may 2009 archives

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Tim Toady on the road

There's more than one way to do it (TIMTOWTDI)! Do what? Well, to get from A to B. Last Friday, Google Maps still shows you the best route, but in addition now shows one or two additional routes under the Suggested Routes heading. While the best route has the lowest cost (determined by a mixture of factors such as distance, travel time, and number of turns), the other suggestions may be more convenient to you despite their higher cost. The new feature nicely adds to the draggable routes feature introduced back in June 2007.

Typically, online route planners only give you the ability to obtain the shortest and the fastest route, taking either distance or travel time as the cost factor in the calculation. Google, Microsoft, and TomTom improve on the travel time taking into account historical and real-time traffic information. Maporama takes an elegant short-cut approach to travel time, allowing users to describe their driving behaviour as Slow, Moderate, or Fast. Ovi Maps also has the option Optimized route. ViaMichelin has even more options to choose from, e.g. Michelin recommended, Sightseeing, and Economic route. However, the websites don't explain the implications of these options.

Once the cost factor has been selected, users can also select what roads or connections to avoid, so the route algorithm does not take these stretches into account when calculating. Typical examples are motorways, toll roads (including congestion charge zones), and ferries. Other options are Tunnels (Ovi Maps), Seasonally Closed Roads (MapQuest), and Border Crossings (ViaMichelin).

An option that I haven't come across yet, is a green or fuel-efficient route, similar to Garmin ecoRoute. ViaMichelin and Multimap allow you to calculate your fuel costs and carbon footprint respectively. However, they do not optimise the route for these particular cost factors. Or is that the Economic route option on ViaMichelin?

By the way, I may be slightly late to the party, but on Yahoo Maps you can now click and drag to adjust your route just like on Google Maps and MapQuest. It's listed as one of the new features of the new interactive map application when Yahoo discontinued Classic Maps.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ovi Maps for developers

This week at Where 2.0, Nokia announced their opening up of Ovi Maps by starting an invitation-based beta for the Ovi Maps Player API. I have just signed up and received an automated reply from Nokia Forum:

Thank you for registering for the Maps Player beta programme. We?re looking through applications for the program, and we?ll be in touch very soon. In the meantime, you can share your thoughts and keep up with the latest Ovi developer news on our dedicated discussion board.

In the short video, some of the functionality is explained. You can define the centre of the map view, specify the viewing angle and map type and move the map view either in a straight line or as an animated flight following an arc. Somehow, the video also shows the traffic icon in the Ovi Maps interface! From a developer point of view, I'd really hope the API is not too different from the Navteq MapTP API. On the other hand, it may simply be too early for Navteq/Map24/Traffic.com and Nokia/Gate5 to join efforts.

Lonely Planet is presented as one of Nokia's launching partners. However, I can only find maps based on the Google Maps API, both in the Destinations and Hotels & hostels sections. Am I missing something?

The mapping website Ovi Maps has changed quite a bit as well. Most apparent change is the mirroring of the layout. Whereas the input boxes and feedback pane used to be on the right side of the map, they have now moved to the left side where you would commonly expect these to be. They have dropped the functionality allowing users to select what POIs to show on the map. Searching for locations, now the nearest hotels are shown below the search results and they also show up in the map view. By default, also public transport hubs such as tube stations and railway stations are displayed on the map. Another nice feature is the map scale widget that can be enlarged by clicking on the arrow to the left. Users cannot only change between metric and imperial units, but as a next step in the internationalisation, users will soon also be able to select the language in which the maps are displayed. The zoom slider widget has also been improved by adding labels for specific zoom levels. These small things make me think the Ovi Maps developers have been looking a lot at Yahoo Maps.

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

The Earth, The Human Being

Turning over the front page of the newspaper Trouw this morning, my eyes caught the striking image of a still taken from the video The Earth, The Human Being by Xu Huijing.

Each of us is a universe. We used to be integrated with the earth, but are shattered apart in the reality. This is the world where we walk around like fearless monsters. We are limbs incised from a body, a finger, a neck, a stomach, an elbow, but never a human being.

The article in Trouw is about the 10th anniversary of the Chinese European Art Center in Xiamen, China that was founded by the Dutch Ineke Gudmundsson. The 8 minutes long video installation was exhibited in September/October 2008 at CEAC.

Monday, May 18, 2009

OpenSpace opens up at last

The Ordnance Survey (OS), the British National Mapping Agency (NMA), is finally getting to grips with Web 2.0 and has relaunched its JavaScript-based mapping API OpenSpace under a much more lenient agreement. Under this new agreement, only commercial websites that are directly making money from the use of data (e.g. by charging for a service) or high-volume websites that exceed the daily usage limits (map tiles, geocoding requests, and administrative boundaries) will have to pay to use the API. The relaunch marks a first practical execution of the new OS Business Strategy.

Already on 20 October 2006, OpenSpace was first revealed during the UK Geospatial Mash-up event. However, the closed alpha release didn't come online until 14 December 2007 and was only open for all by 31 January 2008. According to an article on ZDNet, some 1,500 people have registered so far. I reckon that is the number of API-keys that have been issued. Let's hope that number goes up!

The OS OpenSpace API is built on the open source library OpenLayers. Furthermore, the code written specifically for the OS OpenSpace API, supporting documentation, and build instructions have been released as OSGB Web Map Tools under a BSD-style license.

Would this more lenient developer agreement that comes with the OS OpenSpace API take away some of the arguments behind OpenStreetMap and the People's Map? For sure, many websites in the UK that would like to put maps on their websites can now make use of OS OpenSpace. However, OpenStreetMap still plays a role in many other areas in the world. For the People's Map that only maps the UK the new agreement may pose a threat.

Some may warn you that any derived work you create on top of the OS map is still owned by OS, but also the CC-BY-SA-license used by OpenStreetMap is not very clear on derived work either. For example, the Dutch Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management uses some of the land use from OpenStreetMap as a background for their proprietary road network (NWB) on the website Maximumsnelheid.info. Would the CC-BY-SA-license now be applicable to the full map, including the NWB data set?

Also commercial mapping websites like Multimap and Streetmap may feel the heat. Although OS OpenSpace comes with a Pro version and they have a Licensed Partner Programme, I dare to pose that Multimap has much more experience in commercial and technical customer support. Furthermore, Multimap also provides mapping outside the UK. Streetmap, on the other hand, only does OS maps so does not have much of a competitive edge anymore. Maybe it can rely on its brand recognition and business services for some time, but not much longer I am afraid... Anyway, I look forward to the next steps in the new OS Business Strategy. Will other European NMAs follow this example too?

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Navteq: yet another mapping website?

Close the Java console and wait for the Loading Latest Navteq Map banner to disappear before you can admire the new Navteq website. As of yesterday, the website features the beta release of a showcase for maps, real-time traffic (US-only for now) and dynamic location content (i.e. POIs). The change comes only within weeks of the overhaul of Traffic.com. Rather than the humble message of Navteq inside, these recent website redesigns all point to the Navteq brand claiming centre stage. However, I wouldn't say Navteq's website is to become a Google Map rival. For that, Navteq simply does not have the required brand recognition. But for sure, the geographic information value chain in online mapping is changing drastically. Until October last year Google Maps used to display Navteq map data.

One of the most novel features of the new website is the Junction Views & Sign As Real, giving you a 2.5D stylised view of motorway junctions with the road signs overhead. This is a well-known feature on some of the high-end sat-nav devices from vendors such as Sony, TomTom, Garmin, and Navigon. Exchanging locations is not only available using the Send to device option, but also using the Save location option. The latter option saves your search results in MyLocations, making your stored locations available in your web browser through a bookmarklet for IE, FF, and Safari (only available after signing up for the service) and in your mobile browser at m.navmarq.com. Finally, the new website directs you straight to Navteq Map Reporter if you would like to submit map error reports.

Friday, May 08, 2009

ilse media launches hier.nl

Although the newly-launched hier.nl is first and foremost a location-based application for mobile phones that can also be accessed in a mobile browser, it is also available on the Web. Here you can register, have the application downloaded to your mobile phone, and see on the map what is going on near you. It takes information from many of the other online properties from ilse media such as NUfoto, NUjij, Shopgids.nl, Shopgirl.nl, but also external sources, e.g. Wikipedia, Iens (restaurant reviews), and Misdaadkaart (crime reports) and plots these locations on a map using the Google Maps API.

The current website differs quite a bit from the beta website launched back in 2007. At the time time, hier.nl was geared to civic journalism, focusing on the local area. It covered news about Amsterdam and was to expand its coverage only at a later stage:

Hier.nl is een initiatief van ilse media en is het lokale burgerjournalistieke zusje van NU.nl. Met dit project willen we verkennen hoe we de nieuwsvoorziening kunnen verbeteren door samen te werken met onze lezers. We starten Hier.nl gefaseerd in verschillende gebieden, te beginnen in Amsterdam. We hopen met deze pilot een goede basis te neer te zetten en vervolgens uit breiden naar de rest van Nederland.

The local twist towards civic journalism of the beta website is now reflected on the website NUkaart that was launched in April 2008. Will the introduction of hier.nl mean that NUkaart will be discontinued? Will the two websites and mobile apps be rolled into one? In itself, the website of hier.nl doesn't really bring anything new, so its benefit will mostly lie in the tight integration with the mobile phone.

Thursday, May 07, 2009

SoC Summer School 2009

The 45th Annual Summer School of the Society of Cartographers is to take place in Southampton from September 7 to 9. Some talks (including mine!) and workshops have already been confirmed, but you can still submit paper proposals about a diverse range of themes, including map symbolisation, transport and emergency mapping, crowdsourcing data, and mapping for Wikispaces.

Going by my experience of attending previous Summer Schools in Reading (2003) and Cambridge (2005), this conference is always a great opportunity to meet cartographic colleagues, and explore our fascinating and ever-changing discipline.

Multimap for Outlook, IE and FF

The UK-based mapping website Multimap debuts an exciting new section on the website: Explore with Multimap. You can read travel tips from MSN editors (Map Readings), find the favourite places from other Multimap visitors (Viewpoints), and most of all: try handy map tools for Outlook 2007, IE8 and Firefox 3.0 (Toolbox).

Tim Warr, Technology Specialist and Evangelist at Multimap, explains that the add-in for Outlook currently supports the following features:

Add a map to a meeting request
Map you contacts
Add a map to an email

A feature that allows you to add a map into your own email signature using the address you have in your signature is expected to be available soon, as the add-in has an auto update feature built in. Stuart Anderson, Marketing Communications Manager at Multimap explains that the Outlook add-in puts Multimap one click away from millions of Outlook users, thus supporting Multimap's strategy to grow the business and acquire new customers (beyond its online visitors).

The Multimap Accelerator for IE8 renders a map of place names you highlight in the text on any web page. With the various Toolbar Buttons, you can map locations, obtain travel directions and find local businesses on Multimap within one click! Despite all the Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Internet Explorer tools, there's fortunately also a Firefox Extension! Be sure to get v.1.0.3. from the Firefox Add-ons website instead of v.1.0.2 offered on the Multimap website. The earlier version apparently contains an error-causing tracking script reference... Also note v.1.0.3. is still labeled experimental.

Next step surely would be to for Multimap to insert location-specific ads in the emails you send out based on the location of the recipient that you have stored in your Address Book? Or would the one-click Browser Toolbar be extended with location-specific ads based on your location, or based on the location you highlighted in the text using the Multimap Accelerator? Multimap's strategy to acquire more customers thus becomes a means to spread more advertising and generate more ad revenue — while at the same time they'll help you find the way, wherever you want to go! You scratch my back and I'll scratch yours?

Friday, May 01, 2009

Get traffic info, your way

The overhaul of Traffic.com unveiled earlier this week, marks the long-overdue alignment of Navteq's online presence and branding after the acquisitions of Traffic.com and Map24. The visual brand alignment of Map24 was completed already back in February this year. Also TomTom's agreement with TrafficCast is visible online now that the TomTom Route Planner doesn't only include traffic information in Europe, but also in major cities in the US.

An effective usability improvement of the Traffic.com website brought by all these new features is the actual usefulness of the homepage! Before, the homepage was really a landing page to take you to the site's functionality. Now, it is a destination in itself. The homepage does not only display a summary but also a real-time traffic news ticker for your area. The website takes your area either based on the general geographic location derived from your IP address, or simply takes your most recently viewed city area. It's a crude, but very effective approach to website personalisation, so you get the traffic info your way!

Surely, the most striking aspect of Map24.com's and Traffic.com's overhaul are their new Navteq-branded logos:

Map24.com	Traffic.com

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=	=

The biggest improvement for Traffic.com is really the new mapping interface powered by the MapTP AJAX API that also underpins the Map24 website. The vector map streaming technology provides vector data compression and incremental updates, the key requirements for fast, interactive maps. The downside is, that the web browser has to load a Java applet, so the Java Console pops up every time you go to the map view. Before, there always appeared to be a zoom limit. For example, only the map of the area around Orlando, FL would show upon requesting the drive time for a route between Gainesville and Miami. Map navigation was also fairly limited. The new map interface does not only have a stylised compass as panning widget and a slider as a zooming widget, but also allows for map-based navigation: you pan around the map simply by dragging the mouse. To zoom in, you double-click anywhere on the map. Instead of predefined map cuts and limited zoom levels, you can now customise the map view to get the traffic info your way!

Signing up for MyTraffic, you can store personal drives to check traffic conditions on regular journeys quickly and easily. Furthermore, you can schedule alerts to be informed by email, voice call, or SMS text message before you hit the road. All in all, this overhaul is a great example how a country-wide website can be relevant to you.

I look forward to seeing Traffic.com cross the Big Pond and include traffic information for Europe. This shouldn't be too far off with earlier agreements with Traffic Master (UK), Autoroutes Trafic (France), PTV AG (Germany) and the acquisition of T-Traffic (Germany). On the other hand, Traffic.com is really only catching up, as TomTom Route Planner shows traffic information on both sides of the Big Pond already!