A bill introduced in the California State Assembly threatens public access to government geodata.

Achieving a successful project outcome is always a challenge. It requires a capable project leader, a well-organized team, lots of planning, and careful execution.

Many markets, including the utility sector, are facing the challenge of matching up their huge investment in datasets with newly developed, more accurate land bases.

With the advent of GPS technology and advances in ground surveying, it has become more difficult to integrate the U.S. Census Bureau's TIGER/Line data with newly collected source data. As a result, the Census Bureau has worked to improve the spatial accuracy of the TIGER database, as well as modernize the tools and methods used for maintenance and updating. Now, the bureau can fully leverage new GPS and portable computing technologies for field operations, as well as facilitate data exchange with partners from both the public and private sectors.

If a motorist can drive on it, take direction from it, or crash into it, there's probably a department of transportation that wants to map it. Now, with the help of mobile GIS, many state and local governments are doing just that.

Before defining geospatial digital rights management (geoDRM) and discussing its benefits, its challenges, and the key technical and policy issues surrounding it, we should begin with an introduction to digital rights management (DRM) in other fields.

Geospatial data formats can be a real bear. When new users come to the world of GIS, they often come with a particular need in mind. Unfortunately, the abundance of diverse storage formats often leaves new users confused and frustrated. But Safe Software's Feature Manipulation Engine Suite (FME Suite) is going a long way toward simplifying the use of spatial data formats for new and veteran users alike.

The Many Layers of GIS Jul 1, 2005 By: Scottie Barnes

Imagine a day when accessing geospatial data is as easy as using a remote control to change the channel on your television. The menu would be just as interactive as today's cable or satellite TV grid guides, but selecting a "channel" would bring data streaming in from countless, disparate real-time sensors in the air, in space, and on the ground. Information pertaining to areas of interest would be seamlessly mosaicked and presented for viewing and analysis. A simple combination of button clicks, and you might find yourself immersed in a three-dimensional world of dynamic data. As you traveled through this real-time visualization, the landscape would move relative to your position. In this dimension, you could access and analyze data about any given location or asset, enabling real-time analysis of the natural environment, utility network, retail space, or system you are visiting. And others could join you in this experience to conduct collaborative investigation.

Temporal Analysis and GIS Apr 1, 2005 By: Jason Dalton

Forward-thinking researchers are paving the way for how GIS tackles the challenges of spatio-temporal analysis.