The Harlow Report-GIS
2025 Edition
ISSN 0742-468XSince 1978
On-line Since 2000
GIS News Snippets
For the week of
August 4, 2025
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A “Harlow Report” From Aug 5, 2024
How GIS Is Transforming Municipal Property Management
by Vuyo Mazabane
By delivering accurate, up-to-date information, GIS empowers local governments to make informed decisions, says Vuyo Mazabane, client consultant at AfriGIS.
Geographic information systems (GIS) technology is revolutionising municipal property management globally. By delivering accurate, up-to-date information, GIS empowers local governments to make informed decisions.
Mapping technology helps identify state-owned land, track property ownership changes and streamline planning and revenue collection. For South African municipalities struggling to overcome service delivery challenges and meet infrastructure development needs, the technology provides a reliable solution for improving efficiency and accountability.
One of the key benefits of mapping technology is its ability to precisely identify state-owned land. This is vital for municipalities when planning infrastructure and housing developments. By pinpointing the exact locations of state-owned land, municipalities can effectively plan residential areas, converting informal settlements into formal neighbourhoods with essential infrastructure such as government subsidised RDP houses, roads and utilities.
Read full story at ITWeb…
Now back to 2025
How UAB Protects and Preserves Its Nationally Recognized Urban Forest
by Owais Sultan
Improve security in your React app with geolocation-based authentication, adding a strong layer beyond passwords to prevent unauthorised access.
Summary
Geolocation-based authentication in React apps adds a layer of security beyond passwords by analyzing GPS coordinates, IP addresses, and network information.
This approach helps identify compromised credentials and unusual login patterns, enhancing fraud prevention and incident response. React's component-based architecture facilitates seamless integration of geolocation features, balancing security with usability and performance.
Read full story at HackRead…
Introducing Bridge Files
by Overture Maps Blog
Bridge Files Make Overture Onboarding Easier
Summary
Overture Maps, launched on June 25, 2025, aims to simplify geospatial data usage with its Global Entity Reference System (GERS). To enhance connectivity, Overture introduced bridge files, linking seven source datasets to Overture themes via GERS identifiers. These files support three key use cases: onboarding, data enrichment, and transparency.
Onboarding: Bridge files act as join tables, enabling users already connected to source datasets (e.g., Meta's Facebook page IDs) to integrate with Overture data effortlessly. A simple query, like using DuckDB, joins source IDs to GERS IDs, streamlining data integration for applications like adtech.
Data Enrichment: Users of Overture data can leverage bridge files to access source datasets, such as querying Meta's Graph API for restaurant ratings using Meta IDs, enhancing apps like restaurant finders.
Transparency: Bridge files reveal how Overture conflates multiple datasets (e.g., OpenStreetMap, Esri) into its six themes, clarifying data origins. While some datasets lack identifiers (e.g., Google, Microsoft Buildings), bridge files ensure portability across ID ecosystems, avoiding lock-in.
Read full story at Overture Maps…
Stellantis Partners With 4screen for Location-Based In-Car Services
by GlobalData
Drivers can customise their preferences to filter points of interest based on location and context, ensuring that the information provided is relevant to their specific trip.
Stellantis has announced a collaboration with driver interaction platform 4screen to incorporate real-time, location-based digital services into its portfolio of vehicle brands. This alliance aims to offer Stellantis customers an intuitive in-car experience across the key North American and European markets.
The 4screen platform will be integrated into certain FIAT, Jeep, and Ram models equipped with Uconnect 4 or Uconnect 5 systems. This service enables drivers to access nearby services, offers, and points of interest directly from the vehicle's infotainment system, with additional Stellantis brands set to join as the deployment expands.
Read full story at MSN…
What UAV Pilots Need to Know About GIS Deliverables
by Matt Collins
As veterans in the UAV industry will know, we are long past the point where being able to simply fly your drone is enough to sustain a successful business in today’s world.
Summary
Understanding Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is crucial for UAV pilots, especially as the industry evolves and competition increases. While not required to be GIS experts, pilots should have a basic knowledge of GIS to provide valuable deliverables to clients.
This includes understanding georeferencing, file formats, and metadata, ensuring data accuracy and integration into existing GIS workflows.
While GIS might feel like a separate world from flying drones, the two are becoming increasingly connected, and that connection is only going to strengthen as more industries adopt geospatial tools. For pilots, having a foundational understanding of GIS isn't about replacing analysts or diving deep into software. It's about being able to provide data that integrates smoothly into the workflows your clients already use, and to understand enough of their expectations to deliver value beyond the flight itself.
Read full story at Commercial UAV News…
Why You Should Use Geolocation in Your React App's Authentication Process
by Owais Sultan
Improve security in your React app with geolocation-based authentication, adding a strong layer beyond passwords to prevent unauthorised access.
Summary
Geolocation-based authentication in React apps adds a layer of security beyond passwords by analyzing GPS coordinates, IP addresses, and network information.
This approach helps identify compromised credentials and unusual login patterns, enhancing fraud prevention and incident response. React's component-based architecture facilitates seamless integration of geolocation features, balancing security with usability and performance.
Read full story at HackRead…
Industry News
In Government
Birmingham, AL Saves Millions With Recovery-Ready Data Backups
by Dominick Sorrentino
The Magic City consolidated its backups a few years ago and is now focusing on cloud migration to strengthen cyber resilience.
Listen (04:58)
On the morning of March 6, 2024, the city of Birmingham, AL, was hit with a ransomware attack.
“It was a day that will live in infamy,” says Birmingham CIO Darryl Burroughs. “The city completely came to a halt.”
Most of Birmingham's computer systems were knocked offline, forcing employees to use paper to submit timesheets and perform other functions. Some systems took days to achieve a full recovery.
The event disrupted business continuity, but there were two silver linings for Birmingham. First, the city had immutable backups of all of its data and could restore those backups quickly. As a result, it didn't have to respond to ransom demands. A few years prior to the breach, Burroughs and his team consolidated multiple backups into a single Veeam solution.
Read full story at StateTech…
FCC to Eliminate Gigabit Speed Goal and Scrap Analysis of Broadband Prices
by JON BRODKIN
Analysis of broadband affordability deemed “extraneous” by FCC chair.
Summary
The article describes the FCC's proposal to eliminate the requirement for universal broadband deployment and to abandon the long-term goal of gigabit broadband speeds. The FCC Chairman argues that these requirements are not explicitly mandated by the statute and could be seen as technologically biased.
Read full story at arsTechnica…
GSA Announces New Oracle OneGov Agreement
by Alexandra Kelley
Oracle's cloud and software license offerings will be available to federal agencies at a discounted rate.
The General Services Administration and Oracle unveiled a new agreement within the larger OneGov initiative Monday, giving government agencies a 75% discount when purchasing Oracle's license-based technology and access to its data management systems through November.
The agreement also eliminates fees associated with transferring data out of Oracle cloud storage to another provider, known as egress fees, allowing federal agencies to access Oracle's data migration and support credits to further enable government modernization.
Read full story at NextGov/FCW…
In Technology
Every I/O Connector for Your Desktop PC's Front Panel, Explained
by Jon Martindale
The worst part about building your own PC? Hooking up the front panel!
I'm a big proponent of DIY PC building and I tend to describe it as “relatively straightforward.” For the most part, everything just plugs in where it should. But there is one aspect of putting together a new computer that even I don't enjoy: the front panel I/O connectors.
The front panel is a bizarre array of USB headers, audio connectors, and push-button pins that are so fiddly and complicated, and often the cables only seem to just reach the motherboard spots where they need to go, so plugging them in can be a challenge. Plus, the connectors you need to plug in can vary depending on your PC case.
Unlike RAM and graphics cards, front panel I/O connections aren't so straightforward. Here's a quick breakdown of the different I/O connectors you're likely to see and what they all mean.
Read full story at PCWorld…
Google Assistant Is Basically on Life Support and Things Just Got Worse
by James Pero
Lots of Google Home users say they can't even turn their lights on or off right now
Summary
Google Assistant and Google Home are facing significant issues, with users reporting failures in controlling smart devices like lights, speakers, and cameras. Complaints on Reddit and X highlight persistent connectivity problems, despite Google's promises to fix them. This reflects a broader decline in voice assistant reliability, raising concerns about their future.
Read full story at Gizmodo…
Why ChatGPT is crushing Microsoft Copilot
by Chris Hoffman
When generative AI was just getting going, Microsoft had a healthy head start. So what happened?
Summary
Microsoft's Copilot AI assistant lags behind OpenAI's ChatGPT in mobile downloads, reflecting its struggles on Windows PCs. Despite Microsoft's early investment in OpenAI and the initial success of Bing Chat, Copilot's complex branding, lack of model transparency, and corporate tone have hindered its adoption.
While Copilot excels in Microsoft Office integration, competitors like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini dominate due to their advanced features and user preference. Microsoft's push to make Copilot a personable companion has faltered, and its reliance on OpenAI's tech limits differentiation. With strained ties to OpenAI and rising competition, Microsoft may need to develop its own AI models to regain ground, especially as users seek consistent AI tools for both work and home.
Read full story at Computerworld…
In Utilities
Oracle, Bloom Energy Strike Data Center Power DealOracle, Bloom Energy Strike Data Center Power Deal
by Sean Wolfe
Summary
Bloom Energy will deploy its fuel cell technology at select Oracle Cloud Infrastructure data centers in the U.S., providing onsite power within 90 days.
This partnership follows similar agreements with Equinix, AEP, and Quanta Computing, reflecting a growing trend towards onsite power generation in data centers due to grid connection delays and rising demand.
Read full story at PowerEngineering…
Reimagining the Grid for the 21st Century With Virtual Power Plants
by Richard Boehnke
Why should we pay for new utility power plants when VPPs can meet our grid's needs at far less cost?
Summary
The current electricity grid, designed in the early 20th century, is becoming increasingly expensive and unreliable due to unpredictable electricity demand.
Instead of building new utility power plants, virtual power plants (VPPs) utilizing existing resources like electric vehicles and battery storage can meet grid needs at a lower cost. VPPs offer a more cost-effective and efficient solution, utilizing existing infrastructure and providing clean, reliable transportation.
Read full story at UtilityDive
When AI-First Becomes Practice, Your Energy Grid Better Be Ready
by Nicole Bulgarino
Learn how the energy grid plays a crucial role in sustaining AI technology and the challenges it faces in operational efficiency.
Summary
The increasing adoption of AI across industries, particularly in critical sectors like healthcare and transportation, necessitates robust energy resilience.
The power sector plays a pivotal role in bolstering this resilience by supporting upgrades to existing infrastructure and championing new developments.
This includes deploying and managing distributed energy resources like microgrids, solar generation, and energy storage, enabling organizations to maintain operations during grid disruptions and optimize energy usage autonomously.
Read full story at Power Magazine…