Oakland's Life Expectancy on Google Maps

Bay Area Life Expectancy Map

If you live in Walnut Creek in Oakland you are likely to live 16 years longer than if you live in Sobrante Park. This glaring disparity is highlighted by the Oakland Tribune in its series of articles, and accompanying Google Map, looking at the life expectancy of people living in the Bay Area.

The map allows you to view life expectancy in Oakland and also view the neighborhoods' different cancer death rates, heart disease death rates and child asthma hospitalization. The red shaded areas on the map are the areas with the lowest life expectancy. 

The map also includes links to articles and videos by the Oakland Tribune about people who live in the different Oakland neighborhoods.

Rent an iTowel with the help of Google Maps

SnapGoods

Soon there will be two kinds of people: those who use towels, and those who use iTowels. However forking out $299 on the latest GPS & Wi-Fi enabled iTowel may not be the life-changing moisture absorbing experience that it promises to be.

If like me you are always suckered in to buying the latest gadgets only to mostly end up disappointed and suffering from consumer fatigue then you should give SnapGoods a try. SnapGoods lets you borrow gadgets and gear from other SnapGoods members. It is a great way to try out a product for a small price before forking out half your annual salary on something that a few days later is consigned to the cupboard of broken promises and dreams.

SnapGoods is a website that facilitates the sharing and renting of stuff from SnapGoods members and local businesses. At the moment the site seems to be only operating in New York but has plans to take over the world expand to other areas.

SnapGoods uses Google Maps to show the location of stuff that is available to borrow. The map does all it needs to do; it displays goods for rent and it allows you to search for stuff by location. If you like the look of something on the map you can click through to get further details and to arrange a transaction.

The Future of Mobile Maps - Upnext

Today Upnext have launched their new iPad app with Fluid Labels.

Seamless integration with 3D Mapping, Map Overlays, real-time content.

The label system is now optimized for the iPad size. When you perform a search, multiple results populate the screen. As you move around the map, the results, smartly, refresh to give you more venues.

Category search or try using the Foursquare Friends checkins to really see the labels in action.

There are a couple more changes in this version. The Venue Info window has been enlarged and reformatted. Editorial and user reviews are now spread out in an elegant layout.

source:
http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/30/upnext-ipad-fluid/

Labels: Fluid, iPad, Mapping, Mobile, Upnext

Gorgeous Map of the Week Award

Web 2.0 Summuit: Points of Control

A special one off Gorgeous Map of the Week Award has to go to this map produced for the Web 2.0 Summit. The map was produced following discussions between Tim O'Reilly and John Battele about the efforts being taken by the major "Internet companies to stake out points of control that will give them competitive advantage in the years to come".

John Battelle has provided a great description of what the map represents.

The map itself uses custom map tiles, custom map controls and custom map markers. All three have been beautifully realised and create a really effective overall design for the map.

The map also includes a great comment system. Users can click on the map and contribute to the discussion by using their Twitter log-ins. This is great way to effectively organise comment discussions spatially around particular areas of 'points of control'.

New York's Worst Landlords Mapped

NYC's Worst Landlords Watchlist

I wish this Google Map had been around when I was still renting. It is one of the best examples of open data I have seen, allowing New Yorkers to check if a landlord has housing code violations before renting.

New York's Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has launched a campaign, called Watchlist, to identify, track, and hold accountable New York City’s most irresponsible landlords. The campaign includes a searchable database and a Google Map of landlords' outstanding housing code violations identified by the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. 

Users can search the map by landlord name or by borough. Users can also use the map to report additional violations by a landlord or to report the resolving of a violation. 

Tour of the proposed Belo Monte Dam Complex

Google has just released a very impressive tour showing the potential repercussions of the proposed Belo Monte Dam Complex on the Xingu River in the Amazon. The tour consists of a handful of 3D models, water animations, and a variety of other graphical elements to show the potential impact.

To be fair, Google makes it clear that they don't necessarily oppose the dam, stating on theirblog entry: "This is a complicated issue with many facets, and the views of this poster do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of Google Inc.; we support the use of Google Earth for visualizations to create dialog."

Third World America on Google Maps

Third World America

The Huffington Post have created a Google Map to record the experiences of Americans hit by the current economic downturn. The map is obviously also being used as a bit of a marketing tool for Arianna Huffington's new book, 'Third World America'.

The map shows the areas hardest hit by home foreclosure, unemployment and bankruptcy. Users can also submit their own stories, pictures or video of how they have personally been affected by the financial crisis.

The map itself is a very simple My Map, which I can't help feeling is a bit of a shame. The map contains really important stories that need and deserve to be told. I just wish that the Huffington Post had taken a little more time and care with the presentation of these stories.

However I guess if anyone wanted to present this in a more elegant way they could just use the georss or the KML of the My Map.