Hans Cathcart’s Homepage

Today, Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th President of the United States of America. The ceremony was held in front of thousands of people who had flooded into DC to witness the event. This CNN link shows an interactive satellite picture of the crowds on the National Mall. As Obama was being sworn in the White House web site transitioned to the 44th President at whitehouse.gov — ask me some time how that was accomplished, it’s an interesting story. At the same time millions of people were watching the event Online, with web sites from CNN to CSPAN to FoxNews webcasting the event, many using the delivery services of my employer.

The BBC is producing a fascinating series called “Britain from Above” that combines GPS tracking, data collection and sophisticated computer visualizations to give viewers a view of the UK that no one has ever seen.  It’s absolutely captivating to watch the planes entering and exiting British airspace, or seeing the nation’s telephone network come to life.  The Daily Mail wrote an article about the series that includes some images.