NYC Passes on Google/MS Online Map Apps; Writes App “from Scratch”
Colin Reilly, director of citywide GIS for New York’s Department of Information Technology & Telecommunications (DoITT) explains in a Government Technology article that writing its NYCityMap2.0 with a reusable framework was the way to go. “Using an off-the-shelf mapping application, like Google Earth, would have been the wrong fit, Reilly remarked.”
The framework, already in use as part of the Street Conditions Observation Unit (SCOUT) which finds conditions in need of repair or upgrade. One piece of logic for forgoing a Google or Microsoft based app? It didn’t include the data needed. I don’t follow since it’s possible to add data to both companies’ online offerings.
DoITT used “free open source software called GeoServer in conjunction with Oracle Spatial as the database.” The conclusion from GT: “That, combined with the fact that the agency used internal resources to build the application, meant the project had nearly zero costs, Reilly said.” I don’t follow that either!
The app is very nice, but the user guide PDF seemed to be just a single cover page - dated Dec 2008. Perhaps the updated one for the newly relaunched version, which prompted the article is still pending? (Update: Mac/Safari/Preview gets just one page. Ubuntu/Firefox/DocViewer get full doc. Could be on my side!)
