Google Maps Integration

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Google Maps Integration
by Martin Fitzpatrick on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @09:41

Reading the note about the Google Maps/Marble integration made me think - is there an underlying system (one of the new KDE4 backends) that handles map integration? It would be better if the choice of map 'server' was determined system wide and applications queried through a single API.

That way any application needing to show map information, positioning etc. could do it in a simple unified way - and this could be easily configured to individual (or local) preferences.

Also, a more general question - is there a KDE4 API for access to any other data sources like these?

btw. Digikam looks very nice... as does the KDE4/dark theme (where is this available?).

Keep up the good work!

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Sebastian Kuegler on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @10:08

Having a "Map Application" is already quite a step forward. As Marble supports the KML format (the one that's also used by GoogleEarth), it can probably be integrated with other "Map Applications" as well.

One step at a time, though :-)

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Martin Fitzpatrick on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @10:19

Hah of course :) I like what I see - it just set my mind whirring!

I really like the way that KDE4 has moved towards abstracting data services to the applications, opens up a lot of possibilities. It would be nice if there were some kind of subsystem which could accept plugins/data sources and present them to applications. Maybe there already is... I'll be the first to admit I don't really know what I'm talking about ;)

But, yes, patience... patience..

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @16:24

Here, i have started to play with marble widget integration in digiKam right side-bar for geolocation of photo :

http://digikam3rdparty.free.fr/Screenshots/marbleintegrationforphotogeolocation.png

Gilles Caulier

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by sebas on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @17:44

Yay!

I would imagine the following use cases for this:

- tagging a series of photos with geolocations
- selecting an area in marble and show all the photos that have been tagged with that area

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @23:34

Yes,

This will be the second pass : to have a Search GUI based on marble to be able to find a photo using a map. It's in my TODO list...

Gilles Caulier

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by sebas on Thursday 03/Apr/2008, @02:53

Thanks. That's actually a possible usecase I've used while presenting Marble. Of course it's something I'd love to use. Awesome to see you're planning to implement this. :-)

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Thursday 03/Apr/2008, @09:43

Marble integration in digiKam right side bar is now complete on my computer. I will polish the code and commit this evening.

The screenshot have been updated:

http://digikam3rdparty.free.fr/Screenshots/marbleintegrationforphotogeolocation.png

Next stage is to build an interface to "Search photo on a map"...

Gilles Caulier

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Thursday 03/Apr/2008, @11:38

Done in svn with Rev. 793334.

Gilles Caulier

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Friday 04/Apr/2008, @08:51

New blog entry about marble geolocation in digiKam have been created:

http://www.digikam.org/?q=node/306

Gilles Caulier

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Fri13 on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @10:50

"btw. Digikam looks very nice... as does the KDE4/dark theme (where is this available?)."

If im correct, that isn't a KDE4 color schema, it's Digikam own. Last stable version Digikam has supported limited color schemas, where user could select only a preview background, selected/non-selected image background and foreground and text effects for special text (labels and tags and rating).

But now Digikam has new theme possibilities what allow to change digikam window color to anykind you like, without effecting to other KDE applications.
Example, you can have blue-white color schema on KDE but then make a own color schema with digikam own theme tool and apply it so digikam window is using colors what you selected, not blue-white what is applyid from KDE control panel. This is very important feature to bring digikam as a professional application because colors should be so much middle gray as possible and this has be impossible.

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Martin Fitzpatrick on Wednesday 02/Apr/2008, @11:35

"If im correct, that isn't a KDE4 color schema, it's Digikam own."

Thanks for the info, had never occurred to me that this would be useful in photo/image apps, but looking at the screenshots I can see why. I guess if it's just colour changes I can apply them through the normal KDE appearance settings as well. My eyes are going to be very grateful I think... (although the browser is going to look weird :)

Thanks again.

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Fri13 on Thursday 03/Apr/2008, @09:30

Middle gray is 127, 127, 127 (RGB 0-255 settings) but because it's computer monitor what has backlight and not gray-card what reflects light, it might be better to have 64, 64, 64 colors.

Middle gray is needed because other wise other surrounded colors affecst the photograph colors and it's "developing" is harder.

I were once in a great studio where was own room for Photograph manipulation, there were 15 PC's in that room, whole big room was painted with middle gray, all stuff there was middle gray and there were special lighting what were calibrated once a week and few times a week every monitor were calibrated (all monitors were those 10-14bit and not normal 8bit monitors). And then admins allowed normal users to use wallpaper what user liked.

And users were having photoshops etc open and their MacOSX default Blue background really were a shiny blue DOT in that room and I was shocked that they didn't understand that one of new students problem to have too warm images was simple as that, WRONG WALLPAPER in color controlled room :-D

With middle gray, all colors will be seen much easier and neutral as possible.

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Kevin Kofler on Saturday 05/Apr/2008, @00:31

What's the point of such an abstraction? Why not just use Marble directly and drop support for the proprietary Google Maps (now that we have a Free alternative in KDE)?

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Re: Google Maps Integration
by Gilles Caulier on Saturday 05/Apr/2008, @01:42

Resolution of maps in Marble are limited. If you want more details, we need advanced tool. googlemaps is fine.

Gilles Caulier

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