A Web-hosted mapping service is a Web site that displays a map. You just need Internet access and a browser to view street maps, topographic maps, aerial maps, satellite imagery, and many other types of maps. This eliminates purchasing and installing specialized programs and map data on your hard drive, swapping CDs to access new map data, and mastering a new program.
If a map isn’t displayed, check your browser’s Java settings first. A number of Web-hosted mapping services, in particular the U.S. government sites that all share the same mapping engine, require Java and/or JavaScript enabled in your browser before maps can be correctly displayed. Most Web-hosted mapping services are extremely easy to use. Anyone who can use an Internet browser should be navigating through maps in no time. Examples of Web-hosted mapping services include MapQuest (www.mapquest.com), TerraServer-USA (http://terraserver-usa.com), and TopoZone (www.topozone.com). You discover how to use these mapping Web sites and others in other chapters of this blog. Although most of these free Web sites don’t have all the features of a map program that you install on your hard drive, they offer a surprising amount of capability, especially considering their cost. (Some mapping sites on the Web charge for advanced services, such as color aerial photographs, larger map sizes, and enhanced searching.)
If a map isn’t displayed, check your browser’s Java settings first. A number of Web-hosted mapping services, in particular the U.S. government sites that all share the same mapping engine, require Java and/or JavaScript enabled in your browser before maps can be correctly displayed. Most Web-hosted mapping services are extremely easy to use. Anyone who can use an Internet browser should be navigating through maps in no time. Examples of Web-hosted mapping services include MapQuest (www.mapquest.com), TerraServer-USA (http://terraserver-usa.com), and TopoZone (www.topozone.com). You discover how to use these mapping Web sites and others in other chapters of this blog. Although most of these free Web sites don’t have all the features of a map program that you install on your hard drive, they offer a surprising amount of capability, especially considering their cost. (Some mapping sites on the Web charge for advanced services, such as color aerial photographs, larger map sizes, and enhanced searching.)
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