Spaced Out :: 02 2007

Some MA Students at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design have generated a “walk-time” map between stations on the London Underground. A nice little project and, as they state, nearly all stations are less than 10 minutes apart which makes it easier to walk.

An interesting news item this week shows that Microsoft has licensed Intermaps NextMap Great Britain for Virtual Earth. I have used NextMap quite a lot in my research and also look at the quality of the product (Geomorphology paper) and, nationally, its currently the best DEM around. So its quite interesting (and exciting!) that such a product can find its way into everyday used.

Well it had been on the cards since the the AGI took over the exhibition from CMP after the 2003 show at Earls Court, but now its “official”. From a recent email:

“In response to feedback, the residential conference format will not include a large-scale public exhibition as in previous years”

Which in “normal speak” means “we’ve canned the exhibition and gone back to the conference only and, to save money, we’ll hold it at the cheapest venue we could find.” Its a shame because the exhibition has been a valuable part of the GI industry in the UK. Certainly the Solutions Centres that I have been involved in have been enjoyable experiences. The last CMP organised Solutions Centre was a huge success. Neither of the Chelsea exhibitions were successful, due mainly to the appalling show space at Chelsea. The Design Centre in Islington was a brilliant venue but the footfall disappointingly low. The AGI should see this as a major failing; whether this is their fault is a mute point. Maybe footfall was decreasing anyway…

Anyway, I can’t help but think that ditching the exhibition is destroying the community (thanks Ken) rather than “Building a GeoCommunity” (conference theme!).

Thankfully there are others out there that believe that there really is very little place for sat nav in this world (see earlier blog). Maybe just interstellar travel….

As has been quite widely reported (and first in The Daily Mail), the sleepy village of Exton, Hampshire, is the first in the country to have a “Do not follow sat nav” sign. It could equally have read “Use your brain and save your wallet: buy a map”.

Another open day and another good article by Mike Baker on the price of a university degree. He notes the relief from the government with an increase in UCAS applications even after the introduction of top-up fees. This is good news for Tony Blair as, importantly, it shows that students are voting with their feet and going to university. However there are some interesting anomalies. More women, a drop in numbers in Wales/Northern Ireland and large gains in more vocational courses. A 35% increase in tourism for example (although this is probably against a lower base), against a 3.5% increase in geography.

At the end of the day then, the government wants us to take on board the (disputed) figure of an extra £400,000 over a graduates lifetime. However life is harder for the current generation (financially) and is it really worth the payback? A hard question for any 18 year old (or mature student for that matter) to answer, but ultimately comes back to whether they will be better off than their peers. I have a lot of sympathy with the current student crop; I never had to pay student fees and received a grant. I didn’t have the plethora of courses open to me that are available now. However, and I will harp back to this point, I did the subject I enjoyed and subsequently succeeded at it. So please, anyone wanting to go to university, do the same.