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What Are Your Favorite Map Web Sites?Ten years ago, when I moved to my current town, I bought one of those local road maps that look like a book, yet are about as readable at first glance as the Dead Sea Scrolls. You've seen them in convenience stores -- "Detailed Road Map of Dead Reckoning County" -- featuring a master grid at the front of the book, then intensely detailed slices of the master grid on page after page after page.
It takes a cartographer or a long-time local to figure one of these out while driving around lost. You might as well use your car antenna for a sundial -- it would be just as effective. However, an addiction to back roads and shortcuts made me one of the few consumers of these books other than truck drivers and pizza delivery guys.
In each of my last two new residences, I bought two of these books, created a massive local map on my wall and stared it down in fascination every time I was about to venture out to a new place. As a result I learned very quickly how to get around without getting lost, stuck in traffic or bored.
So when the first mapping applications appeared on the Web, I was hooked. They had zooming, panning, compass navigation and the ability to pinpoint locations. Plus, I could get driving directions that allowed me to "avoid highways," choose between shortest distance and shortest duration, and get pretty accurate mileage and drive-time quotes. But the new map apps weren't just for map nerds; immensely practical applications popped up all over the place, such as maps to match up with real estate MLS numbers, or maps of hotel locations on booking engines.
I found even more uses for the mapping apps. For example, I used the mileage quotes to reconstruct trips for which I failed to write down mileage come tax time; you may find others. Users with smartphones, iPads and PDA's can connect to online mapping applications for instant directions literally in the palms of their hands.
We've come a long way since the days of the basic paper road maps that were impossible to refold. But Web mapping applications aren't perfect. I know some shortcuts (that are the absolute best ways to traverse the routes I'm traveling) that map apps don't always give me. But on the whole, online maps work -- and there are a lot of people who don't go anywhere without mapping out a route, printing out the directions and taking them along on their travels.
Of course, now that GPS's are as widespread as windshield wipers, many travelers have forfeited their printed directions for the metallic voices of personal navigation systems. But there are still some applications offered by Web maps that you can't get on your GPS (check out our list of Google Maps applications below for evidence). Plus, those of us on budgets may prefer free mapping applications to navigation systems that can cost hundreds of dollars and are tempting targets for thieves when the devices are visible through car windows.
Online Mapping Applications: The Big Four
Yahoo! MapsFirst up, Yahoo! Maps. The site allows you to map your location, then add in local features from movie theaters to restaurants from a search box on the left. Results then appear as small colored icons that, when you roll your mouse over them and click, reveal business names, addresses, phone numbers, directions, reviews and more. Yahoo! also lets users who have signed up for a Yahoo! account save these maps for future use.
Google Maps
Google's mapping application has the same business-search feature that Yahoo! does. After you type in your location, you can enter an attraction like "coffee shop" or "outlet mall" in the "search maps" field at the top. You'll get a list of nearby locations on the left, and icons marking the attractions will appear on your map.
Another interesting feature of Google Maps is Personalized Google Maps, where you can create a free account and make personalized maps that you can save, and e-mail to friends and family. I created a map of my home town to test it out. I marked my home and some nearby spots that I frequent with colorful icons. I drew lines from my home to local attractions and calculated distances between the points. I even added cool features like a "Gas Buddy" function that displays gas prices at local gas stations along with gas station information and directions, and thumbnail photos of my neighborhood that expand when clicked.
Many of Google's personalized map applications are extremely useful, and some are fabulous time wasters. You can "Dig a Hole Through Earth" to see where you would pop out if you started digging, say, in front of your office. Or use Google Real Estate to see the current selling price of your neighbor's house.
MapQuest
MapQuest has recently undergone a number of new improvements; after a redesign last year, the site now offers a new Route Planner that allows users to plot trips of up to 25 stops. The site's "On-Map Search Tool" is a line of colorful icons on the side of your map -- click an icon to find shopping spots, bars, ice cream shops and more. If you're lost, click on MapQuest's new "Find Me" feature and the map will creepily reveal your whereabouts.
Rand McNally
Print map king Rand McNally is a bit more basic than the other map apps -- but if you're annoyed by bells and whistles when you're just trying to navigate from point A to point B, this application may be best for you. Plus, Rand McNally claims that it has more streets than Google Maps and MapQuest. But the site is limited in that you can't search in Europe and many other international destinations, and on the original application you can't do a general search for local attractions and businesses.
However, the site is in the process of developing a brand-new online maps application; its latest version is still in beta, and you can test it here. The new beta application includes a way to search for local businesses, although you must know the name of the business you want to find. (Or you can search by category; for example, click "Arts and Entertainment" and you'll get a list of everything from book shops to art galleries near your location.)
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--written by Ed Hewitt; updated by Caroline Costello
