30 replies to this topic

[Greg]

Is the GPS taking over the role of the classic road map?
How many of you still use a road map in the car?
Is it just as easy (and cheaper) to print driving directions from Google maps?
Are Cartographers a dying breed, being replaced by GIS and Digital Maps?

I'm just looking for an industry view on this pressing issue.

[mike]

Is the GPS taking over the role of the classic road map?
How many of you still use a road map in the car?
Is it just as easy (and cheaper) to print driving directions from Google maps?
Are Cartographers a dying breed, being replaced by GIS and Digital Maps?

I'm just looking for an industry view on this pressing issue.

- Yes and no. I compare it to books and ebooks. Not everybody likes the idea of an ebook... and not everybody likes the idea of trusting a GPS. But it definitely is changing the way we view and use maps. Also the cost of a GPS is coming down a lot (I remember looking at a TomTom unit 3 yrs ago and it was about $699 ... now I think they are as cheap as $199). So the barrier to entry to a low-cost GPS is finally decreasing. Of course, it'll never be as cheap as a classic road map. So there are trade offs.
- I still use a road map because navigating at a small scale on a GPS is not very efficient (too much scrolling!). Also, road maps usually have other features that a GPS may not have (certain POI, contour data, better design, etc.).
- Yes and no... it depends b/c if you're not near a computer before you head out, there's no way to check a mapping service for directions. If you are in the car (and have no GPS or Internet), then obviously a classic road map is necessary.
- I don't think cartographers are a dying breed, we still need cartographers who know what they are doing to help produce and develop products generated from GIS and digital mapping.

[ELeFevre]

Is the GPS taking over the role of the classic road map?
How many of you still use a road map in the car?
Is it just as easy (and cheaper) to print driving directions from Google maps?
Are Cartographers a dying breed, being replaced by GIS and Digital Maps?

I'm just looking for an industry view on this pressing issue.

- I use paper roadmaps for directions on longer road trips and for planning road trips. For local trips I print directions from Google. If I was a traveling salesperson driving around the country knocking on doors I might be interested in GPS. good thing I'm not

-the content we map will change as will the technologies/mediums we use to create maps, but cartography isn't going away. Keep in mind that not all of us make road maps or map content that competes with Google. I'm guessing there is only a handful of 100% "road map" cartographers on the forum.

[Hans van der Maarel]

I use a Tomtom navigation device, but always keep a road map handy just in case. Actually, I only take the navigation thing out when I know I'm going to need it, and then usually only need it for the last bit of the journey (driving into an unknown city)

The emergence of GIS and digital maps doesn't mean cartography is a trade in decline, rather, it means it's changing.

[frax]

I don't have a car...

[Jimbo]

"-the content we map will change as will the technologies/mediums we use to create maps, but cartography isn't going away. Keep in mind that not all of us make road maps or map content that competes with Google."

The key is GIS technology, eventually servers such as Google, & Terra will all be programmed only by GIS technicans/ & cartographers because companies like ESRI & Manifold will simply make the software more widely availiable for us to complete it much faster than non GIS web programers. Did somebody say WebGIS?

[Greg]

Did somebody say WebGIS?

As a "road map" cartographer, I am more effected by the threat of print Cartography.

GIS is creating an automation and efficiency that is hard to beat, and aesthetics are being vastly improved as well.

Will there soon be no place for a Cartographer without GIS skills?

Devices such as iPhone / Garmin / TomTom are creating a quick and complex alternative to a paper map, but I still find myself pulling out my coil bound streetfinder when I need to locate an intersection rather then scrolling or tabbing through lists of street names.

[Greg]

I just stumbled upon this article, fits right in to this discussion!

http://abcnews.go.co...=5179471&page=1

[natcase]

All depends on how you define "cartographer"

Is a cartographer someone who uses manual tools to create a map? Pretty nearly extinct.

Is a cartographer someone who makes street and road maps for retail sale? Under threat. Writing may be on the wall.

Is a cartographer someone who generates static artwork? I think they'll be fine but for the long term a niche craft.

Is a cartographer someone who understands the peculiar balance of information-gathering and truth-checking, visual hierarchy and multi-scale design, symbol and representation, which have grown up with modern cartography? To my mind, this is a growing field. Just a matter of what platform you're working on. If you were totally invested in scribecoat and manual techniques fifteen to twenty years ago and never learned how to use a computer, you'd be pretty much be through today. Today, if you're totally invested in desktop drawing tools, you're going to have a real tough time of it fifteen or twenty years down the road. But the basic design skills? To quote MasterCard (reluctantly)... priceless.

[mike]

I don't have a car...

I envy you. Can I move to Stockholm?

[frax]

Mike, you are welcome any time! But I thought you were car interested... ?

[mike]

Mike, you are welcome any time! But I thought you were car interested... ?

Don't get me wrong, I love cars, I'm an enthusiast.... but I also like using public transportation in big cities! I grew up in Toronto and their transportation system downtown is pretty good. I visited Boston recently and I loved riding the T there. Southern California isn't exactly the easiest to get around using public transit... so a car is almost necessary. Although I recently spent a week in downtown LA and did ride the Metro all over the place. Convenient, but not a lot of riders meant there were fewer trains and longer waits.

Oh, to get back on topic, I actually see quite a few people using personal GPS devices now. These are the more popular Garmin Nuvi 350 units that can work in the car, but are small enough and have good enough battery life to just carry around. I guess real-time location based search is turning into the next big thing... especially with the new iPhone 3G which will have A-GPS. So is anybody currently using a personal GPS when they are on foot? or is anybody planning on buying the new iPhone 3G?

[Hans van der Maarel]

Oh, to get back on topic, I actually see quite a few people using personal GPS devices now. These are the more popular Garmin Nuvi 350 units that can work in the car, but are small enough and have good enough battery life to just carry around. I guess real-time location based search is turning into the next big thing... especially with the new iPhone 3G which will have A-GPS. So is anybody currently using a personal GPS when they are on foot? or is anybody planning on buying the new iPhone 3G?

I might get that one if it ever becomes available over here (for some reason Holland is last on the list of countries where the iPhone is introduced). I can see it being useful in certain situations and I can see myself actually using it to navigate on foot, but the tiny screen would frustrate me.

[rudy]

Being a map geek, I prefer the paper map to the GPS - it gives you the big picture and the detail at the same time and allows you to figure out your own way. Isn't that half the fun? Having said that, I also like using a GPS - more for fun than anything - but it is certainly quick and easy to find places with it, particularly if you are in a strange locale.

Of course, in this part of the world, the debate between paper maps and GPS might be moot soon . . . .at least for a while.

[Greg]

i use my garmin when im trying to get around in a new city, but typically i use public transit and my bike.. garmin has not yet encompassed the pedestrian market, and only gives driving directions, so I usually end up pulling out a map anyway to check for shortcuts and paths.