Orboot AR globe brings back the magic from the old days

In pre-internet days, when you couldn't zoom anywhere on the planet using Google Earth or Google Street View, globes were mesmerizing devices that could keep us entertained for hours on end. Now, Orboot wants to bring some of that magic back, using Augmented Reality.

"The True Size of" shows the true size of the countries

Do you think you can believe your eyes when you look at a world map?  "The true size of" is a site that shows you just how mistaken you are, by allowing you to drag any country next to any other, and see for yourself.

Isocope maps shows you where you can get in 10 minutes

A few years ago I sent a suggestion to several navigation services, wishing them to add a feature that would show us where we cold go if he had 1 or 2h available. I never got an answer, but finally, after all these years, this Isoscope allows me to do just that.

Instead of simply showing you the time you'd nee to reach a particular destination, this maps shows you all the places you could reach within a set amount of time (from 2 to 10 minutes), and even taking into consideration the traffic conditions in different times of the day and days of the week. It's the perfect way to see where you could drive/walk to in your lunch break if you have only a few minutes to spare. It's also a very visual way for you to see the effect of traffic.

If you leave in a low-traffic area, it won't matter if it's a weekday or weekend, or if it's rush hour or 2AM, the area you can reach in the set amount of time will remain constant. In urban centers, things are completely different. The are you can reach can be reduced to half its size in rush hour, maybe even showing you're better off just walking instead of driving.

Do give it a try and explore where you can get in 10 minutes (or less) from where you're standing right now. I've waited so long for the chance to navigate "by time" that I'll be trying out different cities around the world just to see what kind of patterns emerge. :)

World Map of the most Photographed places on Earth

Sure... we can now travel the world in just a few seconds using the internet. But have you ever wondered where tourists (and locals) snap more photographs? That's something that can easily be found using the geolocation data on services like Panoramio... and the results can be mapped into a eye catching map that lights up the world.

This Sightsmap lets us explore the world under a new information layer: the most lighted areas are the most photographed ones, while the darker areas are less popular (though not less interesting per se). In regards to Portugal, Lisbon pops up in the 23th place and Porto on 42nd (not bad to be in the top 50 cities, I guess). But can you imagine what the top 10 cities are?

Think on it for a while and then check the results after the map:

1. New York
2. Rome
3. Barcelona
4. Paris
5. Istanbul
6. Venice
7. Monte Carlo
8. Florence
9. Buenos Aires 
10. Budapest

Did you get that right? I have to admit I got a few of them right, but found several surprises in there (I would never expect Monte Carlo to be in the top 10, for instance!)

In any case, that's not a bad list to consider should you be planning a trip in the near future and haven't decided on your destination yet (though you might want to skip those and head to Porto directly... :)

One Dot One Person Map (in the USA)

Ever wondered how people were spread around in the USA? Well, now we can see it thanks to this amazing interactive map that plots one geo-referenced dot for each person in the USA, according to the 2010 US Census.

This means that you'll be looking at 308,450,225 dots - one for each person in the US. And, it clearly shows us just how much of the territory is mostly... free from people (if you don't want neighbors, you'll know where to move next!)

There's also some technical info about all this was made, using Python, Processing, and the Google Maps API (and a 17GB csv file with all the data that was plotted on the map, that took nearly 12h to sort.)

[via Boing boing]

Tim Cook Apologizes for iOS 6 Maps

Looks like all the criticisms made regarding the new iOS6 maps have finally become a issue Apple couldn't no longer denyt, and Apple's own Tim Cook has finally came forth and... apologized for it!

In his message he states that strives to make world-class products but fell short on this commitment with the new iOS6 maps. While he promises Apple will do everything to make it better, it will take time... and until then he even went as far as suggesting alternatives like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps via their mobile websites - and not even forgetting to remind everyone that you can create an icon on the home screen to their web apps.


The full message follows:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Microsoft Street Slide

From Microsoft's Research Labs, I present you Street Slide.

No matter how nice Google's Street View looks, it's always a bit awkward to navigate around, jumping from "spot" to "spot".

With this Street Slide, you can effortlessly slide through the streets... and it looks really good too! :)

3D Maps in the iPad

We all know how well the iPad handles maps visualization and interaction, but this demo goes even further, introducing 3D buildings and elements... without any apparent performance degradations. It makes us wonder how thing will be a couple of years from now, with much powerful mobile hardware and tablet:

Walking Across America

Incredible time-lapse video of Mike walking across America... A fantastic journey you can now watch in less than two minutes thanks to time lapse magic.

Definitely worth watching!

Waze Social Mapping and Traffic Info

Todau, I present you Waze. A collaborative mapping and traffic information social network that might be growing into something really big.

There are lots of big players out there, wanting to cash in on real-time traffic information. With Waze, everyone can contribute to create an open, shareable, real-time map of what's happening.

Based on your current speed it figures out traffic conditions, and you can report accidents or other relevant events with a couple of touches.

Waze is freely available for the iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, Symbian, and some other devices.

Considering all it has to offer (and it even gives the chance to create your own unmapped streets and roads) it is definitely worth having a look.

3D Laser Map of New York

In search for maximum efficiency and in order to better understand which areas will be prone to flooding, the city of New York used a plane with a LIDAR system (think of a much more accurate kind of radar using lasers) to create the most accurate representation of New York in 3D.

Thanks to this detailed model, the city can now accurately identify the best rooftops suitable for solar panel installations, as well as many other uses for environment and security .

... but don't think lasers awesomeness or strictly earth bound. Check NASA's LISA project, which aims to put three spacecrafts in space, 5 million kilometers apart of each other, and shooting lasers back and forth, allowing it to detect gravitational waves - something predicted by Einstein's Relativity Theory, but which has proved difficult to observe and measure in the real world.

via [Gizmodo, NYT]

Free Ovi Maps Racing from Nokia

No secrets here: since Nokia started offering their Ovi GPS Navigation Maps for free one week ago, users have downloaded it over 1.4 million times.

Now, Nokia wants you to take it a step further and actually play around with it with... Ovi Maps Racing!

Don't tell my you've never wished playing a racing game in your neighborhood -  and now, you can. Head to your nearest Ovi Store and download it now, it's free for a limited time.

Check the video:

Map your Visited Countries

Perfect for this holiday season, the site World66 allows you to create a personalized map showing off all the countries you've ever visited.

In my case there's still a lot of traveling to do, but... I try to do my best, one country at a time. :)

MyTrack Map Trails on Android

If you have an Android (or plant to have one) here's an app for you: MyTracks.

It's probably the easiest way for you to keep track of your trails whenever you're outdoors.

• Record and visualize GPS tracks while running, hiking, biking, skiing — or any other outdoor activity
• Get live statistics, such as total/moving time, (average) speed, distance, and elevation profile
• Send performance statistics to Google Docs to build a training history
• Mark places and describe activities for others to discover via Google Maps

One more reason to buy an Android. :)

Open Street Map - 1 Year of Updates

Practically everyone knows about Google Maps. What you might not be aware of is that there's a similar, but open-source project that hopes to achieve the same goal: Open Street Map.

Besides data from official entities, these maps are the work of thousands of volunteers, that painstakingly trace their neighborhoods with GPS units and insert it into this gigantic project.

The following video shows just how much was accomplished in a single year of OpenStreetMap .


OSM 2008: A Year of Edits from ItoWorld on Vimeo.

Atlas of the True Names

Have you ever wondered where names evolved from?
I often find myself trying to dig through the origins of names and the like...

Well, if you're like me, then you'll certainly love to have this True Name's Atlas that shows the hidden meaning behind the places we all know and love.

For instance, did you know Chicago actually comes from "Stink Onion" and Cameroon is called the Land of Shrimps due to the Portuguese word for shrimp (Camarão)?

You'll find all that  and much more in this nice sugestion for a Christmas present.

Check worlwide weather on Google Earth

Have you checked your Google Earth lately? You're in for some surprises.

First of all, you now have two extra layers: "Weather" and "MDG Monitor", but that's not all ...

Data layer organization has been completely revamped (it was about time!). You can now easily manage the smaller set of layers instead of scrolling back and forth to find the one you want.

Basic information such as roads, 3D buildings, and Weather are at the top. If you are looking for interesting things to do or places to visit, expand the "Gallery" or "Places of Interest" folders and you will find a wide selection of interesting data layers for you to explore.

And if you're a fan of everything Egyptian:

... you can now turn on the "Egypt Tourism" layer to see a collection of destinations to visit. You'll even find intricately designed 3D models of some of the famous landmarks.

I'll leave some of the new improvements for you to find out for on your own... :)

But this should keep you even more time "playing around" with Google maps... right?