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A new kind of map: it’s about time

blog.mapbox.com

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Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#111

Post by nhaehnle »

microcolonel wrote: post #33
qznc wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Isochrones [0] mentioned in the article include basically all the necessary information. I guess a capable GPU-shader programmer could easily render the distortion in real time. (Hint Hint Hacker News for a cool weekend project) [0] https://www.mapbox.com/bites/00156/#10/51.6840/-0.1480

That looks pretty good! It seems like the transformation could be done reasonably quickly, maybe with a two-component texture (not sure how efficient texture sampling in vertex shaders is), in the vertex shader(s) in that Mapbox GL instance right after the basic projection. I might give this a go. It might get a bit weird around the edges though, gotta make sure to have a margin of additional geometry.

> not sure how efficient texture sampling in vertex shaders is

On a modern GPU, it's basically just as efficient as in pixel shaders, with two caveats:

1. If you want mip-mapping, you have to do LOD calculations yourself, which is likely a bit slower. (Not an issue in what you have in mind.)

2. There are questions around the locality of your memory accesses. As long as you lay out your vertices more or less along a space-filling curve (which is a good idea for grids anyway, due to vertex reuse) you should be mostly fine. Obviously the details will vary depending on the exact architecture.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#113

Post by nerdponx »

zingplex wrote: post #109
nerdponx wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can you explain the "Pizza in San Francisco" meme? Not sure I get the joke.

I believe that "meme" in this context is being used within the dictionary definition of the word, meaning "an idea, behavior, style, or usage that spreads from person to person within a culture" according to Merriam-Webster.

That's the definition I'm using. I don't understand what's so noteworthy or funny about that example for it to become a meme.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#114

Post by EGreg »

Why not just have a list sorted by distance or that same travel time? The concentric circles seem to make it more difficult to browse.

For an example, go to https://groups.do , create an account (can be fake) and then click New Group, select some Dining activity and see the restaurants pop up sorted by distance. Done.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#115

Post by TeMPOraL »

jameslk wrote: post #98
shurcooL wrote: post #61

I think this is great, but I can see it being potentially improved further if there was a temporary overlay of the physical map whenever you hover over a destination. Basically, I feel that completely removing the physical map is okay until you've picked a target. Then, having to click on it to be able to see what the route looks like (which streets to take, etc.) is higher friction than I'd like. Instead, imagine if…

Hovering? Like with a mouse?

It's still easy to forget that many people use applications on devices with only primitive input options available :).

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#116

Post by ctdonath »

lemonlyman516 wrote: post #78
ctdonath wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They're all public transit. I'm looking for general roads, re: "I'm here, where can I drive to in 35 minutes?"

Mapbox actually has this! Peter, the author, shared our github plugin to generate isochrones in your browser. https://blog.mapbox.com/add-isochrones-to-your-next-applicat...

The demo of that is staggeringly awesome. Thank you.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#117

Post by crooked-v »

This is a cool idea, but what about combining it with public transit? In my city, the bus and light rail lines affect my decision-making in all kinds of weird ways. For example:

- Going a few miles east (on the light rail line) is much, much faster than the same distance plus a mile north or south.

- Some places on the inner east side of the river take me longer to get to than places further out that are on a bus line.

- Going to the northwest part downtown takes me longer than going to the north part, even though they're both the same distance from home, because the transit lines run in an ⅂ shape.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#119

Post by bllguo »

chippy wrote: post #97
nerdponx wrote: post #76

By removing literal geography, we now have a map that more closely reflects the way we think about our environment: a cluster of restaurants “five minutes that way” versus “ten minutes the other.” Speak for yourself! I feel way more confident getting around when I know the actual geography.

As a geographer I cringed. The article was written in a way that made it sound a bit more important than it actually is, and I think that quote was one of it. A designer finding geography and cartography for the first time. It IS good stuff though. Maybe the writing is stylised and maybe not as humble as usual techy writing? People do think about space and the environment in spatial terms and also in time. This artic…

I don't see the article arguing that all maps should be replaced with this visualization. It's a much better map for certain tasks. Of course you lose information by throwing out geography.

Re: A new kind of map: it’s about time

#120

Post by Boothroid »

chippy wrote: post #97
nerdponx wrote: post #76

By removing literal geography, we now have a map that more closely reflects the way we think about our environment: a cluster of restaurants “five minutes that way” versus “ten minutes the other.” Speak for yourself! I feel way more confident getting around when I know the actual geography.

As a geographer I cringed. The article was written in a way that made it sound a bit more important than it actually is, and I think that quote was one of it. A designer finding geography and cartography for the first time. It IS good stuff though. Maybe the writing is stylised and maybe not as humble as usual techy writing? People do think about space and the environment in spatial terms and also in time. This artic…

I agree. I'm becoming slightly irritated by blog posts that claim something as new that appears to be either nil improvement or minor increment from what has gone before. This isn't the first or the second time I've seen it from MapBox, and I'm now sceptical of what they seem to claiming as real breakthroughs. There are thousands of researchers involved in geo worldwide - every time I dip into a journal I am humbled by the progress that is being made and the depth of the research that is being performed. Are we really to believe that MapBox are finding things that the global research community have missed? I suspect HN is a ready audience as most users do not have a formal education in geo.
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