| |
|
|
Brazil: Google Maps Gets an Upgrade
|
By Mark Taylor
Those of you keeping a weather eye on Google Maps may well have spotted in the last few weeks that road data has been added, for the entire country! (Technically the road data was added at the end of September according to the Google Maps API Blog)
Unfortunately, and unlike the "competition" such as Apontador.com.br and Map24.com, there‘s currently no facility to search for roads, just the ability to search for major cities e.g. São Paulo. So this makes it still a step away from any real practical use. It seems that Apontador may well be sensing the competition as their site has also recently undergone a revamp, and their map system has become easier to use.
Even so, the combination of the satellite photos and road data (the "hybrid" view) at Googel Maps is interesting, particularly for those areas that have high resolution satellite data. It can be fun to play "spot my home"! Hopefully Google have plans to add road searching, as well as adding the road data and searching to the excellent Google Earth.
Sites are already springing up around the system. Google for starters has its own community system which you can add as a layer to Google Earth. This allows users to add points they think might be of interest, but turning on the layer is usually not helpful as it chokes the maps with data, some irrelevant and duplicated. Google need to work on filtering this. Then there are other sites, like Perljam.net, which have guides to Brazil centred around linking to Google Maps.
There‘s one useful function already within Google Maps though which is the ability to at least provide a link to the area you‘re viewing, if you just click the link button in the top right-hand corner of the screen. Then you can copy and paste the link from your browser. You can at least direct a friend or whoever it might be to a vague area.
If you have a comment on Mark‘s article or would simply like to contact him then email mark@gringoes.com.
Previous articles by Mark:
Brazil: A Guide to Fernando de Noronha Part 1
Brazil: 14 Bis Centenary Part 1
Brazil: Daylight Savings Time
Brazil: Carjacking and Theft
Brazil: Airport Delays Grow Among Crash Speculation
Brazil: São Paulo's International Film Festival (and The Fountain)
Brazil: Single Gringo Beware!
Brazil: The House of Coffee Comes Home
Brazil: Film Review
Brazil: The Portuguese Language Museum
Brazil: Election Time! Part 2
Brazil: Election Time! Part 1
Brazil: Torrent TV
Brazil: Book Review
Brazil: Whistle-stop Salvador Part 2
Brazil: Whistle-stop Salvador Part 1
The PCC Shows a New Level of Organisation
Brazil: Metrô-ettiquette
Brazil: Trading Places
Brazil: São Paulo's Pinacoteca
Brazil: Don't Forget, You're in Another Country!
Brazil: PCC Violence Returns to São Paulo
Brazil: A Recycled City Part 5
Brazil‘s World Cup Defeat Party
Brazil: A Recycled City Part 4
Brazil: Japanese Standard Chosen for Digital TV
Brazil: NET Petition Feedback
Brazil: A Recycled City Part 3
Brazil: Football Love
Brazil: A Recycled City Part 2
Brazil: A Recycled City Part 1
Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 3
Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 2
Brazil: 100 Things To Do in São Paulo Part 1
GPS in Brazil
Brazil: PCC Attacks in São Paulo
Brazil: Tips on Buying or Renting an Apartment or House
Brazil: A Critical Sensitivity
Cleanliness is next to Brazilianiness
Brazil: Manners
Brazil: No Change, No Sale
Brazilian TV
Brazil: Ubatuba
Brazil: Professional Children
Brazil: We deliver... everything!
Brazil: Terraço Itália
Brazil: A Layman's Carnival Guide
Brazil: Portunglish or Engluguese?
Brazil: Feira Food
Brazil: Bilhete Unico flexibility increases
Brazil: Finding Work
Brazil: U2 Ticket Chaos
Brazil: Finding Work
Brazil: Termites
Brazil: Queues, Queues, Queues
Brazil: Let's Go Fly a Kite!
Brazil... the Film That Is
Brazil: The Bus to Nowhere
Brazil: Piracy
Brazil: Gestures
Brazil: Proclamation of the Republic
Brazilian Film Review
Brazilian Film Review
Brazil: Finados (Day of the Dead)
Interjections, exclamations and onomatopoeia in Brazilian Portuguese
Brazil: Halloween
Brazil says "No" to banning firearms
Brazil Humour: Phone Etiquette
Brazil's Gun Referendum
Brazil: Scams
Brazil: Moby Review
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 5
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 4
Brazil: Avril Lavigne at Pacaembu
Moby in Brazil
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 3
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 2
Brazilian Film Review
Brazil: Keeping in touch via the Internet - Part 1
Brazil: First season of Lost repeated on AXN
|
11/15/2006
|
|
