Yahoo Maps

[monkeykat]

Just noticed that Yahoo Maps has upgraded its interface and usability. Looks more like Google Maps now, but of course they had to add their own "touches". Instead of zooming in with the "+" on top, and out with the "-" button on the bottom like Google, Yahoo has them reversed. Also, they have map view, hybrid, and satellite views, but they place the buttons in slightly different order than Google usually does.

 

The interesting thing is that they also seem to be using a different mapping agency. I know for me, this means that areas that are blurred because they are low resolution photos in Google Maps, actually have a nice resolution on Yahoo Maps.

 

Just another tool for getting a view of the area.

 

Link: http://maps.yahoo.com/broadband/#env=a

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I tried the new Yahoo map for my area. I have 2 observations:

The trees on the Yahoo map are in full leaf mode, so it's harder to see the ground.

The Google maps go in closer by 2 + clicks woth. I don't know whether these last 2 clicks give higher actual resolution or not.

 

However, I investigated monkeykat's prediction that there may well be some areas with definitely better resolution with the Yahoo maps, even though the magnification of Google is higher.

 

I panned West and found that is very definitely the case!

 

Try looking at Middleburg, Virginia with both Yahoo and Google maps !

Edited May 31, 2007 by Black Dog Trackers

[+Black Dog Trackers]

I did some more comparison between Google Maps, Google Earth, and Yahoo maps. (Google Earth and Google maps have the same resolution where I looked.)

 

I used Google Earth for measuring since it has a number called "Eye alt". I compared the 3 mapping programs by getting Google Earth to have features the same size as the other maps. Yahoo's greatest magnification matched Google Earth's Eye alt. at 3,600 feet. Google maps greatest magnification matched Google Earth's Eye alt. at 1900 feet. Google Earth itself magnifies way beyond its usable resolution to 420 feet at which point, a car mostly fills the screen and is an unrecognizable rectangular blob. Things don't get recognizable in Google Earth until you get up to an Eye alt. of 600 feet.

[ArtMan]

I'm happy to have a variety of tools with different photosets.

 

I imagine that in one place Google will be the best choice; in others it will be Yahoo. I'm quite taken with the bird's eye view that Microsoft has on maps.live.com). Google is rolling out 'street view,' which provides ground level images, though so far only in a handful of cities.

 

More toys!

 

-ArtMan-

[Papa-Bear-NYC]

Does anyone know if MS or Yahoo (or anyone besides Google) offer and API for their maps so folks can integrate them into their own apps?

[+Shorelander]

It seems like a number do: Yahoo!, Windows Live, and MapQuest. It seems that neither Ask.com nor Rand McNally has one. Also, ViaMichelin has one, but they're not the greatest for the US.

[+piper28]

Hmm, does appear to have some higher resolution in some areas that google maps is missing. In the Lansing, MI area it seems to have constant coverage of the same res all across the area. Google maps has slightly better, except for the NW quadrant of the city. That quadrant on google maps has always been annoyingly very bad quality. Also goes out further to the west, I can find my RC field in yahoo, it's lost in low res in google. The yahoo maps are noticeably older for this area though. It'd be nice if you could another click in on the zoom, and they do need to work on the smoothness of the navigation, it had a tendancy to hang up in places when moving around.

 

Hmm, and doing a little comparison, at least in my area (and expecially around the RC field), the data is the same in yahoo and mapquest. (Didn't yahoo buy mapquest some time ago? That might explain that). (Oddly though, there does seem to be a slight contrast change between the two, but it's definitely the same data there).

Edited June 1, 2007 by piper28

[+Harry Dolphin]

Maybe I'm doing something wrong? For Google and MapPoint, I click on the link from the benchmark, and and I can find the aerial photo easily. For Yahoo, I seem to need to know where I want to look. Very tedious!

Google has excellent resolution in New Jersey (because New Jersey paid for the high resolution?) But it stinks in Pennsylvania west of the Delaware.

Tomorrow, I'll be in Pike County, Pa, and decided to look for LY0642 Hommel. These are the three aerial photos available:

Google

Yahoo

Microsoft MapPoint.

For ease of usage, and detail, I suspect that I like MapPoint the best of the three. Though Googl Earth is great in NJ and NYC.

 

Okay, so that looks like a housing development in Pennsyltucky. Wish me luck!

[+PFF]

Harry: (and others)

 

Test drive your county's GIS server. Often, the aerial photos are much more recent and of a higher resolution. Some counties add benchmarks as a selectable layer. You can overlay tax parcels on the photo, and you can click the 'i' symbol to get the ownership. (Greet the property owner by name!) Use the Soil Type to predict whether you'll be wading in a swamp. And overlay the contour lines to see the elevation changes you will encounter.

 

For Pike County, PA, in your examples above, use this link: PIKE COUNTY GIS SERVER. For other locations around the United States, simply google the county name and the letters GIS. If the county has an on-line GIS--and more are being added every day--you just discovered a gold mine of information!

 

Being a real estate professional, I live in the world of on-line geographical information. In North Carolina, about 60 of our 100 counties are up and running. I welcome feedback and questions. And, if you know someone interested in moving to NC, be sure toxxxxxxx. (Opps. That's soliciting, isn't it?)

 

Back to GIS systems. They work on the State Plane Coordinate system of Latitude and Longitude. This can be converted to Degrees and Decimal Minutes, but it requires a computer program. Still, it is something I and some of the forum's surveying professionals might consider writing up, sometime in the future. Then, there will be no excuse for a DNF! [Grin]

 

-Paul- (PFF)

Edited June 2, 2007 by PFF

[ArtMan]

NGS has an online converter that works both to and from state plane coordinate systems. They also have a PC program you can download. Links are on this page. I Haven't used it, and it doesn't look fancy, but it should get the job done.

 

-ArtMan-