Great Open Source Map Tools For Web Developers 34
snydeq writes "InfoWorld's Peter Wayner surveys the rich ecosystem of free maps, free data, and free libraries that give developers excellent alternatives to Google Maps. 'The options are expanding quickly as companies are building their own databases for holding geographical data, their own rendering tools for building maps, and their own software for embedding the maps in websites. ... Working with these tools can be a bit more complex than working with a big provider like Google. Some of these companies make JavaScript tools for displaying the maps, and others just deliver the raw tiles that the browsers use to assemble the maps. Working with the code means making decisions about how you want to assemble the pieces — now within your control. You can stick with one simple library or combine someone else's library with tiles you produce yourself.'"
Favorite 'map' tools (Score:4, Informative)
The newest camera / smartphones have GPS chips to geotag pictures so they can be overlaid on maps. For GPS-less cameras:
EXIFtool [queensu.ca]
GPSbabel [gpsbabel.org]
Have a GPS device turned on and logging tracks, take pictures, use the tools to add geotags to pictures.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Informative)
You missed a step.
Unless you have a negligible amount of traffic, you need to pay.
Re:Why? (Score:3, Informative)
I just set up a map using OpenLayers for an event, with OSM data. I didn't have to register anything, I didn't have to create an account, and I didn't have to host anything myself. And, unlike the Google map of the same area, the OSM data contains accurate cycle paths for where the visitors are likely to be going and has all of the buildings correctly labelled. So, uh, why would I use Google Maps?
Oh, and if I only wanted to place a single pin in a map (your 'how to find us' example), then this is trivial without even knowing any JavaScript. The export tab on the OSM front page will generate the HTML for an iframe that you can just paste into your web page.