Geographic information system

A geographic information system (GIS), or geographical information system, is any

system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents data that are linked to
location. In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of cartography and database
technology. GIS systems are used in cartography, remote sensing, land surveying, utility
management, photogrammetry, geography, urban planning, emergency management,
navigation, and localized search engines.

Applications

GIS technology can be used for scientific investigations, resource management, asset
management, archaeology, environmental impact assessment, urban planning,
cartography, criminology, geographic history, marketing, logistics, prospectivity
mapping, and other purposes. For example, GIS might allow emergency planners to
easily calculate emergency response times (i.e. logistics) in the event of a natural disaster,
GIS might be used to find wetlands that need protection from pollution, or GIS can be
used by a company to site a new business location to take advantage of a previously
under-served market.

GIS techniques and technology

Modern GIS technologies use digital information, for which various digitized data
creation methods are used. The most common method of data creation is digitization,
where a hard copy map or survey plan is transferred into a digital medium through the
use of a computer-aided design (CAD) program, and geo-referencing capabilities. With
the wide availability of ortho-rectified imagery (both from satellite and aerial sources),
heads-up digitizing is becoming the main avenue through which geographic data is
extracted. Heads-up digitizing involves the tracing of geographic data directly on top of
the aerial imagery instead of by the traditional method of tracing the geographic form on
a separate digitizing tablet (heads-down digitizing).

Data representation

GIS data represents real objects (such as roads, land use, elevation) with digital data. Real
objects can be divided into two abstractions: discrete objects (a house) and continuous
fields (such as rainfall amount, or elevation). Traditionally, there are two broad methods
used to store data in a GIS for both abstractions: raster and vector. A new hybrid method
of storing data is point clouds, which combine three-dimensional points with RGB
information at each point, returning a "3D color image".

GIS developments
Many disciplines can benefit from GIS technology. An active GIS market has resulted in
lower costs and continual improvements in the hardware and software components of
GIS. These developments will, in turn, result in a much wider use of the technology[original
research?]
throughout science, government, business, and industry, with applications
including real estate, public health, crime mapping, national defense, sustainable
development, natural resources, landscape architecture, archaeology, regional and
community planning, transportation and logistics

Cartography or mapmaking is the study and practice of making maps or globes.

Photogrammetry the practice of determining the geometric properties of objects

from photographic images.

Global Positioning System

The Global Positioning System (GPS) is a space-based global navigation satellite
system that provides reliable location and time information in all weather and at all times
and anywhere on or near the Earth there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more
GPS satellites. It is maintained by the United States government and is freely accessible
by anyone with a GPS receiver.

GPS was created and realized by the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and was
originally based on and run with 24 satellites. It was established in 1973 to reduce the
large number of navigation aids and to overcome the limitations of previous navigation
systems.

Applications

GPS has become a widely used aid to navigation worldwide, and a useful tool for map-
making, land surveying, commerce, scientific uses, tracking and surveillance, and
hobbies such as geocaching and waymarking. The precise time reference provided by
GPS is used in many applications including the scientific study of earthquakes and as a
time synchronization source for cellular network protocols.

Basic concept of GPS

A GPS receiver calculates its position by precisely timing the signals sent by the GPS
satellites high above the Earth. Each satellite continually transmits messages which
include

• the time the message was transmitted

• precise orbital information (the ephemeris)
• the general system health and rough orbits of all GPS satellites (the almanac).
GPS tracking unit
A GPS tracking unit is a device that uses the Global Positioning System to determine the
precise location of a vehicle, person, or other asset to which it is attached and to record
the position of the asset at regular intervals. The recorded location data can be stored
within the tracking unit, or it may be transmitted to a central location data base, or
internet-connected computer, using a cellular (GPRS or SMS), radio, or satellite modem
embedded in the unit. This allows the asset's location to be displayed against a map
backdrop either in real time or when analysing the track later, using GPS tracking
software.

Google Earth

Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D
buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich
geographical content, save your toured places, and share with others.

Google
Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG, FWB: GGQ1) is a multinational public cloud
computing, Internet search, and advertising technologies corporation. Google hosts and
develops a number of Internet-based services and products,[5] and generates profit
primarily from advertising through its AdWords program.[2][6] The company was founded
by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, often dubbed the "Google Guys",[7][8][9][10] while the two
were attending Stanford University as Ph.D. candidates. It was first incorporated as a
privately held company on September 4, 1998, with its initial public offering to follow on
August 19, 2004. The company's stated mission from the outset was "to organize the
world's information and make it universally accessible and useful",[11] and the company's
unofficial slogan – coined by Google engineer Paul Buchheit – is Don't be evil.[12][13] In
2006, the company moved to their current headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Search engine
The Google web search engine is the company's most popular service.
Productivity tools

In addition to its standard web search services, Google has released over the years a
number of online productivity tools. Gmail, a free webmail service provided by Google,
was launched as an invitation-only beta program on April 1, 2004,[102] and became
available to the general public on February 7, 2007.[103]

List of Google products

This list of Google products includes all major desktop, mobile and online products
released or acquired by Google Inc. They are either a gold release, in beta development,
or part of the Google Labs initiative. This list also includes previous products, that have
either been merged, discarded or renamed. Features of products, such as Web Search
features, are not listed.

Desktop products
[edit] Standalone applications
AdWords Editor (Mac OS X, Windows 2000 SP3+/XP/Vista)
Desktop application to manage a Google AdWords account. The application
allows users to make changes to their account and advertising campaigns before
synchronizing with the online service.
Chrome (Windows XP/Vista/7, GNU/Linux, Mac OS X)
Web browser.
Desktop (Mac OS X, Windows 2000 SP3+/XP/Vista, Linux )
Desktop search application, that indexes e-mails, documents, music, photos,
chats, Web history and other files. It allows the installation of Google Gadgets.
Earth (Linux, Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP/Vista, iPhone)
Virtual 3D globe that uses satellite imagery, aerial photography and GIS from
Google's repository.
Gmail/Google Notifier (Mac OS X, Windows 2000/XP)
Alerts the user of new messages in their Gmail account.
Pack (Windows XP/Vista)
Collection of computer applications -- some Google-created, some not --
including Google Earth, Google Desktop, Picasa, Google Talk, and Google
Chrome.
Photos Screensaver
Slideshow screensaver as part of Google Pack, which displays images sourced
from a hard disk, or through RSS and Atom Web feeds.
Picasa (Mac OS X, Linux and Windows 2000/XP/Vista)
Photo organization and editing application, providing photo library options and
simple effects. Also includes Facial Recognition and GeoTagging features.
Picasa Web Albums Uploader (Mac OS X)
An application to upload images to the "Picasa Web Albums" service. It consists
of both an iPhoto plug-in and a stand-alone application.
Quick Search box (Windows, Mac OS X)
A search box, based on Quicksilver (software), which allows the user to easily
view installed applications or perform online searches.
Secure Access (Windows 2000/XP)
VPN client for Google WiFi users, whose equipment does not support WPA or
802.1x protocols
SketchUp (Mac OS X and Windows 2000/Windows XP)
Modelling application to sketch simple 3D structures for integration into Google
Earth.
Talk (Windows 2000/Windows XP/Server 2003/Vista)
Application for VoIP and instant messaging. It consists of both a service and a
client used to connect to the service, which uses the XMPP protocol.
Visigami (Mac OS X Leopard)
Image search application screen saver that searches files from Google Images,
Picasa and Flickr.
Pinyin Input Method (Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows Vista) (Google China)
Input Method Editor that is used to convert Chinese Pinyin characters, which can
be entered on Western-style keyboards, to Chinese characters.

• Japanese Input (Windows XP SP2+/Windows Vista SP1+/Windows 7 and Mac

OS X Leopard+) (Google Japan)

Japanese Input Method Editor.

Google Indic Input Method (Windows 2000/Windows XP/Windows Vista) (Google
India)
Input Method Editor that is used to convert Indic characters, which can be entered
on Western-style keyboards, to Indian Language characters.

[edit] Desktop extensions

These products created by Google are extensions to software created by other

organizations.

Blogger Web Comments (Firefox only)

Displays related comments from other Blogger users.
Dashboard Widgets for Mac (Mac OS X Dashboard Widgets)
Collection of mini-applications including Gmail, Blogger and Search History.
Gears (Google Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari)
A browser plug-in that enables development of off-line browser applications.
Send to Mobile (Firefox) (Discontinued)
Allows users to send text messages to their mobile phone (US only) about web
content.
Toolbar (Firefox and Internet Explorer)
Web browser toolbar with features such as a Google Search box, phishing
protection, pop-up blocker as well as the ability for website owners to create
buttons.
Mobile products
[edit] Online mobile products

These products can be accessed through a browser on a mobile device.

Blogger Mobile
Only available on some US networks. Allows you to update your Blogger blog
from a mobile device.
Buzz
Buzz is a social networking service built into Gmail. It was released on February
9th, 2010.
Calendar
Displays a list of all Google Calendar events on a mobile device. Users are able to
quickly add events to your personal calendar.
Gmail
Access a Gmail account from a mobile device using a standard mobile web
browser. Alternatively, Google provides a specific mobile application to access
and download Gmail messages quicker.
News
Allows the user to access Google News in a mobile-optimized view.
Google Mobilizer (http://www.google.com/gwt/x, also available as a preference of
Google Mobile)
Optimizes web pages for mobile web browsers.
iGoogle
Mobile version of iGoogle that can be easily customised with modules.
Product Search
Updated version of the previous Froogle Mobile that allows users to easily search
for information about a product.
Reader
Displays Google Reader on a mobile device.
Mobile search
Search web pages, images, local listings and mobile-specific web pages through
the Google search engine. Mobile view is enabled by default.
Picasa Web Albums
Lets you view and share photo albums that you have stored online on Picasa.
Google Latitude
Google Latitude is a mobile geolocation tool that lets your friends know where
you are via Google Maps.
Google Maps Navigation
An Android navigation application for GPS-enabled mobile devices (such as the
Google Nexus One) with 3D views, turn-by-turn voice guidance and automatic
rerouting. It is currently available in the United States, Canada, UK, Ireland,
France, Italy, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Denmark, Austria, Switzerland and
Belgium.[1]
Android (operating system)
Android is Google's operating system for mobile devices. It is a competitor to Apple's
iOS for the iPhone and Microsoft's Windows Mobile for mobile devices.

OPhone
OPhone OS is a mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel. It is based on
technologies initially developed by Android Inc., a firm later purchased by Google, and
work done by the Open Handset Alliance.[3] It has been modified for local Chinese
markets by China Mobile's OPhone Software Developers Network.[4

History

OPhone OS is linux-based smartphone software platform developed by China Mobile and

based on the Android operating system developed by Google. OPhone OS bases on open
source software and mobile internet technologies. For end users, OPhone OS is intended
provide cheap, low frills, entry level smartphone access and a limited mobile internet
experience using China Mobile's proprietary TD-SCDMA network, and its GSM
network.

iPhone
The iPhone (pronounced /ˈaɪ.foʊn/, EYE-fohn) is a line of Internet and multimedia-
enabled smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was
introduced on January 9, 2007.[6]

An iPhone functions as a camera phone, including text messaging and visual voicemail, a
portable media player, and an Internet client, with e-mail, web browsing, and Wi-Fi
connectivity. The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including
a virtual keyboard rather than a physical one. Third-party applications are available from
the App Store, which launched in mid-2008 and now has well over 200,000 "apps"
approved by Apple. These apps have diverse functionalities, including games, reference,
GPS navigation, social networking, and advertising for television shows, films, and
celebrities

Google Chrome OS
Google Chrome OS is an upcoming open source[1] operating system designed by Google
to work exclusively with web applications.[2] Announced on July 7, 2009, Chrome OS is
set to have a publicly available stable release during the second half of 2010.[3]
The operating system is based on Linux and will not be available as a download to run
and install. Instead, Chrome OS is only shipping on specific hardware from
manufacturers Google has partnered with.[4] The user interface takes a minimalist
approach, resembling that of the Chrome web browser. As a browser incorporating a
media player[5] will be the only application residing on the device,[1] Google Chrome OS
is aimed at users who spend most of their computer time on the Internet.[6][7][8]