GIS360

Clint Brown Shares 10 Cool Things about the 2007 ESRI User Conference

2007-06-17T14:30:00.000-04:00

Written by Clint Brown, Director of Software Products, ESRI Redlands

1. Learning from users. There is an impressive array of GIS people and information professionals from all over the world that I meet every year. And you can too. Every one of them is much smarter than me, and they teach me all kinds of new things every minute of every day. Literally, hundreds of experts with case studies, lessons learned, and amazing insight about applying GIS to just about any problem you could imagine. With well over 12,000 users in attendance, you’ll find plenty of inspiring people to learn from and to share your experiences with. Plus, you have valuable knowledge to share as well. This is undoubtedly the best aspect of the user conference. This always makes my year and is the most underreported aspect of the user conference. Plus, I think that some of the best presentations at the conference are given by users and their case studies. How did they do THAT? Wow.

2. Jack Dangermond’s talk on Monday morning. Jack has keen insight and ways of getting across key ideas and visions about where GIS is headed. Write down some of Jack’s ideas and visions, store them in an envelope, and pull out the envelope five years later.

3. Monday Afternoon Keynotes. Some think that Monday is all about ESRI and miss one of the best days and most inspiring talks you’ll have in your lifetime. Keep your skepticism in check and make it to the afternoon to the special keynotes. Among the afternoon speakers will be Wangari Maathai, winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize and world-renowned environmentalist and social activist. Wangari Maathai is founder of the Green Belt Movement, one of the most prominent women's civil society organizations, based in Kenya. In 2004, she became the first African woman and the first environmentalist to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in the Green Belt Movement and its impact on people and the planet.

4. Map Gallery on Monday evening. This exhibit includes thousands of map posters and exhibits illustrating the use of GIS in our global GIS community. People bring out their best work. They show how they made a difference in their local community. They share ideas and provide inspiration. Meet the authors and talk with them about their exhibit. You’ll find a number of exhibits that will compel you to meet the author to learn more. Imagine what it must be like for Jack or Dr. Roger Tomlinson, the father of GIS, to work his way through this exhibit each year and see the realization of his life’s passion.

5. Vendor exhibits. Where the coolest developments are happening, where you can find really good help and solutions to many application problems you face, and where you can grab a whole bag of the best gadgets to take home to your kids. Strolling through this area also helps you validate your excellent career choice to get into GIS.

6. Chances to meet and talk with ESRI Technical Staff. I work at a great company, and it’s great because of the people, their knowledge, and their passions. There will over a thousand of us at the conference. Each one of us has special skills, passions, and knowledge that we love to share. Find us in the product islands, in technical workshops, in the doctor’s office, in the hallways, at the bars, in the back of police cars. We thrive on this opportunity to meet with you and to learn. We also are committed to help you get to the bottom of your problems. This interaction with you really helps us respond better to what you need for us to do.
7. San Diego. Make sure to slip out before, during, or after the user conference. For example, go to the Zoo, Old Town, golfing, Point Loma, La Jolla. Take a short (but not cheap) little boat ride across the bay to Peohe’s or Il Fornaio, have a nice (but not cheap) dinner with the best view of downtown San Diego at night from across the bay. If you like really good wine, find a nice bottle at The Wine Bank, across from the Convention Center on Fifth St.

8. Seeing old friends & making new ones. For me personally, seeing old friends is very important. I started coming to the conference in 1983 where, after the 2-day conference, we attended the first training class ArcInfo 1.0. I still see my friends from back then and through the years. Friends mean a lot in a sea of thousands. Making new friends to see in future years is even better.

9. Sitting on the Convention Center steps overlooking the Bay for lunch. Days in San Diego are beautiful. Grab a quick lunch and eat it out the back of the Convention Center where you’ll have one of the best scenic views in the city.

10. Don't miss the Closing Session on Friday. There's no better way to wrap up agreat conference week than to join us for an informal question and answer period.Jack Dangermond and senior staff, including me of course, will be there to answeryour questions. Hearing from you and interacting directly with you is what UserConference is all about. Plus, Friday morning Jack will announce the Map Galleryand User Software Application winners.

Pre conference Sessions

2007-06-17T09:19:00.000-04:00

Back in one of my favourite cities, San Diego. Reached here on friday night, meet my old friends and spent some time in the downtown, which was lively as ever. Got the room in Marriott with Bay side view, which is awesome.

Attended the Intro to ArcGIS Server class on saturday and will be attending today as well. I'm very exited to be back in San Diego for the ESRI UC and also to learn Server stuff.

I'm looking forward to meet other GIS folks. If you are travelling to day, have a safe journey and if you all ready here....enjoy the beautifull San Diego

1 Day to go......

2007-06-17T08:53:00.000-04:00

ESRI User Conference will be starting in 24 hrs, few things to know to make things easier at the conference

1. Take your ESRI conference material on Sunday to avoid looooooong lines tomorrow
2. Use the online agenda planner to plan all your session and also have back up sesssions marked in case you dont the one you are attending.
3. First timers attend the Conference orientation sessions on Sunda.

Other interesting sessions to attend:

Monday 6PM, June 18 2007: Open Source GIS gathering at San Diego.

OSG-SD gathering is happening on sidelines of ESRI conference. Here the invitation letter and interested folks mark you calender

Hi

All Well its on !

Tim Foresman has agreed to be our speaker again ! Fresh from the ISDE5 conference in Berkeley.http://www.isde5.org/ We had a Great time and made lots of new friends.Lots of good news to share about the Digital Earth Exchange and the new announcement fromSpot Image of France about Planet Action Collaboration to Provide Climate Change Toolshttp://www.imagingnotes.com/go/article_free.php?mp_id=98&PHPSESSID=b633f4f7b7b94fda465aa550ae620954I will also be showing some of the latest coolest open source software on the planet :)We will also be opening it up for others to share what they are up to !Feel free to contact me if you would like to present something but its not required.We will buy Pizza and refreshments for all so we would like to know how many want to attend...reply to the list or me directly! Invite folks you meet at the ESRI conference .

The plan is to start around 6PM at the Vizlab on SDSU campus.

http://citi.sdsu.edu/directions/The trolley runs from downtown and stops on the south side of campus or its a short drive east on Rt.8Hope to see you all on the 18th of June at 6PM

John Graham
Chief Scientist,
Visualization Center
San Diego State University
johng at telascience.org

Tuesday 8PM, June 19 2005 : Geo Bloggers Meet-Up

An informal meeting of geo-bloggers will be held at : Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge
801 5th Ave, San Diego, CA
(619) 233-1183

Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS) Conference

2007-06-06T23:25:00.000-04:00

June 25–28, 2007, Monterey, California

SCGIS is conducting its 10 Annual Conference at Asilomar Conference Grounds nestled along the shoreline of California's famed Monterey Peninsula.

The theme for this year, Creating Community, presenters will be addressing the community building efforts of their conservation activities, emphasizing the efforts made by government agencies, academics, nonprofits, activists, and commercial groups to work together and communicate.

Things not to miss at the conference (click on the links to know the details)
· Training Classes - Monday
· Technical Workshops – Tuesday, Wednesday
· Auction - Wednesday
· Field Trip - Thursday

Hurry up registration ends on June 12, 2007

Source: Esri, SCGIS

2007-06-05T09:29:00.000-04:00

At Where 2.0 conference this year great products related to geo community were launched like UpNext and GeoCommons.

UpNext is a 3D virtual cityscape where users can explore and discover their city. UpNext empowers users to search visually, straight from their web browser, to find out what's down the block, in the neighborhood, or all the way across town. We bring the immersive and explorative qualities of virtual worlds to local search.

GeoCommons is a place to explore, create and share intelligent maps and geographic data.

Geo Humor

2007-06-03T15:50:00.000-04:00

Q. What kind of sunglasses do physical relief maps wear?
A. Hypsometric tints.

Q. Why couldn't Mark McGwire reach first after hitting his 62nd home run?
A. He didn't have a base map.

Q. What do you call a map of outhouses in the woods?
A. A shaded relief map.

Q. How can you tell if a map was made by a troll?
A. It is in the gnome-onic (gnomonic) projection.

Q. What kind of maps do spiders make?
A. Web-based maps.

Q. A Mercator, Lambert Conformal, and Homolosine projection met Saint Peter at the Pearly Gates. Only the Homolsine Projection went on to heaven. Why?
A. It was the only Good(e) projection.

Q. What do you call a map guide to Alcatraz?
A. A con-tour map.

Q. What is the tidiest element on a map?
A. The neatline.

Q. What do John Wayne and a map key have in common?
A. Both are legends.

Q. Why was longitude boiling mad?
A. Because it was 360 degrees.

Q. Why are maps like fish?
A. Both have scales.

Q. What kind of projection do 3 out of 4 ear, nose, and throat specialists prefer?
A. A sinus-oidal map projection.

Q. Why didn’t true north date magnetic north?
A. She didn’t like his bearing.

Q. What do a row of Bacardi bottles and a loxodrome have in common?
A. Both are rum (rhumb) lines.

Q. Why did the equator win the MVP (most valuable parallel) award at the Latitude Super Bowl?
A. Because it was a great circle.

Q. What did the mapmaker send his sweetheart on Valentine’s Day?
A. A dozen compass roses.

Q. Why weren’t there any parallels on the map?
A. Because the cartographer didn’t have any latitude in his map design.

Q. What do you call a USGS quadrangle with green water, blue forests, and all the names spelled backwards?
A. A topo-illogical map.

source: about geography

D:: All Things Digital 5

2007-06-01T09:48:00.000-04:00

In a rare joint appearance at All Things Digital 5, the two leading guys of computer world (nick named Mac guy and PC guy) Steve Jobs and Bill Gates discuss their contributions to the technology industry and the qualities they most respect in one another.

The D conference is a top annual gathering of Digital world, first started in 2003. This year it was held in Resort Aviara in Carlsbad, California from May 29 to 31

The transcript of their conversation can be found @ http://d5.allthingsd.com/20070530/d5-gates-jobs-interview/

This year’s theme for ESRI UC :: GIS—The Geographic Approach

2007-06-01T00:18:00.000-04:00

GIS—The Geographic Approach, reflects how geography and GIS can serve as a framework for understanding and managing our world and for creating better outcomes for those we serve.

Monday, June 18 2007, 8:30 am; ESRI President Jack Dangermond would kick start the 27th Annual ESRI International User Conference with his welcome speech. He will share examples of how you use the technology to make a difference in your world. He will also discuss key development efforts at ESRI and his vision for GIS.
Dangermond will be joined by ESRI staff to highlight the latest GIS developments using the ESRI family of software. They will demonstrate a variety of technologies and applications including ArcGIS Desktop and ArcGIS Server.

Plenary session will include the Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation to Don Cooke, Founder, GDT, now part of Tele Atlas. A special session on K-12 Education;, features students around the world who apply geographic methods in their daily learning under the guidance of teachers.

This year's keynote speaker, 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai, founder of Green Belt Movement will share her passion for the environment and society.

Plenary session is followed by Map Gallery Opening and Welcome Reception

*source : www.esri.com

Where 2.0 conference

2007-05-31T23:47:00.000-04:00

Where 2.0 conference was conducted in San Jose, California from May 29-31. More than 800 geo enthusiasts gathered for the third annual conference. At Where 2.0, wide range of developers from grassroots to industry leaders in building location based leading technology meet with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location applications, platforms and hardware to gain a competitive edge. Presents here will talk about the leading trends rather than chasing them.

Watch for next posting for more information about the conference.

18 days to go

2007-05-30T23:42:00.000-04:00

In about 12 hrs ESRI would be hosting a LIVE training seminar on “Getting the Most Out of ESRI UC 2007”. It would help people who are planning to attend UC to make best use of their time in San Diego.

The presenter will cover:

An overview of the events that are happening during the UC week
The new types of sessions that are available
How to find what you are looking for - products or industry
Frequently Asked Questions
Tips for your time in San Diego

Don’t forget to attend at the following timings:
9 AM, & 11 AM Pacific
12 PM, & 2 PM Eastern

2007-05-30T09:35:00.000-04:00

Google maps added a new feature that shows the street view of the city. It cool to know how the city looks like if you walking or driving along the road.

You might be wondering how this street level imagery is collected. There are many agencies that do it, Tele Atlas the world’s most trusted source of digital map data and dynamic content does it by rolling one of these on the streets.

In pictures you can see Tele Atlas map machine, a van tricked out with tens of thousands of dollars worth of cameras, laser range detectors and global positioning hardware. The cameras mounted on the roof take snapshots of the surroundings every eight meters.

The tallest sensor in the middle of the roof stitches together the results to create a mosaic panoramic image. The laser sensors on the back (the devices labeled SICK) are used to determine the height of overpasses and buildings to help delivery vehicles find the route with the most overhead clearance. On-board servers and laptops run the show. All of the data collected is mashed together and used in Tom Tom devices and other Tele Atlas GPS service partners.

*source: http://blog.wired.com

ESRI User Conference 07

2007-05-08T21:14:00.000-04:00

On June 18th, 2007 at San Diego Convention Center, CA, the GIS users from all over the world will meet to learn new skills, share information and discover best practices and tips and tricks that they can instantly use to expand the spatial word.
It’s the largest conference in the world devoted to GIS. More information can be found at: http://www.esri.com/events/uc/index.html

I will start a 30 day count down from April 17th featuring interesting stuff about the conferences, tips for first times, updates, GIS trends and places to visit in San Diego.

Please feel free to post any questions you have about the conferences, I will not promise to answer all of them but will try my best to get back to you.

GIS thoughts.......

2007-05-05T16:16:00.000-04:00

"The application of GIS is only limited by the imagination of those who use it."-- Jack Dangermond

The new source of power is not money in the hands of a few but information in the hands of many. "--John Naisbitt, Megatrends

"When geography and life intersect, people pay attention,"--Nick Boyon

*Source: www.uninet.net