maps

Map your mind 2.0

At the Web 2.0 Expo, I was pushed hard to cover the new Web-based mind-mapping tool, Spinscape. The pitch I got was half demo, half introduction to the topic. I'm a big fan of outliner applications (I miss Grandview and Ecco) but the free-form mind mappers never appealed to me. I prefer a bit more structure.

After the conference, a little alone time with Spinscape did not change my opinion. This is an application that lends itself to a great demo. It looks great and it's got a lot of capability, but I found if you're using it to capture ideas, or maybe map out the ideas that pop up during a meeting, the interface slows you down, at least at first. On the other hand, if you want to annotate a map with notes, links, and pictures, and you have the time and gumption to create the map in the first place, Spinscape will handle it. It also does some useful automatic lookup in Wikipedia and other sources to fill out nodes if you're gathering data and ideas on a topic.

If in your mind's eye your ideas and plans look like molecular models, Spinscape might work for you. But if they look like outlines or Gantt charts, steer clear.

Spinscape intrigued me, since I've never used a Web-based tool like it. A quick bit of research on the Web and Twitter, and a timely news release, yielded four interesting competitors to this application. Despite the fact that they share a design point--creating graphical representations of networks of ideas--they have very different capabilities.

MeadMap is a mind mapper designed for students, and probably the best of these applications for people who think in outlines. It creates networks left-to-right, not from the center out (in Rafe terminology, the sun-and-planets view). It's fast and easy to use. It also allows real-time collaboration and supports live chat with collaborators, which is very useful. Its downside is a limited feature set: You can't import pictures, for example.

Mindomo is the mind mapper for Microsoft Office junkies. Its interface mirrors Office 2007's look and feel, and it has a crazy number of little options you'll never use (just like Office). It also lets you change the overall layout of your map; it doesn't force you to use the sun-and-planet view.

Google diving into 3D mapping of oceans

We've got Google Earth and Google Sky. Next up will be a map of the world below sea level--Google Ocean.

The company has assembled an advisory group of oceanography experts, and in December invited researchers from institutions around the world to the Mountain View, Calif., Googleplex. There, they discussed plans for creating a 3D oceanographic map, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The tool--for now called Google Ocean, the sources say, though that name could change--is expected to be similar to other 3D online mapping applications. People will be able to see the underwater topography, called bathymetry; search … Read more

Google map directions get Street View

Google has built its Street View into Google Maps' ability to provide driving directions, the company said Tuesday.

With the feature, a small camera icon appears next to the intersections in the turn-by-turn directions. Clicking on the icon brings up a view of the intersection so people can see the area in question.

Google Street View is available in 44 areas of the United States, and there are strong signs Google is bringing Street View to Europe. Street View is available through the Google Maps programming interface so that those using Google Maps can add Street View abilities to their … Read more

Webware 100 winner: Google Maps

Google Maps lets you get directions and find places online. It shows streets, traffic, and satellite images. Users can type in an address and get a pinpoint location or pull up driving directions. Users with a Google account can also partake in the My Maps service, which provides users with simple drag-and-drop tools to chart their own customized maps and share them with others.

Google Maps' biggest claim to fame is Street View, a view level of the map that lets you see a 360-degree view of a street at eye level. Users can explore a photograph of their local … Read more

Google takes Street View to Europe--in 3D?

Google Earth and Maps could cover a lot more territory with a lot more detail soon, if some photos from Italy are anything to judge by.

First, evidenced by Google-branded cars traversing Milan, is the possibility that Google is acquiring European imagery for its Street View feature.

Second is the observation, based on scrutiny of those pictures, that Google could be gathering 3D data along with the photos.

"With an automated solution, they could go for blanket 3D coverage," rather than the more limited approach today involving user contributions of basic 3D models, robotics engineering student Mark Cummins … Read more

Google Maps gets YouTube videos, 'Chocolate Rain' not included

Google Maps and Google Earth may be two separate services, but the gap between the software and Webware apps is narrowing. Last night Google rolled out a new view in Maps, enabling users to view geocoded YouTube videos, something Google Earth users have been doing since October of last year.

The videos show up as small red dots, and can be played right on the map. To enable the feature users simply need to add the layer from Google's map add-ons directory, which has quickly grown to include more than 50 add-ons--many of which come from third parties.

One … Read more

Google Earth gets snail's-eye view

Part of the fun of Google Earth is flying over the virtual planet like Superman. But let's face it: we're ground-dwelling creatures, and the street-level view is useful, too. Even Superman has to land sometimes.

Enter Google Earth 4.3, due for release at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. It the Street View feature from Google Maps for a ground-level view of some areas, and a new navigation method makes the software more like a first-person video game, Google said in a statement.

The new version also lets users watch time-lapse views of sunsets and sunrises, either locally … Read more

Google mapping spec now an industry standard

Members of an industry group called the Open Geospatial Consortium have approved Google's KML technology as an open standard for describing some geographic data.

KML is used to manage the display of geospatial information in Google Earth, the company's software for flying over the surface of a virtual globe. With its 3D coordinate-based system, people can create models of city buildings, draw a line showing where they hiked, or overlay their own custom place names on a generic map.

Google already shared its KML format openly, and others had used it in software products, but Google now hopes … Read more

Use Google Maps to find Google data centers

Ever wonder where Google's data centers are? Now you can use Google Maps to get a good overview.

Pingdom put together a Google map via Wayfaring based on data center location information from Data Center Knowledge. The map shows general areas, so don't expect to zoom in on a satellite photo.

The result is an artful scattering of 36 pushpins, one for each known data center. Yes, that's a lot of data centers, and Data Center Knowledge has some details on Google renting further capacity, too.

And there are likely more tucked away here and there. "… Read more

Live Maps gets a major upgrade

Microsoft's Live Maps team just dropped a huge new version of its service in addition to the traffic updates from earlier Thursday.

Live Maps now offers a wealth of new features, including exporting to GPS devices, improved 3D imagery, and one of my personal favorites, MapCruncher integration.

Microsoft is rolling out its new "version 2" 3D imagery in four cities (Las Vegas, Denver, Dallas, and Phoenix) for now, with more to come later. The rest of us will have to wait and look on in envy. 3D improvements include higher-resolution textures, rendered trees, and buildings reaching farther … Read more