Maybe not all of you are aware, but 2015 marks 10 years since Google Maps made everyone’s day a little easier by allowing GIS workers to better describe their jobs to strangers. The Guardian posts an overview of Google Maps’ decade-long journey from big screen to little screen, just as Sensors & Systems has covered the impact that the software has had on the industry, including Google’s recent exit from corporate GIS.
Speaking of Google’s retirement of Google Maps Engine, the SpatialTau newsletter has a neat little recap theorising on why the giant left it to Esri, CartoDB, and Mapbox.
Long-time readers may recall our previous coverage of the LightSquared debacle, whereas a broadband telecommunications company almost took down the GPS network in the US (some exaggeration there, but I’m recapping, ok?). Well, the next stage in the event has been covered by the Wall Street Journal, who have reported that a judge has thrown out the majority of the suit against GPS manufacturers.
XYHT has thrown a bit of fuel on an ongoing fire by running a “QGIS vs ArcGIS” post, which does just that: compares the merits of one to the other. But who will reign supreme? THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!*
Inside GNSS has a heads-up for readers regarding what to watch for, in terms of US GPS Policy, with the new congress. Given our reliability on this American infrastructure, there’s some info in there that’s relevant to Australians, too.
You may have seen in the news the details on the HSBC tax files recently (which were responsible for bringing in an additional AU$30M in lost tax revenue so far – perhaps a good place to look to help fix this ‘budget emergency’ … #justsayin), well Maps Mania has posted an interactive heat map created by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that shows the countries with the largest dollar amounts held in accounts documented in the leaked HSBC Swiss files.
Speaking of parasites, Maps Mania also has a map showing the 15,000+ different species of bacteria recently documented on the New York subway.
Also of note is a post by HERE that talks of the psychological impact of driverless cars, which provides an overview of a recent report by Imperial College’s Centre for Transport Studies.
*Sorry, I mistook GIS for Highlander for a moment there.
