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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? Do you remember the last time you used a hard copy map in your car for driving directions? Yeah, neither do we. Over the past several years, the explosion of navigations devices and mobile apps reinforces one core truth about humanity: we like to know where we are going. While this may sound very simplistic, the reality is that we crave situational awareness and new innovations are meeting this inherent need. So, strap on your boots as we take a navigational tour of navigation in today’s FFFT post. Happy Friday!

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Every so often we like to showcase human-interest stories about how GEOINT-related technologies can be used in everyday life-saving situations. For someone in need of an organ, the process of actually receiving a donated organ can be long and cumbersome. More important, a recipient needs to be pretty much “on call” at all times in case a life-saving organ becomes available. Two weeks ago, David Simon was in need of a liver and nearly missed his window of opportunity when he was unreachable on Labor Day Weekend. Thankfully the combination of GPS and some very caring people came to his rescue.

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Welcome to the Monday Morning News Kick Off post on got geoint? As always, we hope you had a restful weekend spent with family and friends. But here we are again. It’s Monday. And if you think about it, Monday is not such a bad thing for us GEOINTers. The bottom-line is that we are passionate about what we do for a living. As such, Monday just means opportunity (that should be an inspirational poster). So, we hope you all take the opportunity to read all the actionable news you need to kick start your week in this post. Happy Monday!

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We all know that it has been a challenging time for companies like TomTom and Garmin with mobile GPS applications taking over. And of course, Google is always out there shaking up the market. Well, TomTom has decided to fight back with the dark side of the force on its side. TomTom users can now have their turn-by-turn directions read by Sith Lord Darth Vader. In a smart PR move, the company announced this news on Star Wars Day 2010, which was yesterday. Come on. You all did not know that yesterday was Star Wars Day? Fear not – neither did we. According to CNET, the voice of Darth Vader offers standard voice prompts such as “Take the third left,” and memorable quotes, such as “I find your lack of faith disturbing,” with theme-appropriate sound effects. Totally awesome move by TomTom and for all the Star Wars nerds out there, this is an exciting development. And, TomTom developed a hilarious video of Darth Vader in the sound studio recording his directions (we have it in this post). Also, check out the full CNET article here.

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What happens when good satellites go bad? They drift through space, joining the massive amounts of debris floating out there like a zombie, potentially threatening other functioning satellites. This could certainly be the case with the Galaxy 15 commercial satellite that recently lost contact with the ground, and is now being dubbed by engineers as being “zombiesat.” Experts believe that this defunct satellite will probably drift to one of two “gravity wells” that catch most out-of-control spacecraft. The more challenging issue is that Galaxy 15 could threaten nearby satellites because its communications package is still working, and it could interfere with working satellites, and even siphon off their signals. The word is that this is the first time a satellite event like this has occurred, and we don’t really know what ramifications that Galaxy 15 will have on the myriad of commercial and military satellites floating around in space. We assume only time will tell. Read more about “zombiesat” here.

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Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? Earlier this week we did a post about providing raw GEOINT data in real time to the warfighter. And, based on reader comments, this is a good move. So, we thought to ourselves…hmmm…it’s all about fast delivery and access to information. Why not do a FFT post on the concept of fast delivery and speed? Hey, what can we say? We are always looking for linkages between real GEOINT news and what is entertaining. So, strap on your seat belts and take a ride with us as we explore all things “fast.” And, don’t worry, we did not provide any clips from the Keanu Reeve’s 1994 hit movie “Speed.” That would be too easy.

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Every so often we like to extend the concept of the Monday Morning News Kick Off post to the middle of the week — especially when there is tons of GEOINT-related news happening. As such, this week, we are running a Wednesday News Round Up post that includes stories about some insightful commentary from our friends at V1 Magazine on mapping and Haiti relief; news about Gary Payton “slamming” space firm’s quality; and much, much more. And, since many of you are nestled into your home offices today (wow, white our blizzard happening now in DC!), hopefully this news round up is exactly what you need to kick start your Wednesday.

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Last week, we did a post about how the U.S. Air Force is reconsidering its use of GPS and going back to paper maps. And we did a light-hearted Friday’s Food for Thought post about “Paper Versus Digital,” which included none other than a video clip from “The Office.” Well, we came across this article from Runner’s World that takes the GPS versus paper maps debate to the next level. For those who are running advocates, GPS devices have become very popular over the past couple of years. However, much like what is happening in the U.S. Air Force, has there been a GPS backlash happening in the running world as well? Is this a harbinger of more anti-GPS things to come? Read the article and let us know what you think!

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Our friends at DoD Buzz recently came out with a story that highlights how the U.S. Air Force — In the face of threats from jamming and attacks on satellites — needs to lessen its dependence on the Global Positioning System and develop alternatives to GPS. According to the article, Gen. Norton Schwartz, Air Force Chief of Staff, said that GPS signals are particularly vulnerable in time of war since enemies know of the reliance U.S. forces place on its highly accurate signal. The article points out that alternatives to GPS include accurate digital maps, if not the good old ink and paper versions. This certainly caught our attention — the printed/paper maps thing. Is this really true? Is GEOINT going retro? Our gut is saying probably not. We anticipate that technology innovations will trump good old fashioned printed maps. What do you all think?

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Welcome once again to our “Friday’s Food for Thought” post hosted exclusively on got geoint? We hope everyone had a productive week and were able to get a jump start on holiday shopping during the better-than-expected Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping sprees. For this week’s FFT post, we are tackling the theme of how science fiction has influenced real scientific breakthroughs. Science fiction movies, books and television shows are often ahead of their times (i.e., Jules Verne, pictured) and play a major role in the development of some of our most significant scientific achievements. Art influences real life. How cool is that? Hope you enjoy and happy Friday!

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