AIR/Flex vs. Silverlight Debate

Now that the ArcGIS Server development platform has finally come of age, many are asking: which platform do I use? There are a number a criteria that enter into this equation and I think others have done a good job of defining these so I will not be discussing them here. The intent of this post is simply to provide you with some of the resources I have found that evaluate at least the 2 RIA platforms ESRI is now providing: Flex and Silverlight. There is alot of chatter/bashing going on and it is often hard to sift through some of the biases so the following are the most resent/unbiased postings I could find. For what its worth, I think they are both great and good for one another. The harder they compete, the better off we all are. Heck, I hope we even start discussing JavaFX in the near future.

The Battle for the RIA Throne: Flex vs. Silverlight
Flash vs. Silverlight: What Suits Your Needs Best?
Video: Air/Flex Silverlight Debate: MS and Adobe evangelists go head to head.

USGS Report Released: Energy Resources in SouthWester Wyoming (WLCI)

The USGS Central Region Energy Resources Science Center (Author: Laura R.H. Biewick)recently released a report characterizing oil and gas production within the South Western Wyoming (Wyoming Landscape Conservation Initiative). The report contains a variety of geospatial data, maps and such that are free to the public.

Initial ArcGIS Server Flex API Map Viewer Rollout

The USGS Energy Program is beginning to rollout their latest online mapping application using ArcGIS Server and the Flex API. It is pretty vanilla right now but includes some nice features under the hood including:

1. URL parameter interface
2. Live Map classification widget
3. Separate Map Navigation
4. US Geologic Energy Resources Summary Widget
A whole set of nice features are in the oven including:

1. Metadata and static legend integration
2. Access to over 100 different services
3. Custom widgets based on content type.