Apr 27 2009
Google Maps Redux
The advent of the Google Maps API has had programmers the world over calling in sick to their day jobs. Fortunately, you don’t have to be a code genius to take advantage of Google Map’s developer features.
Rather than build up to the big one, I’ll just pop this one in up-front. This Google Maps wiki has everything from related services, code snippets and documentation on Google Maps.
I don’t know if these Google Maps are huge, but they are handy.
Enter a zip code and you’ll get a map of its boundaries. Click anywhere on the map and the zip code the point resides in will be drawn for you.
Interested in making your own Google Maps? Google Maps EZ will let you add Google Maps to your own site with nothing more than some HTML. You get to host your own maps with a few lines of provided code that loads JavaScript from Google Maps EZ.
If you don’t mind so much where you map is hosted, and particularly if you have a lot of points to plot, gMapTrack is for you. This free service lets you upload locations via XML or CSV and has flexible plotting options. You can keep maps private or make them public. All without thinking about code.
Now, for one last map browsing experience, check out Flash Earth.
You can browse the world in Flash with Google Maps or MSN Virtual Earth. Can you see me?
There you go, more mapping fun. Join me next week for more great freeware and free web services.
There are few tasks that raise the anxiety levels in a designer like having to create a map. Clients ask for them like there’s a button on the computer that automatically generates beautiful accurate maps. In reality, their creation is a tedious task.