Thursday 10 November 2011

A GIS developed in Manitoba

Did you know that there was a GIS developed in Manitoba?  It’s true!  MAP II was developed in the mid-to-late 1980s at the University of Manitoba Geography Department.  It was also the first (or one of the first) GIS built for the Mac.

As a member of the faculty at the University of Manitoba, Micha Pazner led the building of an Apple Macintosh-based Geography Laboratory in the mid-1980s.  From there, Micha Pazner, Chris Kirby and Nancy Thies headed the team that developed MAP II, a Mac-based GIS.  The first version was named MAP II, as it was based on the map algebra developed by Dana Tomlin, implemented in his Map Analysis Package (MAP) and was considered a second generation of MAP.

Back in the days when GIS were commonly grouped into the Raster or Vector camp, this was a raster-based GIS.  MAP II was unique at the time as it was developed with an emphasis on user friendliness and map visualization.  GIS software packages at the time were difficult to use and GUIs and user-friendly interfaces were not common. For example, the powerful ArcInfo system was command line driven.

One of the cool features that I remember was that maps developed in MAP II could be exported to other software programs, such as drawing packages.   This was truly extraordinary for the time and a major advantage of being in the Mac world, as this was long before the days of Windows and integrated software suites in the PC world.

The developers distributed MAP II through John Wiley and Sons publishing company and documentation may still be available on Amazon.  MAP II was used as a teaching GIS at the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg throughout much of the early 1990s.

Micha Pazner is an Associate Professor at the University of Western Ontario.

Thursday 27 October 2011

Conference Season is Over

As we approach November, we can look back at a first for Manitoba – multiple GIS-related conferences within a six week period.  In mid-September, we started with IHEEP, followed by MGUG and Intergraph.  To finish the season, ESRI hosted a Public Infrastructure Leadership Forum at the Fort Garry Hotel on October 25.

All of the GIS events were good and useful to the GIS community.  For me, the crown jewel of the lot was the MGUG conference on September 30.  I found the presentations given by Microsoft to be extremely interesting and useful.  Others I have talked to were extremely impressed with Taz Stuart and John Sauder.  One of the most interesting presentations was given by Dr. Mohamed Abousalem of Tecterra who almost came across like Santa Claus.  Even today, as I attend other events and talk with others, they are still referring to the MGUG event and how good it was.

The other events of this season were more focussed – each specializing in a different area.  At IHEEP, the focus was on transportation but it did have a broader appeal to the Geomatics professional with a full day of sessions devoted to LiDAR.  As mentioned in a previous blog, the feedback was excellent and that the LiDAR sessions were worth attending.

The Intergraph Regional Users’ Conference held at the Delta was a great opportunity to see Intergraph’s latest technology and their vision for the future.  It was free and about 75 people attended.  For me, the most interesting part of the conference was the presentation on Smart Client, a powerful thin client application that Intergraph will soon be releasing in North America.

Earlier this week, ESRI held a Public Infrastructure Leadership Forum.  Again, this was a focused event that would not appeal to all GIS people, but was useful for those who are interested in asset management.

After all of the excitement of September and October, it looks like it will be a long winter, unless MGUG puts on a half day workshop sometime after the New Year.  Otherwise, the next GIS events to look forward to are in March or later with WestMan GIS conference and the ESRI Regional User Group.

Sunday 2 October 2011

MGUG September 2011 Conference Review

The Manitoba GIS Users Group’s (MGUG) first all-day conference was last week on Friday September 30, 2011.  Now that it is over, it’s time for an analysis of what was good and what could be improved.

First the positive:
  • There was a great turnout.  I did not get a number from MGUG, but there must have been 350 people at the conference.  This is the best turnout we have seen for a Manitoba GIS conference.   This is a credit to all of the hard work and organization of the current MGUG board.  The current board should also pay tribute to those who established MGUG – the first sponsors, workshop attendees and board members who created MGUG out of nothing, nursed it along through the early years and helped create the MGUG brand.  The current organizers have taken it to a new level and ensured that MGUG is THE GIS organization in Manitoba and the MGUG conference is the place to be for a GIS event.
  • The exhibitor’s floor was amazing.  I could not believe how many organizations and vendors had booths and exhibits.  I have to admit that I skipped out of a couple of the presentations so that I could get some one-on-one time with the exhibitors.
  • Another surprise was the great prizes that were given out – although I was disappointed not to win one.
  • Although some may not agree with me I consider the entrance fee a positive.  The amount was reasonable and should not have restricted access.  Charging delegates gave MGUG added freedom to host at an interesting venue and run it like a “real” conference.
  • I had a discussion with a few people at the end and the topic of how short the presentations were came up.  This was seen as positive by all who discussed.  In a conference like this where there are no alternative tracks, having presentations of 30 minutes or less is a good thing.
What could be Improved:
  • I was pretty impressed with the conference, so my suggestions for improvements are pretty minor.
  • The Lightning Talks almost all went over 10 minutes.  Since the afternoon presentations were only 20 minutes, having 15 minutes presentations did not seem like “lightning”.  There was also too long an intro for these short talks.  Reading the biography (which is already written in the program) for two minutes before a short talk was excessive.  These talks needed to be shorter with a shorter intro.
  • When I was in the consulting world and working at conferences, we wanted to maximize the number of people who came by our booth.  The best events had the food and refreshment service near or at the exhibitor floor.  The MGUG event had quite a separation between breakfast, lunch and the exhibitors’ floor.
  • Now that MGUG is established in the big time, is it time for a major league keynote speaker to open the conferences?
Next up is the Intergraph Regional Users’ Conference on October 19, 2011 at the Delta.  For more information check out: http://www.intergraph.com/global/ca/events/ICAN2011/winnipeg/default.aspx

Sunday 25 September 2011

Manitoba GIS Conference Update

It seems to be GIS conference season in Manitoba, with three events in about a one month period.

The first was IHEEP 2011 which ran the week of September 11 to 15, 2011.  The focus of IHEEP (International Highway Engineering and Exchange Program) is the application of technology to the transportation industry and they held their annual conference in Winnipeg at the Fairmont.  This conference had a broader appeal to the Geomatics professional with a full day of sessions devoted to LiDAR.  Feedback is that it was an excellent conference and that the LiDAR sessions were worth attending.

The second conference of the season is the MGUG event scheduled for September 30, 2011.  The conference is an all day event with an ice breaker on September 29, 2011.    With more than 250 people already signed up, this conference is sure to be a success.  Microsoft and John Sauder are headlining so it should be an excellent program that is well worth the time and small entrance fee.  It will be great to see Microsoft’s vision of the future.  We are looking forward to this event.  For more information go to the MGUG web site http://www.mgug.ca/

The third conference of the season is the Intergraph Regional Users’ Conference on October 19, 2011 at the Delta. This is a great opportunity to see Intergraph’s latest technology and their vision for the future.   You can’t beat the cost – it’s free.  Intergraph is one of the big GIS players in Manitoba and internationally, yet somehow they seem to fly under the radar, with many in the GIS community unaware of their presence. Intergraph users include MTS, the City of Winnipeg, DND, Winnipeg Police, the RCMP, Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation and Manitoba Conservation.  For more information check out: http://www.intergraph.com/global/ca/events/ICAN2011/winnipeg/default.aspx

Monday 5 September 2011

In Praise of Students

It is now early September and we recently said good-bye to a student that worked with us this summer.

We were a little worried that when we hired Adam, a University of Winnipeg student going into his second year, that he might be too immature.  After all, he had only completed one year of University so he was still darn near a high school student.

Nevertheless we threw Adam into one of our most complicated business units to analyze some of their most complicated work.  An ambitious set of written goals and tasks was compiled for Adam to complete this summer.   The amount and complexity of the work that Adam was to later tackle was daunting even for long time professionals.   I personally did not have a lot of hope … maybe I remembered my own student days too well.

What happened this summer surprised us all.  Our student showed a knack for analysis and was articulate, mature and hard working.   In addition to what he was supposed to do, Adam identified flaws, inconsistencies and issues within our business unit.  What Adam achieved this summer will be useful to us long after he is gone.

I have reconsidered my opinion of students and look forward to hiring more in the future.

Good luck Adam.

Friday 26 August 2011

MGUG Considers Changing its Name

According to the MGUG newsletter and web-site, http://www.mgug.ca/, MGUG is thinking of changing its name.  Don’t worry, it will still be called MGUG (yes it rolls off of the tongue) - but the initials could have a slightly different meaning.   Currently MGUG is an acronym for Manitoba GIS Users Group.

At its heart, the discussion is about what the first “G” in MGUG should stand for.  Is it Geomatics, GIS or Geospatial?  There is a poll on the web-site for you to vote on your favourite option.  The three choices under consideration are:
  • Manitoba Geomatics User Group
  • Manitoba Geospatial User Group
  • Manitoba GIS User Group
Currently if you browse the MGUG web-site you will see that the words “Geomatics” and “GIS” are both used liberally.  The word “Geospatial” is a little rarer.  The home page tells us we are at the “Meeting Place for the GIS Community”.  The newsletter is “Connecting Manitoba’s Geomatics Community”.

So what is prompting this decision to change the name?  Is the GIS in MGUG too exclusive?  Are GPS practitioners and surveyors feeling left out?  Maybe MGUG should become like IBM and ESRI and never spell its name out.  When was the last time you saw IBM spelled out as International Business Machines? Or ESRI as Environmental Sciences Research Institute, Inc.?

At the time of writing this blog, voting was slightly in favor of keeping the old name, with “GIS” taking 46% of the vote, while 42% want to change to “Geomatics” and 12% voted for “Geospatial”.

In the grand scheme of things this may not be the most crucial decision to make.  Perhaps the most interesting part of this survey is the level of participation.  The GIS / Geomatics community is not that big, yet there are more than 125 votes (and counting) on this survey already.   Have you registered your vote yet and taken the opportunity to have your say?  Remember to vote early and vote often.

Bonus points - If you are really sharp you noticed the inconsistent use of the singular and plural “User” and “Users” in this blog when referring to MGUG’s full name.  This is a deliberate reflection of the MGUG web-site which also uses both the singular and plural versions.  The MGUG logo and most references on the web-site use the singular “User”.  The MGUG constitution, which defines the official name, uses the plural “Users”.

Tuesday 16 August 2011

The First Manitoba GIS Conference

With MGUG putting on the big GIS conference at Celebrations Dinner Theatre on September 30, I hearken back to the first GIS conference that was held in Manitoba.  Yes it was that long ago we used terms like “hearken back”

Unfortunately, there is no written history, so you cannot Google “first GIS Conference in Manitoba” and get the information.  It was a long time ago, so some of my facts are fuzzy.   If anyone can add to, clarify or correct, I am extremely grateful.  I would also be interested to know if you were there.

The first Manitoba GIS conference was actually called a “GIS Colloquium” and was the first of a series of annual colloquia.  The term “colloquium” is academic, and fittingly, it was organized by Marci Faurer, then a PhD graduate student at the University of Manitoba Geography Department.  It was 1987 (give or take a year) and GIS was still very new to the University.  At the time, I was also a graduate student in the Geography Department, struggling to finish my thesis.  The first Manitoba GIS Colloquium was held at the University of Manitoba and I volunteered to help out.

There were a number of business and government organizations within Manitoba that were already using GIS so the program was diverse.  The talks, primarily on applications of GIS, were fascinating to a young graduate student about to go looking for a job.  One of the more interesting presentations was from ID Systems, an environmental consulting company, who described their site selection work with the Manitoba Hazardous Waste Management Corporation.  A year or two later I was lucky enough to get a job with ID Systems and begin my professional GIS career.

Marci Faurer moved on to become an Assistant Professor at the University of Winnipeg and moved the colloquia to UofW. Tragically, Marci passed away a few years later, but we should always remember that she was the first to bring the GIS community in Manitoba together and that we are following her vision.  It’s hard to believe, but this vision is nearly 25 years old.  Marci Faurer should be remembered as a pioneer in Manitoba GIS.

Tuesday 9 August 2011

IHEEP 2011 Conference

IHEEP 2011 is another reason for Geomatics people to get excited about September in Manitoba!

For the first time IHEEP (International Highway Engineering and Exchange Program) is holding their annual international conference in Winnipeg.  The conference is at the Fairmont from September 11 to 15, 2011.

You haven't heard of IHEEP?  The focus of IHEEP is the application of technology to the transportation industry.  Even if you are not a transportation person, this conference may interest you for a couple of reasons.

Many of the big players such as ESRI, Intergraph, Autodesk and Oracle are sponsors and presenting at the conference.

LiDAR!  LiDAR!  LiDAR!  The IHEEP 2011 conference will have one track dedicated to LiDAR all day Tuesday September 13.  That’s eight LiDAR-related presentations!  One of the presentations to check out will be given by Fugro (http://www.fugro.com/) and Manitoba’s own LiDAR expert, Mario Machado.

For more information on the conference:
http://www.iheep2011.com/

A preliminary technical program is available on the web-site.  If you are interested, one day registrations are allowed.

Monday 1 August 2011

MGUG Changes its Format

The next MGUG event is scheduled for September 30, 2011.  Have you noticed the format has changed?  It is now an all day event.  This is a departure from the first workshops which were strictly afternoon events.

The new all-day format has a new name.  It is called a conference.  Until now, MGUG used the term “workshop” for its half-day events.

Also new is the venue – Celebrations Dinner Theatre (Canad Inns Destination Centre Fort Garry).  The venue can accommodate attendance up to 500 people and all seats have an excellent view of the stage. 

That’s not all that’s new.  The new format and venue come with an admission charge (to cover expenses).  This is a first for MGUG, if you don’t count MGUG’s participation in the 2006 GIAC conference.   This is an exciting change.  The MGUG board is obviously not feeling restricted by the same old lecture theatres and boardrooms.    The cost is $43.39 per person if you register before August 31 and it includes breakfast, lunch and other stuff.   This is a bargain compared to the ESRI User Group Meeting, and that is a good deal.

What will the new format mean for attendance?  The past couple of workshops had turnouts of more than 200 people.  With an all day event and Microsoft as the headliner, will there be more people?  Or will there be fewer people now that it costs money to get in?  The MGUG Board has initiated a drive for 500 with the intent to get 500 attendees at the conference.  500!  Really?  That’s crazy!  Or is it?

With Microsoft and John Sauder on the program it should be well worth the time and money.  I will be there and so should you.  GIS is no longer the sole domain of dedicated GIS software companies such as ESRI and Intergraph.  Microsoft and Google are now leaders, especially in the visualization aspect of GIS.   I recommend you get out and see Microsoft’s vision of the future.  Be sure to register before August 31 and save $20.

Congratulations to MGUG – we are looking forward to this event.
http://www.mgug.ca/

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Welcome to the Manitoba GeoBlog

Welcome to the initial posting of the Manitoba GeoBlog – a GIS / Geomatics Blog for Manitoba.

This blog is dedicated to the GIS / Geomatics community in Manitoba, Canada.   The primary focus will be news, events and people of interest to users in Manitoba.  It is intended to complement the good work of the Manitoba GIS Users Group (MGUG) through its web-site, newsletter, workshops and conferences.  This blog will generally not be technical.

The Manitoba GeoBlog will be open and freely discussing any technology or event and is definitely not vendor specific.   Mostly it will be current events and what’s going on.  There will be the occasional historical piece.   I feel it’s important to know a little bit about how we got here.   And yes, you may (will) be subjected to my personal opinion.  With all the happenings from GeoManitoba and MGUG, the atmosphere in Manitoba is the most positive it has been in years so I do not expect that I will rant … at least not for a little while.

As you can see, I am using Blogger to host the GeoBlog which should keep expenses down.   Let me know if there are any issues or problems.

While the GeoBlog is still new the frequency of postings may be higher, but once things settle down, I am targeting two postings per month.  There may be more at times … such as when there is a MGUG event approaching.

So subscribe and/or check back often.  Ideas for future blogs, comments and recommendations for guest bloggers are always welcome