Illegal mining is a significant issue in India’s Goa state, Goa exported almost 54 million tons of iron ore in the last fiscal year and out of this, almost seven million tons were removed illegally. To help combat the situation, the state is successfully using Google Earth to track illegal mining in Goa.

Heard about Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite but not sure what it can do for your agency? Often referred to as “BIM in a Box”, this relatively new software option bundles familiar products such as AutoCAD, Map 3D, Civil 3D, 3ds Max and more – in one package. If you’re looking for more visualization in your civil or infrastructure projects, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite is worth considering. You can learn more here, or if you’re a more visual person, you can view this on-demand webcast from Autodesk Technical Specialist, Michael Schlosser (P.Eng, GISP.) It provides an overview of the suite configurations and shows how the various software options work together cohesively from project start to finish.

Autodesk Cloud Brings a Wealth of Features and Benefits for Subscription Customers By Caron Beesley If you are an Autodesk Subscription customer you can now extend your desktop and many of your CAD-based tools into the cloud thanks to the newly launched Autodesk Cloud. Launched in September, 2011, Autodesk Cloud strengthens and extends many of the collaboration tools that Autodesk has launched in the last decade including Buzzsaw and AutoCAD WS (which allows users to perform CAD design with a browser or with a mobile iOS or Android device). So what does Autodesk Cloud have to offer and who can take advantage of it?

On Thursday, November 17, Google and “[acronym]’s sponsor, DLT Solutions hosted a live technology seminar at the Sheraton Denver West Hotel in Lakewood, CO. The Tech Day highlighted DLT Solutions’ partnership with Google to provide innovative technologies that help government agencies with Enterprise solutions. Google product experts spoke to Federal Civilian and State and Local government employees about how these modern technology solutions allow them to meet the current challenges of their agency.

Yesterday the team at [acronym] was honored to host the first ever public sector CAD awards at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Recognizing the best in digital design innovation the event brought together a broad cross-section group of finalists from across the nation and the world (we even had submissions from Guam). Each of these finalists underscored the commitment of public sector organizations and the contracting community that supports them to deliver unrivaled innovation and value through the use of digital design tools. We also had a pretty awesome keynote speaker – Vernice “Flygirl” Armour – who shared her experiences on how to overcome even the most daunting obstacles – regardless of in flight, in business or in government.

Earlier this summer, [acronym] launched the first ever public sector CAD awards and now we’d like you to join us as we honor our finalists at the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards on November 14,2011 in Washington, D.C. When we first launched the contest, we asked you to tell us how you have used digital design software to help your agency to achieve its goals and your response was phenomenal! Thank you to all who entered.

Earlier this summer, [acronym] launched the first ever public sector CAD awards and now we’d like you to join us as we honor our finalists at the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards on November 14,2011 in Washington, D.C. When we first launched the contest, we asked you to tell us how you have used digital design software to help your agency to achieve its goals and your response was phenomenal! Thank you to all who entered.

Excerpts from this article were originally published in Advantage for Construction, a newsletter for executives and managers in the field of general contracting. Advantage for Construction is produced by Longitude Media, the publisher of Cadalyst. The entire article, How to Hire a Great BIM Manager, can be read, here. The best leaders have several traits in common – and a few of them might surprise you. While some government agencies are “…yet to be convinced of the benefits that an intelligent model can provide,” others are embracing with open arms the time and cost savings that can be achieved by incorporating Building Information Modeling (BIM) into their workflows.

Say the phrase “TomTom” and what’s most likely to come to mind is a company that manufacturers consumer automobile navigation systems. In fact, TomTom is the leading manufacturer of consumer navigation systems in Europe. But did you know that TomTom also provides navigation systems, mapping data and handheld navigations devices to Federal, State and Local governments, too? TomTom’s government product solution line was the subject of a recent webcast, TomTom Maps and Applications for Government GIS, hosted by TomTom and our sponsor DLT Solutions. The discussion was led by James Pardue, Manager of Government Programs.

Almost 10 years ago now, Jason McLennan writing in his book “The Philosophy of Sustainable Design” laid out a compelling vision of sustainable design with the goal of eliminating “negative environmental impact completely through skilful, sensitive design”. In the abstract, sustainable design has a poetic feel to it. But the essential component parts are very real and very impactful not only to the environment but to society at large, and to our collective pocket books. The General Services Administration (GSA), for example, oversees 500,000 government buildings, spends $30 billion per year on federal construction and has energy costs totaling approximately $7 billion per year. That’s a lot of tax payer money and represents an enormous opportunity to transfer sustainable technologies and practices on a large scale which GSA is currently undertaking.