Google Maps activity

Whoa! I thought the extent of Google maps was to find out how to get from my house in Indianapolis to my apartment here in West Lafayette. The last time I used the Google system was to attempt to figure out how good my seats for the Purdue football games are, using Google Earth. Who knew you could use google plus a GPS tracking system to pinpoint where a person is at any point in time or to see how much that person has traveled today and how fast he is currently traveling. The Clouds program is pretty neat, too, especially for people who are traveling as you can see what types of clouds are covering the area where you will be. I can also see it being useful in forecasting the weather, because cloud cover has an important role in meteorology. Another one of the neat programs allows you to also watch the sunrise and sunset. It’s almost like being in two places at one time. Something I found out that was pretty interesting was the fact that Indiana was mapped very well, probably the best of the entire US. Indiana University has also capitalized on the function of google maps to create a website that analyzes the number of Democrats vs. the number of Republicans in a certain zip code. It also shows how much money these politically-minded people are contributing towards the elections next November.

The first thing I see in the Google maps uses lists a pedometer. I used to be a big runner, and always thought that I knew about how far every run that I went on actually was. I had no idea the detail in which you can accurately count your distance. The pedometer has settings so that you can map your journey off-road, which is important for cross country runners. It even allows you to measure elevation. I’m definitely going to go back to my high school routes in Evansville and see how much I actually knew about distance.
Another point of interest that I found in Google maps was the “Beat Traffic” feature. This feature has potential, but does not stand up to the quality I would like yet. I worked in Chicago this summer, and a view of the traffic really did help in my travel planning. However, the Beat Traffic feature could provide a more live view of the area, that would help immensely. I did discover the hybrid map while looking at Beat Traffic. I did not know they implemented that feature into Google maps yet. This feature creates more of an interest and enjoyment rather than a neccessity.

Looking down at the earth, our vision powered by Google, everything seems so small. Using the maps drag-and-release function we can easily drag the screen a couple inches to get from Japan to America. Now obviously Japan is not a couple inches from America but with the use of this tool we really start to understand the true meaning of the words ‘It’s a small world after all’. Besides making myself feel powerful by looking down upon our tiny world I was also interested by the complexity of the Google engine with all its different functions. Being in computer science we had to write a program with similar function but on a much smaller scale. We came to see that even the tiniest detail such as zooming in by double left-clicking can be very tedious to a programmer. Small aspects such as these are the ones that interested me the most.

Whether you’re looking for Marco’s Pizza in West Lafayette or the Eiffel Tower in Paris Google maps can help you find it. The number of locations that are stored in Google’s database is phenomenal; I was able to find my favorite childhood ice cream shop just by remembering its name. Not only was I able to see where Sluggers Dugout Ice Cream’s new location was but also the color of its new roof! The tabs on the top-right of the map let you switch aspects on how you want to view the world. You can either see it in a map view, satellite view, or both. The use of this function comes in handy quite often, for instance, if you’ve got directions to find a place located next to a pink building it would be nice to see what colors surrounding buildings are. I found this function interesting because I was able to see what the soccer field in front of my old house looks like with grass; much better than a sandy surface in my opinion.

There are many organizations online that are enhancing Google maps for other specific uses such as pinpointing locations that are in danger of tsunamis. This could help someone who is interested in buying real estate and doesn’t want to experience a tsunami within his lifetime. You just got saved from a tsunami, that's so cool! With the number of tools constantly growing and improving, I find Google maps to be by far one of the most useful, interesting, and time consuming websites on the internet.

I was somewhat familiar with Google maps before starting this exercise, however, it was mainly with the searching for directions types of maps. I love how you can find directions, then click and drag the line it gives you to new locations and get a new mileage estimate. As a web programmer I have a very high appreciation for all the features that they have. The somewhat new "street view" option will show you what the actual streets look like. This option is only available in the more common cities but the pictures are real. Being able to see an overhead view from the satellite option is also a neat feature. In addition to this I found some others that I had never seen before. I found one that showed you where you would end up if you dug a hole straight through the earth. I found one that would show you the line you would take around earth if you started from somewhere and walked straight in a given direction. On the more useful side, I found one that showed recent terrorist threats. I also found one that showed the top eBay real estate auctions. Although as a programmer the features and complexity of the regular Google map that gives you directions is the most impressive to me, I can see how some of the others could be very useful to certain groups of people. They aren't quite as interesting to me since they aren't nearly as difficult to make work, and they don't offer as many interactive features.

Isn't it amazing how far we've come? Seems like it was only yesterday when mapquest.com was pretty much the standard for planning your next road trip. Now you can site see around the world without even leaving your computer. The even have a new feature that allows you to "catch a ride" in the major cities in U.S. by taking advantage of the G.P.S. functionalities of the taxi's and limos of various cab companies. To do anything else other than to get directions to and from various locations is mostly for entertainment purposes, but there are a few that may actually be helpful. One of the most interesting things to me was the Street View which allowed you to see 360 degree views of certain streets in select cities. You could actually "walk" down the street in Las Vegas directly from your computer. What will people think of next?

Google maps has a few different capabilities. To begin with, you can locate different places and areas in the world, get directions, and even get a satellite image of many places. The reasons that these features would interest people are quite obvious. To begin with, all one has to do in order to locate a place of interest, or even get directions to that place, is enter in the place name and where one lives. Then one instantly has the piece of information he or she is looking for. This is quite obviously better than looking a place up in a phone book, attempting to locate that place on an atlas, and then trying to figure out how to get from point A to point B. Satellite images of locations can also be very helpful to people. If one has never visited the place he or she is looking at, it could be of interest to them to look at the satellite image of that new location in order to get a general idea of what kind of place it is, such as a crowded city, a tiny country town, or any other type of location.

Another interesting part of google maps is that google has made it easy for anyone to use their database and create a customized program for whatever it is that one may want this whole map database to be used for. As the given search shows, there are many different projects to which the google API has been applied.

Google is perhaps the single most phenomenal aspect of the internet today. It is very aptly named considering the size and importance of its database, as Google was originally spelled “googol” and means ten to the one hundred power (10^100). One amazing feature in a sea of features offered by Google is Google Maps. The maps are outstanding, well detailed, and can get any driver anywhere in the United States. However, as if this weren’t enough, Google Maps is even more fascinating. There are many features offered that go unused or undiscovered by many, including myself. One such feature is the ability to see a visual report of the traffic in specific areas.
When I began this exercise, I thought about what else Google Maps might be able to do other than just print maps and directions. Once I reached the Google Maps homepage, I noticed a button directly on the map, which read “Traffic.” When I clicked this button, the map was instantly covered in green, grey, and red lines, indicating the traffic on those particular roads. Now, before leaving home and waiting on the news to report the traffic, you can just log on to your computer and consult Google!
Along with the traffic report, I was extremely interested in the “Hybrid” selection. With this option turned on, the map shows both geological and political features. It is more like what you might actually see if you were in a place above the area. You can see trees, and parks and rivers, but also roads and traffic data.
Lastly, I must mention the “Street View” option given by the Google Maps system. Although it is only available in extremely large cities or areas of high tourism, it is amazing. The user can literally zoom in as if they were driving on that street. They can move forward and backward and even turn down other streets. It is like virtually driving the necessary route to practice before the real thing!
These three features of Google Maps are ones I had never discovered before. I find them extremely interesting and very fun to play around with! The bottom line is, Google offers even more than I originally expected!

Google maps is an amazing feat of human accomplishment. The features that Google Maps has would have been unthinkable a decade ago. Google Maps can be used on cellphones now with GPS that will keep you from ever getting lost. As long as you have a signal, you can access to a wealth of information. Perhaps the best feature is one of the simplest, the business lookup. Information that people once had to look up in a phone book can now be accessed with a few clicks. Along with the address and phone number, users have access to a map of the area, directions, menus, catalogs, and more. Google has made it easy for anyone with a computer to have access to as much information as possible in the shortest amount of time. People with access to Google maps can also check weather and traffic conditions near them. Features like these are are useful for people in every day life. Both of these features can help when planning a trip or just driving to work. These features are so interesting because data like this used to take more time to look up. Now it can be accessed from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds.

The Google maps were awesome. I enjoyed earthalbum.com. It allowed me to find places that I knew and view that at a very close distance. I now know for certain that our garage/barn is the largest structure around my neighborhood. Who wouldn’t want to know were all the fast food locations were across the United States? Chicago alone had 269 locations with McDonalds dominating 119 of them. The BrewsterJennings.com game was neat. I enjoyed the interaction between historical events/people and geography. The HotOrNot map was slightly distasteful, although an interesting way to use a map. I enjoyed the sunset/sunrise map. I did, however, have a difficult time maneuvering the map within the small timeframe I used it. The PublicLoos map was a very intelligent and somewhat humorous way to produce a map.

I think perhaps the neatest map I found was the Zoomf UK Property map (http://www.zoomf.com/). Talk about practicality! In addition to providing the usual information about all the two-bedroom flats in an area, it also employs a Google map so that users can better compare distances. How sweet is that?

My next favorite is the Public Loos site (http://paul.kedrosky.com/publicloos/). I thought this was a fairly practical map –– I suppose the user population most likely to get the most good out of it would be those with overactive bladders... most people, I think, would never dream of checking such things before leaving home.

And lastly, the Gothamist Map (http://www.gothamist.com/labs/map)… my, how terrifying does New York seem? This map would prove useful to the highly paranoid, I think… although they may just move away immediately. All I can say is that I hope Batman has invested in an iPhone –– otherwise he may be facing some serious competition.

I had no idea there were so many uses for Google Maps. My experience with Google Maps prior to tonight had been relatively limited. At the time I thought I had used it to its full capacity but I had no idea. I had used it quite a few times to get driving directions various places. I had also also used it a few times to figure out various distances around Chicago I was planning on biking. It was useful in finding the nearest bank branch to my job in Chicago.

Interesting uses I didn’t know about:
1) Apparently you can use it to measure area. This only seems particularly useful for people trying to figure out acres and things of that sort, however I think that it would be an excellent way to do some interesting geometry problems for my students.
2) A while ago I saw a function of Google maps but I didn’t know it at the time. A friend of mine from high school made a neighborhood map of an area in Chicago. You could upload photos to particular areas or intersections in the city. I found that interesting.
3) Disease Outbreak is another interesting use for Google maps. I find this particularly interesting because it shows the entire globe and where there have been outbreaks of particular diseases. This automatically makes me start thinking about the future. Could this be updated real-time if there were serious outbreaks? You could use this in order to plan getaways if necessary.
4) Some people have been using this to show where UFO’s have been sighted. I don’t believe in UFO’s. I do believe in life out there in the universe but I don’t believe that they’ve made contact yet. As a result I find the concept of this absolutely hilarious.

Google Maps offers a wealth of digital imagery and data freely distributed online. While using the basic road maps can be helpful for planning a drive, there are other aspects of Google Maps that make extensive use of additional data. The "satellite" option uses composite satellite imagery to offer a map of the world that can be viewed from the continent level all the way down to being able to distinguish between cars on a street. The level of collected data is quite extensive for the United States, and a viewer could use the data for a visual for a road trip, or simply an exploration of satellite imagery covering the United States.
Another feature of Google Maps that relies heavily on web technology to provide an experience far different than a print map is the “street view” feature. While only available so far for about 6 cities across the United States, “street view” enables the user to see composite imagery of actual street-level photography to create a 3-d view of the city. Google's interface then allows the user to travel along these virtual roads of street imagery, useful for an actual visual map of a city that can be explored online in real detail.

Google Maps is really a cool thing that goes way beyond a Rand McNally Road Atlas that your parents might have taken with the family on summer road trips, or at least in my case. It’s not just something you can look up how to get from point A to point B anymore; you can do a lot more stuff too. If you’re stuck at home and bored, you can sightsee with Google maps. It can be fun to go to popular tourist attractions and see an aerial view of such things as Hoover Dam or Mount Rushmore, though I think it may be rather hard to see the Presidents’ faces from up above. Google maps has also become an alternative to the yellow pages, a lot of the time you can type in the name of a restaurant or the type, the city, and you will get results in map form. Not only that, but you don’t have to call up the place for directions, and sometimes even the hours are posted just a click away.

Let’s start off with the obvious ones. Google Maps is very useful for finding directions to practically anywhere and it generally has an answer for every location. For example, even when you need directions from Indianapolis, IN to London in the UK; it will send you to the east coast and tell you to swim across the ocean to get there. It can be used as a route planner or location finder. When needing to find the closest Wal-mart or any other store, it’ll supply you with several locations from closest to furthest away. Now when looking at the mash-ups created for Google Maps, the uses just grow immensely. There are a lot of professional mash-ups out there, such as the PISCO(http://www.piscoweb.org/research/community/subtidal/sitemap#year=2005&si...) maps. Being a scientist who monitors the ecosystem, I would love it. The Geodistance mash-up can actually have several different applications, whether you are trying to figure out how far you need to walk, how far you travel every day, or whatever distance you need to measure. Google Maps has come a long way since it initially started, and users have embraced it. The same information on Google Maps extends to Google Earth, which contains a much more advanced user interface. The uses for Google Maps is almost limitless, especially with user development.

"Where's Mecca? I don't even know which way is North! Hold on… Let me consult my Google Map…" I think this is the most practical use for Google maps for a huge number of people in the world. (Among every four humans in the world, one of them is Muslim.) As people travel and move further from home, this application is, and will become, more important to Muslims' daily lives. Even in a book I’m reading right now, the author jokes about people in space finding the direction of Mecca to pray to.

As for an application that I would use, I would like to know where the 7 Wonders of ____ are located. There are quite a few lists ranging from Wonders of the Ancient world to Wonders of Russia. Surely the lists change from source to source, but they’re generally similar enough to get ideas from. It's one of my non-official goals in life to visit at least one full list. So far, I have nine incomplete lists pending. Perhaps one day with the help of this application, I can efficiently map out an entire vacation to see all 7 Wonders of a country, continent, or category.

I've used google earth but not google maps. I usually use mapquest to find where things are if im not familiar with its location. I really did like quite a few of the features that google maps had.I didn't know that you could make your own google map with pictures that you have. I thought that was pretty cool and could come in handy if you need to give directions of where things are in like a room or office. I wasn't surprised that Starbucks had its own map for customers since they are practically everywhere now. I liked the feature where you can choose simple things like movie theaters and restaurants. I like that someone made a redlight camera map so that you know where not to speed or try to run a yellow light.

Out of all the things that I found, I really liked the map of where filming locations for movies are since I love to watch movies. It showed where the movies were filmed if you wanted to go there and what movies were filmed there.

One of the different uses would be when i was going to Italy i got to firgure out where i was going to live and how far it was going to be if i decided to walk from our house to go to the school. The other thing was to try to figure out how to get to the hostel i was staying at the first day i was there without even being in Italy. Another use i found was when i drive i tend to look for landmarks instead of street names and with the google maps statalite you can get the idea of what you are looking for when you are driving down the streets. The thing that interested me was that in i believe google world you can see the dubai islands that are shaped like the world and see what is building in the world around us.

Probably the most useful thing I found on googlemaps is this cheap gas finder (http://www.mywikimap.com/). Usually the search would consist of the gas company (such as bp, mobil, etc.) with your zip code and the radius from your location that you are willing to drive to. I don't have my car up here right now, but during the summer, my family and I used this tool extensively before family trips, or just to get a good deal while gas prices are still up.
Another cool use of the googlemaps interface I saw was with this residential property finder (http://www.zoomf.com/). Although it's only based in the UK, I've seen similar programs that don't run on googlemaps that can also give an appraisal estimate of your home as well as giving directions to said real estate location. This is a very useful tool for people who are house hunting.
I see many instances in which googlemaps are used for entertainment purposes (such as tracking celebrities) , but for me the more interesting maps are the ones that can be used as a resource.