Santa shares a thank you letter with us

Santa Clause has long been a reader of this newsletter and quite often features in the December issue.   He recently sent us a thank you letter he received from a happy young girl.  He thought it worth sharing with us.  As young Sally points out, you will see a lot of maps with "MapData Sciences Pty Ltd", especially at this time of year.

Dear Santa,

Thank you very much for the laptop computer you gave me last year.  It is really wonderful.   We use computers at school and I am getting really good on the internet.  There are lots of fun things you can do, such as look up where to find things.  I help mum and dad all the time. 

We did a driving holiday at Easter and I was able to help Dad find places to go, even showing him how to get there, where to stay and things to do.  We had lots of fun, we even planned where to stop for Dad's special petrol and to have some yummy lunch (fast food of course).  

During the year we used my computer for a lot of other things where maps kept appearing and helping me.  We were able to: 

*  Find how to get to the park and fly at Sydney airport 

*  Finding our closest supermarkets

*  Where Medicare was (brother Timmy fell off the monkey bars at school)

*  Where to get "quick swap" gas for our bbq

*  Where to take our presents to have them sent to Nana in London

*  Find someone to put things in our roof to keep us cool in summer

Dad also used my computer to help find a new house (because I want my own room, Timmy is a pain).  He also used it to look for areas that have lots of kids our age.  We are still looking and it is lots of fun.

I'm going to use the computer to find where to buy my Christmas presents this year.  You could do that same thing and help out the Elves. 

One last thing.  This Christmas I would like a bike so I can go to all these places myself and help Mum and Dad.  Now I can see how close things are and how to get there, it would be really good to ride my bike so Mum and Dad don't have to drive me (and it helps the environment).

PS.  I don't know if you can help, but please give MapData Sciences a good present this year.  They are always showing me where things are.

PPS. I think these map people know where every house is, so you should ask them to help find the best way to visit the houses of all the good children and be back at the North Pole early.

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MDS adds points of learning, increasing location intelligence

MDS has added Education and Training to its growing list of Point of Interest (POI) data.  A complete set of over 10,000 Schools, Colleges and Universities has been identified, located and accurately geocoded throughout Australia.

There are now 20 themes of POI data, with over 52,000 locations covering:

The datasets can be used in multiple ways, from use within Personal Navigation Devices (PND), accessed by web developers via a web service call within their applications or as a set of files that can be used within any business.

Choose the ones you would like to use and contact Margreet via email or +61 2 8436 2812 to find out more.

Let MDS do something for you over Christmas

MDS is offering you the chance to compare the information that you have, with the things we can tell you about your sites and territories.  This month only, MDS is offering a FREE site or territory analysis for the location of your choice.  See for yourself what the geo-demographic service "Tactician Online" can give you.

Let us produce a FREE site or trade area analysis report that answers these questions and much more -offer ends 31/12/09

For demographic advice or to discuss your ideas on market analysis, please contact Tony via email or +61 2 8436 2845. 

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MDS tackles distribution challenges at Nationwide News

Twelve months of hard work have paid off for Nationwide News (NWN) – the News Limited division who print and distribute The Australian, The Daily Telegraph and The Sunday Telegraph and other publications. 

Since early 2009 MDS, has worked closely with NWN building a unique application that improves distribution management.  The end result places NWN at the forefront of distribution efficiency in a highly competitive industry.

Key to the success of the project is the partnership approach formed from the outset between MDS and NWN.

This project consolidates MDS’s ‘four pillars’ model being to plan, track, deliver and report from a single integrated service.

To find out how MDS can improve your bottom line contact Steve Cronan via email or +61 2 8436 2824.

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MDS' office will be open over the holidays to take your calls, apart from Christmas Day and New Years Day.  As always, if there are any issues with an online service, the best contact is support@mapds.com.au and the head office number +61 2 8436 2800.

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Tracking Santa's journey

More than 50 years ago, a misprint in an advertisement started a tradition where children contact the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and have them check the radar for Santa's location on Christmas Eve (Starting from his home in Finland). 

Now you can see live and online, exactly where Santa is and see which houses he skips - more information visit http://www.noradsanta.org/

You probably already know the significance of holly and what it means for Christmas, but incase you've forgotten or you haven't heard, we would like to tell you the story. 

"In Northern Europe Christmas occurred during the middle of winter, when ghosts and demons could be heard howling in the winter winds. Boughs of holly, believed to have magical powers since they remained green through the harsh winter, were often placed over the doors of homes to drive evil away. Greenery was also brought indoors to freshen the air and brighten the mood during the long, dreary winter.

Legend also has it that holly sprang from the footsteps of Christ as he walked the earth. The pointed leaves were said to represent the crown of thorns Christ wore while on the cross and the red berries symbolized the blood he shed."  Source: www.allthingschristmas.com

Share this story with your family during Christmas lunch. 

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