ESRI UC Report - Intro from Jack Dangermond & Moving Towards ArcGIS 9.2
Written by Glenn Letham (GISuser editor)
26 July 2005
Yesterday (Monday, July 26) was the official kick-off to the ESRI User Conference. In traditional fashion we were introduced and welcomed to the event bright and early by ESRI President Jack Dangermond.
To start, Dangermond asked the crowd to all take a moment a meet a new person… after all, GIS is about communicating and sharing isn’t it? We saw amazing slides and videos of ESRI user scenarios from around the Globe. Additionally, some 150 ESRI users were mentioned as the annual recipients of special achievement awards (I won’t bother listing them all here!). This year’s conference theme was explained to us by Dangermond as “GIS: Helping Manage Our World” – the reason for this selection – Our World is over-populated, urbanized, connected, globalized, and fragile. We are faced with problems such as Global warming and rising sea levels and we need to better manage our World. Some of the many examples of the uses of ESRI solutions in action that Dangermond cited include: Plate tectonics Earthquake modeling Tsunami disaster relief Hurricane damage assessment Urban & economic planning Transportation planning Air modeling Voter redistricting And the list goes on! ESRI’s solutions are involved in some way in pretty much every resource management effort you can think of.
Dangermond mentioned how he felt that GIS is evolving on the Internet and creating a distributed, global GIS. This will evolve into what he calls the GeoWeb – this will support the publishing and discovery of geospatial information and solutions. The GeoWeb will be connected, facilitated by standardized data models. It will be data-rich, and GIS web services will provide the framework. The GeoWeb will evolve extremely rapidly.
ESRI Software Strategies We heard about the strategies and plan of attack as ESRI evolves to release 9.2. Expect an enhanced ArcGIS desktop with much improved geodata management. Key upgrades will target the product quality, usability, and performance. ArcGIS Server will be extended and more mobile solutions will come. ArcGIS 9.2 will come some time next year (likely prior to ESRI UC 26).
At 9.2 all 4 desktop solutions will see many improvements. Look for some of the following improvements: Cogo construction tools Raster/vector conversion Attribute editing CAD integration Advanced cartographic tools New desktop sketching tool More interoperability support Animation in all apps New geoprocessing tools Management of terrain surfaces More data formats supported Improved charting And much more
Particularly interesting in the forth-coming Image Web Server, a stand-alone solution that serves and processes imagery. Users can expect on-the-fly processing, orthorectification tools, pan sharpening, mosaicing, and other cool image processing functionality. My gut feeling is that people were genuinely excited about this product!
At 9.2 ArcIMS will be a major release. Users are told to expect a simpler install, new viewer, a new application designer, and support for .Net and Java integration.
ArcExplorer 9.2 will be a free, fast, attractive, simple, and fun web, mobile, and desktop client. Users will also be able to navigate and view data in 3D.
The Company At 36 years old, the company has consistent 10% annual growth. ESRI is financially stable with zero debt and many business partners. The company is still privately owned. Dangermond cited the company’s purpose: To advance the use of GIS Serve and support its users and partners Develop a professional workforce Support its employees
We’ll have more information about the event and ESRI’s products and solutions over the next several days. In closing, keep this in mind... "It's more than just technology" (Jack Dangermond)
GISuser Feature Articles
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
Signs that indicate you may be a GeoGeek (aka. GeoNerd) and some suggested Geo blogs - Chances are good that if you are a Geo Geek then you already know it and likely refer to yourself as one. However, there’s many of you out there that may be on the fence and wondering… “am I a Geo Geek?" Read on for a comprehensive list of signs you might be a GeoGeek followed up by some suggested Geoblog reading.
Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
10 Ways Your Tech Business Can Take Advantage of Twitter - Many companies and individuals are still asking themselves how can I use Twitter in my business? The following is a small sampling of some of the ways that your technology business can use Twitter to your advantage.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs
See more 
