mapserver vs. google maps - any comparisons done?

[Steve Lime]

You can have your open source and eat it to. Have you checked out ka-map?
(see www.maptools.org) It give's you a google-like UI with your own data.

Your own data is the key...

Steve

>>> "Sims, Benjamin" <B.Sims at UNESCO.ORG> 6/13/2006 11:49 AM >>>
Thanks for the quick reply,

 

I should clarify that the 'data' is barely even in a GIS format - the
geo element is only a latlong point attached to a particular record.
(although a will also have to plot grids, which I imagine will take more
work).

 

As I understand it, Google Pro is the advanced version of Google Earth
(their whizzbang flying-around browser thing) rather than Google Maps
(the simple flat maps) and is probably overkill is this case.

 

Ben

 

________________________________

From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
Behalf Of Gary Watry
Sent: 13 June 2006 18:39
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU 
Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] mapserver vs. google maps - any
comparisons done?

 

Hi Ben

 

You have to pay about $200-400 per year to put data on Google, a lot
cheaper than commercial software but some cost never the less

 

You have to purchase Google Pro ($200) and depending oun what else you
might have to fork out for the GIS Loader tool ($200).

______________________________________________________________

Gary L. Watry


GIS Coordinator
Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies
FSU / COAPS
Johnson Building, RM 215
2035 East Paul Dirac Drive
Tallahassee, Florida 32306-2840

 

E-Mail: watry at coaps.fsu.edu 

-----Original Message-----
From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
Behalf Of Sims, Benjamin
Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2006 12:13 PM
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU 
Subject: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] mapserver vs. google maps - any
comparisons done?

 

Hi,

I have been asked to look into developing an application to display
basic scientific data on the web. Its fairly vanilla stuff - display
points at which a certain event happened, popup a descriptive text when
the user hovers over them and then go to an information page when they
are clicked. There may also be things like colour coding of grid areas
and so forth.

Having read a tutorial on using Mapserver with PHP some time ago and
played around with a it a little bit, I had more or less decided that
Mapserver was the best way to go to get this project done. However, over
the last year the I there have been so many applications coming out
riding on Google Maps rather than using a dedicated map server/GIS
product. Despite this, I haven't been able to find any information
online comparing the different products available, or listing the
advantages and disadvantages of going for one rather than the other.

Does anybody on this list have such information, or personal experience
that they would like to share?

Thanks for any opinions,

Benjamin