Does anybody use any internet mapping websites other than Goggle Maps on a regular basis? I actually used to not use Google Maps very much before Street View existed, but now because of Street View I use it the vast majority of the time-I usually use it even when I'm not using Street View just for convenience sake. I do occasionally use Bing Maps for the "birds-eye" feature and for county lines(the absence of which has always been my biggest beef with Google Maps), and even less frequently MapQuest. Just recently I discovered Via Michelin maps online, which is really good for Europe.
Back in the late 90s when internet mapping was new, I used to use MapBlast most of the time. I wish it was still around-they had the best graphics of any mapping site I have seen.
when I was a member of MSN and when I went to a local ISP in 1997 up to 2003 I Used Microsoft Terraserver when it was free and updated 3-4 times a year. I still have preference to a paper map or atlas.
when they moved multimap to bing, I stopped using it as the site looked poor and was less easy to use. I use Google's features, but am not a big fan of the mapping (though if I want directions, I go there, out of convienence)
Otherwise I use OSM, or SABRE Maps (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps) (which has OSM and Google mapping anyway, plus tons of old maps of the UK, and current Ordinance Survey mapping).
I tend to use Bing Maps a lot. I find them more accurate than Google, and give more accurate drive times than Google. Plus, there's that bird's eye view feature.
I usually just use Google although occasionally I'll use OSM (usually if I want to see county lines, which Google does not have). I'm not a fan of Bing's design and the whole bird's-eye thing is overrated - in fact, it makes me dizzy. When moving an image around I need the view to be from directly overhead. Viewing from an angle makes the movement just seem off and unnatural (since it's different than how your view would actually move if you were flying by in a plane, especially when you jump from one picture to another and the perspective is inconsistent). And even when it's stationary I find it somewhat difficult to perceive depth properly in a flat image, so I suppose in that way it doesn't have the value to me it has to others.
Quote from: english si on December 10, 2011, 05:35:17 AM
when they moved multimap to bing, I stopped using it as the site looked poor and was less easy to use. I use Google's features, but am not a big fan of the mapping (though if I want directions, I go there, out of convienence)
Otherwise I use OSM, or SABRE Maps (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps) (which has OSM and Google mapping anyway, plus tons of old maps of the UK, and current Ordinance Survey mapping).
Shit, SABRE does mapping now too? We American roadgeeks need to get our act together :P
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 10, 2011, 09:33:23 AM
Quote from: english si on December 10, 2011, 05:35:17 AM
when they moved multimap to bing, I stopped using it as the site looked poor and was less easy to use. I use Google's features, but am not a big fan of the mapping (though if I want directions, I go there, out of convienence)
Otherwise I use OSM, or SABRE Maps (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps) (which has OSM and Google mapping anyway, plus tons of old maps of the UK, and current Ordinance Survey mapping).
Shit, SABRE does mapping now too? We American roadgeeks need to get our act together :P
We have. Who created OSM? (:
Quote from: Steve on December 10, 2011, 11:00:59 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on December 10, 2011, 09:33:23 AM
Quote from: english si on December 10, 2011, 05:35:17 AM
when they moved multimap to bing, I stopped using it as the site looked poor and was less easy to use. I use Google's features, but am not a big fan of the mapping (though if I want directions, I go there, out of convienence)
Otherwise I use OSM, or SABRE Maps (http://www.sabre-roads.org.uk/maps) (which has OSM and Google mapping anyway, plus tons of old maps of the UK, and current Ordinance Survey mapping).
Shit, SABRE does mapping now too? We American roadgeeks need to get our act together :P
We have. Who created OSM? (:
A British guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Coast)
I guess clinched highway mapping is a US creation.
Quote from: NE2 on December 10, 2011, 11:38:15 AM
I guess clinched highway mapping is a US creation.
Yes, it is. It started with the Interstate System and has grown from that.
--Andy
I almost never use Google Maps through Google. I use ACME Mapper which combines Google Maps, MyTopo, old USGS DOQ's a 3d terrain view, Mapnik and even NWS radar into the same interface. When scouting corridors for fictional highways, the ability to toggle between Google's aerials and topographic maps is excellent. I make all my fictional decisions like that. Avoid built-up stuff with the aerials and avoid steep terrain with the topos.
http://mapper.acme.com/ (http://mapper.acme.com/)
Fixed URL code -Connor
I use MapQuest all the time; it has a more accurate database in terms of some things (like actual street names, and until a recent surge by Google, route designations). It also shows the GNIS placenames more consistently, although I now use Nokia/Ovi maps for that instead, as they also show corporate boundaries (but NOT counties).
For me it's really a constant neck-and-neck between MapQuest and Google as to which tends to be more current and accurate; for a while Google fell way behind, but they're picking up and it's now a closer race.
I do use Bing for birds-eye, as I sometimes need to see features on the side of a building, not just on top. Of course Google 45-degree imagery is quietly expanding too, but it's not yet ready for prime time.
OSM is cool, I guess...I wish it displayed in my browsers more reliably and that more of the data entry were finished...but that's the nature of it I suppose!
I wish that more mapping sites besides Google Maps and Google Earth would be available for desktop download with weather radar from every major radar site in the US. :(
I have used ZeeMaps lately. It lets you add KML files and highlight specific regions of interest.
BTW...you can get county lines on Google Maps here: http://www.mob-rule.com/gmap.
Crude, but the lines are there.