GIS Tech News (#74)

What's Best for Your Company?p>

Geospatial Solutions' senior editor talks with Jay Stinson of Intergraph about assessing needs, weighing cost/benefits, choosing a vendor, and more.

By Cyrena Respini-Irwin

If you're considering geospatial technology for your company, you may feel overwhelmed by the number of decisions involved. Jay Stinson, the vice president and general manager of Intergraph's utilities & communications and local government & transportation divisions, offered guidance on assessing needs, evaluating benefits and costs, choosing vendors, and more.

What are the primary benefits companies can realize from adopting geospatial technology? How can they use it to gain an advantage in the marketplace?

Geospatial technology helps businesses and governments organize and visualize vast amounts of information for quicker, more informed decision making. For many industries, geospatial technology is becoming a requirement for getting the right people to the right place at the right time. This applies to a wide variety of functions such as public safety and emergency services, military activities, utilities outage management, and many more. An effective geospatial technology system speeds and streamlines operations, creating greater efficiencies and cost savings, and increases the accuracy of data, leading to greater safety and better performance/service.

Are there any sizes or types of organizations that would not benefit?

Geospatial technology is quite versatile, adding value to any industry that possesses and leverages a large amount of visual data, whether it is traditional maps, engineering plans, electric grids, etc. An effective geospatial technology system can be scaled to meet the needs of both small and very large organizations. Read more »

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Cyrena Respini-Irwin is senior editor of Geospatial Solutions. Reach her at cirwin@questex.com. This article was previously pubilshed in Trailblazer newsletter.

Teradici Proposes Invisible Computers

By Kenneth Wong

If Teradici's PC-over-IP solution takes off, you will no longer keep a computer in your office. Instead, you'll be dialing up a remote computer when you need one. You'll tap into the horsepower of a workstation located elsewhere to rotate, render, and modify your CATIA models and SolidWorks assemblies, using nothing but a keyboard, a mouse, and a monitor.

Dial a PC
In branding its solution as PC-over-IP, Teradici is comparing its product to Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP). Just as VoIP lets people send and receive audio via the Internet, Teradici's PC-over-IP lets people send and receive code streams via a network using its compression technology.

As seen in the diagram below, Teradici provides a PC-over-IP host card, to be embedded into the host unit (most likely a workstation), and a desktop portal, a device slightly bigger than a hardcover book, equipped with a Teradici processor chip, 4 USB ports, and an HD audio output, as seen in the second image. The desktop portal and the host unit are linked via LAN, WAN, or a wireless network, allowing the user to communicate with the back-end PC. The desktop portal comes with DVI support, so users who crave a bigger display area can connect it to their TV monitors. Read more »

Mark Your Calendar: GIS Events

Webinar: Managing Your Infrastructure in a Down Economy
January 22, 2009
1:30 p.m. EST
This webinar will show how municipalities can embrace technology to reduce costs, minimize risks, manage succession planning, and improve efficiency. Read more »

2nd Annual Carlson User Conference
April 5-7, 2009
Lexington, Kentucky
Attendees will learn about the fundamentals and advanced tools of Carlson Software, preview upcoming product releases, and receive expert training. Read more »

ESRI International User Conference
July 13-17, 2009
San Diego, California
ESRI UC provides an opportunity for ESRI users to extend their GIS skills and connect with the GIS community. Read more »

Cadalyst's complete list of upcoming events is always available on our Web site. Our sister Web site, Geospatial-Solutions.com, also offers a full calendar of GIS-related events.