MSNBC has posted an application which shows a different way of aerial viewing the effects of Katrina. The company that developed the technology is Pictometry, and they fly aerial photography at an angle of ~45 degrees. Called Bird's Eye View, you can check it out here:
If you haven't seen Google Earth yet, you are missing out on one of the neatest web apps out there. earth.google.com. You'll need a some bandwidth (typical broadband is good. Dialup won't cut it). Download the app. You'll be in for the ride of your life. Travel from city to city or across continents. Take it for a spin.
Redlands, California-A new web application, the Hurricane Katrina Disaster Viewer, is now available from ESRI to provide detailed information about areas impacted by Hurricane Katrina. The site allows the public, emergency responders, relief organizations, and others to locate an address or zoom to areas of interest and view areas declared “damaged" by FEMA, affected delivery areas for the U.S. Postal Service, post-disaster satellite imagery, population density, street maps, and much more information. Visitors can also generate reports about people, housing, and businesses in the affected areas. The application is available online at http://arcweb.esri.com/sc/hurricane_viewer.
Continue reading "ESRI Provides In-Depth Geographic Information for Areas Affected by Katrina" »
This is an interesting article about the future direction of MapQuest.
http://www.directionsmag.com/article.php?article_id=1985
Directions Magazine publishes weekly newsletters about geographic information systems, global positioning systems, desktop mapping, cartography, computer-aided design, remote sensing, web services, and more.
Formerly known as HitMaps, this tool rocks. If you look over to the very right side bar of this blog, you'll see it. They call it http://clustrmaps.com and the tool is very slick. It works by registering each time the map thumbnail (the map image on the right) is opened in a new browser session. By checking the IP address of the User, the physical location of the ISP that owns the IP address is registered as a red dot on the map.
The counter and tracking is not historical in that it begins tracking on day one and doesn't go backward to your log files.
Oh, and did i mention it's FREE.
This is another site that just has some coolness to it. www.auctionmapper.com has made a great mashup between the eBay auction location information and a map. Punch in your zip code and search term and you can see where the items are geographically. Doesn't bring much new functionality to eBay, but it has a cool factor of 10. Take it for a spin.
Combining directions, maps, and satellite imagery, Google Local for mobile is a free download that lets you find local hangouts and businesses across town or across the country — right from your phone.
Detailed directions: Whether you plan to walk or drive, your route is displayed on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions.
Integrated search results: Local business locations and contact information appear all in one place, integrated on your map.
Easily movable maps: Interactive, draggable maps let you zoom in or out, and move in all directions so you can orient yourself visually.
Satellite imagery: Get a bird's eye view of your desired location.
Check it out here: http://www.google.com/glm
Another cool map tool for blogs. In addition to ClustrMaps, now there is FeedMap. Using FeedMap you can geo-code your blog, browse already geo-coded blogs and search for blogs. Once geo-coded, you can get your own BlogMap location using a simple url that allows you to network with your local bloggers and much more!
Setup for Feedmap requires an IE browser. Firefox did not work in the URL feed submission. The map works fine in Firefox after its setup though. After gong to the FeedMap homepage, click on the "submit blogs" link. Then click on FeedMap BlogExplorer link which will take you to a map (this is what didn't work in Firefox). Zoom in to your location and right click on the map. Then select "Add a Blog". Enter your Blog's feed url and you'll be given the html to add to your site. Easy as that...
Happy blogging...
Though not affiliated with Google, this is a great blog for seeing different parts of the world through the Google map/earth interface. Users submit favorite sites. Then each day a new post contains a reviewed site to visit. It's a great way to see the world.
Some of my favorites:
BMW plant, Munich, Germany
Buckingham Palace
Athens Olympic Sports Complex
Richat Structure, Egypt
Great Sphynx
More cool google map sites...
- pixel development - these guys make some really neat google map sites
- been mapped - similar to Google sightseeing in yesterday's blog post
- Google Maps mania - a blog about google maps mashups
- housing maps
These sites are not affiliated with Google. They are simply using Google's free map api to develop sites of their own.
It is probably mostly guys who are buying these, right?
CHICAGO, Dec. 20 -- NAVTEQ (NYSE: NVT), a leading global provider of digital maps for vehicle navigation and location-based solutions, announced today that for the first time since the introduction of in-vehicle navigation in North America, annual sales of embedded navigation systems exceeded one million units. Based on customer sales data from January 2005 through October 2005, approximately one million vehicles were sold with factory-installed navigation systems, representing growth of more than 40% over recorded sales from the same time period in 2004. Over 90% of car models offering navigation systems in North America use NAVTEQ(R) maps.
The in-vehicle navigation industry in North America has grown significantly since its inception in 1996, with the most notable increases occurring over the past five years.
"The success that the in-vehicle navigation industry has experienced in 2005 is a result of increased consumer awareness and recognition of the value of navigation. The adoption of navigation has broadened from an option offered primarily on luxury vehicles to a technology that is now available on more mainstream vehicle models", commented Dean VonBank, Vice President & General Manager - North American Vehicle Business Unit. "This year's success has set a benchmark and validates the potential of the North American in-vehicle navigation market. NAVTEQ is excited to be a part of this milestone."
About NAVTEQ
NAVTEQ is a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information for automotive navigation systems, mobile navigation devices, Internet-based mapping applications, and government and business solutions. NAVTEQ creates the digital maps and map content that power navigation and location-based services solutions around the world. The Chicago-based company was founded in 1985 and has approximately 1,800 employees located in 127 offices in 21 countries.
NAVTEQ is a trademark in the U.S. and other countries. (C) 2005 NAVTEQ. All rights reserved.
This document may include certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, plans, objectives, expectations and intentions and other statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts and statements identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "seeks", "estimates" or words of similar meaning. These statements are based on our current beliefs or expectations and are inherently subject to various risks and uncertainties, including those set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 26, 2005,as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Actual results may differ materially from these expectations due to changes in global political, economic, business, competitive, market and regulatory factors. NAVTEQ does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
from SpatialNew.com
You may question the usefulness of NORAD with all the advances in weapon technology. But, NORAD does still serve a very valuable purpose... they track Santa on Christmas Eve. Get the power of 47 radar stations behind you. See it here: noradsanta.org
If you want to see New York City and you can't afford the hotel prices, you might try this neat mapping app. Virtual NYC Tours is a free way to "see" the city. The authors of the site have literally walked the pavement on many of the more common areas of the Big Apple, taking 360 degree pictures along the way. It's not quite like being there, but it won't burn a hole in your wallet either. www.virtualnyctour.com/
Just in time for the Super Bowl, you can play the cNet Match the NFL Stadium game. This game brings together Google Earth imagery and your superb knowledge of your favorite (or not so favorite) teams home field. Play HERE.
A very interesting site about Time (not the magazine). And no, you can't buy any more here. The Official U.S. Time website is actually quite interesting. Aside from saying that it has the "official" US time, a few other things caught my eye. By clicking on a timezone on the map, you'll be taken to a map of the world which shows "day" and "night" areas on the globe. Plus it gives the time for that timezone you clicked.
There is also a link called "Time Exhibits" which contains interesting links to all things time: clocks, watches, daylight savings time, history of time, calendars through the ages, etc.
This public service is cooperatively provided by the two time agencies of United States: a Department of Commerce agency, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and its military counterpart, the U. S. Naval Observatory (USNO). Readings from the clocks of these agencies contribute to world time, called Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). The time maintained by both agencies should never differ by more than 0.000 0001 seconds from UTC.
Say goodbye to missed resolutions. For those inclined to exercise, a new mobile app is being developed through Sprint and Bones in Motion. BiM Active is a location-based application that provides individuals with an effortless way to fulfill their personal fitness goals via a simple-to-use and inexpensive GPS-enabled mobile phone. BiM Active offers casual or competitive athletes a way to collect GPS location information about workouts or regimens, measure their productivity, and post the information to a Web-based journal that can be shared with other athletes or managed within a private diary-all from the convenience of their mobile phone.
I suppose an added benefit is that you’ll never get lost.
Next month, biologist Erik Born will be wielding a crossbow and firing satellite tags into the hides of walruses, having manoeuvred his rubber dinghy through the pack ice off western Greenland. By tagging the walruses, Born will be able to track the animals' movements and behaviour from afar over several years. He will keep an eye on them using the same free Internet tool that has opened the eyes of millions to the possibilities of digital geography (and the sight of their house from above) — the Google Earth virtual globe.
When the walruses migrate in the spring, Born and anyone else with a copy of the Google Earth software and a decent Internet connection, will be able to follow their westerly path to Baffin Island or the Canadian coast, and their return.
Born, who works at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources in Nuuk, got the idea from his colleague Leif Toudal Pedersen, a remote-sensing researcher at the Technical University of Denmark in Lyngby. Last month, Pedersen began using Google Earth to visualize live data from satellites, recording the density and drift of Arctic ice, as well as the position of individual buoys and icebergs. Born's decision to follow suit means they can collaborate easily, with a tool that is free and convenient.
Combining Born's tracking data with Pedersen's maps should reveal how changes in ice affect the walruses' movements and behaviour. With traditional Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software — which was previously the only way to deal with spatial data like these — combining the two data streams would have been a headache. With Google Earth it will be effortless, says Pedersen: "It provides a very easy interface to a lot of different data."
Read the story HERE.
(HT: GISUser)
Geographically encoded objects in RSS feeds? It is now a reality. GeoRSS has developed several standards.
At this point we have completed work on two encodings which we are calling GeoRSS GML and GeoRSS Simple. GeoRSS GML is a formal GML Application Profile, and supports a greater range of features than Simple, notably coordinate reference systems other than WGS84 latitude/longitude. It is designed for use with Atom 1.0, RSS 2.0 and RSS 1.0, although it can be used just as easily in non-RSS XML encodings. GeoRSS Simple has greater brevity, but also has limited extensibility. It can be used in all the same ways and places as GeoRSS GML.
Visit http://www.georss.org/ to learn more.
The goal of the Degree Confluence project is to visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world, and to take pictures at each location. The pictures, and stories about the visits, will then be posted to the website (www.confluence.org). Take a look and you'll be amazed at how this has caught on around the world. All you need to have is a GPS unit and a camera. Take a picture of your surroundings then a snapshot of your GPS device screen showing the precise lat/lon coordinate of your location and you've marked your spot on the globe. But hurry, locations are going fast. Reserve your spot in history today.
I am fascinated with the interstate system in the US. Today's topic devoted to the 50th anniversary of something we take for granted, but would be in rough shape without.
June 29th marked the 50th anniversary of the US Interstate System. Imagine the country without it. In 1919, Dwight Eisenhower took a trip with his Army convoy across the country. Details of this 62 day adventure across 3000 miles of dirt roads, wagon trails, and unpassable rivers would later "pave the way" for him to sign the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 into law as President, ultimately providing the needed funds to begin the project in earnest.
The interstate system was originally designed to assist in the national defense by connecting major metropolitan cities and regions with eachother. During the debates, he was met with opposition fighting from Environmentalists who perhaps didn't want the pristine countryside tainted with traffic. Or perhaps it was the idea that it would be for defense. Sounds kind of similar to what we are facing today with the oil mess we are in. Why not do something for the good of the country and allow for some exploration in places that few will ever see anyway.
Some neat facts about the system.
Interstate Route Numbering System - Major Interstate routes are designated by one- or two-digit numbers. Routes with odd numbers run north and south, while even numbered run east and west. For north-south routes, the lowest numbers begin in the west, while the lowest numbered east-west routes are in the south. By this method, Interstate Route 5 (I-5) runs north-south along the west coast, while I-10 lies east-west along the southern border.
In two cases, a major route has two parallel or diverging branches. In those cases, each branch is given the designation of the main route, followed by a letter indicating a cardinal direction of travel (east, west, etc). In Texas, for example, I-35 splits at Hillsboro, with I-35E going through Dallas, while I-35W goes through Fort Worth. The two branches merge at Denton to reform I-35. A similar situation exists along I-35 in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota.
The major route numbers generally traverse urban areas on the path of the major traffic stream. Generally, this major traffic stream will be the shortest and most direct line of travel. Connecting Interstate routes and full or partial circumferential beltways around or within urban areas carry a three-digit number. These routes are designated with the number of the main route and an even-numbered prefix. Supplemental radial and spur routes, connecting with the main route at one end, also carry a three-digit number, using the number of the main route with an odd-number prefix.
To prevent duplication within a State, a progression of prefixes is used for the three-digit numbers. For example, if I-80 runs through three cities in a State, circumferential routes around these cities would be numbered as I-280, I-480, and I-680. The same system would be used for spur routes into the three cities, with routes being numbered I-180, I-380, and I-580, respectively. This system is not carried across State lines. As a result, several cities in different States along I-80 may each have circumferential beltways numbered as I-280 or spur routes numbered as I-180.
Interstate Exit Numbers - The States typically use one of two methods of numbering the Interstate interchange exits.
- The Consecutive numbering system -- Starting at the most westerly or southerly point on each Interstate route, interchanges are numbered consecutively. Thus the first interchange becomes Interchange #1. Each succeeding interchange is numbered consecutively as #2, 3, 4, etc.- The Milepost numbering system -- All Interstate routes are mileposted beginning at the most westerly or southerly point. The beginning point is milepost '0'. If the first interchange on the route is located between milepost 4.0 and 5.0, it is numbered as Interchange #4. The next interchange, if located at milepost 8.7, would be numbered as Interchange #8, etc. With this system the motorist can easily determine the location and distance to a desired interchange.
Longest East-West Route - I-90 from Boston to Seattle: 3,020.54 miles
Longest North-South Route - I-95 from Houlton, ME to Miami, FL: 1,919.74 miles
State with the Most Interstate Miles - Texas has 17 routes covering 3,233.45 miles
State with the Most Interstate Routes - New York has 29 routes covering 1,674.73 miles
Interstate Route Which Traverses the Most States - I-95, which travels through 16 States (FL,GA,SC,NC,VA,DC,MD,DE,PA,NJ,NY,CT,RI,MA,NH,ME)
For more info on the Eisenhower Interstate System, go HERE.
Ok, here is a really great idea gone map. If you are looking for a great place to eat and want to see how close it is to home, or what's available in the city you'll be traveling to, check out toEat.com. Search by type or location. Thousands of restaurants are already listed. Want to submit a restaurant? You can do that too.
HT: GISuser.com
