See the world with Google Maps

OK, so you can’t quite see the entire world yet, but I’m sure the good people at Google are working on it. That being said, Google Maps is by far the best online maps and directions service I have yet seen and is this week’s Website of the Week. I used to be a Mapquest guy, but I haven’t touched that site in months. Some people claim that Mapquest, despite its aging interface, still offers the best directions. That has not been my experience, but I suppose your mileage may vary (ha ha). Anyway, back to the wonders of Google Maps…

The killer feature of Google Maps, in my opinion, is the ability to drag the map around with your mouse in order to recenter it. The other features are nice, but this is what prompted me to switch from Mapquest and never look back. The emerging technology that makes this sort of real-time interaction with Google’s servers possible is called Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). I won’t bore you with the details of how it works. If you’re really curious, the Ajax entry on Wikipedia is a good place to start.

As I hinted above, Google Maps has other nifty features besides the dragging. In addition to the normal map view, you can choose to view satellite photos or a hybrid option that basically overlays the satellite image with streets and names. You can also create a link to any map you generate This link can then be bookmarked for future reference or sharing. For example, the red building in the middle of this map (with the pushpin near it) is Oxley Hall at Ohio State, my home away from home. To get directions to or from Oxley Hall, just click the corresponding link in the information bubble, type in the other address, and off you go.

I should warn you, of course, that Google Maps is highly addictive and has been known to suck an impressive amount of time out of even the busiest of schedules. And for those of you who really love maps and have lots of time to spend looking at them, check out Google Earth. You’ll just have to see it to believe it. It’s that good.

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November 29, 2005 | Filed Under Website of the Week 

Comments

2 Responses to “See the world with Google Maps”

  1. Warren on December 10th, 2005 2:58 pm

    Ah, but have you tried Yahoo Maps Beta yet? :-)

  2. Patrick on December 12th, 2005 7:01 pm

    Warren,
    Yeah I have and I wasn’t too impressed to be honest. I’m addicted to the drag ‘n drop. What can I say?

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