Search and find LEGO web sites with Google Maps in your neighborhood

Searching for LEGO web sites
This page offers a new way of searching for technic LEGO, Mindstorms (NXT and RCX), pneumatic and GBC (Great Ball Contraption) web sites that I have gathered over the years. It may not always be the quickest way when you are looking for certain LEGO stuff, but you can use it to look in your area what LEGO sites are hosted. This way of searching uses the Google Maps api (and java script) to locate web sites by their IP addresses.

Markers and text balloons
You can click on the web site markers (the icons) on the map and see what site(s) you found.

A text balloon will pop-up and display the following information: Web site title and http address, the location of the site, the LEGO category('s) which indicates the nature of the site and the owner. By moving your mouse over the green texts in the text balloons you can watch additional information. Of course you can click on the green texts and follow the links...

More then one site at one location
One marker can present more then one web site. In that case there are two buttons Prev (previous) and Next displayed in the upper line of the text balloon.

Standard Google Maps zoom functions
With the zoom control on the left site of the map you can zoom in or out, move in all directions. In the right under corner you see the magnifier which helps you scroll quickly through the map. With the buttons on the right you can select 3 different views of the map: street map, satellite or terrain. Zoom and scroll is possible even when a text balloon with web site information is displayed on the map. You can also zoom in or out by clicking the buttons within the text balloons. That way your web site information balloon will stay centered in the middle of the map.

Web site archive
Behind the web site title you can move your mouse over the link named "(archive)". A link is displayed. It is the link to a archive of the web site on the Internet Way Back Machine. This offers you access to the site even when it is no longer hosted! Unfortunately, not all LEGO sites a yet backed-up by the Internet Way Back Machine. But hopefully, if the web site links it self doesn't work any more, you can try the "(archive)" link and view a back-up of the site at www.archive.org.

Archive your site for the future!
If you have a LEGO site of your own and you don't see your site in the Wayback Machine? Submit an URL for inclusion. They will archive the site you have submitted and we will be able to view it in the wayback machine within 6 months. Please note: sites that are database driven, generate dynamic web pages or have robots.txt exclusions can not be archived. Go to www.archive.org, register your self and have your website backed-up.

Location
If you move your mouse in a text balloon over the location, you can see where the web site is hosted, the IP address, the hostname and the ISP (Internet service Provider). Click on the link to open the site. As I mentioned, the web site markers on the map are placed by the location of the IP addresses of the websites. 95% percent of the IP addresses can be looked up. But the accuracy of the location depends on the country and the ISP.  And, of course, the owner of a site does not necessary has to life in the same country where the site is hosted. But overall this site gives you a reasonably impression of LEGO web sites around the world.

Category
The categories in the text balloon give an indications of the nature of the site. It can be a Blog, a fan site, a forum, a portal or a community site. It can contain subject releated to pneumatic LEGO, GBC (Great Ball Contraption), CAD (LDraw), LEGO instruction or LEGO references. By clicking on a category you will go the Techbricks.nl directory with LEGO links, to the selected category.

Owner & email
If you move your mouse over the name of the owner, the emailaddress or contactpage of the owner is displayed. Click on the link to send the owner a email. The email addresses are displayed like the web site onwers diplay them on their sites. In some cases they added spaces, words like [nospam] or replaced @ by at or "." by dot. Be ware of that while you send them an email.