Technical Terrain
This blog is about exposing the real-world value of GIS. It may be of interest to technologists but it seeks a more general audience of people who need, want or simply like to work with maps. There are many excellent sites that deal with the curly braces, so we will speak geek sparingly. What is often missing, however, is a good explanation of why a particular approach or technical choice is being made. We'll do that here and have some fun, too. Please feel free to join in and comment any time!
— Fred Newcomer
SpherAware CEO
Recent Posts
A Trigger-Happy Solution
Posted in Database, Techniques on Sep 27, 2019
How can you change the symbol used to draw a feature on your map when a new record is written to a related table? A smart database can do that for you.
The Fly on the Wall
Posted in Geography, History on Apr 07, 2019
A long line of brilliant thinkers and mathematicians patiently observed, deduced and calculated a way to render the details of our world onto conveniently flat charts, books and electronic devices. A fly on the wall helped.
The Good Egg
Posted in Geography on Sep 12, 2018
There are some interesting similarities between the Earth and an egg. This post takes a few measurements to discover how accurate that model really is.
Getting to the Point
Posted in Android, Techniques on Mar 13, 2018
Virtually all Android mobile devices have a a magnetic field sensor (or magnetometer). So why would developing a compass control be so challenging? Take a quick peek under the hood and find out.
The Cooperative Geodatabase
Posted in ArcGIS, Business, Database on Aug 13, 2017
What, exactly, is an enterprise GIS? This post provides an overview and links to a SpherAware whitepaper that describes an ArcGIS security innovation for business environments.
A Foundry Foundation
Posted in Business on Jun 15, 2017
What does molten metal have to do with GIS? This post looks back at a work experience that helped form a solid foundation for geometry, troubleshooting, information systems and business.
What is GIS?
Posted in Geography on Jan 01, 2017
What is GIS? This article kicks off the blog with a philosophical look at the root meaning of GIS and what it really involves.