The good people at Ushahidi.com have announced an update to their open source information collection and visualization software platform.  Version 2.1, code named "Tunis" is now available for download from their website: http://download.ushahidi.com/

With this update they've added several significant new features such as report filtering and the ability to generate custom forms that augment information collection efforts.  Check out the announcement on their blog here: Announcing Ushahidi v2.1 (Tunis)

Using open-source communication aggrigation software, Al Jazeera news network has created an interactive map for tracking the war in Gaza.  By sending posts through Twitter, SMS, or email, people experiencing the war first hand can send in information and reports.  The service uses Ushahidi, a freely available application that can combine feeds from texts or Twitter and display the posts geographically on a webmap.  While Al Jazeera's implimentation of the service is not exactly brimming with information, it remains an indication that the geographic visualization of war has entered a new phase.

[via DangerRoom]