geo2web.com

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Crude oil seems to record its biggest hike in price almost monthly and gas prices appear to hit record levels almost daily. I’m sure that Google Maps mashups that show the consumer where they can find the cheapest gas are bound to be popular at the moment.

GasPriceWatch.com

GasPriceWatch is a website that will help you find the cheapest gas prices in your neighbourhood. You can search GasPriceWatch for US gas prices by using the zip code search or by specifying a street, city and state. The gas prices of local gas stations are then shown in a sidebar and tagged on the map.

Gas Prices are updated on the site by over 123,000 volunteers.

GasBuddy.com
GasBuddy have a handy Google Maps mapplet that will allow you to search Google Maps for the cheapest gas prices. The cheapest stations are tagged on the map showing the price, address and time and date when the current price was updated

AltFuelPrices.com
ALtFuelPrices is a Google Maps mashup showing alternative fuel prices and fill stations for the entire US. You can search the map by zip code or state. You can also refine your search by type of fuel, e.g. biodiesel or electric.

Results are returned on the map with handy price tags.

WhatGas.com
UK Readers can find the cheapest petrol in their neighbourhood at WhatGAS.com. Search for prices by entering a postcode in a search box. Local petrol stations are then tagged on the map with prices in litres. You can even adjust / update the prices yourself if you know they are wrong.

WAPetrol
WAPetrol is a Google Map mashup showing the cheapest places to buy petrol in Western Australia. The cheapest prices are given in a sidebar. Click on one of the petrol stations listed in the sidebar and it is highlighted on the map.

lifehacker
What do you know - it seems lifehacker thought that today would be a good time to post on ‘Easy Ways to Save Money on Gas’. Not particularly Google Maps related but definitely on topic - and some handy tips.

Use Public Transport
Finally - whilst this is not exactly a trick to find cheap gas - using public transport, where you can, will probably save you money in the long run. When you ask for directions in Google Maps check for the Public Transit option. Google Maps for Mobile also recently added public transportation directions.

Previously Featured Gas Price Maps:
“Cheap-Gas” Google Maps mashup - the Catskill and Hudson Valley region of New York State.
Cheap Gas Google Maps widget - USA
ShowMeTheMap.com - Ottawa
Pumps.ie - Ireland

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On the occasion of the CSAA ’s announcement that it’s getting out of the business of publishing paper maps, the San Francisco Chronicle’s Caille Millner has this to say:

I am saddened, but not surprised, about the death of the paper map, about its slow-but-sure eclipse by Mapquest and GPS and all of these other digitized forms that allow people to persist in their delusions: their delusions that the only “starting points” and “destinations” that matter are the ones relevant to their immediate needs, their delusions that the only purpose of a map is to decide where you should turn right or left. And when the time comes when an insistence on using paper maps, and globes, and atlases draws the frustration and impatience of other people, leads them to believe that the person in question is “out of touch” or failing to “keep up with the times” or “slowing us down,” then I will gladly take up those mantles, and you had best hope that others do too.

Take it from someone who is far less emotional about this subject than I am: Curt Sumner, the executive director for the American Congress on Surveying and Mapping. “There are a lot of uses for which just data, digitized map data, are OK,” he told me. “It’s just not good for every use.” When I asked him for a few examples of where digitized data was creating headaches for the professional surveyors he represents, he offered small examples like water lines, fire patterns, and right-of-way property rights. He mentioned that his organization had a rider on a bill in Congress “going forward right now” to require the preservation of documentation of monuments that show right-of-way access (railroad tracks, for instance) because “when the old maps get destroyed, there’s no way to determine who has the right of way.” Then there the “engineers and fire departments, who really need more accurate information than what’s stored on geographic information systems. You know, to build infrastructure.” He added that many “official” centers for maps — county recorders’ offices around the country, for instance — are in the process of digitizing their maps, and not all of the old maps are being kept.

Previously: CSAA Getting Out of the Paper Map Business; Why Paper Maps Are Still Produced; The Decline of the Paper Map; Decline of the Road Map.

Update: Chad adds an interesting point to the paper maps question, in the context of using a GPS: “What do you do if you get no signal, or your batteries run out, or it breaks?”

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360cities.net is a virtual reality network with panoramas from all around the world. They bring us fantastic depictions of the world’s beauty and human creativity.

They also happen to take advantage of almost every Geo API that we have! We were fortunate enough to have them at Google I/O last week, so we could sit with them and discuss how they do what they do.

To cut to the chase, you can watch the entire set of interviews and demos in one go, or you can jump around using the playlist custom viewer below. I happen to be a huge fan of their use of the new Flash API as they “flip things inside out”:

We talked about a really varied set of topics. Not only did we discuss their usage of the APIs, but we got into how they manage to deal with these huge images, how they stitch them together, and how they even manage to get so many of them.

You will see the process, how their data center started in a closet in Boston, how Lurch from the Adams family is one of their photographers, and the importance of the BBC Model B.

Thanks so much to Jeffrey and David Martin for joining us. A real pleasure.

Posted by Dion Almaer, Google Developer Programs

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Posted by Tammy Stern, Software Engineer

When I search for a business, I often want more information than just the address and phone number: I want to know what people are saying about it and what it looks like. Many results in Google Maps have had this information for some time now, but it’s always been a couple of clicks away. Now richer data automatically appears in the left panel.

When I travel from the Google NYC office to visit the Mountain View office, I can get a quick overview of the hotels near Mountain View just by scanning the left-hand panel. I can see a picture of the hotel and read a snippet from a review, and I’m just one click away from voicing my own opinion by clicking the “Write a Review” link.

This improved browsability makes for all sorts of interesting queries. For example, I can browse the real estate market by doing a real estate in Chelsea, NYC search. (When I compare those results to the results for real estate in Mountain View, CA, I think that maybe I should consider moving to the Google Mountain View office instead of just visiting!) Or I can read about the locations that people have dubbed as their “favorite restaurant” by doing a favorite restaurant in NYC search.

So, the next time you find yourself looking for books in Cambridge, MA, paneer near London, tourist attractions in Brazil, schools in Nairobi, or Elvis in Memphis, be sure to Google Map it for an overview of reviews and images. Once you narrow down your choice to one or two options, there’s still the “more info” link which takes you to an info-window with more reviews, more images, related webpages, and basic information about the business, including hours, pricing, and the official website. So go ahead and local search your hearts away!

Have a business? Go to the Google Maps Local Business Center to add your business information and photos.

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The music festival season is upon us once again. What we need at this time of year are some web sites that will show us where our favourite bands are playing - preferably on a handy Google Map.

Last(.fm) Music Map

The Last(.fm) Music Map is a mashup between Last.fm (Audioscrobbler) and Google Maps APIs.

The search feature is simplicity itself - just type the name of an artist or band in the search box - and sit back and watch. The artist’s upcoming events are then displayed on the map in TwitterVision style. Each event is tagged on the map with the date, venue, a photo of the venue and a link to more details on Last FM. A small information window also appears with links to similar artists to your initial choice.

MusicRambler

MusicRambler is a mash-up of Google Maps, Last.Fm and Flickr. When you listen to music with Audioscrobbler, MusicRambler will collect images and events related to the artist you are listening to and will show them on a Google Map.

To use the map you simply enter your Last FM login and MusicRambler goes to work.

BandsinTown

To search BandsinTown just enter the name of an artist and BandsinTown searches for upcoming concerts near your location. You can refine your search options by how far you are prepared to travel, by date or by ticket price.

Each returned concert comes with an accompanying Google Map that tags the concert venue.

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Posted by Ed Parsons, Geospatial Technologist

Back in March we announced the Google Cities in 3D Program, which invites local governments to share their 3D data with the public by adding a model of their city to Google Earth. The good news is that we are now extending this program with localised websites to encourage governments in the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and The Netherlands to share their data with us. The Cities in 3D Program provides local governments, community groups, and educational institutions with tools and information for uploading their data to Google Earth.

We have developed tools to make it as easy as possible for local governments to share information with their citizens, who will be able to view and explore the their local environment in a very realistic way. Travelers will be able to understand what it is like to visit a city, providing a “sense of place” not possible with conventional 2D maps.

One city that has already taken advantage of the program is Westport, Ireland where they produced a 3D city model to promote their town as a world class tourist destination and business location and to help preserve its heritage.

The Cities in 3D Program launching in Europe extends our efforts to engage with content providers, especially government agencies, to help them make the information they produce more accessible and useful. Take a look at the video below to learn more about the power of 3D or explore some great existing 3D cities here.

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