Google Maps as Mapserver Layer

[Ed McNierney]

Puneet -

The chief difficulty is when cash-strapped state and local governments
eagerly provide data to Google (much as was done with Microsoft
TerraServer) and then think they've "solved the problem" because "look
how everyone can get it in Google Earth!".  That can make it hard to get
funding for a state GIS program to, for example, properly set up and
operate a WMS service for access to the same data - the budget-cutter
wonder why they should pay for something they "already have for free".
There's no problem with states providing data to any private firm.  The
problem is when the providing organization misunderstands what it has
accomplished.

The USGS learned a few lessons in the TerraServer experience; I expect
other organizations are simply beginning the process of re-learning some
of those lessons all over again.

	- Ed

Ed McNierney
President and Chief Mapmaker
TopoZone.com / Maps a la carte, Inc.
73 Princeton Street, Suite 305
North Chelmsford, MA  01863
Phone: +1 (978) 251-4242
Fax: +1 (978) 251-1396
ed at topozone.com

-----Original Message-----
From: UMN MapServer Users List [mailto:MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU] On
Behalf Of P Kishor
Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2007 5:35 PM
To: MAPSERVER-USERS at LISTS.UMN.EDU
Subject: Re: [UMN_MAPSERVER-USERS] Google Maps as Mapserver Layer

this is getting quite OT for MapServer, but what the heck --

On 3/1/07, percy <percyd at pdx.edu> wrote:
> I have been told directly by colleagues at both the Pennsylvania and 
> Indiana geological surveys about "giving away" the data. Google seems 
> to have feelers out for whenever new data are acquired by state
agencies...
>
> I agree, it's not sinister! But it would be nice to have access to 
> those tiles :-)

but, you do have access to the data. I just checked the Arkansas site
that Paul provided below, and besides a bunch of innocuous factual
errors, they clearly point to the repository where all that data are
still available for anyone to use. Of course, the linked site
<http://www.rgis.cast.uark.edu/> is non-functional, so I guess I am
better off using Google Maps ;-)

Think of it this way... the US has a long history of offering publicly
collected data to anyone for no or minimal cost, and that anyone has the
freedom to do anything they want to with that data, including selling it
back to the US! I, for one, am very happy of this policy.

And, so are the mapping companies, for this is what they have made their
empires out of. The nice thing with Google is, they are giving it back,
just doing so on their own terms. Given that they are not charging
anything for it, at least I can live with those terms. If I don't like
those terms, the original data, the one that Google took, are still
there for me to take.

I see absolutely no problem with this. If there is any, I would love to
be educated.


>
> Paul Ramsey wrote:
> > Puneet,
> >
> > Sorry, don't have any particular details, just lots of anecdotal 
> > reports of public agencies giving their data to Google in order to 
> > achieve the holy grail of seeing "their data in Google Earth".
> >
> >   http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/7507.htm
> >
> > This is not uncommon, and it is not particularly sinister from a 
> > "business" point of view, since the givers are receiving what they 
> > want (access in a kewl tewl) and the givees are receiving what they 
> > want (data they can add to Google Earth for free).
>
> --
> David Percy
> Geospatial Data Manager
> Geology Department
> Portland State University
> http://gisgeek.pdx.edu
> 503-725-3373
>


--
Puneet Kishor http://punkish.eidesis.org/ Nelson Inst. for Env. Studies,
UW-Madison http://www.nelson.wisc.edu/ Open Source Geospatial Foundation
http://www.osgeo.org/education/
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