Interesting story about a new Native American Map and how information was collected to make the map.
Native American Map
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Category Archives: Maps/Apps/Charts/Data
2013 ESRI Conference – Some Surprises
As the 2013 ESRI Conference wraps up this week, I wanted to mention a few pleasant surprises this year that might mean some big things for government GIS.
This year ESRI’s focus was on web GIS. Their products are definitely maturing and integrated with the web. I remember hearing “ArcGIS is now a web GIS”.
One of the surprises was Portal for ArcGIS. If you have an advanced license of ArcGIS Server, Portal is now included for the 10.2 release as an extension. If you have a standard license, you will need to purchase the extension. If you don’t know what Portal is, just think of it as ArcGIS Online that you can install on your own server (Web GIS on Premises). For us government GIS types, this opens up some fantastic options for internal use on our own networks. One big thing that I liked was the ability to use single sign on with Portal. You can import your active directory logins into Portal so you don’t have to create a bunch of logins manually like in ArcGIS Online. When users go to your Portal site, they will not have to login since they already logged into their computer. Nice!
Another interesting surprise was the new ArcGIS Professional product. It has a clean ribbon interface with tabs (think Microsoft Office look and feel), is fast, and integrates 2D and 3D together. It was pretty slick. ESRI said if you can use ArcMap, you can use ArcGIS Professional. Here are some other properties:
- 64 bit
- Fast 2D/3D graphics engine
- Multiple maps and multiple layouts
- Multi-threaded application
- Integrated with ArcGIS Online/Portal
- ArcMap/ArcCatalog/ArcGlobe fused together into one application
- Project centric workflows
- Simple search and query
- Integrated with ESRI Solutions (Local Gov, Address Mgt, Water Util, etc)
- Task Assistant to help you with editing (put tools together for a task and many tasks as a workflow)
- Updates will not require uninstall/reinstall
- Extensible with addins, python scripting, .NET API
My impression of ArcGIS Professional is that it was a replacement for ArcMap, though ESRI said it was not. Both will function together on the same computer. I attended the Desktop Road Ahead workshop, thinking that I would see where ArcMap and the Desktop product was going, but instead it turned out to be a big demo of ArcGIS Professional. Hmm. During one of the demos, the presenter slipped up and called it ArcGIS 11 then quickly corrected and called it ArcGIS Professional! Hmm again … time will tell.
As for ArcGIS Professional licensing, ESRI said it was too early to announce, but they were considering a simplified subscription based model. ArcGIS Professional is slated for a Q4 2013 release, probably in November.
One last surprise was ESRI publishing videos of the Plenary session the next day. That was fast! You can view them here: http://bit.ly/18BBX0A. I wonder how fast the workshops will be published?
Oh, and walking back to my hotel I discovered a wall of Etch-a-Sketch’s that you could draw maps or whatever on! Pretty neat.
Looks like someone took one home!
That’s all for now. Time for the Thursday night party! Please reply to this post and share your conference observations too! -mike
USGS now looking for limited crowd-sourced data in CA and NV
Hello everyone:
USGS is now collecting limited crowd-sourced information that can be provided as both GIS data and included in future topographic maps. USGS began collecting VGI – volunteered geographic information – for structures for a number of states several months ago. The agency recently expanded this pilot effort to cover another 16 states, including California and Nevada.
The USGS news release can be seen here:
http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3620
USGS is interested in your input on locations for certain public buildings, as mentioned in the news release. This would be a good exercise to look at from a county or local perspective. There might also be situations in CA where organizing a multi-county effort (e.g. through a Council of Governments or a GIS collaborative) would be beneficial.
We would be very interested in hearing what you think about this and any plans you may have to contribute data. We can help with any questions you may have and can set up a conference call or discussion anytime on the subject.
Thanks,
Carol Ostergren
Drew Decker
Where to buy and light fireworks in LA County
I could not resist the challenge, but I had to limit it to LA County to save time. Click the image below to open the application:
It took a little time going through all the municipal codes. Interesting how the cities differer on when fireworks can be sold and when you can discharge them. The data and application are all in the cloud on ArcGIS Online.
Try the GeoGuessr and Win a Prize!
Ok, had to repost this because I had a link that allowed you to see my location answers, so this is a do over! RESET…
Try out the GeoGuessr and see if you can beat my score of 11780! I challenge you! The closer you guess where you are, the more points you get. Post your score by replying to this post. Send the bit.ly share link you can generate at the end of your guessing game to mcarson@burbankca.gov . Top score by July 1st will get a map or globe themed prize from me! Good luck. -mike
Student Reviews of Our Apps
I was searching on Google for something (I can’t remember what now, like the dog seeing a squirrel I was distracted for sure) and came across a UCLA Advanced GIS class web site that students post their work on. These students are learning about web GIS and creating applications themselves. One of the assignments the students had to do was to post reviews of sites that use interactive GIS technology … and some of the sites were ours! Some of the reviews were eye opening, however we should treat it like a new user trying to use our apps.
So here are some interesting reviews of our sites, sites we post our data on, or other local sites of interest:
LA County’s GIS-NET3 (and here too)
LA Times Mapping LA Neighborhoods
City of Los Angeles Bikeway Map
Beverly Hills Bike Rack Locations
-mike
It’s Summer Time and that Means Beer!
As of March, the United States was home to nearly 2,400 craft breweries. Check out Mapping The Rise of Craft Beer. Click on one of the state or brewery data categories and hover over the map for more info.
USGS Map Services for The National Map
Hello California GIS users.
We wanted to make everyone aware of several map services that USGS supports. These allow you to view nationwide data from The National Map in your GIS software. To use these in ArcGIS – select Add Data button then choose GIS Server from the list, then “add ArcGIS Server”
To add the tiled map cache (these are background topographic map images, including topo maps with and without imagery), use: http://basemap.nationalmap.gov/ArcGIS/rest/services
If you want raster data services, use: http://raster.nationalmap.gov/ArcGIS/rest/services
And if you want vector data services use: http://services.nationalmap.gov/ArcGIS/rest/services
There is also a NED status service (this shows availability and resolution of USGS digital elevation models) at: http://igskmncnvs526.cr.usgs.gov/arcgis/rest/services
Hope these help and please let us know if you have any questions. Thanks,
Carol Ostergren
Drew Decker
USGS Geospatial Liaison for Pacific Region
NSDI Partnership Office, U.S. Geological Survey
4165 Spruance Road, Suite 200
San Diego, CA 92101
619-225-6430
619-225-6101 fax
ddecker@usgs.gov
http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/California/
http://liaisons.usgs.gov/geospatial/Hawaii/
Landsat 8 Data Now Available
Data collected by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) and the Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) onboard the Landsat 8 satellite are available to download at no charge from GloVis, EarthExplorer, or via the LandsatLook Viewer. For more info, click image below.
Google Maps Rebuilt
Google has rebuilt Maps from the “ground up”, with a new interface, search abilities, and faster performance. Check it out at http://maps.google.com/preview .
Google Maps will be based on vector imagery delivered via WebGL. Maps will also include 3D photographic imagery for some locations and user-uploaded photos.
Google has also updated its mobile apps for iOS and Android, which includes traffic alerts with live accident information and rerouting capabilities. An iPad version will also be released this summer.
SoCalGIS.org 