Map Apps For Your Mobile Device

Posted by Guest in Featured, Phone Applications | 0 comments

Jan 11, 12

Even if you don’t have a navigation system installed in your car, with the growing number of map apps made for mobile devices, getting lost is becoming less likely these days. There are now a wide range of map and gps applications that mobile users can easily download to their phones. Some are offered for free, while others can be obtained for a small fee.

With the availability of reliable map apps on mobile devices, navigating around an unfamiliar city or town should never be problem. Who would have thought that a hand-held GPS can be crammed into our mobile devices? Thanks to the brilliance of mobile app developers, finding your way, wherever you may be, has been made easier. Some of the best Map Apps for Mobile Devices include the following:

Google Map Mobile
This popular map app offers the bird’s eye view of the world. Wherever you are in the planet, you are sure to find reliable directions using Google Map Mobile. This app also comes with extra-added features like business listings, street-view, and street directions for pedestrians. Google Map Mobile is designed to work in various mobile platforms – Blackberry, Android, Nokia, iPhone and Windows. Google Map is mainly designed for cars rather than for walkers.

OviMaps
This clever map app is offered for free for Nokia Users. Just like the Google Map Mobile, it is loaded with extra features including pedestrian navigation. So, if you like walking, your phone can now show you the best walking routes. Because you have a map on hand wherever you go, getting to your destination would be faster, easier and hassle free like visiting phlebotomy training schools. GPS enabled Nokia Smartphones come with the new version of built-in OviMaps. The app also comes pre-loaded with Michelin and Lonely Planet travel guides, as well as drive and high-end walk navigation. It also features local map data covering over one-hundred eighty countries. Maps are also offered in forty-six languages. Traffic information is available in more than ten countries.

Stuck
This free app is developed by Swiftcover which combines GPS technology and micro-blogging in one convenient map app called Stuck. The app has a ‘Near Me’ function designed to enable users to identify people who are close-by their location. The app utilizes geo-location technology allowing users to be able to post twitter-like messages indicating their locations. Recently, a group of hikers got separated in the mountain of Sweden because of the snow but thankfully found their way back to their group by blogging their whereabouts via the Stuck app.

Mapping Your Way Through This Economy

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“The Economy” is a phrase everyone has heard far too often recently, but do you really know what it means? Having knowledge of the economy, even in its most basic form, can help you understand what is happening both in America and in the world, and allow you to plan for the future using accurate forecasts. It doesn’t take too much effort, either.

Get Awareness about the Economy

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Much knowledge about the economy can be acquired from things you probably already do: reading the newspaper, especially the financial sections, and looking on news sites such as CNN, which report on the state of the economy regularly. Looking at Government papers and analysis of recent decisions, such as budgets, can also be useful. These show exactly which budgets are being heightened and lowered and can make interesting reading materials as well as boosting your understanding.

Read and Attend

Read up on reports. Be careful which ones you choose, for while they are likely to all say the same things, the language and readability can change, meaning you’ll find some easier to read than others. Ask people from finance recruitment companies that typically release a report, either monthly or quarterly, which looks at the economy in detail and can be downloaded and kept for a later date–perfect for comparing year-on-year!

If you’d like a deeper understanding, consider attending economics lectures or taking a course on the subject. These can be very short but informative and will give you a better understanding of the economy and how it works, especially with regards to other countries and their credit ratings.

If you just want some light reading, you’ll find many companies publish a list of facts which can make very interesting reading. Did you know that 48% of Americans are considered to be low income or living in poverty? Or that the median family income has fallen by 6.8% since December 2007?

More than Just Recession

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The economy isn’t all about recession, booms and jobs, though. Some figures will relate to certain businesses, such as the US Postal Service, which is reported to have “lost” over five billion dollars this year. Some relate to how people conduct their finances–one in every seven Americans has over 10 credit cards. Some relate to house prices–the average house in Detroit is now worth just $6000.

Whatever it is about the economy that fascinates you, and whether your interest is due to work or play, there are surely some facts that you will find fascinating, and it’ll help you work out when the situation is likely to improve and where to invest your money, too.

Google Maps vs Mapquest.com

Posted by Guest in Featured, Maps | 0 comments

Jan 05, 12

These days locating places is as easy as clicking away on your mouse. You can even get an up-to-the-minute digital satellite image of the place you choose to view. And that’s not all, there is even step-by-step instructions on how you can get to the place you want to go to from where you currently are. Like everything these days, locating places and getting directions is just a click away.

Two of the most widely used web services when it comes to location and maps are Google Maps and Mapqest.com. These two are the forerunners when it comes to location and map technology, and both provide valuable information when it comes to locating whatever it is that you are searching for. Let’s get to know these two and see how similar they are and in what areas they differ.

Obviously more popular, Google Maps is Google’s own map and location web tool. It offers the latest technology in terms of geo-location and map searches as it boasts of live links with satellites. With Google Maps, you can type in the location you are searching for on the search bar and you will be given a list of results that you can view with the corresponding map. You can be as vague as you can and Google Maps can come up with a number of places that could possibly match your search. With the map, you can freely navigate around it, drag it around to find the location you want or zoom in for a closer look. You can even change the type of view, topography, street, graphic map, or a combination of the three. The great thing about Google Map is that it is designed to be user-friendly.

Mapquest.com, on the other hand, is owned by America Online Inc., which started out as a road map provider for gas stations. The company provided maps in print. Although it has been in operation for more than 30 years, it was only a couple of years since they have started services online. It works pretty much like Google Maps in which it allows for users to search for addresses, locations, or maps, and come up with results that can be seen in their map. The view type can also be chosen, but it is more dedicated to their original business – road maps. It also provides detailed instructions on how to get to the destination that you are searching for, as well as nearby places.

The only difference between these two map tools are the emerging technologies that they are using – of which the differences are getting smaller and smaller.

The Study Of Cartography

Posted by Guest in Cartography, Featured | 0 comments

Dec 22, 11

Cartography is basically the study and eventual practice of map making. This skill requires the knowledge of a combination of aesthetics, science, and technique. Cartographers are often artists, computer experts, and world travelers at the same time. But cartography covers a wide range, as maps that are required may vary in terms of what the map intends to show. There are times when the maps that are needed must not only show the spatial and physical aspect of places, but also other data like temperature, population, rainfall patterns, and even sewer layouts. Because of this large scope, becoming a cartographer often requires extensive study of different fields, such as statistics, geology and computer applications that aid in map design. Cartographers are even required to learn how to interpret geographic information using photos.

If you intend to study cartography, you will find that many individuals in this field will not only be employed in the map making businesses. There are many cartographers whose expertise is very useful in public policy, geology and education. Cartographers can often find themselves working as statisticians, librarians, and historians. You can be employed in the government, in schools, and even in private businesses. You can say that cartographers will find good job opportunities in almost any industry, especially in companies that need up-to-date data from geographic locations.

Modern study of cartography now requires learning GIS or Geographic Information System, a computer program on map making. You will also need to learn how to use different types of cameras and scanners to help you in designing maps. This helps cartographers create maps that can effectively deliver images that are closest to the actual terrain needed to be mapped.

While most schools offer cartography lessons as part of the curriculum for geography courses, there are colleges that offer four-year bachelor courses on cartography. There are also two-year courses that focus on map making technology, especially with the use of cameras and computers, but these courses can be transferred to a full four-year course if you intend to. This is a good choice if you would like to focus on the technicalities of cartography.

After you obtain a bachelor’s degree on cartography, you can then proceed to a graduate degree program offered in some schools. Most schools, especially large universities with dedicated programs on cartography offer Master’s and Ph. D. programs. These programs usually take around two to five years to complete, and when you successfully finish it, you can work as a professor or scientist.