googlemaps

Beginning Google Maps Applications with PHP and Ajax: From Novice to Professional
$34.99
This book has a lot of very practical examples. With this book and the API docs you can make just about anything you like. Good, clear code and comments. Get this book if you want to make Google Maps.

Sony GPS-CS1KASP GPS Unit for Sony Digital Cameras
$149.99
I purchased this device to geotag all the photos I took on my road trip across the southwest (go to Picasa and enter Teri's Big Adventure Across the Southwest, then click on View in Map on the right side of the screen under the small inset map). Although I did have to read the instructions and experiment in my backyard to figure it completely out, once I did, it was easy to use.

I was a little disappointed in the feature that tracks your route because it sometimes picks up a random, crazy location way off from where you are that distorts the route when it's mapped. I tried opening the log file in WordPad hoping to find the entry so I could delete it but it was too confusing to figure out.

Also, if you are traveling through different timezones, it is easy to forget to reset the time on your camera (which the software uses to sync up the GPS log with your photos) but I found a free app on the internet (Microsoft Pro Photo Tools) that allows you to adjust the internal timestamp info on your photos very easily (+ an hour, - an hour). This made a huge difference since it didn't require me to manual readjust the location of all the photos that were off by an hour. I liked the PMB software that came with the unit because after you associate the log info with the photos, you can click on MapView and see where they are in Google. If you didn't have the unit on when you took a photo, you can manually place the photo where you actually were and it will save the new location to your photo.

I was surprised at how accurate this unit was. Most of the time it was within 10 feet of where I was actually standing. It did well when I was in the forest of sequoias, on a trail on the side of a mountain and even on a chairlift at Sandia Peak.

Although I would highly recommend this product, there is a learning curve in both the use of the unit, the post processing of the data and posting the photos to the internet so I suggest that you be a little on the techy side or you might just get frustrated and give up.