For the last few days my life has been a nonstop process of researching geospatial technologies and softwares. Since I was first introduced to GIS in grad school with ArcMap, its amazing how far these systems have come. Looking into an open source platform, I initially spent my days with GRASS and while impressed by all its toolset, I've been frustrated by its bulky user interface. Trying to construct informative maps with GRASS made me feel like I was stuck in a time warp, somehow using software from 20 years ago. I have found more functionality using QGIS, but I'm still just looking for seamless integration and multimedia capabilities.
After my last post I received some emails about some new tools out there and later after a few email exchanges with Anthony Quartararo of Spatial Networks, he introduced me to some of the more exciting options out there an began to realize that a full-scale desktop GIS may not really be necessary. Thanks to tools like MapBox, IndieMaps, and Geocommons, it is possible construct interesting maps and have access to a wide variety of data.
For example, by using Geocommons I was able to quickly construct a map of Kabul with the location of each school in the city - or at least the locations in 2004, I haven't located more recent data. I was then located the map into google earth. Check it out, its a great way to explore the city. If you can't see the image below, you can visit the site directly here.
View map on GeoCommons
While exploring my options for analysis and filtration, I also stumbled upon a site dedicated to 360 panoramic photos. There is a fantastic panoramic of Kabul as shot from the top of TV Mountain - the central mountain in Kabul covered with antennae and satellite dishes etc. Once again, if there is difficulty accessing the image, please click the link below.
TV Hill in Afghanistan
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