October 2009
- Updates on Two New Books
- Two items on two books that are just coming out right now: Good magazine has a brief item on the book version of Frank Jacobs’s Strange Maps, and the Washington Post reviews Toby Lester’s book on the Waldseemüller map,…
- Reactions to Google Maps Navigation
- Much of the reaction to Google Maps Navigation for Android devices (previously) focuses on its impact on the GPS industry. The Washington Post’s Rob Pegoraro sees the Google Maps Navigation announcement in the context of whether Google is becoming the…
- New Map of Enceladus
- A new map of Enceladus has been released by the Cassini imaging team, just before Cassini makes another flyby of the Saturnian moon next week. Compared to the previous Enceladus map released in December 2008 (see PIA11145), the new…
- 2010 Olympic Torch Relay
- A map of the Olympic torch relay leading up to the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. After spending this weekend on Vancouver Island, the torch rockets northward — even touching down in Alert a week from Sunday. Via googlemaps….
- A MapQuest Update
- MapQuest has improved the look of its maps — and to my eyes, at least, it certainly is an improvement. Meanwhile, Adam DuVander is impressed with MapQuest’s developer tools: “It’s now a platform worth considering, right along with Google and…
- The Onion Solves Something
- The Onion: World Map Rearranged to Accommodate Poor Geography Skills of Americans — Nations Ordered Alphabetically. Via Cartophilia….
- Weetabix Map Omits Welsh Island
- Weetabix is in a spot of trouble: its boxes and website have a map of the U.K. that omits the not-insignificant Welsh island of Anglesey (Ynys Môn), and island residents are unhappy about it, in the manner typical of people…
- Google Maps Navigation: Free Turn-by-Turn Directions for Android Phones
- Google announced Google Maps Navigation for Android 2.0 today — turn-by-turn navigation for Google Maps running on Android smartphones, using the phones’ Internet connection to fetch up-to-date map, direction and traffic data. Also satellite imagery and Street View. Also, it’s…
- The New York Subway for Three-Year-Olds
- Erin Jang: “This was my present to my nephew for his 3rd birthday. He loves, loves, loves the subway so my sister asked me if I could make a custom map with all the places that mean something to…
- Map Marker Death
- Busted Tees’ Map Marker Death: Best. T-shirt. EVAR. Via James….
- Splinterheads
- Splinterheads is a movie, opening next week in limited release, that features geocaching as a plot point, at least if this teaser is any indication. Via Google Maps Mania….
- China Maps Antarctica
- A Chinese expedition is set to produce the first land cover map of Antarctica by the end of this year, Xinhua reports. “The map, with the application of high resolution remote sensing technology, will for the first time in the…
- The Fourth Part of the World
- I had thought that all the books about Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 map of the world — you know, the one that first named “America” — would have come and gone with the 2007 quincentennial of the map, but I’d…
- The Reverse Geocache Puzzle
- The Reverse Geocache Puzzle is a fiendish bit of fun: a locked box that only opens at a given location, and only gives the distance to that location — forcing the user to triangulate it over repeated attempts. Oh, and…
- Free Google Maps Icons
- Nico Mollet writes to tell us about his project: hundreds of free icons, colour-coded by category, to be used as placemarkers in Google Maps (API or My Maps). Previously: Custom Icons for Google Maps….
- The Katip Çelebi Ottoman Map and Cultural Exhibition
- An exhibition of 16th- and 17th-century Ottoman maps is taking place right now at Cal State San Bernadino’s Anthropology Museum. The Katip Çelebi Ottoman Map and Cultural Exhibition features cartographic works by Çelebi and Piri Reis (whom you may have…
- Cartographic Perspectives Online
- Issue 64 of Cartographic Perspectives, the journal of the North American Cartographic Information Society (NACIS), is available online (PDF) as a test of a potential move to an all-digital, open-source publication. (It’s also a very interesting read on its…
- GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr Mini
- Shipping next month, GiSTEQ’s $69 PhotoTrackr Mini geotagger promises improved Mac and RAW compatibility, along with extra eensy-weensyness. Press release. Via Engadget. Previously: GiSTEQ GPS Loggers Now Mac-Compatible….
- Interactive Map Shows the Impact of Global Warming
- The Guardian reports on the British government’s release of an interactive map that shows the impact of a four-degree rise in average global temperatures. “It shows that the rise will not evenly be spread across the globe, with temperature…
- Marriage and Divorce in the U.S.
- The Pew Research Center has an interactive map showing marriage and divorce rates in each state of the U.S. Via Boing Boing….
- Osher Map Library Reopens
- The Portland Press Herald covers the reopening, after two years, of the University of Southern Maine’s Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education in their new facilities. Via MapHist. Previously: Osher Map Library Grand Reopening….
- Diabetes Atlas
- The online version of the International Diabetes Federation’s Diabetes Atlas, the fourth edition of which was released this month, shows country-by-country data on the incidence of, deaths attributable to, and costs associated with diabetes. Via Glenn….
- In North America, 31 Percent Own a GPS
- An interesting data point: a recent survey found that 31 percent of North American adults own some kind of GPS — whether a portable unit, built-in car navigation, or GPS-equipped cellphone. Cellphone GPS use is growing a lot faster than…
- Three Kinds of Geotagging Users
- In Directions magazine, GeoSpatial Experts president Rick Bobbitt writes about the camera options for geotagging photos. Interestingly, and appropriate to an industry publication like Directions, he divides users into three groups: GIS professionals, non-GIS business professionals, and recreational photographers. Most…
- Google Solicits Locations for Its Street View Trike
- Google is soliciting locations (i.e., trails, campuses, malls and so forth) in the U.S. to send its Street View tricycle; suggestions can be submitted here. A previous solicitation in the U.K. (which I saw but did not blog) received…
- Early Irish Maps
- Britain’s National Archives has launched a collection of early modern maps of Ireland; the more than 60 maps date from the late 16th to early 17th century, a period during which England was colonizing Ireland. “Attractive and colourful, these…
- Google Maps Argentina
- Argentina had been conspicuous by its absence from Google Maps (most other South American countries had at least some mapping data; Argentina was white space surrounded by maps), but no longer: Google Maps Argentina launched (in beta, of course) earlier…
- Google Street View Guys
- Google Street View Guys, a video on CollegeHumor in which two shmoo-like Google employees go on a road trip taking Street View imagery. Via Very Spatial….
- OSM Mapathon in Atlanta
- BBC News reports on an OpenStreetMap “mapathon” taking place this weekend, during which 200 or so volunteers will spread out and map the city. Via Maps-L….
- ‘A Valuable Tool for Burglars and Thieves’
- In the wake of Street View’s Canadian launch, an Ottawa home security expert argues that Google Street View will be a valuable tool for burglars. Not that burglars couldn’t drive up and down the street looking for easy marks prior…
- Ordnance Survey Announces Colour-Blind Mapping
- Hold your mouse over this map to see how it would appear to someone with colour-blindness. The Ordnance Survey has announced a product that will, they say, make it easier to produce maps for people with colour-blindness. For the…
- Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps
- Ellen writes to tell us about the Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps: More than just another collection of historic maps! The Centennial Atlas offers 20 historic maps created over four centuries years of New Mexico’s history, annotated with…
- Museums Misplaced on London Bicycle Map
- Another one of Transport for London’s maps is in trouble: this time, a bicycle-rental map switches the locations of two well-known London museums. TfL says they’ll be fixing the error. Via Londonist….
- Google Stops Using Tele Atlas in the U.S.
- All Points Blog reports that Google is no longer using Tele Atlas data for the United States (they’re using their own map data instead); GPS Review has more to say. I can say that the maps are unchanged in Canada…
- Google Maps Adds Error Reporting
- Google Maps adds error reporting — clicking on “report a problem” at the bottom right of the map opens a dialogue where you can place a pushpin and describe the problem. “Once we’ve received your edit or suggestion we’ll confirm…
- Review: Map Addict
- Map Addict: A Tale of Obsession, Fudge and the Ordnance Survey by Mike Parker Collins, 2009. Hardcover, 330 pp. ISBN 978-0-00-730084-6 It’s very easy for me to like Map Addict — and not just because its author, travel writer Mike…
- Street View Comes to Canada and Prague
- Google’s Street View has launched in 11 Canadian cities: Calgary, Kitchener and Waterloo, Halifax, Montréal, Ottawa, Québec, Toronto, Vancouver, and Squamish and Whistler (these last two almost certainly for the upcoming Olympics). Equally large cities like Edmonton, London (Ontario),…
- The Electric Map to Continue on Film
- Don’t look now, but the Gettysburg National Military Park’s defunct Electric Map may be making a comeback of sorts: the presentation was recorded before the map was dismantled earlier this year, and the Park plans to show it alongside another…
- Monmonier’s Coast Lines Reviewed
- On H-HistGeog, Sally Hermansen reviews Mark Monmonier’s Coast Lines: How Mapmakers Frame the World and Chart Environmental Change, which explores the cartographic difficulties in mapping shorelines, which change over time. “Coast Lines is no exception to what we have…
- The Globe and Mail on the Challenger Map
- An update on the Challenger Map, a portion of which is now being used “to familiarize visitors and security officers from other parts of the country with the intricate, geographical contours of the Olympic security zone,” from the Globe and…
- Old Boston Transit Maps
- Here’s a collection of old Boston transit maps, collected from the Net and the Massachusetts State Transportation Library by Andrew Lynch. Via Cartogrammar….
- Strange Maps, the Book, Coming Later This Month
- First announced more than a year ago, the book version of Strange Maps, based on the map blog that is far more popular than mine, is set to be published later this month, and it gets a writeup in…
