ISCG 7134 Maps on the Internet

Internet
Applications
Assignment 1

Maps on the
Internet
By Group 2:
Aisea Fatai
Batchiter Singh
Joe Ward
Peter Mohan

4/9/2008

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ISCG 7134 Maps on the Internet

Introduction
Maps have been around for centuries, with the oldest known world map
dating back to the 6th century BC ("Ancient_world_maps ", n.d.).

Maps started appearing online in the early 1990’s and map

websites have evolved considerably, making maps available to
anyone who has access to the internet. .

Scope
This report takes a broad look at online mapping websites.

Structure
This report is divided into #### main sections:

• History
• Types of maps

Objectives
The objective of this report is to present a thorough
understanding of maps on the internet and the critical factors
and relevant issues surrounding them.

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ISCG 7134 Maps on the Internet

History of online maps

One of the first online maps started in 1993 at Xerox Corporation’s
research center in Palo Alto, the Xerox PARC Map Viewer was developed
by Steve Putz as an experiment of retrieving information from the
internet in an interactive way ("Xerox_PARC_Map_Viewer", n.d.).
This website became very popular, and by February of 1994 was
receiving over 25,000 map requests a week ("mapdocs", n.d.).

In this early phase, some online maps were created using DRG’s
(Digital Raster Graphics), which is a digital image created from
scanning a paper topographic map ("Digital_Raster_Graphic", n.d.).

In 2001 the history of web maps changed considerably when the

Open Planning Project created a map server called ‘GeoServer’
which transformed web mapping from creating and displaying
static images to incorporating data, allowing maps to be created
dynamically from geographic information and then rendered as
an image ("GeoServer ", n.d.).

By 2005 online maps had grown to include many forms of

interactivity including route planning, planning trips using public
transportation, hybrid views were available with street maps
layered on top of satellite imagery, an online map of the moon
also became available at this time, with mars following a year
later ("Google_maps", n.d.).

In 2007 Google maps introduced ‘Street View’ to some map areas

which gives a 360 degree panoramic view at street level
("web_mapping", n.d.).

Some mapping websites now have mobile specific sites designed

for mobile phones which can include GPS integration
("Comparison_of_web_map_services ", n.d.).

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ISCG 7134 Maps on the Internet

Types of Web Map

Static Maps
The first maps to appear on the internet were static maps some
of which were paper maps that had been scanned, putting a high
resolution paper image on to a low resolution screen often made
for poor quality viewing ("web_mapping", n.d.).

Dynamic Maps
Dynamic maps created each time a page is loaded, information
comes from databases or map servers such as ‘GeoServer’,
creating maps dynamically with geographic information
("Web_Map_Server ", n.d.).

Distributed Maps
Distributed web maps are created from a variety of sources using
the WMS (Web Map Service) protocol ("Web_Map_Server ", n.d.),
which is an internationally recognized standard used to access
map information on other servers, information from different
sources such as topographic and street maps can be collected by
a WMS server and combined into one layered image, an example
is Google maps view of satellite imagery with a street map layer
on top ("web_mapping", n.d.).

Animated Maps
Animated maps show changes over time using multimedia
formats such as Flash, Quicktime and Java, examples are
weather maps showing wind patterns or moving barometric
pressures ("web_mapping", n.d.).

Realtime Maps
Realtime maps are animated maps that show changes as they
happen (or with a few seconds delay), data is collected and
immediately updated on to a map, an examples is Google maps
view of traffic conditions.

Personalized Maps
Maps can be personalized by a user, you can save your own
personalized map, adding photos, videos or text.

Open reusable maps

These maps are available by using a set of functions or
procedures called an API (application programming interface), an

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ISCG 7134 Maps on the Internet

example is Google Maps API which allows a user to embed a

customized map on their own website.

Interactive web maps

Types of interactivity available on web maps are the ability to
zoom in or out, change map type, for example from street map to
terrain map and access additional information such as photos or
Wikipedia links that are embedded in maps.

Collaborative Web maps

Collaborative use of map Web Sites such as openstreetmap.org,
which is a free editable map of the entire planet allow users to
upload GPS track logs and edit or create maps with this
information.

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Implications to business
Online mapping has had effects on business, an example is the
atlas which is expensive to produce and update, many atlases
have moved to the web and no longer produce printed copies,
they benefit from this web presence by having a larger audience,
are able to produce and update more cost effectively
("web_mapping", n.d.).

Businesses can also be found easier with online maps,

businesses are able to upload their details along with a photo,
this becomes searchable by users.

Business models
Paid advertising is one of the most common ways of generating
revenue on the internet, but unless your site is generating huge
amounts of traffic that business model has not been very
successful to date with online mapping, mainly because of
problems with displaying advertising relevant to the user and the
local or geographic content ("Gorman", 2008.).

Selling API’S is a method of generating income, but with the

many API’S now available for free this model is becoming less
viable ("Gorman", 2008.).

Selling geospatial data is a successful business model said to

generate around $660 million pa, this data can be used for land
registration and planning or environmental observation
("Gorman", 2008.).

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Privacy

There are many issues regarding privacy, more so now that maps
include photos, satellite imagery and 360 degree panoramic
street views, some mapping websites cater for this by reviewing
reported breaches of privacy.

Some governments have complained that satellite images may

help terrorists plan attacks against them, websites have blurred
imagery in sensitive areas, mostly in the USA, areas such as the
White House and military installations ("Google_maps", n.d.).

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Reference List
Ancient_world_maps. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved
August 29, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_world_maps

API. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/API

Comparison_of_web_map_services. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free

encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_map_services

Digital_Raster_Graphic. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved

August 28, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Raster_Graphic

Geodata. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geodata

GeoServer. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GeoServer

GIS. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GIS

Google_maps. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August

28, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_maps

Gorman, S. (2008). Business models for the geoweb: is advertising dead.

Retrieved August 29, 2008, from http://blog.fortiusone.com/2008/06/24/business-
models-for-the-geoweb-is-advertising-dead/

mapdocs. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from
http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/mapdocs/

mapviewer. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved August 28,

2008, from
http://www2.parc.com/istl/projects/www94/mapviewer.html

Open street map. (n.d.). Open street map. Retrieved August 28, 2008, from
http://openstreetmap.org/

Web_mapping. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved

August 28, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_mapping

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Web_Map_Server. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia. Retrieved

August 28, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Map_Server

Xerox_PARC_Map_Viewer. (n.d.). Wikipedia: the free encyclopedia.

Retrieved August 28, 2008, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xerox_PARC_Map_Viewer

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