Back in March acc to Google Groups, Boo said :
Quoted message said:I think that at some point not too far in the future it will be
sufficiently simple to digitise aerial photographs using a computer and
maybe at this point mapping will become available that is free in both
senses of the word.
I'm surprised not to find any mention in this forum to date, but
the future arrived a month or two ago - check out NASA's GPL offering
"World Wind" at
http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind
There's an abundance of rough edges
- can be tricky to install
- plenty of bugs
- doesn't work with some cards
- needs a reasonably fast PC
- data problems (clouds, missing data, dodgy elevation data in places)
- no GPS linkage
- feature list way incomplete
- currently Windows only
but all of these are being worked on, albeit slowly in places. What you
do get already is rather impressive.
Essentially it is a tool for showing 3D visualisation for pretty
much any part of the globe from any angle. The program is free, and the
data sources available are public domain satellite imagery.
It can use multiple independent data sources if the data (or a server
configured to serve up the data) exists. Topographic maps, hires (1m per
pixel) imagery, .... You can even get Mars if you're keen, although I
hear the walk-in is even longer than Ladhar Bheinn.
It is a client-server app, but maintains a local cache of data.
If you load your hard disk cache with the data in advance, you can
use it offline and save a lot of download time.
If someone has a fat internet pipe and is willing and able to host a
couple of gig of UK Landsat7 False-Color data (only Scotland hi-res
complete so far), I could send them a DVD through the mail. It's all
legit, since NASAs UK Landsat7 data data is public domain.
The program is open source, so if you want a feature bad enough, you
can write the extension yourself or talk nicely to someone else who
will. There is already rudimentary support for trails, check out this
forum post :
http://learn.arc.nasa.gov/worldwind/forums/index.php?showtopic=701
If you redirect the freemap route-building effort around refining
this function and building the routes, the potential is enormous. There
is already work going on to link it into your browser, so you can bookmark
locations and access the program through customised links on a web page.
I've never used Anquet or MemoryMap other than brief goes with the demo
versions. World Wind is way behind these two in a lot of ways, but will
surely give them a run for their money as it evolves in the next couple of
years. It already floats my boat.
I've put together a file in the native format containing the Munro names
and heights. This allows you to see each hill name attached to the
summit, regardless of which angle you're viewing from.
Here's some screenshots :
http://pkeenan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ww/ben-nevis.jpg
http://pkeenan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ww/mamores-and-nevis.jpg
http://pkeenan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ww/cairngorm-plateau.jpg
http://pkeenan.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/ww/glencoe.jpg
Since good 3D cards are bcoming ubiquitous, it gives adequate
performance on most recent PCs. One downside is that it may well be tempt
you into spending money upgrading your PC to get more oomph !
--
pjk