February 2005

Monthly Archive

GIS data update

Maurizio 02 Feb 2005 | : Maps

Lot of work has still to be done both on the website and on adding of data. Yes, there is more. Possibly what you’ll find now is only slightly over 50% of the MM collection. In addition to aerial photography and satellite imagery there is the whole vector section which still needs to be added! For an overview of the currently available MM collection click here.

Keep watching this space for updates on newly available mapsets and data releases.

A couple of words on data policy: whenever possible MM will favour providing unpublished original data. There is an enormous amount of raw data on the web which requires added processing before being practically useful. Whenever you identify raw data feel free to contact us: we will advise and assist you in data processing so that a new improved MM mapset can be produced.

There are many MadMappers in the closet out there: if you have created ANY map please contact us. If it is unfinished we will help you finish it. It will be added in the Raster Maps MadMappers section giving you full credit for your work.

Software update

Maurizio 01 Feb 2005 | : GIS software, Maps

 Most MadMappers are Oziexplorer users. Why? Simply because it is the best value for money GIS software on the market. Ozi, as we call it, can handle both raster digital maps and vectors, it can be connected to your GPS for uploading and downloading data and it is an excellent moving map software. Furthermore updates are free and support magnificient

Madmappers have acquired distribution right for OziExplorer: a way to help MadMappers survival is to purchase the Oziexplorer licence from us (particularly if you have an illegal copy). Price is the same as from the software developer and in addition you get a value packed CD with 70 maps of the South African map series scale 1:250 000 and Gtopo30 Digital Elevation Data which you would spend hours to download on your 56k modem.

We are likely to be criticised for supporting certain software packages rather than others. We support what we use. If another MadMapper does not agree with our choice he is welcome to support on this forum anything he likes. We will listen, judge and hopefully be convinced. But please, do not avoid price comparisons! The Madmappers motto is “GIS data accessible to all”. The word accessible has been chosen for this exact reason: data must be suitable for use in software we can afford.  Sustainable Development cannot be based on cracks and illegal software!

MadMappers site goes public

Maurizio 01 Feb 2005 | : Events, GIS software, Maps, Satellite Imagery

After a long development period www.madmappers.com goes live!
We are indeed disappointed for not having been able to secure a sponsored data server.
Many prospective sponsors have panicked as soon as they realized that the amount of download data would run in the order of hundreds of Gibabytes.
Hopefully by going live we will be able to spread our plea for one or more sponsored server.
We are particularly disappointed because we have been granted web distribution rights for South African data: we had planned to release for free download the topographic series scale 1:250k (70 maps) and 1:50k (over 2000 maps).
This would have been a first for the African continent and put MadMappers on the global map, next to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Our motto is “African GIS accessible to all”: isn’t out there anyone who shares this vision and does not wish to receive global exposure by associating its name with this ambitious project?
Until further notice www.madmappers.com will supply data on media only (i.e. CD or DVD) and only in exceptional circumstances by controlled download.We would like to extend a particulat thanks to Louis Cretier (Turin, Italy; mail: clovis@libero.it): he has dedicated many months of volunteer work in developing the Meltemi map search and management system which, in our humble opinion, is superb both for provider and user. For this project Louis had to develop from scratch many innovative ways to do “web things” so that web users (i.e. ourselves) could become “web providers” without knowing how.
Without Louis the MadMappers project would have never been.

Lot of work has still to be done both on the website and on loading of data.  For an overview of the currently available MM collection click here. As we write we have 12651 maps in archive!
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