Capture a Google Maps Screenshot

Map2Pic allows you to grab a screenshot of a Google Map and save it in "png" or "jpg" format. For example, the screenshot above was captured with Map2Pic.

Mpa2Pic allows you to choose the map view you wish to capture (map, satellite or terrain), the size of the screenshot and even allows you to set a compression rate for the the saved image.

It is also possible to add a marker to the map. The marker comes in a choice of colours and with the option of a shadow or no shadow.

Map2Pic is in many ways similar to the Static Maps API Wizard. The Static Maps API Wizard can generate static maps using the Google Maps Static Image API. Now you can use Map2Pic when you want to host a static map image on your own servers rather than using Google's Static Maps API.

Save the Pacific with this Google Map Game

Crazy Boat: The Curse of the Trash Vortex

The Pacific Trash Vortex has reached critical mass, flooding nearby seas with strange and valuable debris. A new age of sea entrepreneurship has arisen. Can you man your rusty old boat and save the Pacific Ocean from the floating debris of the Trash Vortex ...?

I've been waiting a while for someone to come up with an interesting use of the Google Static Maps API Styled Maps feature. It was definitely worth the wait. This Facebook game makes great use of the Google Static Maps Styled Maps feature and HTML overlays with real latitudes/longitudes to create a realistic backdrop for your challenge to clear the Pacific Ocean of the Trash Vortex.

Echo Team has called upon some of the greatest mid-century American action serials to make a game that both harkens back to the adventures of yore and puts a new face on the idea of exploration, with an emphasis on the environmental impact of what reckless exploration means to the planet at large.

Crazy Boat uses your Facebook profile data to give you in-game bonuses for your real-world skills and strengths. If you you post messages about the game to your Facebook wall, you might earn the Forest Ranger skill, and if you post about current events, you might score points as a Politician.

5% of the in-game revenues go to benefit Project Kaisei, a non-profit organisation dedicated to cleaning up the real Pacific Trash Vortex.

So, are you up for the challenge?

_____________

Using Styled Maps with the Static Maps API

Ugly Map

My first play with the new Styled Maps feature in the Static Maps API is this ugly map.

This map uses eight static maps with different styles applied to each map. I think you'll agree this is one ugly map.

We Fade to Grey

This one is a little more attractive (but no more useful).

Again the map contains eight static maps with different styles applied to each. This time the colour is gradually taken away in each map to end up with the last map tile being entirely grey-scale.

Flashing Map

In this one I've used the same map styles as in the previous example, only this time I've animated through the images to create a flashing map.

It's a strange effect that I can't really seeing having much practical application.

Zoom in Static Map

I've long admired the use of static maps on Flickr. On Flickr geo-tagged photos are accompanied with a small static map that when you mouseover zooms in on the location.

I've tried to create something similar with this example. If you roll over the map with your mouse the map will zoom in. To achieve this I've just used two static maps with the same map style. One map however has been set to a higher zoom. When you rollover the first map a bit of javascript replaces the zoomed out static map with the zoomed in static map.

________________

Styled Static Maps Launches

Google has released Styled Static Maps. This means that developers can now use Styled Maps not only with the Google Maps V3 API and the Maps API for Flash but with the Static Maps API as well. The Static Maps API is useful for those who want to display a map in a browser where Javascript or Flash isn’t supported or to create a lightweight thumbnail map.



The Static Maps API Wizard is a great tool for creating static maps. Currently it doesn't include options to create a styled map, so there could be a good opportunity here for a developer to create a Static Styled Map Wizard app.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

________________

Restaurant Bookmarking with Google Maps

The Chow Down

The Chow Down is a restaurant finding, bookmarking and sharing website.

You can use The Chow Down to find restaurants by type of food and by location, for example you can search for 'sushi' in 'San Francisco'. The results of a search are then shown in list form and their locations are shown on a static Google Map.

The name and address of each restaurant is displayed alongside its user rating. If you like the look of a restaurant you can bookmark it and the restaurant is added to your saved results. You can share your saved results via Twitter and you can even invite your friends to meet you at the restaurant.

________________