From our Blog

Google and Offline map data

Had a chuckle today as I was searching for navigation options for my Galaxy S Android phone. While searching I cam across this thread dedicated to the availability of offline maps for the google navigation software - http://www.google.co.za/support/forum/p/Google+Mobile/thread?tid=3634773013544912&hl=en Dave874 asked: Are there any plans to make Android Google Maps/Navigation available offline, when internet connection is not available? I love Android Google Maps, but I'm frustrate.....

Mapserver and URL Substitution

We recently had a requirement to provide a layer control with label and colour customisation for a Openlayers based web solution with a Mapserver WMS. As part of this project we were pleasantly surprised as to exactly how customisable Mapserver is through the URL request to the mapserv CGI  (perhaps i shouldn't be surprised!). What we first did is create a database driven layer control, enabling the user to turn layers and labels on or off. The url is .....

OpenLayers 2.8 Released

Christopher Schmidt announced yesterday on the OpenLayers mailing list, the final release of OpenLayers 2.8 The email follows. The OpenLayers Development Team is proud to announce the release of OpenLayers 2.8, the latest stable release of OpenLayers. The 2.8 release adds a number of important features, the full list of which can be found in the Release Notes, at http://trac.openlayers.org/wiki/Release/2.8/Notes. Some of the highlights include: Support for multi-layer vect.....

Is GIS Expanding too Fast?

A while back, particularly with the introduction of Microsoft MapPoint, it was commonly believed that the need for GIS specialists would diminish, and a GIS package would be used just like an office product. Pre-configured datasets would be readily available, and products would come integrated with mapping and basic spatial analysis. In a way, that has happened to a certain extent, but the need for specialist analysts has not waned as was feared. In fact, this insurgence of easy to.....

Web based GIS, Past and Present

We have directly or indirectly been involved in Web based GIS for quite a few years now, and it is quite interesting how the approach has changed over time. The early days saw the reliance on client based plugins and has slowly progressed to no reliance on client side plugins and virtually no reliance on server side solutions. The Past My first attempt at a webGIS was a custom built solution rendering maps in SVG which essentially served as a stepping stone until a reliable c.....