Satnav maker TomTom joins forces with Microsoft in location services

DutchNews, December 16, 2016

Amsterdam-based navigation software producer TomTom and Microsoft are to join forces to bring enterprise-grade location-based services to Microsoft’s Azure platform, based on TomTom’s maps, traffic and navigation software. 

TomTom plans to integrate its services into Azure to make it easier and more flexible for developers to build and manage enterprise, mobile, web and ‘internet of things’ applications that are location-aware, TomTom said in a statement.

‘Location is fast becoming a critical component of a broad range of applications and services. Teaming up with Microsoft will bring our technology to a much broader developer community on a platform they are already familiar with,’ said Harold Goddijn, TomTom’s CEO. 

‘The move strengthens our position. Potentially we can reach a much broader public,” Goddijn told the Financieele Dagblad. He added it will take some time for the partnership to have a clear impact on the the company’s revenues. 

Location based services from TomTom are essential in the development of self-driving cars. These services include the most up-to-date maps, real-time traffic information and traffic-avoiding navigation.

Google to buy satellite company Skybox Imaging

Google is to buy Skybox Imaging, a California-based satellite company. Google’s online maps will benefit the most from the purchase, which could also facilitate Internet access in remote locations.

Deutsche Welle, 10 June 2014

The world's top search engine announced on Tuesday plans to purchase Skybox Imaging, a five-year-old satellite company situated right up the road from the Internet giant. The deal was reportedly worth $500 million (369 million euros).

"We've agreed to acquire Skybox Imaging, and we look forward to welcoming them to Google," a statement from the Internet giant said.

"Their satellites will help keep our maps accurate with up-to-date imagery. Over time, we also hope that Skybox's team and technology will be able to help improve Internet access and disaster relief - areas Google has long been interested in," it added.

Skybox, for its part, expressed its enthusiasm over the scheduled acquisition on its website on Tuesday.

"Skybox and Google…believe in making information (especially accurate geospatial information) accessible and useful," the satellite company said, adding that it looked forward to the partnership which might include building more satellites.

"The time is right to join a company who can challenge us to think even bigger and bolder, and who can support us in accelerating our ambitious vision," it added.

Google in orbit

Skybox's satellite already in orbit will reportedly supplement Google's images of the earth distributed through its popular map function "Google Maps." The Internet giant currently relies on other companies, including DigitalGlobe and Astrium, for its geospatial information.

In the future, Google might also use satellites to provide better Internet access across the globe.

The deal, whose date has not yet been released, is pending approval from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Federal Communications Commission.

The announcement on Tuesday comes less than two months of Google bought drone manufacturer Titan Aerospace. The Internet giant is also in the process of developing Project Loon, which aims to transmit the Internet to remote locations via large, high-altitude balloons.

kms/se (AP, AFP, Reuters)

'iNakba' app finds former Palestinian towns in Israel

Yahoo – AFP, May 6, 2014

'iNakba' app finds former Palestinian
towns in Israel (AFP)

Jerusalem (AFP) - An Israeli NGO is on Monday launching a smartphone app that allows users to find the remains of Palestinian villages that now lie inside modern-day Israel.

The launch is timed to coincide with Israel's 66th independence day, which begins at sundown, when the Palestinians remember the "Nakba" or "catastrophe" that befell them when Israel came into existence in 1948, and 760,000 of them fled or were forced into exile.

"iNakba" features an interactive map and photos of buildings and houses that Palestinians fled during the fighting which erupted after Israel declared itself independent.

"Many Palestinians have difficulty locating their home towns and villages (in Israel and the West Bank), because cities or Jewish settlements have been built on top of them," said Raneen Jeries of Zochrot, the NGO that developed the app.

"There's a file on each of hundreds of Palestinian villages or cities, and you can find information and see old and new user-uploaded photos about the locality," she told AFP.

Zochrot, based in Tel Aviv, campaigns for Israelis to recognise the right of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes, along with their descendants.

The right of return for Palestinian refugees has long been a key sticking point in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the latest round of which collapsed in late April after nine months of apparently fruitless negotiations.

Israel fears that any flexibility on the issue would open the floodgates to millions of refugees, which would pose a demographic threat to the "Jewish and democratic character" of the state.

Palestinians mark Nakba Day every year on May 15.

"Our aim is to make Israeli Jews aware of the Nakba, which uprooted hundreds of thousands of Palestinians," said Liat Rosenberg, director of Zochrot.

Palestinians in the diaspora can "follow" their own villages to watch for new information or pictures posted by those who are able to visit them inside Israel, Jeries said.

"Refugees living in Lebanon, for example, can follow their village and each time someone uploads a photo of it or writes a comment, they'll see an update."

Zochrot uses maps from British Mandate Palestine (1920-1948) to locate the villages, Jeries said, and marks them on the interactive Google Maps-based app with virtual "pins".

Rosenberg admitted iNakba might not have the desired impact on most Israeli Jews, but insisted that "left-leaning Israelis will be interested in the app".