211 stories published in 2026
QGIS is free and powerful, ArcGIS is the commercial industry standard, and the concepts transfer between them. Here is how they compare on cost, jobs, and learning curve, and which to learn first.
OpenStreetMap is free, global map data you can load straight into QGIS. Learn the QuickOSM route for small areas, Geofabrik extracts for regions, and the licence and filtering rules that keep it usable.
Watershed delineation turns a DEM into drainage basins, but each step depends on the last. Follow the fill, flow direction, accumulation, and outlet workflow in order, with checks at every stage.
Thousands of QGIS plugins exist, but beginners need only a handful. These ten solve basemaps, OpenStreetMap downloads, terrain analysis, and classification, and they are all actively maintained.
QGIS's 3D map view turns a DEM into a landscape you can tilt and explore. Learn to prepare elevation and imagery, set vertical exaggeration, control the camera, and export the result.
CRS errors make layers land in the wrong ocean and areas calculate wrong. Learn the difference between geographic and projected systems, and the set-versus-reproject distinction that fixes most problems.
About $786M in stablecoins was converted into ETH and TRX before the freezes, moving value from issuer-controlled tokens to assets no issuer can freeze.
Radar sees through clouds and darkness, optical sees colour β choosing between Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 starts with what your project actually needs to measure.
NDVI needs just two Sentinel-2 bands and one formula β here's how to run it in QGIS's raster calculator without any plugins.
OpenDroneMap is the free engine, WebODM is its friendly face, and QGIS is where the maps go to work β here's how the three fit together.
Old paper maps become usable GIS layers when you pin them to known coordinates with control points β here's the QGIS workflow.
A LiDAR point cloud is millions of laser measurements, each with a position and a height β here's how to read one and what to do with it.
A QGIS heatmap turns scattered points into a readable density surface β but the radius and weighting choices decide whether it informs or misleads.
Shapefile is the legacy workhorse, GeoJSON is the web's favourite, and GeoPackage is the modern all-rounder β here's how to choose between them.
Flood risk mapping needs elevation, rivers, and rainfall β all available free β and a workflow that stays honest about uncertainty.
Clean drone maps are decided before takeoff: overlap, altitude, light, and a pre-flight checklist that leaves nothing to chance.
Farmers and researchers can now watch crop health from space for free. Open satellite programmes provide regular imagery that reveals stress, growth stages, and irrigation problems weeks before they are visible on the ground.
GIS, a Geographic Information System, is software that links data to locations and analyses it in map layers. It answers questions a spreadsheet cannot, such as what is near a place, what overlaps it, and what is changing there.
A practical, cost-aware comparison of QGIS and ArcGIS Pro for small teams, covering everyday mapping, Esri workflows, hiring, and a two-week trial to decide.
Step-by-step NDVI calculation in QGIS using Sentinel-2 bands B04 and B08, with the exact Raster Calculator formula, a worked example, and threshold guidance.
Three practical routes to get OpenStreetMap data into QGIS β Geofabrik regional extracts, Overpass and QuickOSM targeted queries, and XYZ basemaps β with file-size and timeout tips.
A plain-language guide to CRS, datums, projections and EPSG codes, explaining why layers misalign and how to pick UTM versus WGS84 for measuring.
Build a fast, mobile-friendly interactive map with Leaflet.js β setup, tiles, markers, popups, GeoJSON layers and clustering β with code you can reuse.
Compare Sentinel-2 and Landsat on resolution, revisit, archive length and thermal capability, with a clear rule for when to use each β or both together.