13 January 2009 Git4You.com:

Vancouver, BC, USA, January 12, 2009 Safe Software, provider of spatial ETL (extract, transform and load) solutions, announced the release of FME 2009 claimed to be the only complete spatial data conversion and distribution solution available in the market today. This new version, which includes new releases of FME Desktop and FME Server, has been enhanced to make it even easier for the geospatial industry to access the spatial data they need to use.

The new release is claimed to match the recent trends emerging in the geospatial industry that have increased the demand for improved data interoperability. The three trends stated by the company are - a rise in the numbers of popularised and widely used formats, a growing interest in spatial data by non-traditional GIS professionals, and vastly larger data volumes resulting from the growing popularity of geographically-referenced data. More than ever before, data users require a better, more efficient way to access the spatial data they need in the applications they prefer.

Jan 8, 2009, Git4You.com:

The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has picked Juliana P. Blackwell as director of its Office of National Geodetic Survey, making her the first woman to oversee the nation's spatial reference system.

Blackwell moves into the director's chair after serving for the past three years as chief of the National Geodetic Survey's Observation and Analysis Division, where she supervised a staff of 60 employees responsible for maintaining the nation's spatial reference positioning system. Prior to that assignment she managed NOAA's height modernization program, which has improved the efficiency and accuracy of height information used in surveying, mapping, and modeling nationwide, according to the agency. Blackwell has also served as the National Geodetic Survey's deputy director since August 2008.