Which is best suited for applications with large rendering areas, like google maps?

Rendering Earth Studio offers two different methods to get imagery out of the browser: snapshot for still images, and render for animations. Single Frame Snapshots The snapshot button is the fastest way to export still images from Earth Studio. When you take a snapshot, your current view is immediately rendered and downloaded as a .jpg file at the resolution specified in the project settings. Rendering Animations For animations, Earth Studio offers two ways to render: a robust client-side renderer, which renders an image sequence directly on your computer to a directory you specify on your local hard drive, and a cloud-based renderer which runs remotely on Google's servers. To set up your render, click the render button. Setting Up On the left is a preview of your final output, restricted to the frame range of your work area. This is a low-fidelity preview—use it as a rough guideline to double-check that everything in your animation is cropped and moving as expected. On the right are the render settings, which are covered in depth below. Once you're ready to render, type in your file name, select your render method, and hit start. Cloud Rendering Learn more about Cloud Rendering Local Rendering When rendering locally, Earth Studio steps through each frame of the animation and saves it to your local file system. If the render crashes or is abandoned, you can recover your progress the next time you open Earth Studio. Note that render speed is highly dependent on your interne...

Thankfully, there is now a wide range of alternative In this blog post, we’ll dive deeply into ten alternatives to Google's iconic web mapping service and explore their pros and cons compared to Google Maps. Overview of Google Maps and Alternatives Google Maps is a free web mapping service (across desktops, mobiles, and tablets) developed by Google. It offers street maps, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by car, bicycle, foot, or public transport. Its alternatives generally offer a free or low-cost map service with some of the same features as Google Maps, including satellite imagery and street maps. Many also provide more specialized services such as real-time traffic information, route planning, navigation services, and other features. So, let's get started with the ten free API map alternatives to Google Maps. 10 Free Google Map Alternatives 1. This free API has made a name for itself in the mapping world with its extensive customization options, like live-updating maps and 3D rendering capabilities. Their advanced data analysis features allow you to track user activity and optimize your UX accordingly. Pros: It's free, highly customizable, and offers free hosting and geocoding services. Cons: You need an API key to use it, and the free version has limited features. 2. Apple's free mapping service is an excellent alternative to Google Maps for iOS users. It offers turn-by-turn navigation, public transit directions, and 3D flyover views of m...

The following list highlights the features and all of the pros and cons of each Google Maps alternative so that you can choose the perfect mapping tool for your situation. 1. MapQuest MapQuest works much like Google Maps does when it comes to searching for locations and finding directions. It’ll recognize your current location based on your IP address (if using the web) or your phone GPS (if using mobile). Just type in a location and click Get Directions to see the route. Route directions are very accurate and include current traffic levels, distance, and even estimated fuel costs to make the drive. A hovering tool along the right provides you with zoom controls, satellite or traffic views, and share or print buttons. The How MapQuest is better than Google Maps: • Directions include estimated fuel costs. • An integrated tool for quickly finding hotels and making reservations. • One-button tool for finding gas stations, grocery stores, coffee shops, shopping areas, food, and hotels. • Re-routing the planned trip path is more user-friendly. How MapQuest is worse than Google Maps: • The web tool is covered with several very annoying ads that block the map view. • Route planner has fewer features than Google Maps. • The route is slightly less accurate than Google Maps and doesn’t update as frequently. 2. Waze If you visit the Live Map link in the menu. The web tool is really meant as a supplement to your mobile experience. The Live Map lets you quickly search for destinations ...

Whether we’re talking about desktop browsers or the mobile web, users have come to expect web apps that give them what they want with smooth, fast UI performance. For JavaScript developers, this means optimizing performance becomes one of the biggest concerns. The difference between a site that lags or responds slowly and one that doesn’t is the difference between attracting and retaining users or losing them, and apps that deliver mapping or other location-based features are no exception. Recently I gave a talk on this topic, and I want to recap some of the tips I gave. Using custom overlays OverlayView.draw(): MyOverlay.prototype = new google.maps.OverlayView(); /** @constructor */ function MyOverlay(map, ...) ; This is a perfectly good way to build a custom map, but if you’re going to do this, it’s important to know that every time the user pans or zooms the map, we redraw the basemap as well as call your OverlayView.draw() to redraw your overlaid content. This is something you need to take into account if the logic for creating or updating your custom overlays is either compute heavy or blocking, since it can introduce some stuttering or lag into the overall map experience due to your code executing at the same time we are trying to redraw the map. Also, be sure to only execute the code you need in draw(). Anything not needed to actually execute rendering should be done beforehand to keep your call as lightweight as possible. Here’s an example of a custom overlay that’...

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If you've ever built an app that plots data on a map, you've probably noticed that performance tends to slow down as your dataset grows larger. Zooming out too far causes thousands of map markers to display, slowing your map to a crawl, or perhaps your data is so dense that overlapping markers make even small areas hard to interact with. In this post, I'll cover several techniques you can use to improve the performance of maps with large datasets. I'll be using Google Maps and To start, let's pretend we're building an application that displays a map of homes for rent across the country. First we'll create a Vue component for our map. Here's an example: App.js Quick Note: I am using the google object and Map instance – both of which will be very important later. Don't worry too much about the particulars of this component. We'll be primarily focused on updating the code within our plotMarkers method. As it stands, our test data is currently returning 2,000 records that we pass into our component through its homes prop. In the plotMarkers method, we map over those homes, create a map marker for each, and add them to our map component. Use Raster Images for Custom Marker Icons This first tip comes straight from the Google Maps Platform list of best practices. Whenever you're using custom images for your .jpg, .jpeg, .png) instead of Scalable Vector Graphics ( .svg). The Google Maps library provides built-in optimizations for rendering raster image markers, which will minimiz...

The One Rendering Challenge is now part of the , honoring the best architectural photography, film, visualizations, drawings, models and the talented creators behind them. Winners are published in print! Visualization technology is constantly evolving, and it seems like every day there’s a new tool available, made to help you get the most out of your ideas. To help you identify the software best suited to your needs, we’ve assembled a list of the industry’s best and most relied-upon programs. V-Ray Next for Revit; image via V-Ray by Chaos Group offers state-of-the-art rendering technology, capable of powering the most advanced photorealistic images. Renowned for its versatility, V-Ray can be integrated with a slew of rendering applications, including 3ds Max, Sketchup, Rhino, Revit, and Unreal, to name a few. V-Ray’s quality, power, speed, along with the creative control it offers users can explain why this software is deemed as an industry standard amongst artists and designers. Made by Lucas Lino; image via Adobe The Substance suite for texturing and materials authoring makes for an incredible tool to help realize your 3D creations. Whether you specialize in games, films, architecture, or design, this comprehensive package is sure to bring your wildest ideas to life. The suite is comprised of Substance Painter, Substance Source, Project Substance Alchemist, and Substance Designer, and Substance files are compatible with other apps in the 3D process. Archmodels vol. 210; ...

Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated (Opens in a new window) & (Opens in a new window). Long gone are the days of pulling origami-like paper maps from your car’s glove box to determine your location. In contemporary times, nearly everyone has a smartphone with a first- or third-party map app that offers driving, walking, or biking directions. In fact, navigation apps are great general guides to day-to-day living, as they can highlight the cheapest gas in your area or the nearest fast food joint. But which map app is the best? Bottom Line: Apple Maps has closed the navigation app gap with its easy-to-read location icons, temperature readings, air quality reports, and impressive 3D Flyover mode. It offers helpful directions, and has a commendable focus on protecting your privacy, but lacks internal locations and the ability to save maps for offline use. Bottom Line: If you’re driving, Waze is one of the easiest ways to get directions. Its routes are a cut above the competition's, with a bustling community and real-time, crowdsourced traffic and accident reports. Unfortunately, it's a pain to get directions from somewhere other than your current location. Buying Guide: Apple Maps vs. Google Maps vs. Waze: The Best Navigation Apps for Your Phone in 2021 Platform Power The three map apps in this showdown— You can access the three apps in different ways. Google’s Maps (a native Android app) and Waze (Google's driver-focused navigation app) are available in the Google Play Stor...

If you've ever built an app that plots data on a map, you've probably noticed that performance tends to slow down as your dataset grows larger. Zooming out too far causes thousands of map markers to display, slowing your map to a crawl, or perhaps your data is so dense that overlapping markers make even small areas hard to interact with. In this post, I'll cover several techniques you can use to improve the performance of maps with large datasets. I'll be using Google Maps and To start, let's pretend we're building an application that displays a map of homes for rent across the country. First we'll create a Vue component for our map. Here's an example: App.js Quick Note: I am using the google object and Map instance – both of which will be very important later. Don't worry too much about the particulars of this component. We'll be primarily focused on updating the code within our plotMarkers method. As it stands, our test data is currently returning 2,000 records that we pass into our component through its homes prop. In the plotMarkers method, we map over those homes, create a map marker for each, and add them to our map component. Use Raster Images for Custom Marker Icons This first tip comes straight from the Google Maps Platform list of best practices. Whenever you're using custom images for your .jpg, .jpeg, .png) instead of Scalable Vector Graphics ( .svg). The Google Maps library provides built-in optimizations for rendering raster image markers, which will minimiz...

Rendering Earth Studio offers two different methods to get imagery out of the browser: snapshot for still images, and render for animations. Single Frame Snapshots The snapshot button is the fastest way to export still images from Earth Studio. When you take a snapshot, your current view is immediately rendered and downloaded as a .jpg file at the resolution specified in the project settings. Rendering Animations For animations, Earth Studio offers two ways to render: a robust client-side renderer, which renders an image sequence directly on your computer to a directory you specify on your local hard drive, and a cloud-based renderer which runs remotely on Google's servers. To set up your render, click the render button. Setting Up On the left is a preview of your final output, restricted to the frame range of your work area. This is a low-fidelity preview—use it as a rough guideline to double-check that everything in your animation is cropped and moving as expected. On the right are the render settings, which are covered in depth below. Once you're ready to render, type in your file name, select your render method, and hit start. Cloud Rendering Learn more about Cloud Rendering Local Rendering When rendering locally, Earth Studio steps through each frame of the animation and saves it to your local file system. If the render crashes or is abandoned, you can recover your progress the next time you open Earth Studio. Note that render speed is highly dependent on your interne...