Category Archives: Spatial IT/GIS
How to Add Transparent Text to ArcGIS in 4 Easy Steps
ArcGIS is a great piece of software but has some small functionality missing which, to a cartographer or perfectionist (like myself), can be a little frustrating. So I was really pleased when I discovered a way to create transparent text, something which has eluded me for a long time in ArcGIS. Lets consider this map:...
Tracking Aircraft in Flight
From surveillance methods using ground-based radar to space-based systems, it’s more complex to track aircraft than you might think. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, was both tragic and stunning. The loss of a modern commercial aircraft operating in government-controlled airspace, which remains unexplained, represents...
Maptime
A new source of support for mapmakers is spreading internationally. With so many sectors and niches, the spatial/IT industry was falling into silos. Then, seemingly from out of nowhere groups started appearing, first in the United States and then in Europe, under the label “Maptime,” in a similar fashion to the hackathons a decade ago. ...
Esri Developer Summit 2015 Highlights
The 2015 Esri Developer Summit (colloquially referred to as the “DevSummit”) was held in Palm Springs, CA, March 10-13. Two thousand+ programmers and technologists participated, seeing the latest developments for building applications in ArcGIS web, desktop and native coding environments. I particularly enjoy the DevSummit events, since they are entirely geekfest in nature, as opposed...
Maptime – A [UK] user experience
A year ago if you had said “Maptime” to me, I would have thought you were mad. I have now been to three “Maptime” events, and I want to share my experience, as you may be sitting there perplexed as to what you would gain from it. Maptime is increasing in popularity. Before Christmas [2014]...
QGIS v ArcGIS: the Rematch?
Thank you to all of you who commented and discussed my last QGIS v ArcGIS article. Many of you pointed at some of the perspective taken with the article, for example, there was mention that it wasn’t fair as ArcServer wasn’t tested or that the 3D tools weren’t compared. Yes, you are correct, it would...