Background Tiling Sources

As you may or may not know, Depiction is not in the data business. Depiction was meant to be a mapping platform that could easily bring in available public data sources and then allow the end user to add their own data.  We attempt to find public sources for QuickStart data to help folks get started easily.  We also use these public sources for our background tilers.  One of the sources we used for several maps was the Microsoft Research Map site know as Microsoft TerraServer.   They provided the following background tiling sources: usgs black and white, usgs urban, usgs topo.

Unfortunately they are going to stop providing these feeds effective May 1, 2012 and so in anticipation of that we have removed USGS Black and White and USGS Urban. We have other imagery sources that are just as good if not better than these. Unfortunately we haven’t found a replacement for the Topographic map and so we are going to leave it in for the moment.  If you use this source a lot we recommend that you zoom and pan the areas that you use a lot in order to get these tiles in your cache. Around May 1st we will be releasing a new version (1.4.1) of the software that will have the TOPO background tiler removed since new customers would not be able to get any tiles from this source.  We will also hope to release a free add-on for those that want to continue to use the TOPO tiles in your cache, that will allow you to still use them.

Created as accompaniments to the Recreation Add-on software both Add-ons are related to recreation.  The Aquatic Recreation Add-on software comes with new point elements, which allow you to quickly map locations like kayak/canoe launches and diving points.  You can easily draw vehicle ferry routes yourself or import them from a file.  Of course areas can also be imported as swimming areas or drawn with the user drawn shape – freeform polygon tool.  One element has a behavior; the Lighthouse.  This element additionally requires an interaction (included) to simulate a potential line-of-site zone for safely traveling the waters. Use the Aquatic Recreation Add-on to create a simple map of your visit, or to plan and track the operations of a marina.

The Winter Recreation Add-on software also includes new point elements allowing you to map locations like warming huts and back country access points.  Import various modes of transportation line data, such as snowshoe and cross-country ski trails or quickly draw them yourself; including elements based on the North American Trail Rating System for colorizing difficulty.  Of course areas can also be imported as terrain parks and tubing hills or drawn with the user drawn shape – freeform polygon tool.  Two elements have behavior; the first is the Avalauncher Site.  This element additionally requires an interaction (included) to simulate a potential target zone for conducting avalanche control operations.  The Snowmaking Equipment element can be used to show the intended coverage from a snowgun or general area of snowmaking operations by entering properties for a simple arc calculation (direction, distance, and angle).  Use the Winter Recreation Add-on to create a simple map of your visit, or to plan the year round operations of a resort.  Both of these add-on are now available for $12.95 each in the Depiction Store.

See this clip below from the New York Times:

OnLive (free) and OnLive Plus ($5 a month) are both brilliantly executed steps forward into the long-promised world of “thin client” computing, in which we can use cheap, low-powered computers to run programs that live online. But the company’s next plans are even more exciting.

For example, the company intends to develop a third service, called OnLive Pro ($10 a month), that will let you run any Windows programs you want. Photoshop, Firefox, Autodesk, games — whatever.

The company still isn’t sure how that will work; somehow, you’ll have to prove that you actually own the software you’re running on its servers. But what a day that will be, when you can run any Windows program on earth on your iPad.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Questions about DepictionPrep?

I have Depiction. Can I share my depictions with people who have DepictionPrep, and can they share theirs with me?

Absolutely! Depiction’s DPN files (.dpn) are completely compatible with Depiction, DepictionPrep, and the Free Reader. In fact, if you are using the Reader to share depictions with a group, DepictionPrep would be an inexpensive way to give them the ability to actually work with the files you provide, and not just view them.

What about preparedness groups like CERT and Map Your Neighborhood?

If you’re already involved with disaster preparedness in your community, you’ll get even more utility out of DepictionPrep. Create and distribute preparedness maps at the neighborhood and community level, build disaster scenarios and test your plans against them!

I already own Depiction. Should I get DepictionPrep, too?

Because DepictionPrep has been streamlined and scaled back to just those features essential for preparedness, there’s less of a learning curve than there is with Depiction—which, in turn, has much less of a learning curve than other mapping programs. If you want a simpler version of the software to do a few basic tasks, or to introduce less tech-savvy folks to Depiction, DepictionPrep is what you want.

I was considering getting Depiction. Should I get DepictionPrep instead?

Check out this comparison chart to see if DepictionPrep has all the capabilities you are looking for.

I live outside the USA. Can I use DepictionPrep?

You can—the main capabilities of DepictionPrep, building plans and creating scenarios, are available anywhere in the world, as are the primary basemaps. Though some of the data used by DepictionPrep is US-only data, the bulk of its functionality is the same no matter where you are.

How do I get DepictionPrep?

Visit www.depictionprep.com/purchase and pre-order today! You’ll reserve a copy of the software for just $24.95, plus get access to an advanced beta version. This offer only lasts until we actually release the final version, so act quickly, that’s just around the corner!

Learn more at DepictionPrep.com.

The first one you’ll notice is a new background street map source. This is the MapQuest Open street map, a “re-skinning” of OpenStreetMap created and provided by MapQuest. This is a much cleaner and smoother version of OpenStreetMap, though it does have less detail–both are useful to have on hand, and now, you do!

Another new tiling source, also from MapQuest Open, is the OpenAerialMap imagery. This is largely a combination of the NAIP and Landsat imagery that Depiction users are likely familiar with, now in a single tiling source. One very cool addition, though, is the ‘blue marble’ style tiling you get when you are zoomed out far enough.

Another nice change is the new method for downloading OpenStreetMap road network data–this should both increase the speed of the download and processing, and enable you to bring in road network data for larger areas more consistently.

I’ll wrap up with the improvements made to the settings menu. While there’s no actual change to the functionality, we’ve made things much clearer and easier to use. This is the largest of a number of ease-of-use changes that were originally developed as part of DepictionPrep but that have been brought over into Depiction 1.3.3 as well.

Settings, before

Settings, after

You can see the rest of the new enhancements and fixes at our What’s New page.

This new Depiction comparison chart may help you navigate your options.

There are a few other differences that someone familiar with both products will recognize, but that’s a good summary. DepictionPrep has been scaled back and streamlined to make it a powerful tool for a couple tasks. The full version of Depiction, meanwhile, is a very powerful, flexible platform that can provide a wide range of solutions to folks who need situational awareness, asset management, event planning, table-top exercises or any number of other tools, particularly in (though not limited to) emergency management.

DepictionPrep is also a great place to start if you’re new to mapping and don’t find it easy to learn new software. The basic tools and tutorials will give you a great grounding that will serve you well if you decide to upgrade to the full version later.

Of course, if you want something right now, the full version is your only option–but DepictionPrep is on its way soon!

The Depiction 1.3.3 Release Candidate became available this week, and one of the new features added is Quickstart data for Norway–two different topographic maps and a hydrographic map. If you use 1.3.3 to create a new depiction in Norway, you’ll see these new options

You may ask, why Norway? As nice a country as it is, this wasn’t an idea that came out of our own heads–a Norwegian user used the Depiction support forum to point us to a set of data services provided by the Norwegian Mapping Authority.

Quickstart data consists of publicly available data from governments and other organizations–and if you know of data that is being made available that you think we should take advantage of, let us know, either in the Depiction support forum or right here.

In the meantime, if you’d like to explore Norway a little further, download Depiction 1.3.3 and take a look!