GEO: connexion articles from September 2002

GEO: connexion archives from September 2002

Taking up position. (UpFront).(development of Global Positioning System and Galileo)
September 1, 2002... Just months after being hailed as a 'critical infrastructure in America's fight against terrorism, the word in Washington is that plans for an upgraded, anti-jam version of the Global Positioning System (GPS III) could be postponed for several...

eSpatial enables latest Oracle Databases. (Geo: News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... eSpatial (Dublin, Ireland) has launched the iSmart product suite, a topology-enabled product supporting the development and deployment of spatial business applications on the Oracle9i Database and Application Server Smart uses Oracle's spatial...

E112 for European emergencies. (GEO: News).
September 1, 2002... The European Commission has presented its proposed policy and implementation plan for the location enhancement of all emergency telephone calls, otherwise known as E112. The policy is based on recommendations made by Hellos Technology Ltd...

Spot 5 ready for action! (GEO: News).(Spot Image to be responsible for commercial operation of satellite)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... CNES, the French space agency, has handed over responsibility for commercial operation of Spot 5 to Spot Image (Toulouse, France & Chantilly, Virginia) which will now be distributing imagery acquired by the new satellite. Spot 5 has...

'Magic' puts english countryside on the web. (GEO: News).(Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael has launched MAGIC (Multi-Agency Geographic Information for the Countryside) which provides public access to countryside information about England on the web. MAGIC includes interactive maps showing National...

Ordnance Survey -- increased sales, new targets, same status. (GEO: News).
September 1, 2002... Ordnance Survey's 2001-02 Annual Report and Accounts show a turnover on trading of [euro] 150 M (up 3%) and operating costs at 175 M (up 19%). But the latter included an 80% increase in investment including capital expenditure. This investment,...

Down on the farm with wingis. (GEO: News).(Sudhessen 'machine ring' is using ZR-WinGIS, a GPS-based system to help optimise farming cycle)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The Sudhessen 'machine ring' has used ZR-WinGIS for over a year to cultivate sugar beet fields of about 1450ha split between 230 farmers close to Gross-Umstadt (nr Frankfurt, Germany). The GPS-based system from PROGIS (Villach, Austria) helps...

BKG celebrates. (GEO: News).(Germany's government office for cartography and geodesy (BKG) celebrated its golden jubilee)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Germany's government office for cartography and geodesy (BKG) celebrated its golden jubilee in July, with 300 guests from home and abroad invited for the occasion. State Secretary of the Interior, Brigitte Zypries, speaking in Frankfurt on...

University of Newcastle gets Leica cyrax scanner. (Geo: News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... A [pounds sterling]150 000 deal with Leica Geosystems has brought a revolutionary technology to the School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences at the University of Newcastle. Researchers are already using laser scanning in a number of...

Former Space Imaging regional affiliate becomes DGI. (Geo: News).(Doxiadis GeoImaging S.A.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Doxiadis GeoImaging S.A. (DGI) is a new company restructured from the former Space Imaging Europe (SIE). DGI will provide satellite imagery, aerial photography and value added products for the geo-information market. DGI will operate in full...

S Class LBS. (LBS: News in Brief).(collaboration to provide Daimler Chryslers W3Car project with Mobile Navigation Services )(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... MBDS, a graduate school at the University of Sophia Antipolis (France), and opt[e]way, the Navigation & LBS enabler are collaborating to provide Daimler Chryslers W3Car project with Mobile Navigation Services for the first UMTS Mercedes S...

One's own Compass. (LBS: News in Brief).(location-based service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Austrian mobile network operator ONE has launched a location-based service. Using Nokia's mPosition, ONE COMPASS enables users to receive a wide range of useful location-based information with SMS or WAR "Which movie starts soon in the nearest...

Navtech voice heard in UK. (LBS: News in Brief).(Navigation Technologies Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Navigation Technologies' NAVTECH(R) maps are now available in a voice-enabled format for the UK. Voice data for Germany was released earlier this year. The U.S., Italy, France, and Spain will follow later in 2002. Initial releases are in the...

Webraska CEO's Three Laws of LBS. (LBS: News in Brief).(location based services)(Jean-Michel Durocher)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Jean-Michel Durocher, Webraska's (Paris, France) CEO has suggested "Three Laws of Location Based Services" along the lines of Isaac Asimov's "Three Laws of Robotics" (1947). He hopes these will allay growing public concern that locational data...

EU lags further behind in R&D spending. (GEO: News).
September 1, 2002... Spending on Research Technology and Development (RTD) in the European Union is falling further behind that of the USA. And the private sector must take a lions share of the blame. This was the message from EU Research Commissioner Philippe...

Results +++ results +++ results +++. (GEO: News).(MapInfo Corp.)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... All values converted to euros Financial results from Mapinfo for the quarter ended June 30 show revenues slightly down at [euro]23.06 compared with the prior quarter ([euro]23.87 million). A net loss of ES 14,018 for the quarter compared...

PriceWatch. (GEO: News).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... PriceWatch * stock price change Autodesk 12.28 [down] -1.1 Intergraph 16.00 [down] -1.61 Mapinfo 6.20 [down] -2.99 Trimble 13.02 [down] -2.63 Navigation * Share price (converted to euros) as at close...

ESRI users meet in Dubai. (GEO: Middle East).
September 1, 2002... ESRI stages its 6th annual Middle East and African user conference in Dubai, UAE, from October 8-10. Hosted by GISTEC, a longtime distributor of ESRI software in the UAE, the conference will be held at the Al Bustan Rotana Hotel and be...

Bahrain GIS expo: a resounding success. (GEO: Middle East).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Organisers have claimed a resounding success for the GIS 2002 International Conference and Exhibition, held at the Le Royal Meridien Hotel in Bahrain earlier this year. The event, held under the patronage of H.E. Shaikh Khalid Bin Abdulla...

Theewaterskloof revealed. (GEO: Africa).(GeoInformation SA offers photographic dataset of South African region)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... GeoInformation SA, publishers of Cities Revealed aerial photography, have created a high resolution aerial photographic dataset of the Theewaterskloof municipal area of South Africa's Southern Cape. Flown in December 2001 and covering an area...

Sensing catastrophe. (GEO: Africa).(civilians fleeing civil war in Congo (Brazzaville) increase rate of deforestation)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Last month GEO:connexion reported on a Remote Sensing project sponsored by the Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) into the impact of deforestation in the Central African Republic. Similar techniques, employed by Radar...

A helping hand for UNMEE. (GEO: Africa).(United Nations Mission to Ethiopia and Eritrea)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Earth Resource Mapping of Perth, Western Australia has donated two ER Mapper licences to The United Nations Mission to Ethiopia & Eritrea (UNMEE). The software will help the mission demarcate and clear landmines, support logistical planning for...

Intergraph geospatial world 2002: difficult times certainly, but delegates had much to cheer in Atlanta. (Geo: Connect).
September 1, 2002... welcoming more than 700 delegates from four score countries to its flagship product suite, GeoMedia 5.0, mid-June saw Intergraph Mapping & GIS Solutions welcoming delegates from 36 countries to its 2nd International User Group Conference in...

Intergeo promises the best yet. (GEO: Connect).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... With more than 400 show stands and hundreds of conference papers lined up for INTERGEO, Europe's biggest geospatial trade fair and Congress looks set to break all records. Organised by Hinte Messen, the event takes place in Frankfurt am...

AM/FM Italia: automated mapping/Facilities Management Geographic Information Systems, Italy. (Eurogi Member Profile).
September 1, 2002... Date of foundation: 1990 Status: Non-profit association President & Chairman of Board: cesare M. Ottavi Secretary-General: Claudio Bertola Language: Italian Number of members: 138 Brochure availability: Promotional...

Making progress on key issues. (AGI View).(includes multiple news briefs)
September 1, 2002... June and July were notable for several announcements and for the publication of a number of reports of fundamental importance to the GI community. 1: On 5 June, The European Commission adopted a proposal for a Directive on the re-use and...

Inspired in Dublin: Robin Waters reports from Dublin. (8th EC GI & GIS Workshop, 3-5 July).
September 1, 2002... Seven years ago, some thirty participants in EC-funded GIS projects met in a small upstairs room in suburban Brussels. They discussed research projects that used GIS and bemoaned the lack of available data. At this inaugural EC-GIS Workshop,...

'Industry veteran' to assist Snowflake. (GEO: People).
September 1, 2002... Snowflake Software has appointed Peter Woodsford as a non-executive director. Woodsford (60) is currently a non-executive director at Laser-Scan, a company he helped launch in the 1970s and where he has been technical director, managing...

New Product Manager for MENSI. (GEO: People).
September 1, 2002... MENSI SA (Paris), developer and supplier of a complete range of 3D laser scanners and modelling software, has appointed Paul Biddiscombe as Product Manager. He will be responsible for product development, assessing the competition and strategy...

New non-executive directors for Ordnance Survey. (GEO: People).
September 1, 2002... Sir Michael Bett CBE is chairman of Pace Micro Technology and of Compel Group, Pro-Chancellor of Aston University and Chairman of the Pensions Protection Investments Accreditation Board, One World Broadcasting Trust, and the White Ensign...

New Catalist Chairman. (GEO: People).
September 1, 2002... Trevor Smaliwood, former Executive chairman of FirstGroup, has become Chairman of Catalist, the Bristol-based company that provides retail petroleum data to blue chip companies all over the world. Smaliwood founded Badgerline in 1986 with a...

Mutoh goes dutch. (GEO: People).
September 1, 2002... Arthur Vanhoutte, General Manager of Mutoh Europe N.V., has been appointed as a new Director of Mutoh Industries Ltd. reporting direct to the President, Mr. Kaga. Vanhoutte (53) has been in the peripherals business for 30 years and has held...

Location-based service and privacy: Sally Annereau reviews current UK legislation. (GEO: Legal).
September 1, 2002... The proliferation of CCTV cameras on our streets is often cited as evidence that we live in a surveillance-society. But will the increased ability of mobile devices to pinpoint a user's location prove a far greater threat to our privacy? Or can...

Is one enough? Mark Ellery makes the case for multiple sourcing. (GEO: Talk).(Column)
September 1, 2002... In the current economic climate, most IT departments are being forced to find ways of optimising IT budgets. For example, in the area of data storage, which can account for as much as 20 per cent of IT spend (often more for those who handle...

Good times: Robert Barr gets his bucket and spade together and takes off for his holidays in an optimistic mood. (Dangling Segment).(Column)
September 1, 2002... The summer recess, when politicians, academics, civil servants and, I dare say, many private sector staff traditionally take their holidays, is a good time to reflect on industry developments over the last year and to look forward to the next....

Osi into the new millennium: Lain Greenway reviews the state-of-play at Ordnance Survey Ireland.
September 1, 2002... Our new status as a State Body in March of this year will enable us to respond more effectively to the market, while a Service Agreement with Government provides for the national interest elements of our work. A paper expanding on a number of...

Irish eyes keep smiling: a new web resource helps the republic maintain its economic appeal. (Case Study 1).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... As part of a commitment to achieving a better balance of economic activity across the Irish Republic, the Tanaiste (Deputy Prime Minister) assigned an important task to the government's National Policy and Advisory Board for Enterprise, Trade,...

Paper maps, placenames... and GIS. (Case Study 2).(Compass Informatics converts maps into digital form for Ireland's Heritage Service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... It's not too often that data conversion captures the public imagination, but a project being pursued by Compass Informatics on behalf of Duchas--The Irish government's Heritage Service, is an exception. In essence, maps from the very first...

UK Survey & Mapping Company. (News Round).(Mason Land Surveys Ltd. has opened its fifth Digital Mapping Operations Centre in Ireland)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... UK Survey & Mapping Company, Mason Land Surveys Ltd, has opened its fifth Digital Mapping Operations Centre in Ireland. Located on Dublin's Northwest Business Park and with Tom Jervis as country manager, it will provide technical and...

Mapflow. (News Round).(has released a full refresh of its database content)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Mapflow, the Dublin-based spatial technology company and LBS provider, has released a full refresh of its database content. The latest release incorporates extended Irish content plus full coverage of the UK sourced under an agreement with...

Irish Organisation. (News Round).(Irish Organisation for Geographic Information to hold its annual conference and trade show)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... IRLOGI, the Irish Organisation for Geographic Information, holds its annual conference and trade show (GIS IRELAND 2002) on 15 October at its new venue, Red Cow Moran's Hotel Conference Centre in Dublin. www.irlogi.ie/conf2002.html

Marine research. (News Round).(study on the establishment of a large scale inshore resource mapping project to be undertaken)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... In one of the largest individual desk study grants recently announced by the government for marine research, [euro]89,453 has been earmarked for a feasibility study on the establishment of a large scale inshore resource mapping project. The...

Irish Institute of Surveyors. (News Round).(new location)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The Irish Institute of Surveyors (IIS) has moved offices to 36 Dame Street, Dublin 2, where it is co-located with ERA Maptec Ltd. The office is open weekdays 9:00am to 1:00pm and is staffed by the IS Secretary, Vera Destac. The new telephone...

Plotting a successful course: Simon de la Hoyde contemplates the next generation of consumer location-based services. (Location Based Services).
September 1, 2002... Despite high mobile phone ownership and the success of text messaging, PDA adoption rates are falling and the next generation of mobile data services are stumbling. Against this backdrop, what can ensure mass market adoption of location based...

ArcCadastre building on firm foundations: Sven Lidstrom reports on the Swedish National Land Survey's new all-in-one package. (Cadastre).(Lantmateriet's new software)
September 1, 2002... Swedens National Land Survey (Lantmateriet) has a long history of building efficiency into work processes that reflect its varied responsibilities. That same efficiency is now evident in moves to implement a replacement cadastral package with...

e-PIMS: mapping the third estate; in the first of a two-part article, Arnold Butler outlines the evolution of a new property-related mapping resource for central government departments. (UK Xtra).(electronic Property Information Mapping System )
September 1, 2002... In response to the Modernising Government White Paper initiative, the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) has developed an electronic Property Information Mapping System (e-PIMS) to streamline occupancy levels in central government buildings....

Roaming free: England's green and pleasant land will become more accessible to all, thanks to new legislation and a supporting mapping initiative from the Countryside Agency. (UK Xtra).
September 1, 2002... England is currently in the middle of the largest mapping process undertaken since the Napoleonic Wars. Indeed, it was in 1791 that the British Government realised that preparing an adequate defence against a cross-Channel invasion required...

Hardware for digital photogrammetry: Mike Bedford gets the measure of what's on offer. (Photogrammetry Hardware).
September 1, 2002... Photogrammetrics--literally the extraction of metrics or measurements from aerial or satellite photography--has been described as the link between remote sensing and GIS. Whereas the front-end data acquisition for GIS is one important...

Navman 1000 GPS receiver and Smartpath mapping software. (Hands On).(Product/Service Evaluation)
September 1, 2002... Those seeking GPS-enabled navigation aids for their Pocket PC (WinCE) handhelds are served by a variety of mapping applications such as Microsoft's ubiquitous Pocket Streets. The all-in-one package reviewed here is from New Zealand-based Navman...

Datafactory AG. (Business Briefs).(marketing contract with Russline)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... datafactory AG (Leipzig, Germany) has concluded an agreement with Russline (Moscow, Russia) for the marketing of the WEBfleet internet service in Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Russline is an internet service provider...

GDTA. (Business Briefs).(new distance learning service)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... GDTA (France) has decided to complement its traditionally taught courses with a new service: gdta(e-campus (sic) distance learning. GDTA has combined partners specializing in multimedia engineering with the complementary skills of its member...

The GeoInformation[R] Group. (Business Briefs).(aerial photographs for site analysis)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The British supermarket chain Asda is using Cities Revealed aerial photography, from The Geolnformation(r) Group, (Cambridge, UK) as a site analysis tool to determine the viability of new store locations. Asdas Property Department use them for...

Getmapping. (Business Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Getmapping's aerial map of the UK is helping to locate aerial sites along Britain's network of railways and canals. The aerial photography is used by telecoms company ultramast, heading a joint venture to build a network of masts on land owned...

Kingswood MapMechanics. (Business Briefs).
September 1, 2002... TRACKER Communicator, the automatic vehicle location (AVL) and fleet management system from TRACKER Network, is using a more attractive and extensive range of map data from Kingswood MapMechanics (Brentford.UK). The colourful Andes Streets...

Positioning Resources. (Business Briefs).(crime scene mapping software given to police in Aberdeen, Scotland)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... (Aberdeen, Scotland) has supplied Hampshire Police with the PocketGIS(tm) software to digitise their crime scene mapping. They wanted to update existing manual methods of data capture (trundle wheels and measuring tapes), and reduce the time...

SICAD. (Business Briefs).(Munic Surveying Office now offers 3-D maps of the city)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... The Munich Surveying Office can now display the buildings of the city as a 3D model. All of its official geo data and the latest property information can be converted into a 3D model at the touch of a button in the SICAD GIS. Existing and...

Tele Atlas (Ghent, Belgium) has announced a strategic partnership with Landmat International (Reykjavik, Iceland) a developer of location-based applications. (Bussiness Briefs).(Brief Article)
September 1, 2002... Tele Atlas (Ghent, Belgium) has announced a strategic partnership with Landmat International (Reykjavik, Iceland) a developer of location-based applications. Landmat will incorporate Tele Atlas' digital street network data into all of its...

ADC WorldMap. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... ADC WorldMap (Wisconsin, USA)has released ADC World Map Version 4.0. Updated features include a gazetteer of 430,000 cities worldwide, more than 9.9 million kms of updated roads in five levels, countries updated to May 2002, including East...

Autodesk, Inc. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Autodesk, Inc. is undertaking a technical assessment of LaserScans Radius Topology. This advanced spatial processing environment extends Oracle9i] and improves speed and quality of spatial data handling. Customers using Oracle9i software and...

Avenza. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... The 'Road Atlas of Latvia' from jana Seta Map Publishers Ltd (Riga, Latvia) has been awarded the 2002 Best Map Overall prize in the Avenza 2002 MAPublisher Competition. Best Multimedia Map was 'The 1812 Campaign of Napoleon' by Jeroen van den...

Cadcorp. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Cadcorp (Stevenage, UK) partners from France, Belgium, Holland. Spain, Italy, Sweden, Norway and UK met in Brugge in June to see the latest developments in Cadcorp's Spatial Information System (SIS). These included SIS V6, apSIS, a Microsoft...

CellPoint Inc. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... CellPoint Inc. (Kista, Sweden) has launched a new Java SDK (Software Developers Kit) containing the first public version of MLP 3.0.0 (Mobile Location Protocol). This was only released by the Location Interoperability Forum (LIF) in June and...

DigitalGlobe[TM]. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... DigitalGlobe [TM] (San Diego, USA) has launched its Quickbird Orthorectified, Color (PanSharpened) and Two-Foot Imagery. These are designed to take Digital Globe into the commercial market addressing the needs of GIS users in both business and...

Earth Resource Mapping. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Earth Resource Mapping (Perth, Australia) has released ER Mapper 6.3. This is specifically tuned to mosaic, color balance and compress Terabyte (TB) size image mosaics. Users can perform sophisticated image manipulation and delivery processes...

GE Network Solutions. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... GE Network Solutions (Atlanta, USA)has released the Smallworld Nralysis Integration Engine(tm) V2.0 which combines the strength of Smallworld Core Spatial Technology(tm) with engineering analysis and optimisation products to provide easy-to-use...

GeoConcept. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... GeoConcept (Paris, France) has launched GeoConcept Pocket, its mobile GIS solution for PDAs. Information is displayed quickly, extra data can be added and the user can directly update databases from the field with user-friendly data capture...

The GeoInformation Groups. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... The GeoInformation Group's CR Connect [TM], a new on-line service brings low-cost access to Cities Revealed [TM] air photos. CR Connect claims to be the first on-line facility providing UK aerial photography directly into a GIS with free...

Getmapping. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Estate agents are the latest group of customers for getmapping.com's (Hampshire, UK) aerial photography of England and Wales taken as part of the Millenium Map project. Detailed prints showing every property now dominate the offices of...

Lorienne S.A (Montreuil, France) and GraS GmbH (Berlin, Germany) has integrated the EDBS/ATKIS reader in the GISLink system from the Lorik[TM] software suite. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Lorienne S.A (Montreuil, France) and GraS GmbH (Berlin, Germany) has integrated the EDBS/ATKIS reader in the GISLink system from the Lorik [TM] software suite. This is designed for ATKIS data users needing to publish high quality graphic...

Intergraph. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions (Huntsville, USA) has announced GeoMedia(R) Transaction Manager 5.0, a long term transaction versioning, and temporal data management solution providing an enterprise approach to managing spatial...

Safe Software Inc. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... (Vancouver, Canada) is now supporting GML 2 across its entire product line. FME Suite, FME Objects, and SpatialDirect users can now move data between GML 2 and more than 100 different GIS, CAD and database systems. Safe Software's support...

Telcontar. (Software and Data Briefs).
September 1, 2002... Telcontar has announced the latest version of its Drill Down Server (DDS) for location-based services. DDS v2.5 features enhanced scalability, speed and database links with features designed for the European market. Yahoo! recently launched its...

Diary.
September 1, 2002... October 02 1-3 Aberdeen, Scotland. IOCE (International Offshore Contracting and Engineering) Subsea 2002. Contact: PGI Spearhead: Tel; +44(0) 20 8949 9222, Email; iocesubsea @spearhead.co.uk , W; www.iocesubsea.co.uk 2-4 Prague,...

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has announced that the 3rd Session of its Working Party on Land Administration will convene in Geneva, 17- 18 November 2003. Documentation will be available, at the latest, 6 weeks...

European Land Information Service. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... EULIS, the European Land Information Service formed earlier this year in Luxembourg. has defined ten work packages to further its goal of improving cross border access to national land and property registers. These packages, covering everything...

Intergraph Mapping. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... Intergraph Mapping and GIS Solutions has launched GeoMedia Parcel Manager 5.0 for those who need to create and maintain land information in a non-proprietary database environment. Key functionality of the new software, designed specifically for...

International Federation of Surveyors. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... Commission 7 (Cadastre & Land Management) of the International Federation of Surveyors (FIG) has published its Work Plan for the period 2002-2006. This is available as a MS Word or PDF download from ...

Benchmarking Cadastral Systems. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... Also available is "Benchmarking Cadastral Systems." this 77-page booklet, from Working Group 7. I ('Reforming the Cadastre'), presents a selection of national experiences in the area of cadastral and land information system benchmarking. In so...

Tele Atlas MultiNet. (News Round).
September 1, 2002... Tele Atlas has launched its flagship database product, Tele Atlas MultiNet, for Ireland. With 27 per cent street level coverage, MultiNet Ireland includes extensive coverage of Dublin. The next product update is planned for December 2002 when...