[Geowanking] FW: Licensing image catalog ID 10100100018E8E01

Tue Aug 1 12:27:24 PDT 2006

I'm former DG, and there were *endless* debates internally about  
where DG saw itself in the marketplace. The eventual consensus was  
that DG would focus on producing raw materials (pixels), and cede the  
"value-add" market (like consumer-focused web consumption) to those  
that were interested. Google was the first one to step up, and  
exclusivity was a big part of the contract negotiations.

GlobeXplorer (http://www.globexplorer.com/) is another commercial  
provider that you might want to look into. They really seem to "get  
it" when it comes to rasters via the web. They offer OGC/WMS access  
to their catalog on a metered basis (in addition to more traditional  
discrete purchase/download), and resell pixels from many other  
producers (GeoEye, AirPhotoUSA, et al) in addition to DG. From what I  
can see, they have 1m AirPhotoUSA pixels from 2000. I don't know  
about the size of your budget, but you can always contract with these  
companies directly to fly specific AOIs for you if they don't have it  
in their catalog.

It sounds like you are interested in hi res stuff, but there is  
always medium res LandSat to fall back on -- http://www.hawaii.gov/ 
dbedt/gis/data/landsat_meta.htm . Terraserver-usa (http:// 
www.terraserver-usa.com/) has hi res of only the continental US, but  
at least they have topos of Hawaii. I don't know if USGS flew Hawaii,  
but if they did the imagery should be free, albeit a bit dated (late  
1990s, early 2000s).

If you haven't already, I'd start looking into state/city/county  
gov't sources (Department of Transportation, Department of  
Agriculture, local USGS offices) or University departments (GIS/Civil  
Engineering/Ag) to see if they have any offerings. If so, they might  
actually be gratis. NASA might have some hidden gems as well.

http://goes.higp.hawaii.edu/hawaii/
http://satftp.soest.hawaii.edu/space/hawaii/navnew/navigator.html
http://satftp.soest.hawaii.edu/space/hawaii/index_orig.html

HTH,
s

Scott Davis
scott at davisworld.org

On Aug 1, 2006, at 12:48 PM, Ben Discoe wrote:

> FYI..
>
> It appears that Google licensed ALL of DigitalGlobe's imagery on an
> _exclusive_ basis for online presentation.  So if i wanted to do  
> something
> on a website, with DigitalGlobe's hi-res imagery, for example if  
> the Google
> Maps framework isn't flexible enough, i cannot legally go around  
> Google to
> license the image myself!  I can imagine why Google did this - to  
> prevent
> Microsoft,Mapquest etc. from licensing the same imagery in their  
> webmapping
> frameworks - but the net effect is that ordinary people, NGOs and  
> small
> companies are also cut off.
>
> This seems to skirt the edge of 'do no evil'.
>
> I thought it was interesting and friendly, that DigitalGlobe openly  
> referred
> me to their competitor GeoEye (Space Imaging Ikonos/OrbImage OrbView).
>
> In this particular case, DigitalGlobe (QuickBird) has the only hi-res
> cloud-free image in existence for my part of the world (Hawaii).  So i
> cannot go to any other source.
>
> -Ben
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: DigitalGlobe Customer Service [mailto:info at digitalglobe.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 5:13 AM
> To: Ben Discoe
> Subject: RE: Licensing image catalog ID 10100100018E8E01
>
> Hi Ben,
>
> You are correct in what you say below.  Google has signed an exclusive
> agreement with us to display our full-resolution imagery on the web.
> There are a few exceptions - for instance media and state  
> government - but
> this is a rule that is even stated in our licenses.
>
> If you intend to use the imagery on your website, I would suggest  
> contacting
> GeoEye as they might be able to provide you with the data you seek.
>
> Best,
> Brock
>
> Brock Adam McCarty
> Sales Engineer
> Commercial Business Unit
>
> DigitalGlobe, Inc.
> 1601 Dry Creek Dr., #260
> Longmont, CO 80503
>
> Office: (303) 684-4323
> Cell: (720) 470-7988
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ben Discoe [mailto:ben at vterrain.org]
> Sent: Tuesday, August 01, 2006 12:13 AM
> To: DigitalGlobe Customer Service
> Subject: RE: Licensing image catalog ID 10100100018E8E01
>
> Hi Brock,
>
>> Our agreement with Google Earth does not allow for imagery to be
>> posted to the web with less than 10-meter resolution.
>
> That's a bit mysterious then.  Using either Google Earth or Google  
> Maps, one
> can easily zoom into Hawaii to sub-meter resolution.  The imagery  
> displayed
> on our part of the island is definitely the DigitalGlobe scene i  
> mentioned
> (catalog ID 10100100018E8E01) at 0.6 meter resolution.
>
> For example, geocoding my house:
> http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=46-4091+old+mamalahoa+hwy, 
> +honokaa+H
> I 
> +96727&ie=UTF8&t=k&om=1&ll=20.054611,-155.507349&spn=0.004062,0.005611
>
> You can see the high resolution, and at the bottom of the window it  
> confirms
> "Imagery (C) 2006 DigitalGlobe".
>
> The exact same imagery appears in Google Earth.
>
> Could you possibly send me the price list?
>
> Thanks,
> Ben
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: DigitalGlobe Customer Service [mailto:info at digitalglobe.com]
> Sent: Monday, July 31, 2006 2:13 PM
> To: Ben Discoe
> Subject: RE: Licensing image catalog ID 10100100018E8E01
>
> Hi Ben,
>
> Thanks for the information below.
>
> I must have forgotten to attach the price list.
>
> Regardless, I was not aware of the intended use for the imagery.  Our
> agreement with Google Earth does not allow for imagery to be posted  
> to the
> web with less than 10-meter resolution.  As such, I do not think  
> our imagery
> is really going to meet your needs.
>
> As you are a non-profit, you might be able to convince Google to  
> allow for
> this application.  I do not have a contact at Google I work with so  
> this
> might be a challenge to pull off.
>
> Best,
> Brock
>
>
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