Trimble GeoXT Note

Well today I dusted off my trusty 'ole Trimble GeoXT. Unfortunatly, it's been mothballed since December. Just didn't have any projects for it.

Well when I fired it up it went into some kind of mandatory 15 minute charge up mode. After that, I tried to start up ArcPad 7. Nothing. Couldn't find it anywhere in the system. Well, it took a full re-installation and sync to get back up and running.

Not sure what the technical aspects are of this, but I'll never let this thing get that run down again. Now I'm headed outside (finally - it's 75F and breezy.)

After geospatial blogs were totally overlooked at the ESRI 2006 Users Conference, I was excited to see that there would be an article about such blogs in the Jul-Sep 2006 edition of ArcUser magazine. But, in the end, I was un-fullfilled (once again :) ).

I think the main reason for this disappointment in the article was the discussion of the extreme basics of the technology that bring us blogs, and not focusing on content. On page 30 we are talking about object model diagrams and cursors for arcobjects, then we move along the line a couple of pages to the definition of a "podcast???" Consider your audience here. And good luck finding something on PubSub - use Google Blogs or Technorati search engines to find something useful.

Lastly, the authors only plug their own website and like one or two more (3 of which are aggregators and not blogs). Not that the following blogs need any plugs, but here are a few that I thought would be no brainers to talk about or maybe even get interviews with:

• Glenn from Anything Geospatial blog
• James Fee's GIS Blog
• Brian Flood's SpatialDataLogic
• AllPoints Blog
• MapDex Blog
  

ESRI Tools At Different License Levels

One thing that drives me crazy is forgetting that I have ArcInfo and then distributing models to ArcView users who cannot use them. I really wish there was some type of color code on ArcToolbox that would remind me that its a ArcInfo only tool. Well until that happens, I've been using this file from the Online Help.



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Where 2.0 Conference Presentation Files

The presentation files (PPT) are now up at the Oreilly Where 2.0 conference held back in June 2006. There are alot of good topics that I am saving for review, after I try out some of the new tips and tricks learned at the recent ESRI UC. Can't absorb too much in such a small time frame!

It's a Wrap - 2006 UC

Well the curtains have come down once again on another ESRI users conference. Overall, I think it went great, but the format and topics are getting a little stale. Kudos to the San Diego Airport TSA staff - when we got to the airport at 9AM there was NO ONE in line for security! I am sure we all were thinking about the world events as we flew out on Friday. I felt very safe without being inconvenienced.

There are a couple of wrap up items out there you might want to check out:

• James Fee's reflections on the conference
• A new Video Blog emerged called GIS Nation - <>
• What's new in ArcGIS 9.2
• ArcGIS Explorer movie demo
• ESRI Touchtable Demo
• Be sure to register for a 9.2 demo in your state here

Now I can't wait to get into the office on Monday and try out all the new stuff I learned this past week. :)

2006 UC Photos....

This photo is of the 1/4 scale elevation map of British Columbia. Glenn over at AnyGeo has a good write up about it. Seeing the natural curvature of the earth on this display makes it a must!

Animation Tools in ArcGIS 9.2

Live from the UC conference here in San Diego, I just watched a great demonstration using a new tool called Animation. The demo just showed population change over time in the northeast portion of the United States. Now instead of having to print out maps for each decade, the symbology changes as the values change. The animation can then be exported out to mov or avi's.

I can imagine that over the course of a year, this will be a tool that is greatly utilized for Planning Commission meetings, and the such. I went over to the ArcGIS Explorer display to see if they could take in Animation features into Explorer, but the answer was no.