An interesting Kickstarter project started in New Zealand aims to create a clip-on smartphone attachment that will turn a compatible handset into a handheld 3D laser scanner and measurement devce, with a range of about 185 metres.

With uses beyond geospatial, any nerd worth their salt-sprinkled snack can achieve great things using IFTT. What’s IFTT, you ask? Check out this handy guide to joining together some of the world’s most popular web services, without learning a line of code.

The always interesting Between the Poles has a post on business models based on open source software, specifically creating a mix of proprietary and open source as a successful business model for enterprise infrastructure software.

The long standing stereotype that men are better navigators than men can finally be put to rest, with a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that it’s nurture – not nature – that most affects either sex’s ability to navigate.

The US Govt. shutdown continues, and ESRI have created a map that shows the (possible) 10 most affected cities, as defined by percent of the region’s wages that go to federal employees.

The Tapei Medical University and the University of New South Wales has used the Google Maps API to map the relationships between different human diseases in an attempt to visualise the associations between different human disorders.

Gary’s Bloggage has a great round up of some of the best mapping Tumblrs out there, including the wonderful ‘Men Pointing at Maps’.