No-Flash Maps with jQuery

// There are tons of Flash-based map solutions and there is always Google maps integration, but what if you want a more visually simplified, tablet-ready solution that will not depend on external sources? 

JQVMap is a #jQuery plugin that renders #Vector #Maps.  It uses resizable Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) for modern browsers like Firefox, Safari, Chrome, Opera and Internet Explorer 9.  Legacy support for older versions of Internet Explorer 6-8 is provided via VML. It comes with ready maps for Europe, Germany, Russia, USA as well as a world map. And of course you can build your own custom #map following the thorough documentation.

Get it here http://bit.ly/11ocXG4

A Laconic History of the World

// Simplifying history is of course... simplistic, but still here's a #fun    #typographic   #map  designed by Martin Elmer of maphugger.com 

This map was produced by running all the various countries’ “History of ...” Wikipedia article through a word cloud, then writing out the most common word to fit into the country’s boundary. The result is thousands of years of human history oversimplified into 100-some words.

Reader's companion with more information http://bit.ly/12XGpC6
Zoom on it http://bit.ly/U95AjO

A Laconic History of the World

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Awesome Google Maps fail

// Maybe we shouldn't be so hard on #Apple's #map failures... :) 
Link to the see it for yourself http://goo.gl/maps/4bh3m
And Bing getting it right http://binged.it/QQMkkf 

Reshared post from +Sharon Strandskov

I am usually pretty pleased with Google Maps, but surely there has to be a faster way... I know there were border issues, but I thought they settled those, and imagine you could go through a closer country regardless... anyone know why this would be the case?

Edit: Read comments for more examples, such as those from +Nigel Fish and +Wayne Radinsky, like this one where the pins are both in Vietnam, within 0.12km and it is a 750 hour rerouted drive: http://goo.gl/maps/O9Oy6

Edit, potential reason, thanks to +Jennifer Luzio:
"Google hasn’t actually operated in China since early 2010, when they decided they would no longer censor search results on Google.cn. That move came after Google sustained a cyberattack originating in China, designed to steal the GMail information of Chinese human rights activists. The Chinese government has long denied any involvement.
Users in mainland China can still search using Google Hong Kong."
from SearchEngineWatch
More on the cyber attack: http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2066083/Googles-New-Approach-to-China-A-Closer-Look-at-the-Attack-Heard-Round-the-Web

Either Google is purposefully avoiding China or they have such a lack of quality sourced data that they choose to avoid China.

In album October 5, 2012 (1 photo)

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