TripGeo - Directions with Video Streetview

TripGeo - Directions with Video Streetview

"If you need a directions widget for your business, school or college you could do a lot worse than embed a free Directions Map widget on your website. TripGeo Directions uses Google Maps to help users create an embedable driving directions map for their website or blog.

The really fun part of this Google Maps based widget however is that it also allows you to create animated Street View tours. If you just add a starting point and a destination to Directions Map you can then view the route entirely in Street View.

Directions Map allows users to create driving directions from any starting point to any location. Users can also define the height, width and the map type of their widget. Once the widget has been embedded on a website it can then be used to follow the given driving directions or to view an animated walk-through of the route in Street View.

The animated walk-throughs of routes with Street View are very impressive. Given the impressive nature of these Street View animated routes I can see Directions Map also being used by websites to create virtual tours. In fact Directions Map has created a number of example animated Street View routes for locations around the world."

Glide along with directions and video streeview (click play).

Here are links to some of the example animated Street View routes:

Chapmans Peak Drive, South Africa
Chateau d'Eox , Switzerland
Golden Gate Bridge
Colosseum, Rome
Las Vegas Boulevard
London, from the Houses of Parliament to the British Museum

Because Directions Map uses dynamic URL's you can even play about with the web address to quickly create your own routes by changing the start point and destination in the URL.

Here is the URL for New York to Boston:

http://s3.tripgeo.com/dirmap/map.htm?from=New%20York&to=Boston

If you want to view a Street View animation of the route from New York to San Francisco just change 'Boston' to 'San Francisco in the URL above. So what routes can you create. Post links to your routes in the comments below.

Update: microformats.dk has quickly created a page combining a Directions Map Street View tour of the Alpe d' Huez with a Kraftwerk YouTube video. Superb!

cross-posted from Google Maps Mania

Open Street Map Routing, Directions & Export

Open Street Map Routing, Directions & Export

OpenStreetMap (OSM) gets even more powerful with directions and routing tools.

Find, View and Export your custom directions.

Designed Routes for:

• Car
• Heavy Goods Vehicles
• Goods Vehicles
• Public Service Vehicles (Buses)
• Motorcycles
• Bicycles
• Pedestrian
• Moped
  

Simply have a start and end location - midpoints/waypoints can be included.


Directions 'explain' your routes, like a satnav would, turn by turn, includes all road names.


Export, a very useful component lets you export in GPS exchange format (.gpx) or waypoints (.wpt) format.

The map with route (above) example:

http://nroets.dev.openstreetmap.org/demo/index.html?lat=54.6&lon=-3.8&zoom=5&layers=B000TTTTT&v=motorcar&adj=recommended&markers=!50.06626%2C-5.71482!58.64026%2C-3.06984

Click 'Recommended' to calculate the route.

BBC Travel Maps & Journey Planners

BBC Travel Maps & Journey Planners
*powered by Transport Direct

BBC has integrated the Transport Direct website into it's own BBC Travel (News) Portal

• Door-to-door journey planner
• Find a train
• Find a flight
• Find a car route
• Find a Coach or Bus
• Compare city-to-city journey
• Day trip planner
• Plan to a car park or park and ride
• Find a cycle route (New) *Limited Coverage

Cycle routes are now included - though limited to 50km in directions/route and is limited to cities around the UK.



Find Flights from UK Cities with the best fares.

Journey Planning highlights congested areas

The routes are displayed on Ordnance Survey raster tiles with data supplied by transport direct.
Additional interactive point of interest (parking, bus stations etc) are also applied to the map.

Useful links:

Main Portal
http://bbc.transportdirect.info

Live Travel News
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/web2/livetravel/travelnews.aspx

Find a Train
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindTrainInput.aspx

Find a Flight
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindFlightInput.aspx

Find a Car Route
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindCarInput.aspx

Find a Coach
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindCoachInput.aspx
or Bus
http://bbc.transportdirect.info/Web2/JourneyPlanning/FindBusInput.aspx

Biking Directions on Google Maps - New!

Biking Directions on Google Maps - New! (in beta)

Green 'highlighted' lines are specific for Cyclists using Google Bicycle directions

• Bike lanes: For more than 150 cities in the US, we know which streets have dedicated bicycle lanes. These are also prioritized when coming up with a routing suggestion. On the bicycling layer, you’ll see these roads indicated in bright green.

• Recommended routes: For many cities we also provide information on streets that have been designated as good for cyclists, so we them into account in our algorithm. These roads are indicated with dashed green lines on our bicycling layer.

• Uphill slopes: l don't know anyone who enjoys biking up a hill, especially when you're trying to get somewhere you need to be. Going uphill is worse than simply being much slower; it's also exhausting and can take a toll on the rest of your ride. Our biking directions are based on a physical model of the amount of power your body has to exert given the slope of the road you’re biking on. Assuming typical values for mass and for wind resistance, we compute the effort you’ll require and the speed you’ll achieve while going uphill. We take this speed into account when determining the time estimate for your journey, and we also try hard to avoid routes that will require an unreasonable degree of exertion. Sometimes the model will determine that it's far more efficient to make you ride several extra blocks than to have to deal with a massive hill. My teammates in San Francisco were relieved to see that this does indeed work!

• Downhill slopes: Many cyclists will tell you that going downhill is annoying for a different reason: you may have to ride your brakes all the way down. All else equal, we try to avoid routes that require a lot of braking. Of course, in some cities, including my hometown of Seattle, this isn’t always possible! And if you feel like you need a big workout and want to climb some hills, or if you just love that wind-in-your-hair feeling of a long downhill (you better be wearing a helmet and staying safe!), you can always turn on the terrain layer to check out the hilliness of an area for yourself.

• Busy roads: Cyclists often tend to prefer to stay off of fast roads, and not even cross them unless it's necessary. This is roughly the inverse of driving directions, where you want to stay on arterials and freeways, so we had to rework a lot of those fundamental calculations when coming up with our biking directions algorithm.

• Busy intersections: We try to avoid making you cross busy streets with a lot of car traffic and long wait times.

Try it (US only currently)
http://maps.google.com/biking
(goes into official mapplet mode)

The Official Blog Post is now available:
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/biking-directions-added-to-google-maps.html

and official cross blog post
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/03/its-time-to-bike.html

updates
@Mapperz

Google Maps JavaScript API v3 - Now with Directions

Google Maps JavaScript API v3 - Now with Directions

**Remember Google Maps JavaScript API v3 is designed to be super lightweight for mobile devices

This makes mapping for mobile devices a lot more useful


New Directions (Walking or Driving) in London - Google Maps V3

@mapperz example above
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/google_mapv3_directions.html

With a Directions Panel
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/google_mapv3_directions_panel.html


Code:
New required parameters

var directionDisplay;
var directionsService = new google.maps.DirectionsService();

Set Start and End locations:

function calcRoute() {
var start = document.getElementById("start").value;
var end = document.getElementById("end").value;
var request = {
origin:start,
destination:end,

Travel Modes:

travelMode: google.maps.DirectionsTravelMode.WALKING
travelMode: google.maps.DirectionsTravelMode.DRIVING

Get the response from the Geocoder if both locations geocoded then display route between locations:

directionsService.route(request, function(response, status) {
if (status == google.maps.DirectionsStatus.OK) {
directionsDisplay.setDirections(response);


See the changelog
http://code.google.com/p/gmaps-api-issues/wiki/JavascriptMapsAPIv3Changelog

revelant links
Official documentation
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/v3/reference.html#DirectionsRenderer
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/v3/reference.html#DirectionsService

Offical Examples:
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/v3/examples/directions-simple.html
http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/v3/examples/directions-panel.html

source:
http://groups.google.com/group/google-maps-js-api-v3/browse_thread/thread/ee7ce7cf8a872268?hl=en#

Cloudmade: Directions Africa Cape Town to Ethiopia

Cloudmade: Directions Africa Cape Town to Ethiopia

OpenStreetMap gets a boost with capable directions now across Africa



Africa Directions from Cape Town to Ethiopia click 'Hide' view the map route on the map.

view the url:
http://maps.cloudmade.com/?lat=-9.622414&lng=11.25&zoom=3&directions=-33.914731015167575,18.423986434936523,
3.5024553022772564,39.056396484375&travel=car&styleId=1

Other Cloudmade news
http://blog.cloudmade.com/
CloudMade partners release new mobile libraries

Raster Libraries

• Java Micro Edition J2ME (updated)
• Blackberry (new)
• Android (new)

Vector Libraries

• Windows Mobile (new)
• Symbian (new)
• Windows Desktop (new)

Nutiteq have long been a trusted CloudMade partner providing mobile libraries. They have now added CloudMade support for two leading mobile platforms - Blackberry and Android. Blackberry commands a high worldwide market share for smart phones and is the leading platform for email and enterprise. Google’s Android has set a new bar for open source mobile OSes, and we expect a number of new handsets to come to market during the remainder of this year. Both libraries give access to a full range of CloudMade services including custom image tiles, geosearch and routing.

Nokia N97, Ovi Maps - The Mapperz Review

Nokia N97 Ovi Maps Review

"Ovi Maps is the new name for Nokia Maps."

Nokia have updated their mapping application.

Some good improvements and new content and new features and simpler cost structure.

Old map data is recognised in the new software and will update the data, though depending on the amount of coverage you choose. Total for the entire world is towards 7GB. The UK is 156.5mb.
Pre-loading the maps will save you money in 'data transfer' costs over the mobile networks.

Nokia Maps now Ovi Maps was updated last Thursday (11/06/09)


A quick note: Getting GPS Fixes faster. (less than a minute with 5 satellites
using standard GPS - no network based or A-GPS which uses the mobile
network to access GPS positional data)

The New N97 has more GPS details - in Applications>Location you can find
this in Position options Satellite Status will give you the signal strength of all
the GPS satellites available.
The view can be changed to Satellite display that gives the orbits on a radial
chart with sun and moon positions also. A nice feature, could this be implemented
in the Ovi Maps Application on the phone?

Back to the Maps:

What is New?

• The map (vector) data has been completely updated
• Current weather forecast information.
• Speed Limit Warner
• Saftey Spot Warner
• Travel time or Time of Arrival option
• Automatic 'Re-route' due to traffic option
• Walking Directions has the option of straight-line distance to the destination.
• Automatic 'Day/Night Time' Map mode.
• Maps Improvement option.
• *Compass mode (N97) Map rotates with you touch dragging (pan & zoom)
• Search Nearby - vastly improved and more details available to users
• Synchronisation with Ovi Maps Online. (confirmed this works very well)
• Performance has been much improved (panning the map)
• bugs fixed and is now a more stable application.
• Better support and help - on phone or online option

Compass requires calibration before the function is available to use.

Traffic Information is now displayed on the Map even in 3D mode - Routes can be
automatic recalculated to avoid traffic incidents.

Smoothness, there has been a big improvement in the panning and zoom,
no jittering - when in driving navigating the map keeps up with the speed
of the vehicle. Navigation does repeat 3 times, one for advanced warning
- 350 yards. Then reminders at 50-30yds then 10 yards.

Walking mode does have the addition of straight line 'as the crow flies'
direction and distance.
(Golf players might use this to their advantage.)
Note the compass is 'green' meaning it is calibrated and active giving the
user the sense of bearing.


Details on the map data:

v3.01 09wk24 b01 MV OpenGL LM MN

Map Version 0.1.22.103 OpenbitLM 6.21.3

Data souces:

Navteq Maps 2008.

NavInfo (Traffic info)

Satellite Imagemap 2002 - Planetary Visions

Imagery - Digital Global 2008

Aronbado por el Insitututo Geografico Milltar 5 Sept 2008.

STRM V4 2008 CIAT

update 25th January 2010 - New devices N97 (June 2009 onwards) Navigation is now Free
for life of the Phone. see
http://maps.nokia.com/explore-services/ovi-maps/downloads#/default/

Costs: (based on UK prices) - For Directions and Voice Navigation.

£52.99 for a year.(covers Europe).

£6.00 for 30 days.

£1.50 per day

*Pricing for other regions vary

1. Bug found: When using the 3D map option on the N97 - the touch screen only pans
upwards, the user cannot pan down the map.

Overall impressed with Nokia Ovi Maps 3 and where this application is going,
not only improving the software, the map data but introducing new and useful
features that engage and interacts with the user getting them to and from
locations conveniently.
Also the maps (vector data from Navteq now Nokia owned) are more up-to-date
than many online mapping
sources including TeleAtlas etc. (which Google uses).
At least areas that Mapperz has tested in so far.

This is the final beta stage of Ovi maps version 3. Expect the full release
in the next few weeks for
all current nokia phones that can support the application.

SportTracker Users will be happy to know that this is working for the N97 with
the touch screen controls.
Please visit Symbian World for more on this:
http://symbianworld.org/1187-sports-tracker-finally-
available-for-nokia-n97-and-5800/

Ovi Maps is a free application for S60 devices, though extra features
'Directions and Voice Navigation' require licences that can be purchased
through the application.
More information
http://betalabs.nokia.com/betas/view/nokia-maps-30-maps-ovi

More details on the N97 Mapperz recommends:
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/reviews/item/Nokia_N97
_Review-Part_1-First_impressions.php
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/9902_Nokia_N97
_Review-Part_2-Touch-.php

A very special thanks to the team at http://www.womworld.com/nokia/
for a very successful 'Search for N' competition.

Bing Maps for Mobile (with directions)

Bing Maps for Mobile (with directions)

related update: Just released!
Bing Maps 3D - http://tinyurl.com/Bing-Maps-3D
(though it is/was the same as Virtual Earth plugin just renamed)
source:
http://www.microsoftwindowsos.com/bing-maps-3d-has-been-released

Bing Maps for Mobile (Cell) Phone is now available with Driving Directions and Walking Directions.


Clean and Simple -Very fast response for Mobile devices.


There seems to be a neat function that it takes traffic information and applies it to the outcome or at least a warning of possible delays.

It is possible to test this function on a normal web browser

Other features are available (weather, local information etc.) from http://m.bing.com/

here is the link
http://tinyurl.com/BingMapsMobile

Google My Maps Directions [Save & Share]

Google My Maps Directions [Save & Share]

It is now possible to create your own custom directions in My Maps.

Snapping fixes itself to the centreline of the teleatlas data.

This can then be saved and shared to anyone.

Edit and customise your own routes.

Source:

http://www.nearby.org.uk/blog/2009/04/23/directions

-to-my-maps-finally/

Official Blog [Google LatLong]

http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2009/04/save-and-share

-directions-with-my-maps.html

The Times: Best walks in the British Isles with Maps

The Times: Best walks in the British Isles with Maps
The Times are promoting the best of British walks with the use of custom made route maps and Google maps.
The Routes are also available for Mobile Phones:
http://timesmobile.mobi/walks

Here are the 20 Walks in PDF Format

All have Blister Ratings, Pub Ratings and View Ratings.

1. Alfriston - Seven Sisters, East Sussex, by Alan Franks
2. Oxford - Wolvercote circular by Libby Purves
3. Branscombe to Beer, Devon, by Monty Halls
4. Land's End to Nanjizal by Alex Wade
5. Withypool, Exmoor, Somerset by Alice Thomson
6. Porlock Weir to Culbone Church, Exmoor, Somerset by Joe Swift (Porlock Weir spelling is wrong on the pdf)
7. Oxwich Bay, Gower Peninsula, Wales by Kate Humble
8. Brecon Beacons Horseshoe, Wales, by Damian Whitworth
9. Snowdon via the Pyg Track, Wales by David Aaronovitch
10. Malham Cove , Yorkshire Dales by Matthew Hoggard
11. Muker-Keld, Yorkshire Dales by Ann Treneman
12. Seathwaite - Scafell Pike, Lake District by Giles Whittell
13. Ullswater, Lake District by Hunter Davies
14. Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh by Hugo Rifkind
15. Skipness-Claonaig, the Kintyre Way, Scotland by Ben Macintyre
16. Sileve Binnian, Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland by David Sharrock
17. Chew Green, Northumberland by Christopher Somerville
18. Blythburgh - Eastbridge, Suffolk by Simon Barnes
19. Wells-next-the-Sea to Cley, Norfolk by Richard Morrison
20. The New River and the Lee, Hertfordshire by Derwent May

**There seems to be a copyright acknowledgment issue here - some pdf's reveal that there is Ordnance Survey 1:50,000 rasters underneath the 'walking route maps' but there is no crown copyright acknowledgment on the map or pdf's. Hope the Times realize this is breaking crown copyright.


Two Botleys on the - map confusion - No Oxford? - Summertown sliced off and where are the toilets? No Scale? No copyright**? [image for illustration only]

Cartographically these maps are not the best - the editors missed the importance of Toilets on the routes and there are various spelling mistakes and label mis-placement but they do guide you for their purpose.

They do also presume you have the relevant Ordnance Survey Explorer Maps [1:25,000].
These can be viewed from Multimap [OS Map mode] and Where is the Path for free.

Google Map Maker Directions - New!

Google Map Maker Directions - New!

Last week, Google switched on the MapMaker Tiles for API developers. See previous post (12th Feb '09).

MapMaker is based on user generated content.

"With Google Map Maker, you can become a citizen cartographer and help improve the quality of maps and local information in your region. You are invited to map the world with us!"

Now those tiles have graduated to Google Maps. 31 countries (of 160+) have made it so far - though this is likely to expand through the year and beyond.

The Full List is available
http://sites.google.com/site/mapmakeruserhelp/countries-on-google-maps

But wait there is more...

Driving Directions in MapMaker New!
(but use with caution)

Directions in a simpler form have been enabled, usually only the likes of TeleAtlas navigation is used on Google maps but now user contributed content is being used for the first time available in Map Maker Mode only at present [google login required].

Some of the countries do not have the simplified driving directions available.

Here is a working example
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl=en&ctype=0&saddr=Quetta&daddr=Zhob&dirflg=&gw=56&ll=30.192618,68.895264&spn=4.756322,7.426758&z=7
but don't expect this to be the shortest route.

Here is a better example
http://www.google.com/mapmaker?hl=en&ctype=0&saddr=Colombo&daddr=Mullaitvu&dirflg=&gw=56&ll=8.070086,80.330403&spn=2.724552,3.713379&z=8

Source:
http://sites.google.com/site/mapmakeruserhelp/using-directions

CloudMade - A Preview the Future of Mapping

CloudMade - A Preview the Future of Mapping

update:


Have faster maps - if you use Open Street Map - Please donate to help get whizzy fast servers.
http://donate.openstreetmap.org/

• Funding Target: £ 10,000
• Raised: £15,579 (155.79%) - Well Done!
• Google donates £5,000 (source: twitter)
  

(invest your money here rather than a UK bank - your get a better return)

And there are thanks from the Open Street Map Team
"UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who has donated. Any additional contributions raised will be used to fund additional hardware on other under resourced OpenStreetMap servers."


Sneek Peek - Cycling directions with option to export to JSON or GPX format

"On the evening of the 12th February, CloudMade invite you to preview the future of mapping application development. Our developer launch event will feature a keynote talk from CloudMade Founder Steve Coast, who will share his pioneering vision of mapping."

The evening will also feature presentations from a selection of CloudMade partners who will demonstrate never seen before web and mobile applications built using CloudMade's web services. You'll have the opportunity to talk one on one to the CloudMade team and to our partner developers to find out exactly how CloudMade can help you build better applications.

The London launch event will be held at the Holborn Bars, 138-142 Holborn, The City, London, EC1N 2NQ (view on map). There will be a drinks reception and networking from 6 - 6.30pm followed by presentations and the launch event. The event will conclude around 8.30pm, with some time for additional networking.

"CloudMade's web services are going to change the way your users experience geo apps. We've been working on a set of Tools and APIs to give you access to verified OpenStreetMap data on the platform you choose in the formats you want."

Two developer events in San Francisco and London will introduce you to CloudMade's unique services. If you're a developer building web, mobile or desktop mapping applications, these are the events for you.

Sneek peek video showing the neat map editor 'Edit Map Styles'



CloudMade StyleEditor ScreenCast from CloudMade on Vimeo.

Google Maps API - Walking Directions

update - from The Google Maps API Team

"This is the testing version of the Maps API JS, is not meant for production, and is liable to change at any time. Only use it for your personal experiments, and don't be surprised if it breaks later."


Google Maps API - Walking Directions New!

Previously only 'Walking Directions' was available in Google Maps - Now available to be customised in the Google Maps API.

Try Mapperz version
http://mapperz.googlepages.com/Google_Maps_API_Walking_Directions.html


Thanks to Mike Williams with his useful and informative posts (usually with an example or two) on the Google Maps API Group with Version changes to the API. Walking Directions is made available in version *v2.124.


*Warning v2.124 is still subject to change.

source:
http://groups.google.com/group/Google-Maps-API/browse_thread/thread/0a12fef4439790cf#

v2.124 adds walking and avoid highways routing to the API.

The new GDirectionsOptions are:
{travelMode:G_TRAVEL_MODE_WALKING}
{avoidHighways:true}

The defaults are
{travelMode:G_TRAVEL_MODE_DRIVING}
{avoidHighways:false}

Example: http://econym2.googlepages.com/temp_walk.htm

Note: API v2.124 is not yet live. It's possible that the code may be
changed before it goes live.

Walking Directions 'Beta' Now in Google Maps

Walking Directions Beta Now in Google Maps

Update:
'Walking Directions' option will appear when directions that are 6.2 miles (10 kilometers) or less.

Update2 - Mibazaar via Google Maps Mania finds a long detour.A 2 mile walk is now '120 mi (193 km) – about 1 day 15 hours'
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&geocode=&saddr=detroit,mi&daddr=Windsor,+Essex,+Ontario,+Canada&mra=cc&dirflg=w&doflg=ptm&sll=42.482226,-82.692719&sspn=0.474992,0.85144&ie=UTF8&t=h&z=10
So Beta it is...



Traditional Driving Directions take you around Hyde Park, London
Map Directions (Car)
Longer Distance (3 miles but shorter time for the journey 12 mins)
**(excludes finding parking, pay for parking and sitting in traffic waiting for parking)


Switching to 'Walking' Beta Mode shows it's much shorter to Walk than Driving taking only 8 minutes longer than Driving .
Map Directions (Walking)
Shorter Distance (1 mile for the journey but 20 minutes in duration)
*** Use caution when walking in unfamiliar areas.

Official Blog Post
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/07/pound-pavement.html

New Virtual Earth API Release - Virtual Earth 6.1

UK Live Maps users get back Live Maps! (not Multimap)

"But a couple of unfortunate bugs caused the redirect to not go as planned! One issue was that the MultiMap site was supposed to have prominent links back to Live Maps so that visitors could easily get back if they wanted. Also, web surfers who specifically entered maps.live.com in their browser should not have been redirected at all; only the links from the MSN homepage and other places should have been redirecting to Multimap. But the redirection bug caused all requests for Maps.live.com to redirect to Multimap and was compounded by the fact that there was no link to get back to Live maps. Ugh. it was an ugly situation indeed"

http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!14442.entry

Video VE 6.1 using 3D VE Plugin showing BirdsEye View with IE8 (not IE7 emulated) .




UK Users visting Live Maps - get Multimap and are getting annoyed!

Live Maps UK re-directs to Multimap now (annoying UK Users)
http://maps.live.co.uk/

Here is the solution (work-around)
http://maps.live.com/?mkt=en-us



update2 - Found some more 'New' Features...

Export to KML, GPX or GeoRSS



* Lots of back end improvements (seems much snappier, right off the bat)
* Safari and IE8 compatibility ( Mapperz tested and works)
* Map Control update to version 6.1 (for developers
* Export your Collection to your Nav/GPS device (nice!)
* Improved "version 2" cities (Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver, Phoenix , more tocome)
* 3D modeling with 3DVIA (much improved)
* Labels for Bird's Eye imagery (looks good in London)
* 1-Click Directions improvements
* MapCruncher Integration (add layers of information from within Live Maps)
* "GeoWeb" tagging and collections enhancements
* Neighborhood Subscribe via GeoRSS
* Tour Enhancements including Hi-Def Movies
* Directions and Traffic Enhancements
* Improved KML display including Google MyMaps links



update1 'A quick VE 6.1 mashup'

Birdeye View now has labels and roads as an option.
try it here

New Virtual Earth API Release - Virtual Earth 6.1




"You thought our photo-texturing was good before? Check it out now Yes, those are trees!"

Microsoft have launched a new version of the Virtual Earth API.
The release has a host of new features and takes advantage of some of the capabilities on Live Search Maps.

Here is the list of new features:

Immersive Imagery
Virtual Earth is an industry leader in providing precise views of the world through bird’s eye1 view and panning, and improved 3D model accuracy and resolution, among other features. Precise imagery creates immersive end-user experiences that bring location-based information to life.
More Detailed 3D Experiences: With this latest release, the map detail for Las Vegas, NV; Phoenix, AZ; Dallas, TX; and Denver, CO features improvements in 3D model accuracy and resolution detail to reveal more buildings, small terrain features, building textures, and trees that enhance overall realism. This enhanced 3D map detail will soon roll out to the more than 250 cities where 3D models are currently available.

Image enhancements
Tailored 3D Tours. Media producers can customize video output of 3D fly though tours in six resolutions, in 15 or 30 frames per second, and can add photos and hide or display pushpin icons.
Bird’s Eye View in 3D. Users can easily toggle bird’s eye view on and off for a seamless end-user experience.
Bird’s Eye Hybrid View. Customers can now select a new map style called Bird’s Eye Hybrid that adds street names to the bird’s eye maps to provide end users better visual context and orientation.

Enhanced Location Functionality

This latest release of Virtual Earth provides organizations with a host of new features that deliver directions—in more languages—to get users where they’re going faster. With enhanced tools that provide greater flexibility and control over the development of location solutions, organizations can continue to update and enhance their online experience to help them remain competitive and provide satisfying end-user experiences.

New Walking Directions. When traveling on foot, users in North America and the European Union can now find the most direct route to walk to their destination, ignoring one-way streets, medians, and other detours that pertain to motor vehicles.

New Traffic-based Routing. Want to take the frontage road and avoid the highway at rush hour? Users can now choose alternate routes based on current traffic flows to get where they’re going faster.

New Reverse Geocoding. Users in the U.S. can now find the closest street address based only on latitude and longitude coordinates from a GPS or other geospatial device.

Improved Localized Directions. Organizations can now provide users with localized driving or walking directions in 15 languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, and Italian, among others.

New Locales. The Virtual Earth dashboard, or navcontrol, is localized to support languages including English for U.S.-based speakers, Japanese, Italian, Spanish for U.S.-based speakers, as well as French for both France and Canada-based speakers.

Enhanced Infrastructure
he Virtual Earth platform is designed for the enterprise user, from features to support. This 6.1 release enhances the platform infrastructure with new cross-browser support to reach more users. The Interactive SDK is available now to demonstrate the latest features and functionality.

Safari Support. The new map control includes improved support for Apple Safari 2 and new support for Safari 3, enabling Mac users to enjoy many of the features of Virtual Earth that are available on Internet Explorer®.

Improved Printing Support. Printing support for maps is enhanced to print the driving route in relation to the map. Printing support is also expanded for cross-browser support of Internet Explorer 6 and 7, Firefox 2 for PC, and Safari 2 and 3 for Mac only.

Updated Interactive SDK. Customers can now access the new Virtual Earth Interactive SDK for online viewing or via download, to demonstrate the new functionality of the Virtual Earth map control.

In addition to the new features they have fixed over 100 "bugs!"

Official Source:
http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/04/11/new-virtual-earth-api-release-virtual-earth-6-1.aspx

Yahoo Go! 3 (Beta) Maps Updated

Yahoo Go Beta 3 Maps updated

Yahoo Go 3 beta is now on version 3.0.0.18

Directions are now supported across borders - UK & France

UK has Driving directions overviews (quickest/shortest who knows?)

Hybird and Satellite modes are available.

Downside - on the N82 with auto-rotate Yahoo Go! Beta complains it cannot display in Landscape mode on the Phone - weird.

Google Maps Mobile supports this

Google Maps can cope with Auto-Rotation on Nokia N82's

Yes still in Beta, there is still room for improvements. Both Google Maps and Yahoo do not have traffic information for UK or Europe, maybe take this out of the options when you have selected a European Location as default?

Nokia N82 users there was firmware updated made available 08/04/2008 (version 20).

See
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/7018_Flash_Video_and_Web_Runtime_hi.php

The 108.2mb update - mainly includes Flash lite support and adds GPS location (geotagging) to photographs you take (provoided you have a good GPS fix).

So now you can view stickpeople fighting....

Flash is now available for N82 users.
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiao_Xiao

Yahoo Maps Re-route Directions

Yahoo Maps have made a change to the directions function. You can now re-route by dragging the original route (similar to google maps directions).




Try it at
http://maps.yahoo.co.uk/ (UK Centred)
or
http://maps.yahoo.com/ (US Centered)

Google Reverse Geocoder Update

Google Reverse Geocoder Update New! v1.0.2

Reverse Geocoding is the inverse relationship where each geographical coordinate is mapped to the nearest known address. Currently this feature is not directly supported by the Google Map API. But can be done by Nico's Reverse Geocoder for Google Maps API using Google's Directions functionality.

Based on the Original Post by Mapperz

Nico has been keen to add some more useful functionality to the Reverse Geocoder.



Pan and Zoom click your location and the address and country code is shown.

What is New?

• all supported countries

• house number support (experimental)

Test Country support here
http://nicogoeminne.googlepages.com/full2.html

Available Counties:

Country	GClientGeocoder	GDirections	GReverseGeocoder
Austria	x	x	p
Australia	x	x	p
Belgium	x	x	x
Brazil	x	x	x
Canada	x	x	p
The Czech Republic	x	x	p
Denmark	x	x	p
Finland	x	x	p
France	x	x	x
Germany	x	x	x
Hong Kong	x	n	n
Hungary	x	x	p
India	x	n	n
Ireland	x	x	p
Italy	x	x	x
Japan	x	n	n
Luxembourg	x	x	x
The Netherlands	x	x	x
New Zealand	x	x	x
Norway	x	x	p
Poland	x	x	p
Portugal	x	x	p
Singapore	x	x	p
Spain	x	x	p
Sweden	x	x	p
Switzerland	x	x	p
Taiwan	x	n	n
Thailand	x	x	p
United Kingdom	x	x	x
United States	x	x	x

(x=available, n=not available, p=probably available but not tested)

Experimental House Number Support

Since v1.0.2. Once the Reverse geocoder is set up experimental house number support is enabled by calling the setExperimentalHouseNumber method as shown in the example.

reversegeocoder.setExperimentalHouseNumber(true);

Important note:
THIS FEATURE IS EXPERIMENTAL AND USES MULTIPLE
GClientGeocoder AND GDirections
REQUESTS WHICH COULD EXCESS THE GOOGLE REQUEST LIMITS.
That's exactly why it is disabled (uncommented) in the full example.
Use it on own risk.

Google Directions Tweak

Google Directions Tweak - Non Stop

The Google Directions with the draggable route (auto-recalculates your route) has had a tweak.
When you now drag the route and release at a location there is no longer an intermediate stop marker added. This makes a small but very good improvement on the results of the directions.

here is a quick example sw1 to sw2 and re-routed



see the route, now excludes a stop so directions are more accurate.

Simple but very useful.

Official blog post on this
http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2007/11/viva-la-via.html