Gadgets





LightSquared to Impact 75% of GPS Receivers…. maybe

Dec 13th, 2011 | By

Here’s some bad news for LightSquared – looks like their system will negatively impact the overwhelming majority of GPS receivers currently in operation, based upon a leak of a test report. A series of tests were conducted by the National Telecommunications & Information Administration between Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 confirming this concern. LightSquared fired [...]



Reasonably Priced “Vintage” Geography Gifts

Dec 12th, 2011 | By

If you are looking for some nice looking gifts for the geographer in your life that are wonderfully unique, look no further than the Steam Punk Emporium.  What they call Brassy Bits: vintage looking compasses, sextants, telescopes, magnifying loupes, pocket sundials… I would call old fashioned geography and cartography tools. Most of them range in [...]



Conserving the Night Sky

Dec 12th, 2011 | By

Is your portion of the night sky polluted by artificial light?  Check out this really slick Google Map interface I found on the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) web site .  For over 22 years, the IDA has been advocating to keep our night sky clean of light pollution.  Their reasons go beyond astronomy purposes and [...]



Discounts for your GAW and holiday gifts

Nov 15th, 2011 | By

Each year as the holidays approach (and yes I include GAW in that list of holidays) we try to reach out to a vendor who carries Geographic or cartographic items to see if they would be willing to cut you guys a break/provide a discount in exchange for some free ad space on VerySpatial. This [...]



GEOGRAFREE – Front Line podcast in English

Nov 5th, 2011 | By

We are always excited about new Geography or geospatial podcasts since they are few and far between, but I am even more excited that a longstanding Geography podcast has become accessible to me (and other english speakers). The GEOGRAFREE Front-Line podcast has been produced in German for 106 episodes but has switched to english with [...]



Royal Society Opens Its Archives

Oct 27th, 2011 | By

Prepare to watch today’s productivity sink like a log tied with rocks and encased in a block of cement. The Royal Society in the UK has thrown open its archives of papers that date back to the 17th century. There are some seriously amazing gems in that collection. Newton’s first paper? It’s in there. Ben [...]



It’s HERE! It’s Finally HERE!

Oct 26th, 2011 | By

Just in time for my switch to the iOS platform. ESRI has finally released ArcGIS for Android! If you’re on the Android platform, head over to the Android Marketplace and you can download this free app. If you’re familiar with the iOS or the Windows 7 Phone version, you should know what to expect – [...]



Search For Life on Mars

Oct 5th, 2011 | By

Ok, not Mars. Not just yet, at least. Researchers have created really cool science project called MAPPER. The idea is to leverage citizen scientists to comb through data and find signs of life on far away planets. For now, they have tapped into a couple of DeepWorker bots currently exploring the depths of two lakes [...]



National Geographic Challenge for PS3, XBOX360, and Wii

Oct 3rd, 2011 | By

As you know, many of our discussions here on VerySpatial have touched on the increasing convergence between geography, geospatial technologies, and games and gaming technology. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw the announcement and trailer for National Geographic Challenge, a new console game that will be available for all 3 of the [...]



A Post of Extremes in Mapping

Sep 28th, 2011 | By

Artist Yataka Sone has created what may be the heaviest map ever – a marble carving of Manhattan, called ‘Little Manhattan’. The 3D model map of the Big Apple was carved out of a block of white marble that weighs over 2 ½ tons. The artist used photographs, helicopter rides, and Google Earth to make [...]