Wednesday, April 14, 2004

MULTIMAP

Multimap is Europe's leading provider of mapping and location-based services. Our company delivers more online maps, point-to-point driving directions and geo-spatial ("where's my nearest?") searches to businesses and consumers than any other supplier in Europe.

The business has two parts: the Public Web Site and Business Services.

The Public Web Site
Multimap.com is Europe's most popular mapping web site, offering a range of free, useful services to assist with everyday life. Key features include street-level maps of the United Kingdom, Europe, and the US; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; and local information. Multimap also provides a range of complementary services through its partners. These include entertainment, hotel, holiday-cottage, restaurant and train-ticket booking services, SMS weather alerts and the ability to buy both historic and aerial photograph prints.

Since its launch in 1996, Multimap.com has become the number one online directory in the UK*, and one of the 10 most-visited sites in the UK overall*. In 2003 the public web site regularly delivers more than 80 million page views and received more than 6.3 million unique users per month. Traffic continues to grow on average by 10% per month.

Press comments about Multimap.com include:

"Brilliant – what a site." (Sunday Times)

"One of the seven wonders of the web." (Guardian Unlimited)

"The mother of all UK map sites." (Daily Telegraph)
Multimap has also won the World Communications Award for “Best Internet Service 2002” and the Web User (UK) Award for the “Most Innovative Use of the Web 2003”.

CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF GEOMATICS

Founded in 1882, the Canadian Institute of Geomatics (CIG) has evolved to be a non-profit scientific and technical association devoted to advancing the development of geomatics in Canada.

The objectives of the Institute are:

-to advance the development of geomatics sciences in Canada;
-to enhance public awareness on the role geomatics plays in their daily lives;
-to maintain a publication of record of the history, development and progress of geomatics in Canada;
-to further the professional development of its members;
-to foster cooperation between and promote unity of purpose and action among Canadian geomatics organizations;
-to internationally represent and promote Canadian interests in geomatics;
-to provide a forum for professional networking through information exchanges, communications, and publications.

The GIG offers a certification program for GIS professionals in a variety of fields and to GIS managers. You must be a member in order to be certified. You can see the application form on the CIG Website.
Workdirector by Cartegraph

In an easy-to-master interface, WORKdirector provides the functionality that allows you to manage all of the work activities performed in your organization. From initial request for work to the scheduling of routine maintenance through the completion of each project, WORKdirector tracks and maintains data on activities, materials, employees, equipment—and more. Works with ArcGIS.



WORKdirector Features:

Assign resources (labor, equipment, material, contracts, etc.) to work activities
Schedule and track work orders through stages of created, started, open and completed
Monitor and track work backlog
Create and generate work orders
Create work orders independently or from requests
Create a work order with multiple sequential work steps
Create and manage unscheduled work activities
Access on-line work orders by work order ID, location activity or assigned supervisor
Retrieve work orders based on multiple selection criteria including planned, scheduled, active, suspended, complete, closed and canceled
Charge costs for resources—direct or indirect—at a defined rate
Update an open work order at any time
Add resources to an existing open work order
Recall open work orders
Assign multiple resources to a work order task
Display work order status
View or print work orders with all estimated and/or actual resources
View or print details of closed work orders
Produce both corrective and preventative work orders


LIO - Land Information Ontario - Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR)

Background
Government has long been aware of the need to provide better ways to share its geospatial data. Land Information Ontario (LIO) recently received approval from the Management Board of Cabinet to develop a data-sharing exchange which will better address this issue.

The Ontario Geospatial Data Exchange (OGDE) will draw its members from all levels of government with a mandate in Ontario (the Federal Government, Ontario Government and municipalities). Membership is also available to First Nations and aboriginal communities as well as broader public sector entities such as conservation authorities, school boards, and post-secondary educational institutions.

Benefits
The Exchange will provide for the centralized sharing of spatial data, through an umbrella agreement among member organizations thereby:

Reducing the administrative paperwork involved,
Simplifying and streamlining access to member data,
Reducing the potential for duplicate data collection and maintenance,
Raising the awareness among members of the data which is available,
Supporting the move towards the development and adoption of spatial data standards and,
Allowing members to benefit from the efficiencies and economic opportunities which geographic information systems can introduce.

Funding the Initiative

Various Ministries of the Ontario Government have agreed to pay an annual levy in support of the Ontario Land Information Infrastructure initiative which includes the OGDE. In consideration of this levy, free access will be provided to Ontario Government organizations including Schedule I & III agencies. The Federal Government, municipalities and non-government members will all pay an annual fee (waived in the first year) to cover hardware, software and support costs. There is no charge for the data itself.


Guiding Principles

The expectation is that all geospatial datasets belonging to a member organization would be shared unless there is a legal, legislated or privacy reason not to do so. Members may specify restrictions on access by members to their sensitive or classified data.

As a condition of participation, members will be required to compile standardized metadata which will describe their data sets in the Ontario Land Information Directory (OLID). This process will make the data discoverable on the Internet. While members may elect to retain the responsibility of distributing their own data a central data warehouse facility, designated as the Ontario Land Information Warehouse (OLIW), has been established to facilitate standardized access by members.

For more information go to LIO
USAMAPPER.com

USAMAPPER.com has recently updated its website with a new look, new feel, and new products.

Available from the USAMAPPER.com are national and state maps of the USA. Maps are available from their affiliate companies in both digital and hard copy format. Also available are a wide variety of globes, GPS Units, PDA's, GIS Books, and numerous other related products.

The site is categorized into individual states and buyers can browse and choose the products they want for a particular state. For example a visitor can click on Florida and find at least 20 different thematic maps on the state.

USAMAPPER.com also plans on adding links to free pdf maps of the USA, for everyone to browse and print.

Established in 2000, USAMAPPER.com has become a place on the web where people can find maps about any US State and maps on the national scale.
CADCORP Releases New Browser

Cadcorp releases free Map Browser at Geotec, Toronto

A new software client to browse OpenGIS Web services.

Cadcorp, developer of the pioneering Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System GIS software, is pleased to announce the release of Cadcorp SIS Map Browser at Geotec, Booth 409, Toronto , Canada , 29th March 2004.


Map Browser viewing a Web Map Context Document served from www2.dmsolutions.ca

In keeping with Cadcorp's ongoing commitment to OpenGIS Web standards, Cadcorp is introducing Map Browser, a free OpenGIS data viewer for the Web. Map Browser will work only in conjunction with OpenGIS Web services. It has been specifically designed to view and query data served using OpenGIS® Web Map Service (WMS) and Web Feature Service (WFS) specifications, as well as supporting Geographic Markup Language (GML) 2.1.2 and Web Map Context XML data sources.

Martin Daly, technical director, Cadcorp and well known OpenGIS figure stated: "Our work is about opening up access to disparate data on disparate systems, and the new Cadcorp SIS Map Browser is a risk-free way for users to experience the benefits of OpenGIS Web services and indeed Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System".

Map Browser can be downloaded from GIS Café, www.giscafe.com, or simply contact Cadcorp at cadcorp@cadcorp.com

About Cadcorp SIS

Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System - is a suite of Windows-based and Web-enabled end user and developer digital mapping and geographic information system (GIS) software products. The desktop suite comprises: Map Viewer, which provides support for over 100 graphic and data formats, thematic and hard copy; Map Manager, which provides the mainstream user the ability to view, explore, query, symbolise and print digital map and associated tabular data; Map Editor, which in addition to the facilities provided by Map Manager, provides the GIS data custodian with tools to view, manage and edit map and tabular data; and Map Modeller, which adds 3D modelling, terrain analysis and several thematic and analytic mapping tools.

ActiveX based developer toolkits and Viewer, Manager and Modeller based runtime licences are popular products for the development and implementation of bespoke applications by third parties that take advantage of Cadcorp's GIS expertise.

Cadcorp ASC (Active Server Component) extends the functionality of Cadcorp SIS for use over the Internet or a company-wide intranet. It is a dynamic, server-side Web-based GIS, not merely a map-publishing tool for pre-authored images. Cadcorp ASC provides a true, interactive Web-based solution for real time map creation and analysis.

Cadcorp SIS OS MasterMap Loader is supplied with Cadcorp SIS Map Modeller for the loading and management of Ordnance Survey MasterMap data in relational databases.

Cadcorp apSIS is programmable component software for the development of geospatial applications for the desktop and Pocket PC platforms.

Cadcorp mSIS is a data collection package that incorporates a desktop data capture management application and a Pocket PC based data collection tool.

About Cadcorp

Established in 1991, Cadcorp is a leading developer of digital mapping and geographic information systems (GIS) software. With offices in the UK , USA and Australia , Cadcorp's distribution and VAR network stretches worldwide. The company also plays a pivotal technical role in the Open GIS Consortium. Inc®. The Cadcorp SIS - Spatial Information System product range is fully integrated digital mapping and GIS software that uses OpenGIS® certified compliant interfaces. Cadcorp is an Ordnance Survey Licenced Partner and also has an S-CAT agreement for category 15, GIS Software.

Cadcorp SIS applications exist in local government, central government, emergency services, insurance, oil & natural gas, mapping and surveying, commerce, broadcasting and many other markets.

ENDS

For further information, contact: Chris Holcroft , Tel: (44) 1438 747996, e-mail: chrish@cadcorp.com
LONGMONT, Colo. and WALNUT CREEK, Calif., April 12, 2004 - DigitalGlobe® and GlobeXplorer® LLC, a subsidiary of Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE-STC), have joined forces to make QuickBird high-resolution satellite imagery available to customers through GlobeXplorer’s Internet server technology. The addition of QuickBird imagery to GlobeXplorer’s existing database of aerial and satellite products gives customers instant, online access to the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, and takes advantage of standards-based Web Mapping Services technology.

DigitalGlobe and GlobeXplorer are offering cloud-free QuickBird satellite imagery of U.S. metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), and most international cities. To populate the database, DigitalGlobe is harvesting its extensive image library for the best imagery collected over the past two years.

Before delivering imagery products to GlobeXplorer for integration into the Web distribution infrastructure, DigitalGlobe georeferences and color balances the products, then compresses them into high quality JPEG2000 format. By creating and hosting a product library with user-ready products and applications, GlobeXplorer offers customers the ability to retrieve imagery on an “as-needed” basis, and to quickly integrate it into Internet applications, mapping and geographic information systems (GIS), or internal business processes.

“By accessing our products over the Web, customers benefit from immediate delivery without having to wait for customized product processing time,” said Steve Jennings, vice president of marketing for DigitalGlobe. “We anticipate that this will also open up the market for high-resolution imaging products in markets that, until now, have been largely underserved. Real estate agents, insurance professionals, and Web portal application users that already rely on GIS and mapping software packages can more easily browse imagery in user-friendly file formats and sizes, prior to purchasing products,” he added.

“Whether it’s through a standard Web browser, our Internet extensions for GIS software, or custom web-based business applications, users of earth imagery will now have instant access to DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird imagery library,” said Paul Smith, chief operating officer for GlobeXplorer. “We are enthusiastic about leveraging our market-proven technologies to support the growth of the satellite image industry,” Smith said.

About GlobeXplorer
GlobeXplorer LLC is a leading geographic data integration and publishing company providing online access to the world's largest commercial library of georeferenced digital aerial imagery. The company's image library is distributed over the Internet using a proprietary platform that dynamically searches, retrieves, compacts, and delivers high-quality images from an online database within seconds. Using this technology, GlobeXplorer provides fast and affordable access to aerial images and associated database content to thousands of businesses and consumers on a daily basis. Through dynamic Web applications, Web services, Internet portals, and Internet-aware devices, GlobeXplorer distributes interactive maps and aerial imagery via flexible subscription services. The company is headquartered in Walnut Creek, Calif., and its products are available worldwide. For further information, contact GlobeXplorer at info@globexplorer.com or visit www.globexplorer.com.

About Stewart Information Services Corp.
Stewart Information Services Corp. (NYSE-STC) is a technology driven, strategically competitive, global real estate information company. Stewart provides title insurance and related information services through more than 7,300 issuing locations in the United States and several international markets. Stewart meets the needs of the real estate and mortgage industries through the delivery of information services required for settlement using e-commerce. These services include title reports, flood determinations, document preparation, property reports and background checks. Stewart also supplies post-closing services to lenders, automated county clerk land records, property ownership mapping and GIS for governmental entities. Stewart provides expertise in tax-deferred exchanges. More information about Stewart can be found at www.stewart.com.

About DigitalGlobe
DigitalGlobe is an Earth imagery and information company in Longmont, Colo., USA. With the 2001 launch of its QuickBird satellite, DigitalGlobe has established a market leadership position. The company offers the world’s highest resolution commercial satellite imagery, the largest image size and the greatest on-board storage capacity of any satellite imagery provider. DigitalGlobe’s ImageLibrary houses the most comprehensive, up-to-date images available. Since January 2002, QuickBird has collected and stored in its ImageLibrary more than 300,000 scenes of imagery covering more than 90 million square kilometers of the Earth, and collects an additional one million square kilometers each week. The competition has no plans to launch a comparable commercial satellite until at least 2007. The superior technical capabilities of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView system, scheduled for launch no later than 2006, will lead the industry into the next generation of commercial imaging. DigitalGlobe distinguishes itself through its commitment to excellent customer service, relationships with business partners and open-systems philosophy. More information can be found at www.digitalglobe.com.