JPEG 2000 (JP2) is quickly becoming an accepted file format for storing large amounts of geospatial imagery. And a number of groups around the world are taking the next step -- bringing JP2's capabilities into our geospatial networks, or in other words, the GeoWeb.

The World Wide Web is no longer about passively surfing and reading, but about doing — sharing, socializing, collaborating, and creating. And this phenomenon is having an impact on the geographic Web, or the "GeoWeb."

Perhaps accidentally, Google exposed the deficiencies of traditional GIS by tapping into what GIS end users really want: simplicity, accessibility, immediacy, responsiveness, and low cost.

Building Connections between Canada's Water Data Jul 1, 2006 By: Laniel Bateman, Tom Kralidis

How can a country that's almost 10 million square kilometers in area and has a large percentage of the world's freshwater — and disparate jurisdictions responsible for that water — integrate water data collected at myriad source points? Canada's ResEau initiative is attempting to do just that, as it prototypes a new way of accessing and managing water information across jurisdictions through the use of open geospatial standards.

The View from Google Earth May 1, 2006 By: Mary Jo Wagner

How do the executives at Google Earth see themselves in relation to the broader geospatial marketplace? Are their products impacting business for other commercial imagery providers, and if so, how? Google Earth's Chief Technology Officer Michael Jones answers these and other questions, and provides a hint or two about the popular virtual globe's future.

Popular culture has a history of using and abusing language, and the wheel of change seems to spin faster and faster. It took years for a sofa to become a chesterfield and a tissue to become a kleenex, but now hardly a day goes by without a new piece of trendy terminology springing up. Rip (as in CDs), burn (also for CDs), tivo (as a verb), blog (noun and verb), google (verb), podcasting or podslurping (not as yucky as it sounds), and now, mashup.

For years, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has worked to assimilate its research outputs of Earth observation and predictions into the decision support systems of its federal partners and other stakeholders by using interoperability standards that promote open information sharing and discovery.

Google Sparks Search Wars Oct 1, 2005 By: Jonathan W. Lowe

During the past four months, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Amazon have launched geospatial viewing tools linked to text-based search engines. They are free, fast, easy to use, rich in global data, and — as public users enthusiastically testify — they're cool!

Web-Mapping Hacks Sep 1, 2005 By: Jonathan W. Lowe

Two new O'Reilly titles help self-reliant readers teach themselves general GIS concepts — and ingenious hacks — with lessons based on free, open-source geospatial tools.