got geoint?

Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post from got geoint? Yes, we are in the home stretch. The week between X-mas and New Year’s Eve is only a short step away. But, let’s keep in mind that we have 4-5 days left (depending on if you are working on Christmas Eve) of solid work ahead of us this week. And, what better way to kick of a highly productive week than by having all the actionable news you need right at your fingertips? Yep. as always, we have all the news you need right here. So, fire up that second cup of coffee and read on.

GEOINT Leaders Dominate ExecutiveBiz Top 20 People to Watch List
Who doesn’t love top 20 lists? They have been a mainstay of the David Letterman Show for years, and always seem to appear at the end of the year (during a time of reflection – if you will). Well, ExecutiveBiz just came out with its Top 20 People to Watch List and the GEOINT sector clearly dominated this year. The list includes our biggest leaders such as General James R. Clapper, Director of National Intelligence’ Letitia Long, Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency; as well as USGIF board member Dr. Bill Ballhaus, former DynCorp CEO and President. The list also includes executives from a number of USGIF member companies, such as Booz Allen, ManTech and many more. And be sure to stay tuned for GEOINT 2011 keynote speaker news, some of these folks will be presenting next year — yep, we are already starting to think about next year’s symposium! Read the full list here from ExecutiveBiz.

With Purchase of Spadac, GeoEye Will Try to Predict the Future
GeoEye snaps images of the Earth from a satellite to capture moment-in-time views of natural resources, major disasters and global events. Now, with its latest acquisition, the Dulles company aims to predict what will happen next. Executives disclosed plans last week to pay $46 million for McLean-based Spadac, an analytics company that marries geospatial images with historical data and other information to predict future events. “There is such a plethora of information that is flooding into everybody’s offices,” said GeoEye chief executive Matt O’Connell. “If you can help your client take that input and analyze that input and make actionable decisions, then you’re really doing more for them.” Read the full Washington Post story here.

Web Migration is the Top Concern for Geospatial Experts
On March 30 – 31 2011, in Chicago, Geospatial Data industry leaders will meet at the Enterprise Strategies for Location Intelligence conference to discuss the ongoing power struggle between traditional players, and new, web-based solutions. A recent survey conducted by TheWhereBusiness showed that web migration is the key concern for geospatial executives right now. And as a result, it is a central theme of this inaugural location intelligence event. Traditionally, desktop software companies like ESRI had a monopoly on geospatial software…but this is rapidly changing. With GIS already being branded ‘dead wood’ by many in the industry, it is time to deliberate the critical nuances between desktop software, web applications and platforms to find out what makes one better than the other. Read the full press release here.

MapQuest Open Offers Maps and Directions You Can Fix
Harnessing the wealth of OpenStreetMap data, MapQuest has launched an “Open” version of itself, allowing anyone to add restaurants, fix errors, define the best directions that real drivers know, and otherwise improve the mapped world around them. If there was any way MapQuest could differentiate itself from the seemingly ubiquitous Google Maps, this is a pretty good stab at it. OpenStreetMaps has more than 300,000 registered users worldwide, and offers results that speak to both local knowledge and dedicated contributors’ fixes. Not every area is quite so filled out, of course, but you can learn a thing or two looking around the Open version of your town. And if you don’t like what you see, you can file a bug. Read the full LifeHacker post here.

Google Body Browser Launched
Search giant Google has launched a new tool designed to allow users to explore the human body in a Google Earth-like style. The new Body Browser is a 3D reconstruction of the entire human anatomy, allowing people to explore the nooks and crannies of the body. The tool comes with zoom and pan functions, similar to the ones offered by for both Google Earth and Google Maps, allowing users to zoom in and out of the body and focus on specific areas. Read the full IT Portal post here.

Tags: Booz Allen, David Letterman, ESRI, ExecutiveBiz, ExecutiveBiz Top People List, GeoEye, GeoEye and SPADAC, Google Body Browser, got geoint?, Location-Based Business, ManTech, Spadac, Top 20 Lists, USGIF