Migration Patterns

Atlas is a moving company. A map (2010 Migration Patterns) on their website is very interesting. From the moving pattern, one can reasonably get an idea about which state are adding population and which state the population are losing population.

http://www.atlasvanlines.com/migration-patterns/

How to handle large amound of Markers in Google API

Read this blog today, this is a very good article to talk about how to handle large amounts of markers in your Google Maps Application.

One method is called MarkerClusterer. It is a simple and effective solution for displaying many Markers on the map.

More detailed can be found Xiaoxi Wu's blog. http://googlegeodevelopers.blogspot.com/2009/04/markerclusterer-solution-to-too-many.html

Coordinate coversion

If you have some knowledge about geography, you my be familiar with different projection system. The projection system will display earth surface on the flat paper. Sometimes you may need to convert coordinates into different projection system. You can do this with GIS software. But you want to do it online, there is website for this task.

It is:

Earth Point

I found the coordinates conversion features very useful.

GIS Map templates

Would like to create a professional map, or create a map like ESRI sample map viewer, please go to the webpage to download the sample map documents.

http://resources.esri.com/maptemplates/index.cfm?fa=codeGallery

All you need to do is to change the data source and/or the coordinate system (projection).

Real time bus informaiton

Have you took public bus before? I like taking bus when possible. I used to ride Triangle Transit Agency buses before. One thing I do not like is to wait in the bus stop and have no idea when the next bus is coming. Sometime you wait 5 minuets, sometime you wait 10 minutes. It is not fun for waiting the bus.

Fortunately, new technology (GPS) allows real-time tracking where the bus are and home long the bus will come to your stop. Some public transportation service providers already provide this kind of service. You can get the real-time information by web, or text messages or digital signs at some stops. Then you can easily schedule your time more wisely when riding a bus.

To view some example, please visit the following site.

• View real-time bus locations and arrival predictions for Chapel Hill Transit (CHT) routes in North Carolina
  
• View real-time bus locations for NCSU Wolfline routes in Raleigh, NC

Very good services.

GoTriangle provides trip planner service. it is also a great service for bus riders. You just type your start location and your destination, then it will provide you a list of route options for you to choose. It is very useful when you need to take bus but are not very familiar with bus schedule.

Hopefully, more and more people would take public transportation to help our environment.

North Carolina County GIS Data

This site lists all the GIS sites in each county. What a good service provided by a college library! NCSU did an excellent job to collecting/organizing all the GIS links together. It saves people a lot of time if you are interested to viewing county GIS maps. Are you curious to the deeds, and tax records, NC department of Administration make a page to list these information for each county online. A great service too. Here is the link.

http://www.doa.state.nc.us/spo/county.htm

By the way, Nov. 18, 2009 is GIS day. There will be a lot of GIS events across country. for more information, visit this site: http://www.gisday.com/

ArcGIS Server Application

The most recent version of ArcGIS Server is 9.3.1. It help building caches faster than before. If possible, using cache if possible, it will help to load your pages faster. Also try to have all your layers in the same coordinate system. It will make the map loading time shorter. Furthermore, do not show high-detailed layers (like parcels and local roads) in small scale. Testing your application in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. Also testing your application in different version of the same browser.

Policy Map

Most people are familiar with the map to show roads, schools, parks. This website display maps to show demographics and policies. It is called The Policy Map.

From the website, it says:

PolicyMap is a revolutionary, easy, new way to explore geographic data through maps, tables and reports.

No matter you are doing your business, or you are just interested in the spatial distribution of policy changes and demography, this site is for you. You will be surprised at how much more information and knowledge you can get from this site. And that will help you make smart decision.