So. California Fires Mapped

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san_diego_google_mapHuge fires are raging in California, fanned by strong winds yesterday.  Looking for maps online… and there’s not too much available if you wanted to know which way to run.  Of course, you’re probably not sitting at your computer, but more likely talking to the competent guy with the orange hard hat who is patrolling the neighborhood and has up to the minute routing information.  Disaster response is still a tricky application for GIS.  Getting the correct information is the hard part.  All those California GIS guys are ready to go, but probably waiting for a phone call or a shape file.

so_cal_fires_oct_22The helpful Google fire map above was created by KPBS Online, Sandiego TV/Radio station, presumably including information from listeners calling in.  (Interesting how the fire stops conveniently at the Mexican border.)   The static map (right) was made with ESRI software by the OES (Office of Emergency Services), displayed on their website.  Interesting, and shocking, but not very helpful to the locals.

Map Shot

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snap_shot_mapSnap Shots (formerly Snap.com) has launched a new feature with great potential.  They warn that it is still “beta”, and needs to be improved, whatever that means.  (I’ll try it in the next post.)  SnapShots is the free website “plug-in” which puts the little balloon next to all the outside links on my webpage, and if you hadn’t noticed, hover on the balloon and an image of the page linked-to pops up.  These little pop-up windows are irritating to some people… at least some vocal people in the blogsphere say they should be banned.  Maybe they are not all that useful.  However, this new MapShot feature (a fully-functional pop-up Google map), with a built-in “local search” for restaurants, hotels, etc. could be used creatively (think online directories, travel sites, New York Times…). Who is snap.com? Snap Technologies is one of the Idealab companies. Idealab is the renown technology incubator, based in Pasedina CA, founded in 1996, with former fledgelings including PETsMART and Picassa.

How Google Maps

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google_earth_x600There’s a nice article in Technology Review, How Google Maps the World, with a simple explanation of the process from satellite to website.  Makes it sound so easy.  By the way, the company producing most of the high resolution satellite images is DigitalGlobe, and if you want to buy just one of the little snapshots, say a shot of the Dam Square  as an 8 x 10 print, it will cost you $19.95, so I guess we can be happy Google is footing the bill for the earth.  (Thank you Richard.)

Update 16/6/2018 – new website for DigitalGlobe, more features, ask for quote.
DigitalGlobe is a cool Satelite company providing imagery for just about everyone. Their next satelite series to be launched in 2020/21 is described in Wikipedia:
“WorldView-Legion: Currently being built by SSL, WorldView-Legion is DigitalGlobe’s next generation of earth observation satellites. WorldView-Legion consists of six satellites planned to launch in the 2020/2021 time frame into a mix of sun-synchronous and mid-latitude orbits.[31] These satellites will replace imaging capability currently provided by DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-1, WorldView-2 and GeoEye-1 Earth observation satellites. WorldView-Legion is contracted to launch on a two flight proven SpaceX Falcon 9 missions.”

EPA Chooses Microsoft Virtual Earth

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James_Fee_IllustrationJames Fee wrote about the Sept 13 Microsoft announcement that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has licensed Microsoft Virtual Earth (for one year, with possible extension to two) for “mission critical” applications.  According to an article in Federal Computer Week (FCW), the partnership between Microsoft and ESRI contributed to the selection, as the EPA can leverage its existing ESRI GIS resources.

Why not Google Earth?  According to a Bloomberg interview with EPA’s Pat Garvey, the fact that GE requires that the user download an application, whereas VE is all browser based was a key factor.

mapdotnet_miamiAn alternative path to putting “real GIS” on the web with MS Virtual Earth (and ESRI’s geodatabase ArcSDE) is using ISC’s MapDotNet Server.  This product competes with ArcGIS Server, and according to the ISC blog  they were “kicked out” of the ESRI partner program last spring.

Microsoft VE vs. Google Maps

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jonasson_side_by_sideTo compare the coverage offered by these two Web online mapping tools, a programmer, Ryan Jonasson, in South Dakota has come up with a “side-by-side” viewer. While Microsoft’s VE is really a cross between Google Maps and Google Earth (right now), it lacks detailed “aerial” views outside of the US, UK and France.  (The default on this viewer is “aerial”, so be sure to change to “road” if you zoom in to a European city.)

Coverage is changing every time the earth turns.  Google Lat Long announced (Sept 15) detailed maps of 54 more countries, from Aruba, to Iran and Iraq, to Yemen.  Here’s a list of the new Google countries: Continue reading ‘Microsoft VE vs. Google Maps’

Update 30/5/2018:  None of the links above work any more. Both Bing and Google maps have greatly evolved.  Back then, it was early days. Here’s a more recent comparison of features Bing maps vs. google
In June 2017, MakeUseOF published this comparison of alternatives to Google Maps: Six Google Maps Alternatives. These include Bing, Waze, OpenStreetMap, Mapquest, Rand McNally, and Here. Pros and cons for all. More about this later.
And then there is maps.me

Public Health in the Netherlands

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smokers_2001_2004_NL_RIVMThis RIVM (Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheit en Milieu)website includes a comprehensive Atlas of public health in the Netherlands.  For example, this map of smokers in the Netherlands, by region. While the average has dropped since 2001 from about 33% to 30%, there has been little change despite bans on smoking in many public places in 2004.  The 30% rate, according to the BBC in a November 2004 article, was higher than all other European countries except Spain, Greece, and Germany.  Also to be noted, in September 2007, RIVM launched a new “Milieuportal“, targeting environmental professionals (and consumers), tracking air and water quality.

smokers_2016_NL_RIVMUpdate 28/5/2018:  The Atlas website has a new link.  The latest smokers (rokers) map does show a large drop.  It would be interesting to look at the data sources, but the maps give the picture.  Highest rates in 2016 are 10 points lower than 2004 values.  The Milieuportaal seems to have disappeared, but the RIVM site has a wealth of information.

EUC2007: Cellular Expert

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cellularexpert_visibility_screenshotAn exhibitor at EUC 2007 in Stockholm was HNIT Baltic from Lithuania, makers of Cellular Expert, an ArcGIS extension for wireless telecommunications networks planning, optimisation and data management. A technical article in an ESRI’s Telecom Connections Winter ’07 (see page 4) publication describes research done by Ball State University, using Cellular Expert together with ArcGIS and various extensions.

EUC2007: SpaceNavigator

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3d_connectorAt ESRI EU conference in Stockholm,  3DConnection, a division of Logitech, demo-ed SpaceNavigator for use with ESRI’s ArcGlobe (but of course, it works with Google Earth, too).  Its a 3D mouse priced for consumers (59€ or $59, so guess where I’ll buy it.)  This has been available for a year, launched in Australia, so maybe I’m the last to know about it.  Beautifully constructed and intuitive, there are various more expensive models with more features .  This works with SketchUp and other 3D design applications.

EUC2007: Diamond Touch

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MERL_DiamondTouchNow this is really, really cool. MERL (Mitsubshi Electric Research Labs) showed a tabletop ”touch-and-gesture-activated” screen, hooked up to an ordinary laptop and ordinary projector (suspended above). It is billed (in the online fact sheet) as “the world’s first multi-user touch technology”. Maybe gaming will be the killer app for this product, but disaster response is the GIS-related application which brought MERL to EUC2007. Continue reading ‘EUC2007: Diamond Touch’. (No longer available.)

Heatloss Map

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haringey_heatloss_mapAll Points Blog recently commented on an interactive map of Harringay (a London borough) showing on a house-by-house basis the amount of heat at the time of a “flyover” in the year 2000.  This public website has been somewhat controversial, but may point the way to a future application which could help identify soruces of heatloss.  A new flyover took place last March so the map will be updated.  An article in the Times (May 4, 2007).  A company called  Hotmapping carried out the survey and is offering their services to other boroughs.

According to a Times article:  “Almost 60 per cent of a household’s heat is lost through uninsulated walls and lofts, according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST), costing the average home up to £380 each year.  Insulation is estimated to reduce each home’s carbon emissions by about two tonnes annually. More than half of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the domestic sector, taking into account both homes and transport. “