The world of high technologies and constant use of different techniques and trendy devices occupies the everyday life of human beings with more opportunities for life. Today the significance of geo mapping is rather high due to the invention of satellites and GPS technologies. The era of functional and easy determination of an object’s location is in its development. For the purpose of security improvement governments of many countries use these technologies for better control of this or that internal or external situation. The use of 2.0 technologies hastens the process of accumulation and further decoding of raw data. Moreover, such technologies are available for everyone being connected to the Internet and having software with proper mash-ups and GPS transmitters. The paper urges to estimate the reality of pros and cons of geo mapping in terms of higher rhythms of progress observed nowadays.
The advantages of the technology under analysis contemplate the efficacy in finding various objects in different places on the Earth. This approach points out the importance of prevention of the society from several risks concerned with terror or other negative factors. Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth is the software which is probable for use in rich geographic perspective. Google Earth in this case is applied with 360-degree photo snapshots of geographical objects and its geo-web services provide “mapletts” which serve to be mini applications in form of widgets where everyone can place appropriate information about the object (Shimla, 2007). Microsoft Corporation is rather successful with its 3D-maps. In this prospect few things should be taken into account, namely: Mash-ups, Interactivity, and Time/Place/Content Connections (Geo Mapping, 2009). One more advantage is the acceptability of the second-generation Internet around the world due to satellites’ constant work. Wireless connection becomes more popular with points of no limits for gaining information of a current location in the city, sea, mountains etc. Here a kind of provider matters in terms whether it is a mobile connection or straightforward satellite link. Geo-webs and mapping are great in the public domain due to various thematic technical approaches for maps: “choropleth maps, proportional symbol maps and animated maps.” (Sandvik, 2008).
The limitations of geo mapping take into account mainly technical drawbacks and defects which are connected with a fact that not all places of earth are included into mapping plug-ins. Second, due to governmental direct requests to both Microsoft Corporation and Google these companies are obliged to blur some strategic objects representing the issues of national security (Shimla, 2007). This, in return, may cause an effect of deterioration which may seem for users a technical defect and provide them with less information about the positioning. The next point, as it was mentioned above, presupposes the way of connection: mobile or direct. One more point deals with the intervals which are supposed for uploading of the information on maps and some changes in, for example, cities’ current shapes considered with newly built houses or their taking down.
Thus, in the twenty-first century the perception of life and objects surrounding it are easier due to satellites, 2.0 technology, GPS, Mash-ups, and appropriate software. Geo mapping seems to be coming to a head soon, and those objects which were solely able for military survey, today represent conveniences for everyone using geo-webs and mapping technologies.
References
- Shimla, Naveen. (2007). Google takes on Microsoft’s mapping parade with Street View and Mapplets.
- Sandvik, Bjørn. (2008) 3D Data Representation with the Thematic Mapping Engine.
- Geo Mapping. (2009). Web.