Google Maps Mania

Virtual Tour of the Universe

2009-11-07T09:31:00.003-05:00

Star Map

I've fallen in love with NGC 5866 (pictured) and I'm packing my bags in preparation for the invention of inter stellar space travel.

If you can't wait for the development of faster than light speed travel then you will have to make do with the wonderful imagery from the Hubble and Spitzer telescopes. This animated tour of the universe highlights some of the amazing imagery that is available in Google Sky.

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Karaoke, News, Photos & Google Maps

2009-11-07T06:43:00.005-05:00

Karaoke Base

Karaoke Base is a Google Maps Mashup of karaoke venues in the US and UK.

You can search the map for karaoke venues by location, by day of the week or you can filter by type of karaoke (public, private rooms, live band), or venue keyword. The map sidebar and the map markers provide additional information, such as the address and website links.

What's Going On
This is an interesting mashup of Google Maps and Google News. Click anywhere on the map and an information window opens displaying the local news at that location.

Photo Map

Photo Map shows Picasa photos and a live Twitter photo stream on a Google Map. Picassa and Panoramio photos are displayed on the map as a layer. Photographs that have been posted to Twitter are shown as a live real-time feed. The map animates from one Twitter photo to the next.

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Learning Maths with Google Maps

2009-11-06T08:09:00.004-05:00

Edte.ch Maths Maps

Edte.ch have found an inspired use for Google MyMaps. They have used Google Maps to create a number of maths exercises. Currently there are two maps, Measures in Madrid and Shapes in Paris.

Both maps contain a number of map markers, each of which contains a maths problem associated with it's location. For example, this question has been added to a building in Madrid,

"We know that the length of the building is 100m and the width 30m.
We also know that the area of the top quadrant is twice the area of the lower quadrant. What is the area of each quadrant?"

Because these maps use Google's MyMaps feature it is also possible to add your own maths problems. You simply need to log in with a Google account and then you can start adding your own maths related questions.

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Friday Fun With Google Maps

2009-11-06T01:34:00.002-05:00

DIY Street View

Want to create your own Street View imagery? All you need is a little tape and a digital camera. Japanese website Nifty explains how (even to the extent of showing you how to add your image errors).

Google Maps Business Cards

Nick Smith of Funderrated has a rather neat and simple idea for business cards. Put a Google Map on the back.

The London Twirls Project

What do you do if you have a rather obsessive love for a particular chocolate confectionery? If you are James Ward you set up a Google Map (plus a blog and Twitter and Flickr accounts) to show where you can buy the said candy bar.

James' Twirl Map plots stores that sell Twirls, gives information about the cost in each store and even includes photographs.

Street View Australia

Google have started shooting new Street View imagery in Australia. To celebrate the occasion the Google staff assembled outside the Sydney office to pose for shots. You don't have to wait for the new imagery to appear (next year) as The Sydney Morning Herald were in attendance and have created a slideshow of the event.

Via: Mapperz

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Viewing Baseball Games on Google Maps

2009-11-05T07:16:00.005-05:00

MLB Hit Locations Map

Indiemaps.com has produced a system to visualise Major League Baseball hit locations directly onto Google Maps. This means they can show the hits from a game on a Google Map satellite view of the actual baseball stadium.

They can also take the same data and show how the hits would look if the game had taken place elsewhere, for example at the Dupont Circle in Washington.

The maps load hit location data of the game from MLB Gameday. The table next to the map shows the same data and allows the user to select balls-in-play. Here's a link to view the map produced for Mark Buehrle's perfect pitch game.

Also See

Concharto - map of "The Play"
Using Google Static Maps to map football

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Real-Time Map of Solar Power Enquiries

2009-11-05T06:17:00.004-05:00

Live Solar Feed Map

Cooler Planet has a neat Solar Calculator tool that helps consumers estimate the costs and savings potential of installing solar energy. The tool is very popular and is used at least once every minute. Cooler Planet has also put together a Google Map that shows, in real time, where people are using the calculator and what information they're finding.

The map animates through the latest results of people using the tool, showing the location of the user. The map also comes with an embed option so you can place the map in your own website or blog.

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Low Impact Development on Google Maps

2009-11-05T01:29:00.000-05:00

Low Impact Development Atlas

The national NEMO Network has created a Low Impact Development (LID) Atlas using Google Maps. The map highlights innovative Low Impact Development practices around the USA in order to encourage and educate local officials and others about low impact development practices.

The projects have been sorted into a number of categories, which can be selected from the map sidebar. Each project's map marker contains project specifics, a summary of the project, photos (when available) and links to more information.

The site currently shows the location of 226 projects across the USA and new projects will be added as they become available.

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Interactive Panoramas of Brno

2009-11-04T08:28:00.004-05:00

Virtual Tour of Brno

This Google Maps mashup provides a virtual tour of the Czech Republic city of Brno. The map includes a number of narrated panoramic images of the city's main attractions.

The locations that have been mapped include Špilberk Castle, the Tugendhat Villa, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, Náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square), Zelný trh (Vegetable Market), Old Town Hall. Each of the locations are marked on the map and listed in the map sidebar. The interactive panoramas that have narration are indicated in the sidebar with a small loudspeaker icon.

When you click on one of the map markers a window opens with the interactive panorama. Each panorama comes with arrow links that will automatically take you to neighbouring panoramas (Street View style).

Via: Street View Gallery

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Getting Around MIT With Google Maps

2009-11-04T06:51:00.003-05:00

MIT Campus Map

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has produced a nice Google Maps mashup of the university's campus. It provides visitors with an easy-to-use way to locate an MIT building, room, or location.

The map uses an overlay to show the campus buildings, parking lots, green areas, and named features. The map comes with a search feature that will generate markers on all matches. Clicking on a building on the map will also open an information window with more details and a feature to link directly to this view.

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Google Map of the Best Places to Live

2009-11-04T01:11:00.000-05:00

Calvin Klein Live Free

Calvin Klein have created a Google Maps mashup to promote the CKFree fragrance. The map shows the personal choices of model 'Jamie' of the best places to 'live free'. As buying a house in most of the places chosen by Jamie will set you back a few million I'm guessing that when Calvin Klein say 'free' they don't mean it in monetary terms.

Users of the map can add their own favourite locations to the map and, in doing so, have a chance to win a bottle of CKFree. Personally I never knew you could live in the Cowboys Stadium. I'm moving in tomorrow.

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Bosnian War Crimes Map

2009-11-03T12:31:00.006-05:00

Pregled Lokacija

Bosnian war crimes researchers from the Sarajevo-based Research and Documentation Centre have created a Google Map of war crimes from the country's 1992-95 war. The researchers hope that it will help people to learn about and better understand the past.

The map allows users to find sites of mass executions and mass graves across Bosnia, the names of the victims, and available court documentation. The map shows 50,000 geographic sites where war atrocities took place and includes photos and video-clips of the events.

The map is in Bosnian. If you want to see the map legend translated into English visit this Google Translate link here. You can also view the data in Google Earth with this kml.

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Google Maps of Canadian Stimulas Spending

2009-11-03T10:35:00.003-05:00

Canadian Stimulus Package

This new Google Maps Mashup shows over 6,000 points where stimulus projects have been designated in Canada. The map also shows which ridings (electoral jurisdictions) have received more projects and more projects per-person.

Conservative ridings are coloured blue on the map and non-Conservative ridings are magenta. The dots on the map show the locations of the projects. For the number of projects layer, ridings with darker blues/magentas have more projects than ones in lighter blues/magentas.

The map also comes with tools to adjust the settings. It is possible to adjust the transparency of the ridings layer and to change the colours. It is also possible to filter the results to show only those projects awarded over $5 million.

Also See

NSW Government Stimulus Snapshot Map
Canada's Economic Action Plan Map
USDA ARRA Projects Map - American Recovery Act Google Map
Nation Building - map of the Australian Stimulus Plan

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Simulated Chinese Flight Tracking Map

2009-11-03T07:43:00.007-05:00

AirCN Map

This Chinese Google Maps mashup is a simulated map of flights in and out of Chinese airports.

Planes are shown on the map with small red aeroplane map markers. Clicking on any of the plane markers opens an information window with details about the flight. The planes shown on the map are also displayed in a map sidebar. Clicking on any of the planes in the sidebar will centre the map on the selected plane.

The site is only in Chinese.

Hat-tip to Ren for pointing out that this is a simulated map and not a real-time tracking map.

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Seero for Sale

2009-11-03T06:22:00.002-05:00

Seero
Geo-broadcasting website Seero has been put up for sale. Seero received a lot of great publicity when it first launched. This was helped when someone used it to map the car chase scene out of the film Bullit.

Seero is being sold by ebay auction. The auction should be up for 10 days and you can place your bids here.

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Designer Chair Tracking on Google Maps

2009-11-03T01:27:00.001-05:00

The Blu Dot Real Good Experiment

Over the last few years we have seen numerous Google Maps that have tracked vehicles, animals and even t-shirts. The burning question on the lips of all neo-geographers, however, has been, 'When is someone going to produce a mashup tracking chairs'? Well, finally the wait is over, thanks to New York designer furniture store Blu Dot.

On November 4-5, Blu Dot will be dropping around NYC 25 Real Good Chairs. Many of the chairs will be GPS-enabled. This will allow Blu Dot to produce a Google Map that will tell the stories of the chairs. The map will show who found them, where they took them and hopefully what their new homes look like.

Oh, and if you were wondering about the map that tracked t-shirts, that map was produced by Social Souvenir. The Social Souvenir map was a similar experiment to the one being planned by Blu Dot. In Denmark the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde sold t-shirts and mapped the home addresses of the purchasers.

So, the only question that remains is, 'who will produce the first Google Maps mashup to track an eggcup'?

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Virginia Voting Locations on Google Maps

2009-11-02T11:24:00.004-05:00

2009 Virginia Voter Info

The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2009. The election will choose the next Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General of the commonwealth of Virginia.Google have produced a nice mapplet for Google Maps that lets Virginia residents find their nearest polling station for tomorrow's election.

To use the map just enter your address into the search box and press return.The map will then display your address, the nearest polling station and a link to get the driving directions for the route.

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Sex Offenders on Google Maps

2009-11-02T09:27:00.007-05:00

Wyoming Sex Offenders Registry

The state of Wyoming are allowing the public to access it's Sex Offender Registry by location. If you enter an address the registry website will return a Google Map of your address, displaying the addresses of registered sex offenders within a 5 mile radius.

Clicking on any of the returned map markers will open an information window containing a thumbnail picture and the name and address of the registered offender.

Other Sex Offender Maps

Family Watchdog - search for any address in the US and find nearby registered sex offenders.
76 Realty - Missouri real estate site that shows properties for sale and the addresses of registered sex offenders.
Georgia Sex Offenders Map
Larimer County Sex Offenders Map
Your Mapper - Sex offender data for Kentucky.

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Google Map of Tide Times

2009-11-02T06:16:00.003-05:00

Tidespy

Here's an essential Google Maps mashup for sailors and anglers that displays tidal information as well as sunrise and sunset times, moon phases and the best fishing times.

The blue map markers show the locations where tide data is available. The closer in you zoom the map, the more markers are shown. Each blue marker has an arrow showing whether the tide is currently coming in or out. The dark blue approximates the level of the water at the current time. These markers continue to update while the map is displayed.

Hovering your mouse over the blue marker reveals details of the place, the current time there, and when the next high or low tide will occur. Clicking on the marker displays a tide table and a graph.

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Foraging in Amsterdam With Google Maps

2009-11-02T04:11:00.002-05:00

Urban Edibles

Urban Edibles are using Google MyMaps to create a collaborative map of wild edible plants and fruits in Amsterdam.

Types of food are colour coded on the map, fruits have red markers and herbs are in green. The information windows contain information about the edibles and indicate if ownership of the land is an issue.

Users can add markers to the map by opening the map directly in Google Maps and clicking the 'edit' button.

Other Foraging Maps

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Worldwide Starbucks on Google Maps

2009-11-02T01:47:00.000-05:00

Starbucks Map

This Google Map mashup features about 18,000 Starbucks stores around the world. The map includes filters to find Starbucks stores with wi-fi, drivethrus, mobile payment and clover brewing. It is also possible to download all the data from the map in CSV format.

One reason the map is able to process so much data (and very quickly) is that it uses the SpatialDataBox. The SpatialDataBox provides a very economical way to manage the visualisation of millions of points on a Google Map.

Two other good examples of maps built with the SpatialDataBox are:

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Twitter Geo Lists

2009-11-01T07:30:00.006-05:00

Over the last year Twitter (and Twitter applications such as Spy and Friend Feed) has become my favourite research tool for finding new Google Maps mashups.

Last week I was in the process of putting together a list of Google Maps related Twitter users to post on Google Maps Mania when Twitter released their new Lists feature. Here is a list of lists (a metalist?), that have been compiled by Twitter users, that are geo related.

Twitter Geo Lists (& number being followed)

130 @Scobleizer/geolocation

19 @mapperz/gmaps-experts

11 @geko20/geo

54 @coreburn/geo

20 @caig/google

32 @renalid/geolocation

203 @jasonbirch/geo

37 @StevenFeldman/geotweets

6 @dudarev/googlemaps

135 @jspinney/geo

11 @sandrific/googlerific

6 @KeirClarke/googlemaps

Some of the Geo Related Tweets I Follow

Google Maps Mania
@gmapsmania
@KeirClarke

Official Google Maps
@googlemaps
@googlemapsapi

Google's Geospatial Technologist
@edparsons
@FakeEdParsons

Google Geo Developer Advocate
@ManoMarks

Google Maps API Support Engineer
@pamelafox

Google Maps Product Marketer
@Mpegg

Google Earth Blog
@gearthblog
@mickmel
@FrankTaylor

Google Earth
@googleearth
@earthoutreach

Ogle Earth
@stefangeens
@ogleearth

Google SightSeeing
@gsightseeing
@alexturnbull
@jturnbull

Mapperz
@mapperz

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Directions in Maps API v3

2009-10-31T12:51:00.003-05:00

Driving directions have been added to the Google Maps API v3. For version three of the API directions have been split into two, DirectionsService which passes directions queries and DirectionsRenderer which displays the results on the map.

Google have provided an explanation of the concepts involved, examples and a reference guide. Mapperz has also created a couple of examples; Directions and Directions with a Directions Panel.

Hat-tip: Mapperz
Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

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Australian GovHack

2009-10-31T08:03:00.004-05:00

Know Where You Live

Know Where You Live was the runner-up in yesterday's Australian GovHack. The site provides a wealth of local information about Australian neighbourhoods.

To use the site users simply have to enter their postcode (try '2000') and Know Where You Live returns demographic information, income levels, rental returns and crime statistics for the area. What I like most about this site, however, is the use of a Google Map as a header to the page, with the name of the district superimposed on top.

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A Ghoulish Google Maps Halloween!

2009-10-31T01:23:00.004-05:00

Zillow Trick or Treating Hotspots
Real-estate website Zillow have devised an algorithm to work out the best neighbourhoods to go trick or treating. The algorithm looks at the Zillow Home Value Index, population density, Walk Score, and local crime data. Based on those variables, Zillow shows neighborhoods that will provide the most candy, with the least walking, and minimal safety risks.

Here are the currently mapped cities,

Map of the Dead

This zombie shooting game is one of Google's own creations. The game-play is very simple - you have one minute to shoot as many zombies as you can. Although I might be mistaken, the game seems to be taking place at the University of Southern California so those might be students and not zombies. Sometimes it's hard to tell the difference.

Ghostlogs

If you are thinking of venturing out tonight, perhaps you should consult this map first. This colour-coded Google Map mash-up geo-tags apparitions, demons, ectoplasm and many other types of spooky beings.

Disturbia Suburbia

This Google Map was created for the film Disturbia. Enter your zip code and the map will tell you about all the disturbing freaks, loons and frightening nutcases in your neighbourhood.

The World's Creepiest Places

This is a Google Maps mash-up of the creepiest places in the world. Go on, I dare you to visit The Manchac Swamp, a.k.a. the "haunted swamp", where an imprisoned voodoo queen cast a curse on all those who visit. Mwaa ha ha ...

Bogomaps

Apparently there are quite a few ghosts in Sao Paolo. Luckily Bogomaps has created this map of all the haunted houses in the Brazilian city.

Halloween Maps
This Google Map shows the locations of web surfers who have taken a look at the Halloween lights and inflatables outside a house in Boulder, Colorado via a Halloween webcam.

The World's Most Haunted Houses
Our friends over at Google Sightseeing have put together a nice collection of the world's most haunted places.

Winter Olympics Torch Route

2009-10-30T20:58:00.003-05:00

Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Route

Today saw the start of the 2010 Olympic Games Torch Relay in Canada. The torch started its 45,000 km journey this morning in Victoria. It will arrive in Vancouver for the start of the Olympics on February 12th. Using this official Google Maps mash-up it is possible to find out where and when you can go to watch the torch on its route.

The Vancouver 2010 Olympic Organizing Committee is using the Flash Maps API to show the Olympic Torch route. It is possible to search the route by a particular day, by a province, territory or by community.

Each day of the torch's route through Canada has its own map marker. Clicking on a map marker opens an information window with links to information about each of the celebration communities.

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