Mapperz - The Map & GIS News finding blog. With so many Mapping sites online. This blog tries to provide you with the best maps and services that are currently available online.
@mapperz
More live reporting and mapping the activities surrounding the G20 Summit from the BBC.
"Use this live map to follow the G20 summit by exploring London in video, audio, pictures and text."
"Updates will appear on this map throughout the summit, tracking both the G20 itself and the protests expected to accompany it.
When first loaded, the map's focus falls on the City, where demonstrations are expected on Wednesday.
Scroll right to view developments at the Excel Centre in London's Royal Docks area, which hosts the summit on Thursday, 2 April, and zoom out to explore farther afield." source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7975220.stm
Developer note: Bug: the svb (StreetView Bearing) is currently unavailable [users can still manually rotate the streetview images], Map Channels is informed and they are currently finishing another project but there is likely to be an update to this in the near future (plus enhancements) please see: Src Parameter Name:svb on this (at the bottom).
ITV(A UK TV channel) has added new developments to its genealogy site Genes Reunited,
"The Genes Reunited site has launched a new maps feature which enables people to see where their ancestors lived up to 168 years ago."
When members [login required] search family not only can they view their results as they appear in the original records, but their findings are shown on a detailed map.
Now in the Finnish language (apart from when in 3D the controls revert to English)
Katu (Road Map) Finland full coverageof roads throughout the country.
Ilmakuva (Aerial Mode) Mostly low resolution outside the large towns and cities but clear high resolution aerial photography Helsinki.
Lintuperspektiivi (Bird’s Eye) Now has Gigabytes of oblique photography for different areas in Finland in Virtual Earth.
3D Live Maps Finland now has the 3D view activated with access to near-real-time weather.
Merkit (Labels) You can turn the labels on and off in the different aerial modes.
Yritys (Yellow Pages) Put in the Mikä (what) and put in the Missä (where) and start exploring a local yellow page listing result set provided by Fonecta.
Kokoelman Nimi [Explore Collections] It is now possible to explore collections on Live Maps Finland. User generated content. Zoom in and click on “Kokoelma”.
Jaa (Share) Users can now not only share map links in mail but also publish them to their blog with just one click.
imageAjo-ohjeet (Directions) The routing engine now allows the creation directions using nopein reitti (quickest route), lyhin reitti (shortest distance) or kävelymatka (walking) Walking directions is available giving users the quickest way suitable for pedestrians.
Tulosta (Print) The site provides you with a specific style sheet setup just for printing.
Other features: vCards: Business addresses can be opened as vCards in Outlook. Virtual Earth Web Service for geo-coding.
This one is for the kids and big kids. Created by artists Heidi Simonsen, Stephen May, Augusto Michelis and Matthew Collins This experience may take up to a minute to load on your screen. Virtual Earth 3D requires the following to run on your computer:
Microsoft Windows XP or Microsoft Windows Vista
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6, Windows Internet Explorer 7 or later, or Firefox 2.0 or later
250 MB or more hard disk space
A 1 GHz processor (2.8 GHz or faster recommended)
256 MB of system memory (1 GB recommended)
32 MB video card (256 MB recommended) that supports Microsoft DirectX 9
Yellow Pages - Canada (Beta) - using the Virtual Earth Platform
Both English and French Languages are supported.
Cluster Mapping works very well, clicking on them zooms to the area and icons are shown individually.
The hidden plus is the accessibility of the Text can be increased for users .
Use the instructions below to change the font size on Maps.ca: Use the Text Size Increase buttons at the top right-hand side of the page
Or You can adjust the text size in your browser. Please consult your specific browser’s help file for specific instructions on adjusting text size.
"Maps.ca Launches Beta Version of Yellow Pages Portal Featuring Microsoft Virtual Earth Maps.ca has beta launched a new version of its Yellow Pages portal, utilizing Virtual Earth maps and imagery to help customers locate and save business and travel information. The “find on a map” feature uses Virtual Earth AJAX Control’s geocoding capabilities, and provides relevant results for address or place-of-interest queries. By searching through the new site, customers can quickly locate business information, and are provided with driving directions and updates, including Virtual Earth traffic data. In addition, visitors are able to customize maps, selecting and saving locations most pertinent to them for access later."
BBC Olympic and Paralympic Heroes Parade Map (A BBC first to report a live event using mapping tools)
BBC has created a map showing the route of the parade using the Microsoft Virtual Earth API. The line on the map marks the route the parade will take, from Mansion House to Trafalgar Square.
The procession leaves Mansion House at 1100 BST (so the map will hopefully be updating shortly after that time) Ollie Williams created this map with the intention for people who cannot attend the parade and will be uploading images live from the parade so the map will have more content during today. "If you're not going, you can use the map to follow instant photo and text updates from points along the route."
"It's clever stuff, and it allows us to tell the story of events in a complex, live, graphic environment for the first time." A mobile phone camera with built in GPS and Flickr and ShoZu websites will be used.
"Geocoding is the process of finding associated geographic coordinates (often expressed as latitude and longitude) from other geographic data, such as street addresses, or zip codes. With geographic coordinates the features can be mapped and entered into Geographic Information Systems, or the coordinates can be embedded into media such as digital photographs via geotagging."
"Reverse Geocoding is the opposite: finding an associated textual location such as a street address, from geographic coordinates."
Clicking on the map near roads sends a request to get the address by location (street number, street name,postcode/zipcode & country). In the screenshot a click was made halfway along 'Downing Street' response was 10 Downing Street, SW1A 2, UK.
Virtual Earth has been updated and there is lots of advances and new features this is just one working example that can be implemented in a few lines of code.
* Static maps * Direct map tile access * Aerial map imagery metadata * Pushpin clustering * Landmark-based directions * Improved geocoding * Expanded rooftop geocoding in the US
# Pushpin clustering. Use the VEShapeLayer.SetClusteringConfiguration Method to set how to display and cluster overlapping pushpins for better shape display at higher altitudes.
# Hints for route instructions. Help your users find route turns with hints about nearby landmarks and intersections using the VERouteItineraryItem.Hints Property.
# Imagery metadata. Retrieve information about imagery using the VEMap.GetImageryMetadata Method.
# Base map disabling. Use the Virtual Earth Mercator projection in non-mapping applications by turning off the base map with the VEMapOptions.LoadBaseTiles Property. You can use the VEMap.HideScalebar Method as well.
# Support for other languages. Retrieve maps with labels in French, German, Italian, and Spanish from Virtual Earth. See the Returning Localized Results topic for a list of supported culture strings.
# 3D model import. Import 3D model data files into a shape layer using the VEMap.Import3DModel Method. Interact with these models as you would any shape.
# Updated interactive SDK. See the new functionality of the Virtual Earth map control demonstrated in the updated Virtual Earth Interactive SDK. [not yet available]
"now live and contains the following 46TB of imagery and vector updates."
* Vector overlays for Navteq and MDS data sources for orthos and Bird's Eye * All mobile tiles * New British Isles Map style
for those interested the new map tiles are load balanced from r0.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net r1.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net r2.ortho.tiles.virtualearth.net
Very impressive Silverlight Demonstration showing weather (cloud/radar) across the USA. (Hurricane Ike can be seen in the bottom right)
Silverlight 2.0 interface and Virtual Earth tiles with real time weather feeds showing current weather conditions. There also is a radar refresh rate 5 minutes or 15 minutes http://demo2.ischosting.net/weathersldemo/ [requires Microsoft Sliverlight]
Other geospatial applications that can be used with Virtual Earth:
26 September 2008 11:00 GMT, London (so 12 noon as UK is on BST)
Following the success of the previous webcast, the second of our quarterly Virtual Earth technical briefings is once again presented by Johannes Kebeck, EMEA Virtual Earth Technology Specialist.
This webcast is aimed at developers and offers an opportunity to get an update on the Virtual Earth platform. Additionally you will learn some of the latest tips and tricks and can take part in an online Q&A with Johanne.
Thursday, October 02, 2008 9:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada) (5pm BST)
Microsoft is excited to announce the latest version of the Virtual Earth platform, which can now deliver the Virtual Earth mapping experience on the desktop, on mobile devices, and via broadcast. The new release features mobile support, expanded international mapping, richer imagery, a broader range of data, and improved functionality. Organizations using Virtual Earth can see more and do more than ever, with enhancements that allow users to find, discover, and visualize data in new and innovative ways. http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032388370&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US
Virtual Earth Globalisation BBC 'The BBC BOX' that is getting tracked around the globe using a GPS beacon that is attached to a Shipping Container. Not very exciting stuff currently but in a year hopefully the paths of the all the routes it has taken will be shown on the Map. Update: They have just filled the BBC Box with whiskey in Glasgow.
This Shipping Container is going to be tracked for a year.
BBC Virtual Earth is being used to track the box at a 12 hourly rate.
InLET Earthquake Simulator (Internet-based Loss Estimation Tool)
Customize your own scenario with this Earthquake damage predictor.
The results display potential damage to property (none, slight, moderate, complete) Also predicts the number of casualties that could arise. Number of bridges effected.
Other functions are available Ground Shaking: Peak Ground Acceleration Real-time (the past 7 days of activity)
Lots of other functions, layer controls, layer transparency, facilities.
Idvsolutions.com have produced a neat Virtual Earth based mapping editor that allows a user to create point,line and polygon overlays, all three have attributes attached and can be exported to KML (Google Earth) or SQL Server 2008 formats.
Bug? Not Sure if this is a bug but when a polygon is created and then the user wants to place a point on top the polygon the polygon becomes editable and no point is placed.
Suggestions Annotation (Text not attached to any specific geometry) Predefined Shapes (Circle, Rectangle, Triangle geometry) Clicking on the edges allows the move the shape Export to other formats GPX,XML etc.
update in blue (see below) BBC Sport's Olympic Map Released
BBC Sport has a nice custom maps using Microsoft Virtual Earth. Image Source:Firefox screenshot of BBC Sport's Olympic Map
BBC Sport's Olympic map for the 2008 Beijing Games.
How to use the map
Yellow sport icons indicate venues Click to find out more about a venue
Blue icons indicate landmarks Click to find out more about places in Beijing
Red icons indicate blog posts Click to read an Olympics blog post
Green icons are Twitter posts Click for an update from a BBC journalist
Image Source:BBC Sport
There are more than 30 venues in Beijing. Sailing in Qingdao on China's north-east coast. Equestrian sports in Hong Kong, to the south.
Clicking different icons allows to find more information about venues.
• Find out more about the 37 Chinese Olympic venues
• Read articles from journalists on BBC Sport's Olympics blog
• Read Twitter updates from BBC Sport's journalists in China
The BBC would like feedback... We would like to hear your feedback on our Olympic map - you can leave your comments on BBC Sport's Olympics blog.
This Map was created using the Virtual Earth API and Custom Maps added using MapCruncher. If you are interested in the methodology of how this has been created here is a good starting point. http://msdnrss.thecoderblogs.com/2008/07/16/bbc-sports-olympic-map/ "The inclement weather and a thick cloud layer over Beijing for the last few MONTHS, it has been incredibly difficult to get good satellite imagery. This makes the MapCruncher overlays a huge benefit to the application. The imagery we’re serving up was taken just a few months ago - obviously tons of progress has been made to the get the stadiums ready for August, but what a great addition to compliment the Virtual Earth platform"
15/04/2008 The Official Virtual Earth Blog picked up the this post and there 'maybe' potential for Virtual Earth to support ESRI Shapefiles in future edtions of Virtual Earth...(v6.2 please). Read the post. http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!14450.entry (add a comment to include this support)
Shapefile Overlay in Virtual Earth
A nice little application to display ESRI Shapefiles in Virtual Earth (Live Maps)
Highlight - Load from your local drive - takes a few moments. **Your data needs to be in WGS84 for this to work correctly.
London Low Emissions Zones (LEZ) Shapefile was projected from British National Grid to WGS84.
When you zoom in the detail is maintained, zoom out an a automatic poylgon generalisation is preformed on your data in the display.
Your data can be rasterised 'on thefly' so it can be shown in 3D in Virtual Earth (Plugin required)
Suggestion - A Legend, possible to select your own colours. A simple "6.1" on the end of the javascript code will update it to VE 6.1 (more functions) "http://dev.virtualearth.net/mapcontrol/mapcontrol.ashx?v=6.1"
A progess bar when uploading from shapefile - FireFox can bail out with an error.
Select .shp only on upload - .dbf and .shx need to exist for a shapefile. Select.zip?
Load .avl or .lyr for thematic maps?
But other than that - if you want to view data in VE quickly then is a good method.
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!
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!"
SQL Server 2008 and Virtual Earth - Looks to become a powerful online GIS (WebGIS)
Most Mapping Applications take data from a database, here users input (Points,Polylines & Polygons) and gets stored in a spatial database, After data is stored, the data can be used in simple analysis, buffering, interesecting, clipping etc. No need to have a desktop GIS anymore (?)
"In the previous parts we have first been looking on the database side and how we can use various mechanisms to load and extract data and we even implemented a geocoder in the database. Then we moved on and investigated various ways to retrieve data from SQL Server 2008 and visualize them in Virtual Earth. In this final part we will now focus on using Virtual Earth as a simple data editor which allows us to write data back to SQL Server 2008."
14 tutorials using Microsoft SQL Server 2008 and Vitrual Earth
