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
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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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