The Spatial Miscellany

More geospatial news from an aggregation of web logs…

• Redaction, what’s it all about?
  Redaction is one of those words that I always thought that I “sort of” understood but since it didn’t come up in daily conversation that frequently perhaps I didn’t.

  Now you might have thought it meant the use of a thick black marker pen on MP’s expenses or even studies on the economics of national mapping agencies (yes including the land mass of the US) but maybe not.

  Wiki says
  

  redaction is a form of editing in which multiple source texts are combined (redacted) and subjected to minor alteration to make them into a single work.

  No mention of black pens or scissors there, the wiki goes on to talk about redactional fatigue
  

  Redactional fatigue is an important related concept: when making changes to a large text, a redactor may occasionally overlook a piece of text that conflicts with the redactional goals. The nature of the conflict between the bulk of a redacted text and the contradictory windows can suggest what the goals of the redactor might have been

  Got to have some sympathy for those redactors, haven’t you?

  Of course if you are like me you might prefer this definition of redaction at http://www.redaction.org.uk

  Come on you Red Actors!

  

  

• 5th gvSIG Conference Announced
  I got this announcement in my inbox today regarding gvSIG, an open-source GIS desktop currently in the OSGEO incubator. If you are a gvSIG user, the 5th gvSIG Conference will be held this year in Valencia, Spain. See below for the full text: The 5th Edition of the gvSIG Conference [1], organized by the Regional Ministry [...]
• Wanted: XAML for Spatially Enabled Workflows
  After working with XAML for a couple of months now, I’m shifting gears to enhance a data exporter I wrote several years ago.
  I sure wish there were examples of spatially enabled Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) applications for this sort of thing. The glamor of Silverlight/WPF is overshadowing a lot of useful things XAML offers [...]
• Free or Privatise Our Data
  Michael Cross writes a very sensible piece on the Tories new “free” data plans.

  It sounds like a variation of an old Who song “Meet the new government same as the old government” except that one would have to be wary of the Tories penchant to privatise anything that they can.

  To judge by Cameron’s speech, which makes no mention of the government’s single largest data business, the Conservatives share this aversion to reform. The suspicion must be that the Tory solution is to try and sell off the mapping agency lock stock and barrel. Yet locational information is an essential component of nearly every public data set. To commercialise its supply would be to move in the very opposite direction of setting our data free.

  Not for the first time I find myself strongly agreeing with Michael Cross. My one question is if the treasury are unable or unwilling to go down the centrally funded route what would you prefer - privatisation or trying to get the best out of the current model. I know which one I would choose.

  A poll Michael?

  

  

• Catching up
  It’s funny how you can have a fairly quiet time of things, then suddenly everything happens in one week…
  So Monday was the first Open Source GIS conference in the UK, affectionately known to it’s friends as OSGIS 2009. The event was sold out in advance (150 people) , and seemed to be well received, though [...]
• Crazy Times – Coming Up For Air
  It’s been an extremely busy few months, as evidenced by the pace (or lack thereof) of blogging. I have been hopping between customer sites, mainly helping with ArcGIS Server implementations. We’re also re-hosting an ArcIMS site for someone. I expect that to eventually transition as well but we have to get it moved first. I’m [...]
• ArcGIS Server, Balkanization and Unintellisensibility
  With five ArcGIS Server SDK’s to choose from, it would be helpful to have some sort of matrix summarizing relative strengths weaknesses of each. For now, it sure looks Balkanized.
  I’m One of Those Types
  Yes, I’m the type of guy who can’t stand stereotypes. You know, the kind that blurts out “generalizations are bad!” [...]
• I am not an internationally renowned expert
  Contrary to some of the comments on Free Our Data I am not the “internationally recognised expert in Geographical Information and National Mapping who agreed with the analysis and conclusions” of the OS study into international geographic information trading models.

  I do consult at the moment for OS on their GeoVation program but had nothing at all to do with this report. I have no idea who the expert was, apparently they do not wish to be publicly associated with the report (hardly surprising).

  The redacted report tells us very little and leaves me wondering why so much that is already in the public domain has been excluded in this version. Hopefully the next version which will be less redacted after OS has got permission from the other mapping agencies will make a better read.

  

  

• 1 week left to catch a worm
  Early Birds catch the worm and save money at GeoCommunity 09, the offer closes on 30th June. Why pay more?

  Stunning program, the best ever and great value. Book now here

  

  

• Who wants to be a GeoVator
  The search is on for GeoVators (well almost on, you will have to wait a few more days to find out what we are up to).

  If you think you might be a GeoVator or you just want to know what a GeoVator is mail me through the blog and I will send you an invite.

  

  

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