GEOINT 2011 is right around the corner. If your’e not familiar with the event, GEOINT is the defacto gathering for defense, intelligence and homeland security communities looking to learn more about the latest trends and technologies in the geointelligence space. To get our readers prepared for what should be a successful GEOINT experience, we thought we’d take a look back at [acronym] Online’s archive of articles on geointelligence. From using Google Maps to visualize the post-tornado destruction in Joplin, MO to helping urban residents locate HIV/AIDS testing centers, all levels of government can benefit themselves and their constituents by exploiting all the uses that GIS has to offer.

Attention CAD designers, managers and drafters! Time is running out and we want to hear from you! Don't wait any longer to submit your application for the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards. The [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards is a new innovation contest that challenges the public sector, and the contractors that support it, to share the creative ways they have used digital design/CAD software.

In 2006 digital design was the niche government industry that was cast aside by the publication world. While print magazines focused on the more popular issues of data security and enterprise technology, the 3D design world was often overlooked. Cue [acronym] Magazine. “An abbreviated look at digital design,” [acronym] Magazine got its start to fill the void of publications dedicated to the public sector agencies and employees who use digital design. It was the first of its kind. The bi-annual magazine published by DLT Solutions featured tools, tips, and case studies for government end users that use 3D design and CAD software to better serve their constituents. “We had published a compilation of case studies in the past as a newsletter called D3,” says Christine Schaefer, VP Marketing, DLT Solutions. “But, we identified that there was a void that needed to be filled with valuable content, specifically tailored to government-focused CAD and Geospatial audiences.”

If you missed the recent Autodesk See the Suite Advantage Virtual Event, don’t worry! Autodesk has made all of the content available on-demand so you can browse the presentations, white papers, and more when your schedule permits. I even found a few interesting presentations that could really interest our public sector audience: • Accelerate Transportation Project Delivery with AutoCAD Civil 3D • Better Planning with AutoCAD Map 3D • The Power of Map 3D for Planning in the Electric Industry • Designing Substations with Digital Prototypes: Nashville Electric Service Moves Beyond 3D

Since 1995 DLT Solutions has been Autodesk's GSA Schedule Partner providing products and services to the federal government. Combined with our understanding of the government procurement process, and Autodesk’s 3D design software, we were able to provide the public sector with the best in design and manufacturing software and digital content creation tools.

Who doesn’t need more time these days? Well, we’ve listened to your feedback and have extended the deadline for the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards. Thanks for all the entries so far! If you haven’t submitted your nomination you now have until October 14 to enter. What are the [acronym] Magazine CAD Awards?

Is Smart Grid coming soon to your neighborhood? Don't count on it. With respect to consumer Smart Meters, only about 25% of the installed base has been replaced or approved for replacement. Smart Grid's fundamental concept is that the addition of digital technologies to the electric utility distribution system will permit the monitoring, analysis, control and communications required to maximize throughput while reducing consumption. This will enable utilities to distribute electricity as efficiently as possible and allow end users to consume electricity as economically as possible. While the benefits of Smart Grid are well understood and the technologies to implement the Smart Grid vision have been developed and are rapidly maturing, deployments to date are limited. Let's be clear, however: Smart Grid is a global market where some countries are moving much faster than the USA and where global manufacturers and software companies with sophisticated offerings are staking claims to a share of the market. The worldwide Smart Grid product and services market has been estimated at $69 Billion in 2009 growing to $186 Billion by 2015.

The deadline to enter the [acronym] Magazine Public Sector CAD Awards is fast approaching! If you work in the field of digital design – whether you use AutoCAD, or any other software – we want to know how these tools, combined with your skills and expertise have helped your agency achieve its goals. It doesn’t matter whether you work for the Department of Defense or a state and local government agency (we’ve received entries from both), this is your opportunity to shine! Learn more about the [acronym] CAD Awards and meet our judges.

By Kevin Breslin, Director of Professional Services, Infrastructure Solutions, IMAGINiT Technologies. Is your organization considering the transition to a new engineering software platform or is your team ready for an upgrade? If so, read on to ensure a smooth transition. The following five key findings are extracted from experiences gathered over hundreds of design and engineering information modelling system implementations. Follow these five recommendations to save time and effort and avoid the pitfalls while keeping your live projects right on schedule. Step by step, let’s look at the best practices to planning a successful transition.

By Pam Broviak, City Engineer/Assistant Director of Public Works at City of Geneva, Illinois. When my past employer, the city of LaSalle, installed an automatic meter reading (AMR) system, I was excited about the technology and looked forward to improving the efficiency of our meter reading and water billing system. Some of the benefits included tracking and notifications to staff of customer leaks, immediate final reads, high/low water usage, and tampering alerts. Yet, as an engineer, I also planned on using the data for designing, monitoring, and operating our water system. My vision had been to link the data to a digital map created from our GIS where dots represented meters. Colors and other indicators would tell us of real-time reads, flows, pressures, and all that good stuff allowing a visualization of how our system was functioning using real-time actual data. Unfortunately, once I saw the software and asked about the ability to extract data from the database, not only did the vendors seem surprised anyone would even want this information, they made it clear their system was designed for billing only. If we wanted to do anything more with the data, we would have to hire our own programmer and create our own setup.