New maps with Mapbox

Key to map

Following my exploration of alternatives to Google Maps for ComputerWeekly.com, I have transferred my map of articles to Mapbox, which relies on OpenStreetMap. The data on the articles is held in a Google Sheet, and can be shown in a number of styles through Mapbox. There are alternative versions, covering all of Britain and Western Europe, elsewhere on the site.

The maps and pointers are generated through Javascript, in particular Tabletop by J. Soma and a heavily-modified version of Dan Swick’s Montana Map Toy (as used here).

Article subjects are indicated through Mapbox’s Maki icons, and the colour shows the age of the article – bright cyan for new, turning dark blue over a number of years.

On the left-hand side (partly hidden behind other articles on Cardiff) is a bright blue link to a new article for ComputerWeekly.com on NHS IT and how it can contribute to efficiency, with two examples linked to Cardiff and Vale NHS University Health Board: cheap netbooks for community healthcare staff and use of the open source OpenEyes software pioneered by Moorfields.