Filed under: Utilities, Web services, Google
MapLib.net: Google Maps-ify your big images
Awhile back I reported on Zoomify, a neat desktop app that turns any large image (like a map, for instance) into a Flash widget that lets your web site's visitors pan and zoom around the image without loading the whole huge thing at once. Kinda like Google Maps. Well, the logical extension of that idea is MapLib.net, a free web service that does much the same thing. You upload a big image and MapLib wraps a Google Maps interface around it for panning and zooming to your heart's content. It's pretty easy to use, if a bit lacking in polish. Just upload your image (6,000 x 6,000 pixel, 4MB limit), provide some details like title and description, and wham! it's got a zoomable, draggable interface accessible by a unique URL. You can also add custom markers to the map, and allow other users to do so as well. Best of all, though, MapLib.net gives you a snippet of HTML that allows you to embed your map or image in your web site or blog. I tried it out and though uploading my 4MB image took awhile, the results are decent, but the image quality isn't the best. You can see the fruits of my labor after the jump, or see the full map here.
After spending the better part of an hour on 