Some loyal Google Maps Mania readers have tipped me off on some big news in the world of Google Maps - Street maps for all of Europe! What a surprise people will have when they wake up on Tuesday morning! Not only are street level maps now available (in addition to the satellite maps available previously) but so are driving directions! Google Maps Mania is about to erupt with more new mashups to come from this area of the world! :)
Update: Check the comments section for more information about the updated street map data in various parts of Europe as observed by many readers.
[Thanks to Frank and Stefan for the tip!]
Monday, April 24, 2006
Saturday, April 01, 2006
Build your own Google Photo Map with a GPS-equipped camera
(GPS Camera) + Maps
= Easy Photo Mapping
(link now dead)
Tim Vidas has a great description (link now dead) of how he was able to equip his Ricoh D200 with a GPS unit to easily Google Map pictures he takes with it. He explains that "The tagging of GPS data into the Exif of each picture is a really nice novelty for me". More from his How-To:
The Sales folks as Red Hen informated me that the adapter would come with some sort of mapping software, and when it didn't I called them up and was informed that it's 'not quite ready' and they'd email be about beta testing (evidently the sales teams information didn't quite jive with the software team). So I set out to create my own, and as it turns out, with only a Image::ExifTool, the Google Maps API and a little over a hundred lines of PERL, I have a script that given a directory of images, will create the GMaps htm, the associated XML for the GPS points and extract thumbnails from the pictures themselves. All that's left is to upload everything to a web directory!
On his page he has posted the source code for you to be able to do this yourself, and even makes his custom map pins available to anyone that wants to use them!
A possible way to take this a step further would be to somehow tie this into a PocketPC with a mobile data plan on it that would allow you to wirelessly transfer these photos the second they are taken to a server that automatically Google-maps them with this app running. This way you could snap photos and have them instantly viewable for people looking at your real-time Google Photo-Map. It will only be a matter of time before this is possible. Camera companies like Ricoh or Canon could do this in partnership with mobile carriers, or perhaps mobile phone handset manufacturers could just add the GPS feature to picture phones and mobile carriers could just build a service offering around it? Fun stuff. I can't wait for this all to be a little easier to do.
= Easy Photo Mapping
(link now dead)
Tim Vidas has a great description (link now dead) of how he was able to equip his Ricoh D200 with a GPS unit to easily Google Map pictures he takes with it. He explains that "The tagging of GPS data into the Exif of each picture is a really nice novelty for me". More from his How-To:
The Sales folks as Red Hen informated me that the adapter would come with some sort of mapping software, and when it didn't I called them up and was informed that it's 'not quite ready' and they'd email be about beta testing (evidently the sales teams information didn't quite jive with the software team). So I set out to create my own, and as it turns out, with only a Image::ExifTool, the Google Maps API and a little over a hundred lines of PERL, I have a script that given a directory of images, will create the GMaps htm, the associated XML for the GPS points and extract thumbnails from the pictures themselves. All that's left is to upload everything to a web directory!
On his page he has posted the source code for you to be able to do this yourself, and even makes his custom map pins available to anyone that wants to use them!
A possible way to take this a step further would be to somehow tie this into a PocketPC with a mobile data plan on it that would allow you to wirelessly transfer these photos the second they are taken to a server that automatically Google-maps them with this app running. This way you could snap photos and have them instantly viewable for people looking at your real-time Google Photo-Map. It will only be a matter of time before this is possible. Camera companies like Ricoh or Canon could do this in partnership with mobile carriers, or perhaps mobile phone handset manufacturers could just add the GPS feature to picture phones and mobile carriers could just build a service offering around it? Fun stuff. I can't wait for this all to be a little easier to do.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Gawker Stalker: Realtime New York Celebrity Map
Just saw this Google Maps mashup mentioned on BBC World here in my hotel, so I thought I had better let other Google Mappers out there know about a mashup getting some major press play. Gawker Media has put up a Google Map that shows the realtime locations of celebrities in New York City. The Google Maps mashup is called Gawker Stalker. Users can email their sightings to a gawker address and those tips are then mapped out for other users to follow. Some are calling it the killer celeb tracking app, while others (A PR Agent was interviewed on BBC World) say that it pushes the personal privacy envelope.
Saturday, November 05, 2005
New Google Maps running tool: MapMyRun
Here is a new Google Maps exercise tool called MapMyRun.com - It can be used for running, walking, biking, wheeling.. whatever! It allows your map your route, plot your distances (miles and kilometers) in real time and also calculate the number calories burned.
Check out Google Maps tools similar to this:
Other Recreation and Fitness mashups can be found here.
Check out Google Maps tools similar to this:
Other Recreation and Fitness mashups can be found here.
Monday, September 12, 2005
182 School Districts. 1623 Schools. 150,000 data points. 1 Google Map.
Brian Timoney has created a functional Google Map to display standardized test scores for 1623 public schools in Colorado. It allows the map user to make quick visual comparisons between schools as well as getting 3 year drill-down information by clicking on any given school. Brian has this to say about the Google Maps integration:
"Standardized testing is a high-profile issue in the state and it is our hope that presenting this bulky dataset in this intuitive format will enrich the public debate."
[via]
Monday, July 18, 2005
3 more Google Maps mashups!
HotorNot.com is a site where you can post a photograph of yourself (or someone else) and have visitors to the hotornot.com website rank the photo. The question that is posed - Hot or Not? Think what you may, this site has been around a while and continues to be popular. This Google Maps mashup (link now dead) has taken the site a step further by plotting the locations of those in the photos on a Google Maps overlay. As a footnote, HotorNot actually has an API and developer wiki which this person used to create this mashup.
Here's (link now dead) a Google Maps mashup which has combined the 'Wiki' page publishing concept with Google Maps. "Maps can be created, edited, saved in a Wiki fashion". The creator is eager for feedback.
Google Maps and the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) - I'm not sure if I already posted this overlay or not. If not, here is the Toronto subway network (known as the TTC) overlaid onto Google Maps. So much more could be done with the captions for this hack. Station information, accessibility info, photos etc. I'm sure more detail will be added to this or an enhanced mashup.
Here's (link now dead) a Google Maps mashup which has combined the 'Wiki' page publishing concept with Google Maps. "Maps can be created, edited, saved in a Wiki fashion". The creator is eager for feedback.
Google Maps and the TTC (Toronto Transit Commission) - I'm not sure if I already posted this overlay or not. If not, here is the Toronto subway network (known as the TTC) overlaid onto Google Maps. So much more could be done with the captions for this hack. Station information, accessibility info, photos etc. I'm sure more detail will be added to this or an enhanced mashup.
Saturday, July 16, 2005
Google Map interface now includes a scale!
Since any good map includes a scale, Google Maps is no longer an exception. If you check Google Maps today you'll notice at the bottom left of the map tool, there is now a handy scale to judge distance. For Canadians and other countries using the metric system, it is displayed in kilometres as well as miles!
(Thanks to the good folks at Google Sightseeing and Sightseeing with Google Maps for the tip!)
(Thanks to the good folks at Google Sightseeing and Sightseeing with Google Maps for the tip!)
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Find your friendly local brothel on Google Maps!
Quickie Google Search Lays Out "Brothels"
Yahoo! News - Thu May 12
What do the University of Oregon's history department in Eugene, Ore.; the Happy Ending bar in Manhattan; and the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D. have in common?
According to Google Maps, the for-free location and driving instructions service that the San Francisco-based search giant operates, all are identified as houses of ill repute.
Yahoo! News - Thu May 12
What do the University of Oregon's history department in Eugene, Ore.; the Happy Ending bar in Manhattan; and the Abstinence Clearinghouse in Sioux Falls, S.D. have in common?
According to Google Maps, the for-free location and driving instructions service that the San Francisco-based search giant operates, all are identified as houses of ill repute.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
Google Maps Mania
If you're like me you were absolutely floored when Google came out with the Google Maps service. Sure, it's just another mapping service.. Until you realize it's full potential. The ability to toggle between regular street/road maps and a satellite view is unreal. I've started to see a lot of buzz around the blogging community about Google Maps so I've decided to help you keep up with the Google Maps related sites, blogs and tools that are cropping up.
Stay tuned.
Stay tuned.
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