september 2006 archives

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Watching the Dutch, from above

As of yesterday, Google Maps finally has detailed aerial imagery for the Netherlands (just ignore the label Satellite on the button!). The coverage is not anymore limited to just a few patchy areas, but now spans the whole country! Apparently, it wasn't good enough for the Google Maps API Official Blog: its latest blog entry heralds the release of geocoding for Australia and New Zealand. However, the Dutch blogosphere (can I still use this phrase in 2006?) is all excited.

Marketing Facts compiled a list of sensitive locations. Some of these locations show up as blurred spots on the aerial imagery, e.g. the naval station in Amsterdam. But what's so sensitive about the real estate company that have their offices in the Oorsprongpark in Utrecht? For some reason, other sensitive locations are there for anyone to see such as the Military Police Barracks only half a mile away...

The aerial imagery is provided by Aerodata Int. Surveys. The 40,000 square kilometers were photographed over the course of six weeks in September and October 2005. Fortunately, Google did not get an exclusive license. You can preview and order aerial photos from the Aerogrid website.

Interestingly, the stand-alone geo-browser application Google Earth seems to have a much better brand awareness in the Netherlands than Google Maps that you can simply view in your web browser. Most Dutch newspapers, e.g. Volkskrant, Telegraaf and Trouw, therefore report on how Google Earth now has improved aerial imagery and don't spend a word on Google Maps. Maybe it's because the Dutch don't really use online mapping to get around? Therefore, an application really has to offer something more than just maps. From this perspective, Google Earth offers just that!  permanent link for this entry

Friday, September 01, 2006

They are mapping all over each other

How do all these open mapping API actually compare? Or, rather, what does a particular part of the United States look like through the eyes of different online mapping providers? Late last year, Jon Aquino created a tool to compare Google Maps and Yahoo Maps.

Instead of a side-by-side comparison, Daemmon Hughes created Ocarto stacking seven maps on top of each other, drawing from Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Virtual Earth, and Terraserver. Using the Map Layers widget, you can show or hide each layer, adjust its transparency, and shuffle the stacking order for easy comparison. I have to admit it took my a while to figure out you could change the stacking order!

In the top-left corner of the webpage, you find a locator powered by the Yahoo Geocoding API. For most of the addresses I tried it works, although entering Union Square, San Francisco, CA landed me on the junction of Mission Street and 11th Street (in San Francisco, fortunately).

Panning around the map is as easy as dragging the mouse hand across the map. I also really like the zooming widget. You can also bookmark a particular map view or send out an email of that map view. Finally, thumbs up for Mark James's Silk Icons that give the interface a very nice look and feel!  permanent link for this entry