From Q4, 2008 we offer up a recap of GISuser spotlights and news items that got out attention... noteworthy moments included: Homezilla, a clever Canadian real estate mashup tool; a hiring blitz for Geo professionals by the NGA; The awesome sports tracker tool from Nokia is finally complemented by a widget; the launch of our GISuser Industry Directory; launch of the Trimble Juno series of rugged handhelds; a new white paper series from GITA; 2008 TIGER SHP files made available; and rounding out the year with a look at some awesome Twitter Tools for technology professionals... enjoy!

Homezilla - Neighourhood information for Canadian home buyers - HomeZilla has just released what they call "a one-stop shop for neighourhood information for Canadian home buyers". The service offers lists of schools, the distance to restaurants, parks and much more. It can be accessed for free and with just a single click. According to the developers, HomeZilla's mission is to make buying a home easier and faster. HomeZilla does this by quickly connecting you with valuable home-buying and neighbourhood information so you can make informed home buying decision. The webmap offers a pleasant UI that is fast and simple to use providing valuable information including information and POIs on schools, shops, parks, transit routes, restaurants, pubs, and even Canadian census data. 2 Thumbs up on this clever mashup!

  The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) is Hiring! - The NGA has announced a major Washington, D.C.-area recruiting initiative to bring in both entry and higher-level analysts and scientists, as well as numerous other support specialists. At the top of the hiring blitz are positions in Geo sciences... Targeted positions include: aeronautical analysts, geodetic earth scientists, geospatial intelligence analysts, imagery intelligence analysts, marine nalysts, nautical cartographic analysts, source strategies analysts, cartography, regional analysts, imagery and geospatial sciences.

Mapping the distribution of chemical elements county-by-county - - Data from chemical analyses of more than 60,000 stream-sediment and soil samples from all 50 States are now available online courtesy of the USGS. These data will be used to determine naturally occurring levels of chemical elements in stream sediments, and to detect regional chemical anomalies that may affect human health.This is one phase of a larger project to collect geologic, geochemical, geophysical, and mineral locality information for the entire country. Some of the cool mapping functionality included in this vast resource: view the periodic table of elements, click on any element in the chart for a list of which analytical methods were done and to see national maps showing the distributions by analytical method of each element.


USGS Seeks Proposals to Advance the National Spatial Data Infrastructure - USGS and the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) have announced their request for proposals to support the 2009 National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) Cooperative Agreements Program (CAP) - over $1.3 million spread across seven funding categories 

Developer Tip... LBS developers encouraged to create LBS apps for Nokia E71 and N85 - Nokia will provide qualifying contestants of the NAVTEQ LBSChallenge with handsets and software tools to enable the development of LBS applications based on multiple platforms including S60 for Symbian OS, Java ME, Python as well as the WHERE platform in the Americas region. Nokia will also provide qualifying contestants with their choice of the Nokia E71 or Nokia N85 handset to develop their location-enabled applications for the competition. 

South Georgia Geographic Information System (SGGIS) - A new visualisation tool for exploring the subantarctic islands of South Georgia is unveiled this week. The South Georgia Geographic Information System (SGGIS) enables researchers and the public to see the islands' environmental landscape in a completely new way and will help to manage and protect the abundant wildlife that lives there, such as the wandering albatross. The Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands commissioned GIS developers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to create the SGGIS. It combines a detailed interactive map of South Georgia with a variety of information such as the topography, vegetation and glacier change to historic sites, protected areas and distributions of various animals, such as seals and penguins

Sharing your Nokia Sports Tracker trips with the Nseries Widget - I've been a long-time fan and user of Nokia Sports Tracker. Infact, I've considered it to be one of the best location-aware mobile apps anywhere. hands-down! Now you can share your Sports Tracks on your blog (some blogs supported) and your iGoogle homepage... finally a way to share! I dare you to try and find a better mobile app than this one!! 

Make Sure your company is Listed in the GISuser Industry Directory - The directory is a comprehensive directory of application and solution providers for geo technologies, location-based service providers, and other geo related companies. Contractors, consultants, device makers, programmers, software developers, and others are invited to leave details of their business and create their own, virtual business card in the directory. If a relevant category isn't currently available for your listing please tell and we'll create a new category!

Free GIS Data resources for Alabama (Oct 2008) - If you need Alabama GIS data products you won't be inundated with data sources, however, there are several MUST visit web resources where loads of freely downloadable GIS data products can be found. the following are some must bookmark free data sites for the State of Alabama. Read on for tips on locating and downloading free Alabama DRGs, DOQs, aerial photography and more. 

GISuser Spotlight on State GIS Data Resources... Alaska Geospatial Data Clearinghouse - Alaska State Geo-spatial Data Clearinghouse (ASGDC) provides the community with access to online maps, Data on CDs, and secure GIS data by State agency. The Alaska State Geo-spatial Data Clearinghouse (ASGDC) provides an electronic pathway for the public to access a wide variety of information in the form of maps, images and descriptions about Alaska geo-spatial data. This site is developed as a "node" on the growing framework of public sites across the nation which together constitute the electronic back-bone of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

State GIS Data Spotlight - Arizona State GIS Clearinghouses and GIS Data Repositories - Our popular State GIS spotlights continue, this time we turn our spotlight onto Arizona and share GIS data tips where you can locate and download data, lots of it! Browse this resource to access portals and clearinghouse repositories where you can freely download DRG, DEM, DOQs, aerial photography and ortho photos, PLS data, census data products, riparian data, parcels and ownership data and much more. The focal point of this feature is the fabulous State Image Archive Service where you'll find TONS of data.

GISuser Spotlight on the Front Range Geology... - Today's Featured Map is a Geologic Map of the Denver West 30' x 60' Quadrangle, North-Central Colorado. Ever since my days consulting in British Columbia and working on countless geological and earthquake hazard mapping projects for the Geological Survey, I've had an affinity for geologic maps. This latest map from the USGS is a fine example and would be a perfect addition to hang on the wall in any Colorado-based business - or even in the garage!
 

ARKANSAS Geospatial Data Clearinghouses and State Data Repositories - For those GIS users in search of free data products for the State of Arkansas, we've provided pointers to several data repositories where users have free access to a wealth of popular GIS data sets including: DRGs, DOQs, DEMs, aerial photos, NAIP data, and much more... read on about the Arkansas GeoStor and The University of Arkansas Spatial Library.

Share and Connect your life - Nokia Rolls out Nokia viNe - Your Photos, Video, Music on a Map - A note from Nokia reps this week informs me that the Nokia viNe application will be rolled out to Joe public very soon... possibly even this week. As a long-time user of the GPS-enabled Nokia N95 smartphone I find viNe is a very interesting way to share multi-media in a geospatial context... definitely a must try for anyone interested in location-based services and social media and sharing. 

GISuser Data Spotlight... California State Data Clearinghouse and Free California GIS Data Sources - For the State of California, locating a main State GIS data node is relatively simple... enter California Spatial Information Library (CASIL). For direct access to data, see the "data Collections" link (left side-bar) and browse the frequently collected datasets category where you'll find access to admin layers (parks, water districts etc...), cultural data layers (census data), imagery, physical data products and much more. Perhaps of greatest interest is the imagery - Digital Orthophoto Quadrangle GeoTiff (DOQQ), SPOT imager

GITA's New CIP-ER White Paper Series - GITA has this week officially announced the release of a new Geospatial Dimensions of Critical Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Response (CIP-ER) white paper series, which will include at least seven white papers published into the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. This series sets the tone for the near future, as GITA heads into the new year and provides a glimpse of what we can expect at this year's GITA Spring Geospatial Infrastructure Solutions conference. 

Group on Earth Observations Heralds Free, Global Access to USGS Earth Imagery - - In a breakthrough applauded recently by the international Group on Earth Observations, scientists and decision-makers will soon have unrestricted global access at no charge to the USGS Landsat archive, the world's most extensive collection of continuously-acquired land imagery. By the end of this year, the full collection will, for the first time, be freely available online to users around the globe under a policy initiated by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne. As we heard recently at ASPR Pecora event in Denver, No doubt it will be interesting to see how this topic is managed by the new administration, although with such dramatic changes in our physical environment taking place there?s little doubt in my mind that this important resource will continue to be expanded enabling us to get a grip on some of the problems facing all of us. See more on LDCM at ldcm.nasa.gov.

Trimble Introduces the Juno Series - Portable, functional, rugged, and affordable! Trimble recently rolled out its next generation of durable, lightweight field computing devices with integrated GPS technology - the new Trimbler Juno SB and Juno SC handhelds. In addition to integrated GPS, both models include WLAN and Bluetooth connectivity, a 3 Megapixel camera, a 533 MHz processor, 128 MB of onboard memory, a MicroSD/SDHC memory card slot, an all-day battery and a 3.5 inch display. For organizations wishing to equip field workers with high-speed Internet connectivity worldwide, the Juno SC handheld includes a 3.5G High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) broadband cellular modem. The devices are powered by Microsoftr Windows Mobiler version 6.1 OS giving users access to supporting apps like Word Mobile, Excel Mobile, Internet Explorer Mobile, and Outlookr Mobile, allowing a seamless exchange of data between the field and office.

M/V Sirius Star, Located by GeoEye IKONOS High-Resolution Satellite - The IKONOS satellite IKONOS Satellite sensor acquired a high-resolution satellite image of the supertanker M/V Sirius Star hijacked by Somali pirates on Saturday November 15 2008. The vessel is located 5 miles off the Somalia coast at WGS-84 ECEF Latitude 4.595? North and Longitude 48.085? East. The IKONOS Satellite Image was acquired from 423 miles in space while the IKONOS satellite was moving from north to south over the East coast of Africa at 17,000 mph. (4 miles per second). Remote sensing technology provides an additional security tool to monitor business assets on a global level. With the successful launch of the GeoEye-1 Satellite on September 6th, 2008 providing image resolutions of 0.5m, more information can be analyzed and Rush security tasking collections become faster than ever.

Construction Expert Denounces the NTSB's Report on the I-35W Bridge Collapse - An NTSB report over a year in the making cites faulty gusset plates as the cause of the 2007 Minnesota bridge collapse. But Barry B. LePatner says the report contains a glaring sin of omission: It ignores key problems inherent in our nation's infrastructure oversight system that continue to put the public in danger every day.

2008 TIGER/Line Shapefiles - New from the US Census Bureau... - The TIGER/Line Shapefiles are extracts containing selected geographic and cartographic information from the Census Bureau's MAF/TIGER (Master Address File / Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) database. The shapefiles also contain some additional feature updates reported in the Boundary and Annexation Survey (BAS). All counties have now been realigned as a result of the MAF/TIGER Accuracy Improvement Project (MTAIP) and are included in the 2008 TIGER/Line Shapefiles.

Is Your GIS/Geo Technology Company Really Taking Advantage of Twitter and the Latest in Social Media - Just because your company is on Twitter doesn't mean that you're company Twitters! Interesting discussions lately coming out of a number of camps. Twitter is a funny thing and it's a different tool to every user. There's no right or wrong way to twitter, although there is some etiquette and there are some more effective ways to Tweet. Indeed it does boil down to the individual behind the account as to how the account will be used and whether or not the information pushed/pulled via the Twitter is going to be one way, two-way, collaborate, or simply, robotic.

GISuser Spotlight... 12 Cool Twitter Add-Ons for the 2008 Holiday Season + my Twitter Tool box and mobile clients - - In traditional Holiday Fashion I've elected to share with you 12 very clever, cool, and useful Twitter Third-Party Add-ons. These apps will definitely help you be more productive with Twitter, make your Twittering more enjoyable, and help to solidify your position as your company's resident Twitter Guru! Enjoy... as an added bonus I've also listed a few of the twitter tools that I have in my goody bag as well as a list of mobile Twitter clients. Read on for pointers and descriptions of how and why you can use applications like TwitterGroups , TwitterFeed, Twellow , Brightkit, TwitterTise, SpinVox and many more... Happy holidays!

More Best of GISuser 2008:

• Best of GISuser Spotlights & Top Geo News 2008 - Part 1 of 4
• Best of GISuser Spotlights 2008 - Part 2 of 4
• Best of GISuser Spotlights 2008 - Part 3 of 4