sectors of talented scientists and technology experts-permitting highly skilled foreign graduates who wish to work in their field of study upon graduation and extend their post-graduate training in the United States.

Under the OPT program, foreign students who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities are able to remain in the U.S. and receive training through work experience for up to 12 months. Students who graduate with one of the newly-expanded STEM degrees can remain for an additional 17 months on an OPT STEM extension. More here.

Maps as Media: Map making in the 21st century

Today's "On the Media" radio show included a great discussion of maps and map making in the Google era. Largely a synopsis of this article in the Washington Monthly by John Gravois, the radio piece, with John Gravois, touched on the decline of the National Map and the rise of the Google Map paradigm, and the consequences of this change: how does Google name features that are in dispute? what do maps mean as their lineage changes from government to corporation? how do the political nuances of national maps change as Google becomes the global standard for map making? do we need a new term for these increasingly community based collections of spatially tagged conversations? It was a really interesting piece, and I recommend it. Good listening.

Apple acquires web mapping firm: more cool stuff on the way for the iphone?

On the heels of Sarah's post last week about Apple-GIS merges comes this verrrry provocative news clip: Apple acquires web mapping firm Poly9 posted in engadget. Better mapping apps for iphone & ipad to compete with android stuff? Stay tuned to your iphone I guess.

ESRI ArcGIS iPhone App Now Available

I just downloaded the new ArcGIS iPhone app newly available this weekend. It's impressively speedy, especially over wifi. One of the best features I've noticed so far is the ability to measure distances and areas. It's also available for the iPad and iPodTouch.

Magnetic declination calculator

NOAA's magnetic declination calculator is here. Magnetic declanation is the difference between magnetic north and true north. Berkeley's declination is 14° 16' E. This is useful information for calibrating your compass or your GPS. Most GPS allow bearings to be calculated on either true or magnetic north, even the lowly iphone compass allows this.

If San Francisco Crime were Elevation

From Doug McCune's blog, the motto of which is: "I was Web 2.0 before your grandma was Web 2.0" which is kinda cute, gotta admit. Not that my grandma was ever anything close to that, she was a great baker though.

Anyway - he says: "I’ve been playing with different ways of representing data and I decided to venture into 3D representations. I’ve used a full year of crime data for San Francisco from 2009 to create these maps. The full dataset can be download from the city’s DataSF website." These are really rad and interesting.

He's chosen a solar illumination from the east, as it would be during sunrise.

He has a disclaimer: "These maps were generated from real data, but please don’t take them as being accurate. The data was aggregated geographically and artistically rendered. This is meant more as an art piece than an informative visualization." which is valid, but these are still really nice.

Global 12m DEM with TanDEM-X satellite

Comparison between SRTM and TanDEM-XFrom the BBC: The TanDEM-X satellite has blasted into orbit on a mission to acquire the most precise 3D map of the Earth's surface.

The German radar spacecraft will fly in formation with an identical platform called TerraSAR-X launched in 2007.  Together, the pair will measure the variation in height across the globe to an accuracy of better than two metres.

With the TanDEM mission, the intention is to go down to a vertical resolution of two metres, with a spatial resolution of 12m by 12m. Airborne laser instruments (lidars) can do better than this but their DEMs are only regional. To achieve the TanDEM level of detail on all 150 million sq km of the Earth's land surface will require three years of operation.

Interactive Forbes Map: Where Americans are Moving

My productivity went out the window when a friend showed me this new interactive map from Forbes illustrating the inward and outward migration of Americans by county. It's fascinating to see which counties attract or repell, and even which counties are primarily static.

http://www.forbes.com/2010/06/04/migration-moving-wealthy-interactive-counties-map.html

Definiens Earth Science bought by Trimble

The new company will be called Trimble Geospatial Munich, and maintain the same staff, and the Centers of Excellence Program.  From the Open Letter:

"Definiens’ earth sciences business, including the eCognition suite of products, was acquired on June 10, 2010 by Trimble. The eCognition team has now transferred to Trimble, and the business of delivering the most advanced geospatial analysis software will continue, uninterrupted.

This change represents a significant step forward for eCognition. Access to Trimble’s advanced technologies, expertise and global operations provides us with an exceptional opportunity to take eCognition to a new level. In time, the benefits of the synergies between Trimble and eCognition will become evident through the exciting new product and service innovations we deliver together.

It is also worth noting that the collaboration with Definiens does not end with this transaction. In fact, Definiens and Trimble have signed a co-development agreement to ensure that the core technology driving eCognition continues to evolve and improve, and that there is no pause in the development or release schedule for eCognition."