From warmerdam at pobox.com Fri Sep 5 09:19:36 2008 From: warmerdam at pobox.com (Frank Warmerdam) Date: Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:19:36 -0400 Subject: [OSGeo-Announce] 52North Newsletter / ILWIS 3.5 Open Released Message-ID: <48C15C18.7050004@pobox.com> A year ago, ITC?s Integrated Land and Water Information System (ILWIS) successfully migrated to the open source scene with ILWIS 3.4 Open. Since then it has enjoyed increasing use in the open source community. We have registered 20,000 hits in one year! An increasingly active community has just brought out a new release ? ILWIS 3.5 Open. This release provides a more flexible, easy to install, powerful, PC-based GIS and Remote Sensing software package. 52North Newsletter - Issue 1: http://52north.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=243&Itemid=148 Newsletter topics: 1. ILWIS 3.5 Open 2. SOS passes OGC compliancy test 3. SPS is OGC compliant 4. OX-Framework supports new OGC Web Service types 5. new WPS release candidates 6. new cooperation partners 7. new repositories From tmitchell at osgeo.org Wed Sep 17 15:32:57 2008 From: tmitchell at osgeo.org (Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo)) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:32:57 -0700 Subject: [OSGeo-Announce] Landmark Geospatial Conference Coming to Cape Town Message-ID: <00A534B5-1B0D-4E7B-8AB3-10A7F55C4673@osgeo.org> Landmark Geospatial Conference Coming to Cape Town Cape Town, South Africa, September 8, 2008 ? The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) (http://www.osgeo.org) and the Geographic Information Society of South Africa (GISSA) (http:// www.gissa.org.za) announce the 2008 Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) Conference incorporating GISSA 2008 (http:// www.foss4g2008.org) September 29 - October 3, 2008 at Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town, South Africa. Around 500 software programmers, Government officials, business people and technology experts will be converging on Cape Town to attend the 2008 international Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial conference. 'Geospatial' describes the combination of spatial (mapping) software and analytical methods that use geographic data. The theme of the conference is "Open Source Geospatial: an option for developing countries", providing a platform for industry members to explore and debate issues around the application of the technology for developing countries. Ed Parsons, Chief of Geospatial Technology at Google, will be the Keynote Speaker. Most of those attending the conference use geospatial software to perform a wide variety of tasks. They create and share maps, build online mapping sites, analyse satellite imagery data to calculate flood zones, plan housing and infrastructure developments, support planning for the 2010 World Cup, map archaeological finds and coordinate tsunami relief efforts. This year?s conference is sponsored by local and international organisations such as Autodesk, Google, Geographic Information Management Systems (GIMS) and the South African State Information Technology Agency (SITA) and will be attended by delegates from over 50 countries. Delegates will be coming to Cape Town to share their expertise and to have a debate about the role of open source software in countries where the cost of proprietary software is taking up substantial portions of their budgets. Open Source software (http://www.opensource.org) is a form of collaborative programming and knowledge sharing that allows a global community of programmers to pool their efforts and build software systems. The resulting software is often available for free, or at a cost far less than proprietary software. This affects many industries, including computer mapping, otherwise known as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). FOSS4G will be an ideal opportunity for the geospatial industry to kickstart planning and implementation of the South African Government Open Source policy, approved by Cabinet in February 2007 (http://www.oss.gov.za), including procurement policies and local skills development. In addition to presentations and hands-on software classes throughout the week, there will be an OpenStreetMap (http:// www.openstreetmap.org) mapping party to map Cape Town's streets on Sunday the 28th. An education outreach programme has been developed to assist teachers to learn about GIS as it is now part of the high school geography curriculum. The conference is open to anyone with an interest in mapping and geospatial technology, and special rates are provided for students at tertiary institutions. The opportunity to host FOSS4G, the premier international FOSS GIS conference, was won in an international bid and South Africa is honoured to be welcoming local and international visitors for an event that is a landmark for South Africa and the continent. -------- Contact: Gavin Fleming, Conference Chair: Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial 2008 (FOSS4G 2008), incorporating GISSA 2008. tel: +27-11-7094668 gavinf at mintek.co.za http://www.foss4g2008.org From tmitchell at osgeo.org Wed Sep 17 15:51:25 2008 From: tmitchell at osgeo.org (Tyler Mitchell (OSGeo)) Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2008 15:51:25 -0700 Subject: [OSGeo-Announce] New OSGeo President and Board Election Results Message-ID: <4EEFFD79-967E-46D2-93C6-EE0B5ABD4111@osgeo.org> The Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo) recently added two new directors to its board and updated its officer positions, including a new President. New President The OSGeo Board of Directors selected Arnulf Christl as its new President. Mr. Christl brings years of experience in the geospatial industry, including a strong perspective on the use of free and open source software within a business context through his company WhereGroup in Bonn, Germany. He has served on OSGeo's Board from its inception and been involved in several aspects from Marketing to Web management as well as in leading the Mapbender web mapping project. He is committed to seeing OSGeo continue its global advocacy efforts to help organizations continue to adopt free and open source solutions across all domains. He explains, "I'm pleased to be able to help in my new role as OSGeo President. I have three main goals on my personal agenda. First, further support for emerging local chapters, encouraging them to develop meetings/conferences that complement our global FOSS4G effort. Second, improve our support for businesses using and supporting Open Source Geospatial software. Our organization is now so strong and healthy that we need to tell the world about it in the press and at conferences. Third, and most challenging, bridging the extremes of proprietary businesses and thorough grassroots volunteerism. If it is possible, then OSGeo is the organization capable of bridging this gap." New Treasurer After two years in the position, Frank Warmerdam stepped down as President to focus on others aspects of the organization and to make space for new ideas and vision in the leadership role. He was chosen as the new Treasurer of OSGeo, taking over from Dave McIlhagga who held the position previously. Mr. Warmerdam describes the change, "I really enjoyed being President and am thrilled with the progress we've made. Arnulf's enthusiasm and experience make him a ideal President. I have been interested in helping more on the financial management side of the organisation, so it's great to be able to do so in the official role as Treasurer." As a leader of the GDAL/OGR Project, Mr. Warmerdam has been closely tied to the finances of OSGeo, collecting over $30,000 (USD) in sponsorships for that project. He will help to streamline financial processes and oversee financial reporting, while working alongside the current Finance Committee. New Board In July, 2008, elections for 4 (out of 9) Board of Director positions were completed. The results saw two new directors join and two others re-elected to previously expired positions. The new board consists of: Robert (Bob) Bray (USA) Howard Butler (USA) - New director Arnulf Christl (Germany) - Re-elected Ari Jolma (Finland) - New director Markus Neteler (Italy) Paul Ramsey (Canada) Jeroen Ticheler (The Netherlands) Jo Walsh (Spain) Frank Warmerdam (Canada) - Re-elected About the Open Source Geospatial Foundation The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to support and promote the collaborative development of open geospatial technologies and data. The Foundation provides financial, organizational and legal support to the broader open source geospatial community. It also serves as an independent legal entity to which community members can contribute code, funding and other resources, secure in the knowledge that their contributions will be maintained for public benefit. OSGeo also serves as an outreach and advocacy organization for the open source geospatial community, and provides a common forum and shared infrastructure for improving cross-project collaboration. The Foundation's projects are all freely available and useable under an OSI-certified open source license. ------ Contact: Tyler Mitchell, Executive Director, OSGeo Email: tmitchell at osgeo.org From warmerdam at pobox.com Tue Sep 23 09:09:09 2008 From: warmerdam at pobox.com (Frank Warmerdam) Date: Tue, 23 Sep 2008 12:09:09 -0400 Subject: [OSGeo-Announce] Request for Proposal for Hosting 2010 Conference Message-ID: <48D914A5.6050406@pobox.com> The Open Source Geospatial Foundation, or OSGeo, today released a request for proposal, or RFP, (available at http://www.osgeo.org/conference/rfp) for the hosting of the FOSS4G 2010 conference. Only days away from the exciting FOSS4G 2008 event in Cape Town South Africa (http://www.foss4g2008.org/), and with preparations well underway for FOSS4G 2009 in Sydney Australia, OSGeo again aims for the 2010 conference to be a major geospatial conference during that year. The RFP solicitation closes December 1st, 2008. -- OSGeo Conference Committee