National Address Gazetteer (GeoPlace)

National Address Gazetteer (GeoPlace)

Press Release from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)

The proposed joint venture combines the spatial address databases of Ordnance Survey and the Local Government Improvement and Development Agency (LGID), to create the National Address Gazetteer, a database of accurate geo-referenced addresses in England and Wales. This data is relied upon by the public and private sector to accurately locate addresses when delivering services such as public transport, road maintenance, utility management and emergency call-outs.

The OFT found that the parties provide the only two accurate geo-referenced addressing databases, and do not face competition from less frequently updated and geographically accurate databases, such as those used by satnavs. Consequently it found that the joint venture would create a monopoly in this market.

However, the OFT concluded that it was not proportionate to refer the market to the Competition Commission because:

  • the Government is the parties’ largest customer and will continue to enjoy substantial buyer power and influence over the joint venture
  • in practice there has been limited opportunity for the private sector customers of the two parties to trade one off against the other, and in any case the size of the affected private sector market is relatively small and
  • virtually all customers, both public- and private-sector, strongly supported the creation of the new database.

The plan is to be fully operational by April 2011, with the first data made available in summer or early autumn of 2011
Vector1Media

Full Press Release
http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2011/18-11

Ordnance Survey
http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/media/news/2011/feb/geoplaceapproval.html

GeoPlace™ Q&As
http://www.lga.gov.uk/lga/core/page.do?pageId=15377046

Explore the Hidden Treasures of Los Angeles

We’ve written about CyberCity 3D on this site quite a few times, as they’re always trying new things using 3D buildings in Google Earth. Just in the last year or so, they’ve brought us “Virtual Viewing“, some awesome buildings in Las Vegas and the popular 3dHawaii.com.

Now they’ve gone in another new direction by partnering with hidden los angeles to bring us HiddenLA3d.com, a slick 3D viewer to help you work your way through all of the great content on HLA.

hidden-la.jpg

By connecting with HLA’s substantial Facebook Page (roughly 200,000 fans), they’re really trying to bring Facebook to Google Earth, and it’s a well-done implementation.

By clicking any of the white icons, you’ll be taken of a “what lies beneath” page for that venue, showing more details about that location. In addition, they’re working on adding “deals” to the site. For example, check out the nightlife page and notice the yellow Bevvy icons that are promoting some special offers. Online deals are a hot item right now, and combining that with Google Earth seems like a pretty cool integration.

For more head over to HiddenLA3d.com or read their press release below:

In a pioneering move linking 3D technology to social websites and Facebook, software innovator CyberCity 3D today announced it’s partnering with one of Los Angeles’ leading leisure and entertainment websites, hiddenlosangeles (hLA), to create hiddenla3d.com.

More than 198,900 members (and growing daily) now log on to hLA’s on-line website and Facebook locations to learn about the unique activities, restaurants, landmarks, history, and adventures L.A. has to offer. HLA’s Facebook page swelled to the point that founder Lynn Garrett spun off “foodie” and “event” pages to get a handle on the massive volumes of content. This overwhelming success- all generating from hLA’s website and blog launch in early 2009.

Garrett’s now taking hLA’s organic evolution even deeper– by giving her online ‘family’ a cool group of interactive 3D maps through CyberCity 3D on hiddenla3d.com. This new site organizes hidden los angeles™-generated content onto maps– which makes finding recommended ‘hidden’ places, activities, and related ‘deals’ easier. It will also boost Garrett’s hLA community’s ability to ’embrace the depth beneath the shallow’.

“CyberCity 3D’s amazing and easy-to-use technology will be a tremendous advantage for our fans, so hidden los angeles™ is diving in- in 3D,” says Garrett.

Hiddenla3d.com wades hLA Facebook™ and website fans into the pool of awesome activities and places the metropolis has to offer by inviting them to browse hidden LA’s posted locations on a 3D map through the Google™ Maps and Google™ Earth™ API plug-in. Visitors can explore a clear, multi-view landscape of the numerous places hLA endorses– all before leaving the house.

“The immense popularity of the hidden los angeles™ Facebook™ page is indicative of how fast the social web economy is growing. Extending this site with 3D social maps is a fresh way to give the hLA community an even richer experience when exploring and learning about all of the unusual spots L.A. has to offer,” states Kevin DeVito, CEO of CyberCity 3D, Inc.

Don’t visit hidden LA to find tourist traps and well-traveled scenes. (And don’t bother to drop by unless you love L.A.).

“Visit us for those tucked-away spots that make up the heart of Los Angeles. Places like The Museum of Jurassic Technology, the L.A. River Tour, and Trapeze School,” explains Garrett. “Not your usual haunts for sure- but definitely the perfect place to open the door to fun, out-of-the way recommendations.”

With hiddenla3d.com, the City of Angels got a little less megalopolis– and a lot more fun and easy to explore.

Enough With the Mashups Already!

It seems like a day doesn’t go by where some company puts out some press release about some edge case implementation of their mapping api. I couldn’t care less guys.

Unless the implementation is built into how we as consumers use information (type it into my browser search bar, type it into my smartphone) there isn’t any way I’ll actually use it. Plus as a developer, you should be offering me the feed up so I can implement it in my own stack, not locking it up behind some weird specialized mashup UI.

Wonder what tomorrow’s secret mashup ingredient will be…