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Is Web technology disrupting traditional GIS? The wild proliferation of Google-style map technology is a wake-up call for traditional GIS software providers and a great opportunity for new players. More to the point, though, it's the beginning of a new era for consumers of geospatial information.(Net Results)
- Article from:
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Geospatial Solutions
- Article date:
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September 1, 2006
- Author:
- Vermes, John
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Copyright informationCOPYRIGHT 2006 Questex Media Group, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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GIS will never be the same again. The Web--and Google's mapping technology--are the reasons why. Pushpin maps boasting fluid interactivity and beautiful cartography are now available in any standard browser, without plug-ins. The result is a flood of new, strongly user-centered geospatial applications easily available to the public. Smoothly draggable maps are the new gold standard in usability, and they're encroaching on old turf. Call the new applications Web-facing GIS, online mapping, anything you like. But above all, call them disruptive technology.
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