Eric D. Colburn, PLS

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: Autodesk Announces AutoCAD for Mac and AutoCAD WS App for iPad and iPhone

SAN RAFAEL, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, announced AutoCAD for Mac software. This version of AutoCAD, one of the most widely used software for professional design and engineering, runs natively on Mac OS X and will increase choice of hardware for millions of users around the world. Autodesk also announced the AutoCAD WS mobile application, a new app for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch that will allow users to edit and share their AutoCAD designs in the field.

“Apple is thrilled that Autodesk is bringing AutoCAD back to the Mac and we think it’s the perfect combination for millions of design and engineering professionals”

“The release of AutoCAD for Mac marks the return of professional design and engineering software to the Mac platform and an important convergence of power and design. Over 5000 customers have helped develop this product through our beta program and they are delighted to have the choice of a native Mac version of AutoCAD,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Autodesk Platform Solutions and Emerging Business. “The combination of this new version of AutoCAD and the extension of AutoCAD to iPad, iPhone and iPod touch is a big step in Autodesk’s efforts to accelerate design and make design more accessible for an ever-greater number of people so they can shape the world around them.”

“Apple is thrilled that Autodesk is bringing AutoCAD back to the Mac and we think it’s the perfect combination for millions of design and engineering professionals,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “The AutoCAD WS app is a bold new idea, a mobile version of industry-leading design software for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, the world’s most innovative mobile devices.”

AutoCAD for Mac Built for Mac OS X Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-Leica Geosystems Introduces SpiderWeb v4.0–Value Added Web Services for GNSS Networks

(Heerbrugg, 18. August 2010) Leica Geosystems is pleased to announce Leica SpiderWeb v4.0 as part of the new reference station software update that also includes Leica GNSS Spider v4.0 and Leica SpiderQC v4.0. SpiderWeb v4.0 features an all-new Business Center web portal combined for SpiderWeb and GNSS Spider Network RTK Services and the unique Coordinate Computation Service has been further enhanced.

Leica SpiderWeb is a software solution for the convenient presentation of GNSS network and data over the internet. It provides efficient and secure access to data for post processing. Value added services assist with the convenient distribution and use of GNSS data sets from individual stations or networks to users through standard web browsers.

New Spider Business Center – Innovative GNSS service web portal Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-Leica Geosystems Updates its GNSS Quality Control and Data Analysis Software

(Heerbrugg, 16 August 2010) Leica Geosystems is pleased to announce Leica SpiderQC v4.0 as part of the new reference station software update that also includes Leica GNSS Spider and Leica SpiderWeb. SpiderQC (previously known as GNSS QC) adds a range of advanced features for multi-frequency, multi-GNSS data analysis, visualization, and numerous other new features, improvements, and optimizations.

SpiderQC provides a suite of tools to help select the best location for reference stations, perform quality control of the reference station data, detect site movements and visualize and monitor the integrity of single base and network RTK corrections in real time.

Galileo and multi-frequency data processing Read the rest of this entry →

Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News-European Environment Agency and Esri Put Map Service in Cloud

August 17, 2010

Redlands, California—The European Environment Agency (EEA) and Esri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU). The agreement supports the design and development of ways to share and access essential geographic environmental data provided by the agency’s 38 European member countries.

EEA, which already uses Esri’s geographic information system (GIS) products, will now work closely with Esri to improve the agency’s cloud environment map services. European countries will share their environmental data more easily, while nations, agencies, scientists, and policy makers will be able to quickly access and consume the data for viewing and analysis.

“Our partnership with Esri provides us with innovative solutions to reach out to our key stakeholders and present them with timely and relevant information as they need it,” said Jacquie McGlade, EEA’s executive director. “The agency will now also be able to work directly with citizens in the coproduction of knowledge via open access to data, creation of personalized maps, and simple ways of sharing data among social networks. The two-way exchange of knowledge and expertise between Esri and the EEA underlines just how business and the public sector can work well together to build answers for tomorrow’s challenges.”

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The Professional Land Surveyor Podcast (PLSP)

Shownotes – Episode 3
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AutoCAD Civil 3D With Two Drawings Open

In today’s AutoCAD Civil 3D Surveying Quick Tips and Tricks I will show you Using Layer Source From Other DWGs When Creating Styles. This technique helps you speed up the creation of AutoCAD Civil 3D Styles by using already created layers from your other AutoCAD Civil 3D drawings and templates.

The Problem:

You are creating new styles in an AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template and in doing so you want to speed up the process of assigning Layers to the new point style; let’s say for display, for example. If the layer is not already in your AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template you have to create that layer (and its settings), which is either cumbersome through the Style Editor, or you need to exit the Style Editor to do it using the Layer Manager.

Either way, it requires a certain amount of manual input and risks inconsistencies between drawings and templates.

Two things we’re trying to accomplish are:

1. Work faster by select an existing Layer from another AutoCAD Civil 3D drawing or template to use in creating Styles.
2. Maintain Layer consistency.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 Update 3.1 is Available for Download

Autodesk has released its AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 Update 3.1. This update fixes or addresses a variety of issues discovered by customers and by Autodesk’s internal testing team.

Read the “Read Me” File, it’s recommended and helpful, too

The updates and fixes are too numerous to list here, but if you follow the link below and look at the Read Me file, you can investigate the issues Autodesk has resolved with AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 that may have been causing you problems.

As recommended by Autodesk, you should also read the ENTIRE Read Me file to understand the installation and use of this update before you apply the update to your AutoCAD Civil 3D 2010 product.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News Trimble Unveils State-of-the-Art Mobile Spatial Imaging System

The Trimble MX8 System Combines Leading Imaging and Laser Scanning Capabilities in
an Integrated System for Mobile Mapping

SUNNYVALE, Calif., July 13, 2010 —Trimble (NASDAQ: TRMB) introduced today the Trimble® MX8 Mobile Spatial Imaging System, an advanced mobile data capture system that combines imaging and laser scanning capabilities to measure objects in 3D to produce 3D, 4D and 5D data sets for spatial imaging projects. The new Trimble MX8 Mobile Spatial Imaging System expands the scope of services that surveyors, engineers, mapping and geospatial professionals can offer to enhance their business. The system is ideal for as-built modeling, inventory, inspection, encroachment analysis, and asset management for roadways, bridges, railways, utilities, and other infrastructure.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News Adapx GIS Data Collection for GeoPDF, ESRI MapIt, & Mobile Devices

Adapx Introduces New Capturx GIS Data Collection Solutions for GeoPDF, ESRI MapIt, and Mobile Devices at ESRI User Conference

Handwritten data on paper maps and forms instantly scanned and sent to ArcGIS, GeoPDF files, and ESRI MapIt-enabled SharePoint lists using digital pens, Bluetooth and mobile devices

Seattle, 12 July 2010. Adapx, the company that is changing the way mobile teams collect data and collaborate, today announced new Capturx GIS solutions enabling field teams to instantly send georeferenced data collected on paper forms and maps into ArcGIS, GeoPDF files, and ESRI MapIt-enabled SharePoint lists using digital pens, Bluetooth, and mobile devices. The new solutions, along with Capturx for ArcGIS and Capturx Multimodal for ArcGIS, will be featured in the Defense and Intelligence Showcase at the ESRI 2010 User Conference in San Diego on 12-15 July.

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Professional Land Surveyor News

Professional Land Surveyor News: NOAA Releases Real-Time RTK Guidelines

This is a press release published by NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) with important information for professional land surveyors who are using Real-Time GNSS positioning.

NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) recently announced the approval and release of a document titled “National Geodetic Survey User Guidelines for Single Base Real-Time GNSS Positioning.” The guidelines provide definitive criteria to achieve various specific tiers of precision, with high confidence, using global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). Due to the plethora of variables associated with Real-Time GNSS positioning (RT), a consistent Read the rest of this entry →