• A map showing all the points
• A list of the addresses
• A list of directions through through each of the locations
• A "trip list" that shows the estimated departure and arrival times at each stop, including a Dwell Time, i.e. the length of time spent at each stop.

On each list you can click on an item and the map will centre on the location for the item.  For the directions, this means centering on the actual point the direction refers to, i.e. if it says "turn left at the roundabout" the map is centred on the roundabout...:-D

But, as usual, there were a few holes to fall into....

The Dreaded DEBUG Overlay

I saw quite a few posts from people moaning about not being able to get rid of the dirty great "DEBUG" on the map.  Imagine you're doing a demo of mapping to somebody - you definitely don't want pesky "DEBUG" all over your map do you?

We fiddled about for a while before finally figuring it out.  You can plug in either the domain name of your webserver, or if you're running from a local webserver, the IP address of your machine, including the port if it's not 80.  So generating a key for "http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8080 will get rid of "DEBUG" on your maps.  However, "http://localhost:8080" didn't.

Effects On Maps

You can't run an effect on a Google Map control after it has initialised - you'll get a Security Sandbox Violation.

The reason for this seems to be that the effect will try to get hold of the bitmap for the maps independently of the map component.  As the Google maps site doesn't have a crossdomain.xml file this is doomed to failure. Sooner or later we'll have to find a way around this as all our windows appear with an Iris effect and we don't really want to turn this off just for our map window.  I'll look at hiding the map while the effect is playing and post back here if I get anywhere...

This problem also applies to printing as it's pretty much the same scenario.  There's a feature request here at Google Code to allow printing.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I've already had a play with the HTML/Java maps interface, and I think that took me a week to get a list down the left and a map with points on it.  I've already achieved over double the amount of functionality in under two days with the Flex API so that should give you some idea of the potential of this API.

Thanks to Google....

En Madrid tendrá lugar mañana a las 20:00. Partirá desde El Retiro, donde actuarán The Pinker Tones, y finalizará en La Casa de Campo, lugar en el que esperarán a los corredores La Quinta Estación y Nena Daconte. Son un total de 10 kilómetros.

Los corredores llegarán hasta el punto de partida y volverán a sus casas en Metro, ya que al inscribirse recibieron dos billetes. Es de agradecer, teniendo en cuenta que el tráfico se cortará en el centro de la capital española durante hora y media el día de la operación retorno del verano.

El precio de la inscripción era de 20 euros y el 10% de estos se destinará a la causa social que elija el participante, entre la Fundación Lance Armstrong, ACNUR y wwf. A más de uno esta RSC de Nike le dará que pensar.

En la carrera participarán entre otros deportistas como Marta Domínguez, Chema Martínez, Antonio Reina, Reyes Estévez, Álvaro Rodríguez, Sergio Gallardo, Núria Fernández, Jesús España, José Manuel Calderón y Óscar Pereiro. Powerade se encargará de que ninguno de los corredores pase sed.

Navegué tanto rato por la web de The Nike+ Human Race porque tenía que enfocar el próximo programa de adtitudtv.com. Empecé pensando que Nike organizaba este megaevento a nivel mundial para consolidar su imagen de marca y conseguir repercusión mediática internacional. Cuál fue mi sorpresa al descubrir detrás de este evento una auténtica estrategia de marketing por la que felicito a Nike.

Nike+ es un producto de la marca deportiva consistente en un sensor que se instala dentro de la zapatilla y permite medir la distancia recorrida, el tiempo empleado, el ritmo mantenido y las calorías quemadas. Los datos se pueden consultar a través de un iPod o de una "sport band", los dos preparados para volcar los datos en un ordenador donde diversos widgets comparan las carreras, elaboran programas de entrenamiento, proponen rutas (a través de igoogle maps), etc. Gracias a Nike+ es posible correr el 31 de agosto en una ciudad diferente de las 24 elegidas.

En la página web de Nike+ unos 215.000 corredores de todo el mundo se han sumado ya a una red social en la que gracias a este producto pueden entrenarse o retarse con otros runners de todo el mundo, además de descargarse los diez mejores temas para correr o mezclas realizadas expresamente para ello, eso sí, previo pago en la iTunes Store.

Supongo que para aquellos que tienen por sana costumbre salir a correr tiene que ser una auténtica motivación saber que sus kilómetros pueden llevar a hombres o mujeres, europeos o americanos, franceses o españoles a ganar el reto establecido.

Gracias a esta iniciativa, que se basa en el éxito de las redes sociales, Nike conseguirá que su producto Nike+ se venda más. Además contará con una gran base de datos de corredores de todo el mundo a los que poder dirigir una publicidad absolutamente eficaz.

El blog Site Marca habla sobre la campaña viral realizada por BBDO Argentina  y recoge un spot producido para anunciar The Human Race.

El verdadero mérito de la página consiste en recopilar los datos de diversas fuentes, como googleNews, ya que el mostrar los datos en el mapa no es demasiado complejo, y se hace usando la API de google maps.

En la parte derecha de la página principal de este blog está la sección de "páginas". Si pincháis sobre Eventos sobre visión, o Eventos sobre robótica, podéis ver un mapa en el que aparecen los próximas conferencias a nivel mundial en esos robótica y visión artifical, destinado a investigadores en esos campos.

Si alguien está interesado en ver cómo funciona internamente puede descargar la base de datos (Mysql) y el código fuente del visor (en php). Archivos (botón derecho->guardar como, y luego renombrar a .rar).

Nowa - nie nowa a jednak wciaz niezbyt rozpowszechniona dziedzina sportu - Slamball czyli cos miedzy hokejem, rugby i koszykowka. Nie ma tu co opowiadac, trzeba to zobaczyc: z czym sie to je oraz wsady. / Still new, still unknown sport - Slamball. It's mix of hockey, rugby and basketball. It's too hard to describe so you better just check this out: about slamball and best slam dunks

Click here to see the example and then we'll discuss the code used to create this simple application.  As I mentioned above the data for this application was pulled from an ArcGIS Server map service provided by ESRI, and the graphic point was generated based on an address that was geocoded by the Google Maps API.  If you'd like to see the code simply right click the page and then select View Page Source.

In a previous post I covered the basic ArcGIS Server JavaScript API code you use to reference the API, create a map, and add layers so I'm not going to cover any of those details in this post.  Instead, I'd like to focus on how you can use the Google Maps API to geocode addresses, and add them to your ArcGIS Server generated map as graphic objects.

Step 1: Reference the Google Maps API
Before creating an instance of the Google Maps API geocoding object (GClientGeocoder) you must provide a reference to the API.  This is accomplished as follows:

Note: You must have a Google Maps API key to access objects within the API.

Step 2: Create an Instance of GClientGeocoder
The GClientGeocoder class from the Google Maps API can be used to geocode addresses, and an instance of this class is created as follows:

Step 3: Call the getLatLng( ) method on GClientGeocoder

The getLatLng( ) method on GClientGeocoder accepts an address as the first parameter, and the second parameter is a callback function that will be run when data is returned from the method.  A point object will be passed into the callback function.  If the geocode of an address was successful this point will have geometry (x,y coordinates), and in the event that the object was not geocoded the point object will be null.  Notice that in this case we've hard-coded an address that will be input into the getLatLng( ) method.  This of course wouldn't be acceptable in a real application, but the point here is simply to show how the objects work.

Step 4: Create ESRI Point, Symbol, and Graphic Objects
As I mentioned in the last step, the getLatLng( ) method returns data in the form of a point object to the callback function which is then run.  If the address was successfully geocoded, the point object will contain longitude and latitude coordinates which can be accessed through the lng( ) and lat( ) methods seen below.  These coordinates are stored in the 'theX' and 'theY' variables.  Next, we use the JavaScript alert function to display the coordinates of the geocoded address.  At this point we're done with the Google Maps API, and simply need to transfer the coordinates into an ESRI point object and display the point as a graphic on the display.  We use the latitude, longitude coordinates as input to the constructor for an esri.geometry.Point object.  To create the graphic for the point we need to create a symbol and a graphic.  In this case, since we're working with a point, we use the SimpleMarkerSymbol object.  After creating an instance of the symbol the setStyle( ), setColor( ) and setSize( ) methods are used to define the characteristics of our symbol.  In this case, we create a red circle set to a size of 12.  Finally, we create a graphic object, passing in our point and symbol.

Step 5: Add the Graphic to the Display
In the code sample above, the map.graphics.add(pointGraphic) method adds our newly created graphic to the graphic list for the application.  Any number of graphics of various types can be placed into this graphic list and each object is drawn on the display.

If you'd like more information on how to create ArcGIS Server and Google Maps applications with their respective APIs you might want to consider our upcoming course which still has 4 seats available.  Contact eric at geospatialtraining.com for more information.

The line-up, briefly -- we lead with the strange tale of iTunes in China over the last week or so. Seems that it keeps going, well, on and off. And we hear about the iPhone Girl, and about a possible crackdown on Internet news portals in South Korea. Then, an in-depth look at the issues and technologies surrounding music piracy on the Internet. Also, a British cartographer says online mapping services are killing our appreciation for map-making. And we end by asking some cows which way is north.

Show notes, links and pics are over at Discovery.

Has a newspaper website like this ever been built? Why not? Anybody who produces multimedia for newspapers knows the dirty little secret of low viewership on video and audio slideshows. Could it be that most of these websites hide their multimedia content in a sea of story links? And when the link is discovered, it takes you to a crappy 320 pixels wide video player that doesn’t support full screen.  Is it any wonder why many viewers don’t bother with multimedia?

As newspapers transition to producing more multimedia, they need to address these shortcomings.  I have heard too many horror stories from dedicated online producers whose audience is severely limited by bad website content management systems. I should know. I’m one of them. In a month, all this will change with the debut of our ground up redesign. As the finishing touches on our new Spokesman.com website are applied, the usability roadblocks viewers face accessing multimedia will be removed for good.

The official word from Google is this:

All Google search results are based primarily on relevance, and Google Maps listings are no different. Google Maps ranks business listings based on their relevance to the search terms entered, along with geographic distance (where indicated) and other factors. Sometimes our search technology decides that a business that's farther away from your location is more likely to have what you're looking for than a business that's closer.

How does LocoBee get such good rankings on Google Maps then?

We use the same techniques to position map rankign that we do to position our SEO clients. Because we are limited in the amount of content we can provide for a single business listing we also employ the same research that we use for our pay-per-click clients. Achieving a high ranking on Google maps takes the same kind of expertise that we have been developing since 1999 as a local search marketing company. We start with basic keyword research and keyword list refinement. We develop call to action business titles similiar to the ones we develop for AdWords campaigns. We research or keyword list to discover which terms trigger local business results. We then use those terms to develop an optimized business listing for our clients. We rarely miss primarily because we continually check rankings to ensure we take your business as high as it can get.

As an added benefit we check rankings around and notify Google when inapropriate listings make the rankings for your keywords such as business that are no longer in business.

If you would like more information on our services give us a call at (916) 853-2316 or sign up for our webinar Local business Listing Yellow Pages Webinar

For more information:
http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=7091&topic=13435

Aber natürlich darf man die Schattenseiten nicht verschweigen. Dem perfekten Detailreichtum in Ballungsgebieten stehen viele weiße Flecken in ländlichen Gebieten gegenüber. Meist sind hier nur die Durchgangsstraßen erfasst. Allerdings sah das vor einem Jahr in den Städten noch genauso aus. Ich bin mal gespannt, wie der Landkreis Heilbronn in einem Jahr von heute an aussieht. Hier mal ein Screenshot von heute:

In einem Jahr können wir ja dann mal vergleichen...

No date on when we will see the new pictures, but you might find you can see yourself in your back garden.

A point to note - the new satellite has not been launched into space yet.

Full comment here: http://mashable.com/2008/08/29/googlesatellite-imagery-geo-eye/

and here: http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyNews/idUSN2837224420080829?sp=true

/usr/bin/X -br -nolisten tcp :0 vt7 -auth /var/run/xauth/A:0-g8tCHi

This arcane little beasty is using 1094 MB res (1993 MB virt) and 0.0% CPU. So now my question is: WTF? What is this, why is it sucking memory? Why am I using swap at all when my RAM is only about 1/3 full? Why? Time to hit Google...
Disappointingly, it seems this bug was reported a long time ago and called "not a bug". Also found a read-only thread about people having a problem. Digging deeper, I found more bug reports. Seems to be an issue with browsers looking at Google Maps? Will have to test that out.

Sono quasi le 20.00 quindi speriamo di trovare presto un luogo adatto dove accamparci, perchè poi con il buio non è semplice sistemare tende e zona fuoco. Mentre scrivo seduto in auto, le altre 3 "faine" stanno facendo la spesa al supermercato. Il nostro viaggio sta giungendo al termine, ma non vogliamo pensarci. Abbiamo ancora 2 giorni e ce li vogliamo godere fino in fondo. Domani saremo a Barcellona e la fiesta continua! 

p.s. ho appena avuto una discussione animata con un gruppo di Gitani (perchè avevamo l'auto in mezzo strada), ma ho preferito scusarmi e dargli ragione subito... MAI METTERSI CONTRO I GITANI :)

Mit der Hilfe von Wikipedia und www.betrachter.de habe ich auf Google Maps einige Fundstücke auftreiben können.

• 5 Concordes, "geparkt" auf den Flughäfen Manchester (UK), Filton (UK), Heathrow (UK), Orly (F), Toulouse (F) (v.o.n.u.):
  
  
  
  
  
• das größte Frachtflugzeug der Welt, die Antonow AN-225 in Kiew:
  
• ein "dreifaches" Flugzeug der Lufthansa samt Schatten bei Frankfurt/Main:
  
• einen Airbus A380 bei Hamburg-Finkenwerder:
  
• den "Beluga" unter den Flugzeugen, einen Guppy bei Hamburg-Finkenwerder:
  

Here's some other fun stuff about Google Maps!

So we all know Google uses satellite photos, which may or may not be evil, but for the street view feature, they also travel around in vans taking pictures of everything.  Like, everything.  Usually there is no warning, but on occasion, they'll inform people of what they're doing, and they get results like this!

How cute is this?  This guy's girlfriend had already said yes, but they wanted to commemorate it online!

See other marriage proposals via satellite here.

This brilliant artist decided to create a Where's Waldo on the roof of a building somewhere in Canada.  She has challenged the world to find her Waldo on Google Maps!

Dave and Luecke duke it out to get their names out there (I could NOT get the maps themselves to show here, so please please just click on the links)!

And here's the closest you'll ever get to Neverland Ranch-

Finally, you can wash all this down with an article in USA Today (hard hitting journalism at its best!) about Roofvertising.  Now get up on your roof with some paint and an idea!

Unlike the last post, this will not be a tutorial but more of a guide to get you started. You may want to walk through my source code to understand what I'm talking about. If you haven't yet read my previous post on how to get a simple Google Maps working on your site, you might want to start there. Okay, let's get to it.

Here's a list of tools and resources that I used:

• Google Maps API key
• Photoshop CS3
• Dreamweaver or some kind of HTML editor
• Automatic Tile Cutter
• Mapki's Add Your Own Custom Map
• Google Maps API Tutorial
• Google Maps API Reference
• Google Maps API Discussion Group
• csv2xml converter

What I wanted out of my custom Google Map was to use my own images (Google calls these tiles), to be able to zoom in and out, have a marker for every building with some data in the info bubble, and have some kind of search function. What you end up with is a fully interactive map in an interface that most users will already be familiar with.

Here are the steps you need to take to integrate a custom tiled map onto your site:

1. Find an image to use, preferably one with high quality for zooming
2. Use this tool to figure out the coordinates of your tiles over the standard Google Maps tiles. NOTE: if you plan on showing the standard Google Maps in addition to your custom map, you will need to ensure your image lines up and scales correctly. If you do not do this, the markers you place later will be aligned incorrectly. However, if you know you only want to show your custom map, you can be a little more forgiving on the coordinates.
3. Once you obtain the coordinates, you can configure the Automatic Tile Cutter script.
4. After you plug in your options and save the file, go into Photoshop, open your image and run the script (File->Scripts->Browse). Here it will cut up your image into 256x256 squares for all of the different zoom levels you wanted.
5. Now that you have all of your images, you are ready to add the code to make them show up in Google Maps. Follow the steps in the Mapki to create all of the GCopyright Javascript objects you need.
6. The next step is to add the custom GTileLayer object. This is what tripped me up the most because the Mapki's tile function is a little out of date. I referenced this tutorial and used the second CustomGetTileUrl function at the bottom of the page. Eventually, I added bounds checks to display a blank image outside of the x/y coordinates. NOTE: the zoom levels passed to the GTileLayer are based off an array numbering system. For example, my lowest zoom level is 15 and my highest is 17. Therefore, in the GTileLayer object I must pass 14 and 16, respectively, in order for the tiles to show up correctly.
7. Now all that is left to do is add our custom map and center it.
8. From there, you can add your own markers via XML. Make your life easier by storing your data in a CSV file and generating the XML from that. If you were industrious, you could store your data in a SQL database and dynamically generate the XML that way.

Whew. As you can see, there's really a lot to it with quite a few pitfalls. Google doesn't make this any easier by providing less than helpful documentation. Plus, whatever tutorials you find are either too simple or out of date. But, the upside is that Google lets you customize just about any aspect that you would like. The one downside I would point out is that we can't have a "Directions To/From Here" function yet. Because of all the construction and road changes around campus, the default Google Maps tiles have yet to be updated which means Google's directions would be incorrect most of the time.

Keep an eye on the Interactive Campus Map because it will continue to be improved with new functionality. If you have any questions, just let me know.

O HTC S740 integra a banda larga mais rápida do momento com uma velocidade de download máxima de 7.2 Mpbs, até 18 vezes mais rápida que o 3G. Esta experiência de banda larga verdadeiramente móvel permite aos usuários reforçar a Internet móvel de várias maneiras, que inclui navegar através das páginas webs preferidas, utilizar o Google Maps para encontrar um restaurante para comer ou estar em dia com as últimas notícias publicadas, blogs e podcasts de vídeo com leitor de RSS integrado.

O S740 segue o caminho do elegante desenho do dispositivo estrela da HTC, o HTC Touch Diamond. Este smartphone compacto conta com a mesma parte traseira negra mate, talhada em forma de diamante, uma tela QVGA de 2,4 polegadas e um teclado QWERTY deslizante.

Especificações do HTC S740:

• Tamanho: 116,3 x 43,4 x 16,3 mm
• Peso: 140g com bateria
• Redes: WCDMA/HSDPA: 900/2100 MHz para USA e Asia
• GSM/GPRS/EDGE: 850/900/1800/1900 MHz
• Velocidade máxima: UL = 384 kbps; DL = 3.6/7.2 Mbps
• Sistema operacional: Windows Mobile 6.1 Standard
• Tela: tela QVGA de 2,4 polegadas
• Câmara: 3,2 megapixels com foco fixo
• Memória interna: 256 MB flash; 256 MB RAM
• Cartão de memória: microSDWLAN: 802,11b/g
• Bluetooth: 2.0 com EDR
• GPS: GPS/AGPS
• Interface: HTC ExtUSB (mini-USB e entrada de audio; USB 2.0 High-Speed)
• Bateria: 1000 mAh
• Tempo de conversação: WCDMA: até 320 minutos / GSM: até 380 minutos
• Tempo de espera: WCDMA: até 400 horas / GSM: até 280 horas
• Benefícios especiais: teclado QWERTY deslizante, rádio FM, Google Maps, RSS Hub
• Chipset: Qualcomm MSM7225, 528 MHz

 Site oficial | HTC

fonte: Gizmótika

Check out your friends or relatives houses or buildings in Australia here

I grew up in Canberra and this is the house I lived in until the age of 13.  It still looks the same as the day I left it except that my father was obviously a keener gardener than the (second) current owner. 

Between 13 and 14 I lived here, and when I was 18 years old I commenced training to become a Naval Officer here.  I guess security prevented the Google team from driving around the Naval Base so all they show is the gangway (entry gate).  In the late 1980s I lived in the apartment building at the left hand side of this view, and just before my wife and I moved to NZ in 1995 this is where we lived for 2 years.

In 2003 we bought a section in Cairns Queensland with the intention to someday move back there.  We built this home in the hills behind Cairns and planned to move at the end of 2006.  The building process was a great learning experience, but slow, and we had time to have second thoughts about such a lifestyle change.  We sold it in November 2007 just after it was completed (late) and you'll see the sold sticker on the real estate sign in this picture.  We weren't that happy with the price I achieved but that's probably because Barfoot & Thompson don't sell there!

Can't wait for Google Maps to be available in NZ, should be here soon!

But wait!!! If you direct mobile safari to google.com/transit, you will be able to input your start and destination and get back text-based directions for your route.  So until Mr. Google and Mr. Apple decide to integrate the public transport feature (maybe they haven't because the feature is only available in select markets) into the iPhone's google map interface, this is all you get.  But hey, it gets you public transit schedules, directions, and routing.

Doing Evil things to my friend's children
I encouraged Joey to draw all over his face and his mum's face in textas that we later found out are not washable. Good times. This photo was taken before the glitter glue mohawk. And I wonder why people never want me to babysit..

RealEstate.com
It is so fun to look up houses on here - brings out the voyeur in me. Except I don't know anything about what suburb is where in Victoria, so all the nice ones I've found are way too far away from where I'm actually meant to be looking. So...

Google Maps
Is the bomb for discovering where suburbs are in relation to the CBD. No more trying to send the boy out to live in the sticks. I was a bit pissy at Googlemaps for ages because they didn't show my house some love when the cameras went around for the street view - you can see the tip of my driveway from another street and that's it. Now I am all about the love again though - I can look at potential rentals, get a feel for the neighbourhood (like if there are burnt out cars or shanty towns on the block next door) and generally stickybeak.

Dark Angel
Jessica Alba + Michael Weatherly = Heaven. Plus, when I get up to it, Jensen Ackles stars in like 19 episodes. Lust overload! I am greatly jealous of Jessica's stomach though.. Even with only clothes that fit me in my wardrobe I still feel like a heifer some days.

Sorting out my Wardrobe
It's so much easier to get dressed when I only have stuff that is going to actually fit me to flick through. No more getting out the shower to discover I can't wear that top because the bra that goes under it I spill out of.

Dreaming about Post-Apocalyptic Worlds
Maybe I read too much fantasy, but if the industrial world ended, would you be able to survive? The essay that is due this week is based on two conflicting sociological theories, but both say industrialism is here to stay, while capitalism is transitory. I disagree. Sooner or later there is going to be a nuclear accident/comet/electrical pulse (I have been watching too much Dark Angel), and it's going to wipe out most of technology, all of the monetary systems and a good proportion of the transit system. And I can't wait! I am thinking about going on one of those survival weekends where you learn how to make fire without firelighters and catch rabbits with string. It always helps to be prepared. How would you go if you woke up tomorrow and there was no electricity ever again?

So what is floating your boat this week? And what TV show should I obsess over next, seeing as no one seems to be handing out jobs on platters to pregnant women these days?

Para empezar, la diferencia de calidad de las imágenes de satélite con las ofrecidas en la versión gratuita de google es total, no sólo en resolución sino en color, contraste, etc. El tiempo de carga es menor, sobre todo en el modo callejero, y desde que lo estoy usando no he conseguido encontrar ni uno de los típicos bordes que delatan el punto de unión entre imágenes.

Pero lo mejor para mi es la vista 3D, generada automáticamente con la información de altura del satélite, de forma que toda la ciudad de Estocolmo y otras áreas urbanas se pueden ver con una definición que deja boquiabierto. Sigo preguntándome cómo han conseguido las imágenes de las fachadas de los edificios desde todos los ángulos...

Otros jugoso añadido es el mapa de la información de tráfico, donde puedes ver desde las incidencias que dificultan el tráfico (ya sean obras o accidentes de última hora) hasta la localización de los radares, pasando por imágenes en directo de las cámaras de tráfico.

También tiene un trazador de rutas como el de google y un mapa del tiempo. ¡Y funciona en el iPhone!

Aquí podéis ver la perspectiva 3D de mi residencia (instala aplicación java).