Blog - HomeZilla for the Canadian Homebuyers - local content done right!
Written by Glenn Letham
02 October 2008
Another awesome mashup catering to the real estate industry... Homezilla (homezilla.ca) - Neighourhood information for Canadian home buyers - HomeZilla has just released what they call "a one-stop shop for neighourhood information for Canadian home buyers".
The service offers lists of schools, the distance to restaurants, parks and much more. It can be accessed for free and with just a single click. According to the developers, HomeZilla's mission is to make buying a home easier and faster. HomeZilla does this by quickly connecting you with valuable home-buying and neighbourhood information so you can make informed home buying decision. The webmap offers a pleasant UI that is fast and simple to use providing valuable information including information and POIs on schools, shops, parks, transit routes, restaurants, pubs, and even Canadadian census data. 2 Thumbs up on this clever mashup!
Some of the unique pieces of information available at HomeZilla includes:
99% of all public Canadian schools
Over 1000 fire stations across Canada
Demographics like average age, median income, etc
Rail transit in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal
Over 800 liquor stores from across Canada
About the founder, Sandy Ward, 34, previously worked at Yahoo! as a Senior Engineering Manager where he ran the Front Pages for Canada, Quebec, Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico. See Details
See also the developer's blog here
POIs can be toggled on/off based on category
A handy tabular list of POIs is displayed below the map area - very handy!
Census Tracks are displayed as you hover over a region - click inside the polygon for more information
Plain and simple, HomeZilla is simple and good at what it's supposed to do! Awesome maps, a simple UI, fast, and useful information... I love it!
Top iPhone related GIS and Geo Tech news stories from 2009 - At the end of the year its always interesting for us to look at some of the stats and results to identify trends and more important, to see what our readers think is hot! In the "news" category it seems that iPhone related geo tech items were extremely popular.
Geo Social Location Checkin to Twitter from iPhone - With the cool SXSW event taking place Austin, TX, everyone who's anyone in social and social location seems to have rolled out updates this week, making your choice for how to check-in to your social media bookmarks even tougher to decide on!
10 Awesome GIS and Mapping apps for the iPhone - I recall last year at the ESRI UC when an iPhone was on stage showing a prototype app (think ArcPad on iPhone). It was then that I realized the iPhone platform is going to be BIG in mapping and there's a ton of opportunity for developers.
Nokia Booklet 3G, unboxing video and image gallery... Those of you in the USA who pop in to BestBuy occasionally, you may have seen a stand showing off the Nokia Booklet 3G. A sleek, 3G enabled, SIM slot (AT&T) sporting netbook.
Interesting Tweeple - 10 Geo Technology & Geo-Social Women of Twitter - given the growing love for geospatial and location-aware technologies, I’ve decided to hype 10 women that I feel make a significant contribution to the Geo-Twittersphere. If you’d like to add 10 knowledgeable and useful Twitter contacts to your Geo following list I highly suggest the following: (in no particular order)
10 Geo Social Location-Aware Apps Making Waves... With Twitter's opening of their location API to developers there's going to be a ton of third party apps that will enable Twitter users to share location-aware information via their Twitter accounts.
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Real-time GPS Mapping and GIS Solution Aids Efficient Disaster Management - Saturday, February 7, 2009 will forever be known as Black Saturday in the State of Victoria, Australia. In the midst of a 10-year drought, a record breaking heat wave descended upon the state, with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees C (110-120 deg F), breaking all-time record highs in some cities - Victoria Police Use Trimble Juno SC Handhelds to Speed Assessment of Damage Caused by Bush Fires.
2010 ESRI Federal User Conference February 17-19, 2010, Washington D.C. Walter E. Washington Convention Center - The FedUC is the largest geospatial conference for federal agencies. Connect with other leaders, decision makers, and GIS professionals.
The International LiDAR Mapping Forum 2010 - Tenth Anniversary Event! ILMF 2010 will be held from March 3 - 5, 2010 at the Hyatt Regency in Denver at Colorado Convention Center.
The NAVTEQ 2010 Global LBS Challenge Awards Ceremony will be held during Ignite at O'Reilly Where 2.0. Be among the first to hear as NAVTEQ announces the winners for the North America region. Participants will be competing for a global prize pool of $10 million and growing by showcasing pre-commercial location-enabled apps using NAVTEQ map data & products. March 30, 2010, during Ignite Where, 7:30pm - 9:00pm, at the Marriott San Jose, CA
WHERE2.0 2010 - Now in its sixth year, the Where 2.0 Conference is where the grassroots and leading edge developers building location-aware technology intersect with the businesses and entrepreneurs seeking out location apps, platforms, and hardware to gain a competitive edge. For 15% use Discount Code: whr10lbs