Slashgeo

The last poll results gave surprising results, and I fail to interpret the numbers. We asked you about using Linux and MacOS X in geospatial technologies. Out of 113 answers, 15% said their software are Windows only, 15% restrain themselves from looking for trouble, 6% simply don't choose their operating system. Now the surprises; 7% claim geosoftware on Linux/MacOS X is not up to par, 22% say it works well, and... 31% claim it works better! That makes 53% of users claiming geospatial software works well or works better on Linux/MacOS X than on MS Windows. Am I the only one surprised? The new poll ask you whether you break the Google Earth license at work, in the context that you can't legally use Google Earth Free or Plus at work.

Very Spatial started a discussion about best operating systems for running geospatial software (see the comments). The Free Geography Tools blog contributed some more information. Slashgeo recently ran a poll about running geospatial software on MacOS X and Linux distributions with surprising results.

With the iPhone launch tomorrow, there's plenty of generic stories on the net. GeoThought shortly discuss Google Maps on the iPhone, and All Points Blog has a critical evaluation of the iPhone foreseen capabilities. From GeoThought: "They say "one of the most useful tools available on the Internet today is maps (sic), and Google Maps on the iPhone is amazing". It does have a number of flashy user interface features that aren't available on other versions of Google Maps." From APB: "The only thing I can see that is somewhat innovative is the integration the iPhone has with its other features. That is, when you select a particular POI, let's say a restaurant, and you touch the pin location on the map display, the user is able to see and then dial the phone number for that establishment." See also this previous entry by Ed Parsons and more below.

The GeoThought blog starts with an entry on the new iWeb, part of Apple's iLife, supporting Google Maps mashups directly. Meanwhile, The Map Room links to a MacWorld article on GPS software for the Mac. Finally, the High Earth Orbit blog wonders if the iPhone really needs GPS capabilities. From this entry: "Geolocation does not mean GPS. GPS is a specific technology implementation of getting a location fix. It is also frought with complications that are most apparent in areas that people may use a mobile phone to find out what’s going on around them - that being urban areas, indoors, or anywhere that doesn’t have good sky coverage. [...] In fact, one of the most complained about features in the N95 has been it’s slow to fix GPS. Nokia finally got it better, from 74 seconds to 57 seconds, with their firmware upgrade. [...] Another problem with GPS - it’s a battery hog. [...] My point is, geolocation does not mean having a GPS. There are numerous methods of automatically locating yourself that doesn’t require listening to satellites 24,000 miles away. [...] So I hope to hear less of people bemoaning the iPhone’s lack of a GPS chip - and instead ask the more reasonable question “Why doesn’t the iPhone do geolocation by cell or WiFi?”" See also related stories below.

Ogle Earth informs us Apple Leopard's Dashcode supports KML and GeoRSS directly: "MacOS X 10.5 Leopard comes with DashCode, a tool for developing widgets to populate the Mac's dashboard... One of the pre-made templates is for a Google Map, and all you have to do — literally — is add a GeoRSS or KML URL, get a Google Maps API key, and publish." See also related stories below. Update: 11/21 17:12 GMT by S : Due to a surprisingly high popularity of this story, I moved it from section to main page.

Anonymous Voxel writes "Windows application iTag now allows you to search for geocoded photos by address. iTag uses Google Maps to translate your address into a gps point, then searches your hard drive for photos near that area — see this screenshot." Update: 02/15 15:44 GMT by S : Related, in a comment for this story, I linked to the MacOS X 10.5 capability to search jpegs using lat lon coordinates.

mcknut writes "Apple have recently filed a patent application that suggests that they may be intending to bring map downloads to their iPod line using a technology they've called 'podmaps'. I actually knocked up a ruby script to do this a few years ago and I've put together a blog post with a bit of explanation, some examples, and a link to download the script. Get 'podmaps' on your iPod now." A few related stories copied below.

Here's a few recent Apple related geonews. First is the capacity for Mac owners to run Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D using the new VMWare Fusion: "Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D doesn’t yet run in a Mac OS X browser. Until recently, your only option was to install a copy of Windows on a different partition using Apple’s Bootcamp tool, and boot into it. [...] Sometime in the last few months, however, competitor VMWare came out with an update of their virtualization tool for Mac, Fusion, that does support VE3D." Additionally, The Map Room shares a complete guide to geotagging photos on the Mac. And finally, APB informs us Apple is encouraging iPhone users to help update the Skyhook wifi location database. On a side note, mentioning Apple products looks reasonable since they are increasingly popular even within geospatial professional, with now 14% of computer sold last February and almost a monopoly on portable music devices. Related previous stories added below, including an old one on running ArcGIS on MacOS X, but I admit omitting the numerous previous stories on geotagging photos.

Ogle Earth discusses the preview release of Cartographica, a GIS software for the Mac. From the entry: "I'm not a GIS pro, so getting results like that in a matter of minutes is a good sign on the ease-of-use front :-) While it's early days yet for this application, I think it's clear where its makers aim to position it: Not as an ESRI ArcGIS or Manifold competitor, but as something that is good enough for school users, GIS hobbyists and people who georeference their photos — for the last group, Cartographica has menu items like "Timecode Photos from iPhoto Library" and "Plot GPS encoded Photos"." Let's remember that the open source QGIS works on the Mac and that ArcGIS itself runs on the Mac through virtualization. See also related stories below. Update: 11/24 17:42 GMT by S : The Virtual Earth team also announced that VE 3D now runs well on a mac with virtualization.