Vectors are your friend, Part III

Esri just updated its World Vector Basemaps (v.2). I updated below the notoriously complex and details Aalan Archipelago offshore Turku, Finland. I contrasted in this blog 4½ years ago posting the GSHHG world vector dataset in giscloud.com, a web vector mapping system, and ArcGIS Online, richer in data but then in raster. See an OpenStreetMap backdrop earlier in my companion blog.

View larger map

If you zoom in you see that GSHHG still has more vertices, but Esri's intent is a more accurate basemap. So you have the choice of full-on vector maps or full-enough vector basemaps.

Detail of above - note the scale - click to enlarge

The point is that for tens of dollars a month, AWS offers amazing performance on ¼M world vector datasets above, as well as ½M world point datasets from CLIWOC - also in 2014 London postGIS Day as "AWS for Megadata" - which you can then access on any web map browser, incl. arcgis.com's ever-increasing richness.

CLIWOC historic wind direction + force data (click to enlarge)