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maps.google.com

Doctor Q

Doctor Q

Administrator
Original poster
Staff member
Sep 19, 2002
40,486
9,446
Los Angeles
Google has a new mapping system: maps.google.com.

Some of its features:
Draggable maps – you can click and drag Google maps to view adjacent sections; no more long waits while new areas download.

Integrated Local search results – Google Maps integrates local search results from Google Local. So to find a pizza place, simply type in "pizza in San Jose", and pizza places appear at various locations on your map, with phone numbers for each location on the right side of the page.

Turn-by-turn directions – Type in an address and Google Maps plots the route for you, displaying it visually on the map itself, together with step-by-step directions for getting there (or back from there). When you click on one of these steps (say, "turn left"), you see a floating bubble with a magnified view of the area mentioned in the directions.

Keyboard shortcuts – You can use arrow keys to pan left, right, up and down. The Page Up, Page Down, Home and End keys let you pan out even wider. And you can zoom in with the plus (+) key and zoom out with the minus (-) key.
Click to expand...
It requires that JavaScript be enabled and is known to work with Firefox/Mozilla/Netscape for Mac/Linux/Windows, and with Internet Explorer for Windows, but not yet with Safari. They say "We are working on supporting Safari."

It is a beta version and you can't yet save locations.
 
I like it! I do like how Google manage to think of what users would find easiest. I can't remember how many times I've tried to rejig an online map to get the information I want on the screen to capture.

Here's hoping it beta's quickly and we soon get a Euro version
 
sweet, finally i can stop going to mapquest, they just need to support safari, but google does tend to be pretty good about safari support so hopefully by the time this is out of beta we will get some support, i wonder if it will run in firefox for mac

edit: ah so it does support the mac version of firefox.....

edit 2: i figured id ask here rather than start a whole new thread: anyone know how to import your bookmarks from safari over to firefox? i select the import option from the file menu, but it does not give me any choices
 
PlaceofDis said:
edit 2: i figured id ask here rather than start a whole new thread: anyone know how to import your bookmarks from safari over to firefox? i select the import option from the file menu, but it does not give me any choices
Click to expand...

You might have to go through Camino to do it:

1) Use Camino to import the safari bookmarks
2) Re-export the Camino bookmarks in HTML format
3) Import the HTML bookmarks into firefox

At least that's my best guess. There might be an easier way, but Safari stores its bookmarks in plist format so odds are Firefox will never recognize them.
 
stcanard said:
You might have to go through Camino to do it:

1) Use Camino to import the safari bookmarks
2) Re-export the Camino bookmarks in HTML format
3) Import the HTML bookmarks into firefox

At least that's my best guess. There might be an easier way, but Safari stores its bookmarks in plist format so odds are Firefox will never recognize them.
Click to expand...

cool, thanks for the tip, i will give that a try tonight
 
Blue Velvet said:
Damn. US only...
Click to expand...
I scrolled east and west from North America and there was nothing else there. Tectonic plate movement is one thing, but we Americans (in the more general use of the word) seem have the only continent left on the planet.

The rival information services are trying their best to cover the U.S., and then the world, with everything you need to know to find a pizza when you need one. From localized searches to driving maps to photos of the business storefronts, there will soon be no reason to ever leave the house unless you want to actually touch/smell/taste before you buy. And they'll probably be adding those capabilities next.

(PlaceofDis: New threads are free. Next time, please start one in the Software Discussion and Help forum, even for little side questions. That way, others who know the answer or have the same question are more likely to find it.)
 
I love it when google or apple opens a can of whoopass on some industry. Truely one of the great companies of our time.
 
Looks awesome once they "work it out".
map.jpg
 
jimsowden said:
Looks awesome once they "work it out".
Click to expand...
Its now saying Safari isn't working

We are working on supporting Safari. Regardless of your browser type, you must have JavaScript enabled to use Google Maps.

We recommend you download one of the browsers above, or you can try to load Google Maps in your current browser.
Click to expand...
 
I suggested this to my wife because she uses Mapquest a lot for work to find patient homes. She also uses firefox, so I suggested this service of Google to her. She said that she doesn't like it at all. For example it doesn't indicate when there is a one way street.
 
Don't need broadband like the previous post suggested, and it works great in Firefox! Looks like I can say goodbye to Mapquest...
 
Phat_Pat said:
Its now saying Safari isn't working
Click to expand...
The good Doctor said that in the first post...but I'm sure they'll get around to it. I tried it in Firefox, and it's 10x better than Mapquest.

It sure as hell moves around better than Mapquest. I asked for pizza in my town, and it found me all the restaurants. I asked for driving directions from my son's house to mine, and it worked perfectly.

Suh-weeet!!
 
I just downloaded Google's Picasa2 picture organizer on the weekend. It really is excellent. It will find pictures on your hard drive that you didn't even know existed, or had misfiled.

The only two downsides to it that I can see are that it finds the static pics in your game programs, but at least Google shows you the location so you can decide whether you want to move it, delete it, or just remove it from Picasa (i.e. leave it as is). The only other negative about it is that it hasn't been ported to the Mac......yet.

Hopefully Google will bring out a Mac version shortly :)
 
jimsowden said:
I love it when google or apple opens a can of whoopass on some industry. Truely one of the great companies of our time.
Click to expand...

See my previous post. Google's Picasa is sure to make the next version of iPhoto pretty awesome :)
 
Thomas Veil said:
The good Doctor said that in the first post...but I'm sure they'll get around to it. I tried it in Firefox, and it's 10x better than Mapquest.

It sure as hell moves around better than Mapquest. I asked for pizza in my town, and it found me all the restaurants. I asked for driving directions from my son's house to mine, and it worked perfectly.

Suh-weeet!!
Click to expand...
yeah blows mapquest out of the water. This thing rocks. :cool:
 
I did my senior project (undergrad) on using SVG for web maps and on the shortcomings of static raster maps like Mapquest. SVG (an open XML-based vector format similar to Flash) could really enhance these maps and create a lot of interesting possibilities, but sadly it probably won't since people are not willing to download a plugin just to use a mapping service. It's sad how so many people are satisfied with Mapquest when the technology is there to really blow it away. If you want to use an OS analogy, Mapquest is the Windows 1.0 of web maps. Google Maps looks like the Windows 3.1. SVG is the NeXTSTEP - great, but it won't catch on.
 
alex_ant said:
It's sad how so many people are satisfied with Mapquest when the technology is there to really blow it away.
Click to expand...
Well, we're exceptions, I'm sure, but I have never been happy with Mapquest. Aside from the fact that "scrolling" the map means clicking an arrow, waiting (even on a high-speed connection), and then watching the map lurch to one side, their directions were unreliable.

That same set of directions I mentioned earlier, from my son's house to mine? It's pretty much a straight line, from my house down the street to his. The first time I tested Mapquest, it told me to go the other direction, get on the highway, drive south to the next town, circle back to the nearest State Route, and head back to our town. A fifteen mile or so trip, to a house that's two miles away. :p
 
stcanard said:
You might have to go through Camino to do it:

1) Use Camino to import the safari bookmarks
2) Re-export the Camino bookmarks in HTML format
3) Import the HTML bookmarks into firefox

At least that's my best guess. There might be an easier way, but Safari stores its bookmarks in plist format so odds are Firefox will never recognize them.
Click to expand...
You don't need to go into Camino. Just enable the Debug menu in Safari and export the bookmarks, then import into Firefox.
 
wordmunger said:
You don't need to go into Camino. Just enable the Debug menu in Safari and export the bookmarks, then import into Firefox.
Click to expand...

sweet, i hadnt gotten around to that yet, thanks Word
 
wordmunger said:
You don't need to go into Camino. Just enable the Debug menu in Safari and export the bookmarks, then import into Firefox.
Click to expand...

Hmm, I could have sworn the last time I did that it exported a plist! Must be my bad memory.
 
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