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Google Businesses The Internet

Google Releases Maps API for External Use 172

Posted by CmdrTaco from the step-in-the-right-direction dept.
bahree writes "Google now has officially released their API's for Google Maps; till now there were a few hacks in place such as my where I work, but now its all supported. You would need to get a key, which is associated with a specific url, you can get that here and also read up on all the fun details here." CT: Sorry for the dupe. Teach me to forget to relaunch my mail client.
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Google Releases Maps API for External Use More

Google Releases Maps API for External Use

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  • my favorite google map hacks :) (Score:5, Informative)

    by professorhojo ( 686761 ) * on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:44PM (#12951776)
    HousingMaps [paulrademacher.com]
    Google/Yahoo Traffic Maps [hopto.org]
    Traffic Monitor [hopto.org]
    Cheap Gas [ahding.com]
    Chicago Crime Map [chicagocrime.org]
    Earthquake Viewer [snellspace.com]
    Google Maps Plugin for Mac OS X [briantoth.com]

    can't wait to see what's next :)))

  • dupe (Score:3, Informative)

    by garbletext ( 669861 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:45PM (#12951781)
    As if we don't already get enough google news... [slashdot.org]
    • Apparently still popular enough to get Taco /.-ed
    • It's not totally a dupe, it was in fact "launched" at the O'Reilly Where 2.0 [oreillynet.com] conference today.

      Receiving no attention is the news that Yahoo also released their maps API [yahoo.net] today as well. You can read a ranty blogpost [typepad.com] from a Yahoo developer about the differences.

      I pilfered all of the above links from rc3.org [rc3.org]
    • Yeah, but it's CmdrTaco duping an article Timothy posted. That's gotta be a first.
    • But he fixed it all with an Update!

      CT: Sorry for the dupe. Teach me to forget to relaunch my mail client.

      It's alright Taco, you don't have to try to be sneaky. You can say Outlook Express here and nobody will judge you. Really!
  • Guess they're going with all the integration of their maps that's already been done. Good to hear it's being opened up though. With the stuff that's been done so far without the API I can only see better combinations in the future.

  • What if... (Score:5, Funny)

    by rbarreira ( 836272 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:46PM (#12951803) Homepage
    Google released a dupe checker for slashdot stories?
    • The 50000 usage limit on that tool would run out pretty quickly :)
    • We would have to name "him/her" CowboyNil.
    • All your inner pain is caused by slashdot dupes. Taco: guilt and pain have a purpose, but learn to control them. A lesson to be told.
    • Can anybody point out and tripple ore more dupe posts that don't refrence any of the previous except in maybe an update?

      Completely off topic but I'm just curious now.
    • there would be a dupe story on the dupe checker itself, which would cause the dupe checker to dupe into a recursive infinite dupe-loop. It would then gain conscience and would be able to calculate the answer to the Universe and Everthing. Obviously the answer is 42, but the question will take a little longer to find out. The question is obviously this: Why are there dupes on /.? - the question would trigger the self destruct mechanism of the dupe-checker, which would promptly execute and suck the entir

  • More Maps APIs (Score:5, Funny)

    by TimeTraveler1884 ( 832874 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:46PM (#12951812)
    Wow, these guys at Google are good, I mean real good. For them to release not just one, but two APIs for Google maps [slashdot.org] within 24hrs of each other, that place must be swelling with brain-power. They probably don't even have to walk from point A to B, just levitate themselves using their psychokinetic abilities. Flying around the room back and forth as they communicate faster than thought with each other non-verbally that to us mortals, sounds just like a high pitched squeel.

    Now only if Slashdot editors had a just fraction of those kind of mental resources, they could maybe... possibly... bang a keyboard with their clubs made human bones while in a circle of gigantic monoliths and type "Google Maps API" in a search before posting a story. But until then, I for one welcome our new Google Maps API-Producing Psychokinetic -Squeeling Duplicate Post-Inducing overloards

    • Slashdot doesn't care (Score:2, Insightful)

      by DogDude ( 805747 )
      Slashdot has *long* since stopped caring about quality. It's all about pageviews and clickthroughs. They know that even if they post 5 of the same stories in a row, that they'll get the same amount of traffic (maybe more?). If you see a crappy article or a dupe, the BEST way that you can send a message to the editors that you want quality is to spend time NOT viewing Slashdot for that day/week/whatever. Don't browser, don't post. THEN, maybe they'll realize that they can't just rest on momentum forever
      • " Slashdot has *long* since stopped caring about quality. It's all about pageviews and clickthroughs" That may be true, but CT did post an apology. I think you're being a little too harsh.
      • Or for that matter, just exclusively use the RSS feed to view slashdot.

        I'm sure they keep track of popularity of stories. Using the RSS feed to go to stories of interest will eventually give them an idea of what stories people will read / visit, and which they won't.

        Or, someone could make an RSS feed that posts direct links from slashdot, so that we don't have to visit this place at all. Then again, the editors might not like that :)

      • No.. (Score:2)

        by CdBee ( 742846 )
        ... the best response is to read each thread carefully, using an ad-blocker..
  • Google retains the right to put advertising on the map in the future.

    That is intersting. Perhaps they will add advertising for cerain locations. They might add a starbucks logo over each of their coffee shops on the map. It would be a good way to pay for it and thus keep it free for developers.
    • Chances are good it won't just be "Let's put coffe shops all over" but instead will be tragetted google ads base don your website content.

      Have a website featuring bike trails? You'll have bike ads on the map - some may point to locations of bike shops, others to ice cream shops (biking and ice cream go hand in hand, for those who don't know)

      A key to Google's strategy is to maximize advertising effectiveness by targetting the ads. This is one side effect to organizing the world's information - a powe

  • Integration with Google Earth (Score:5, Interesting)

    by mogrify ( 828588 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:49PM (#12951839) Homepage
    For anyone who's interested, I've started a way of using the XML import features of the API to use the KML file that Google Earth exports. You have to unzip the KMZ file and use the 'doc.kml' file within it.

    This lets you display the placemarkers saved in Google Earth on a flat Google Map. Descriptions & icons aren't in there yet... but you can see the results so far at http://twig.homelinux.org/gmap.html [homelinux.org].

    (It's broken in IE for some reason. FF works.)
  • this is cool since now the forum I am a part of can finally have a 'forum map' (for vbulletin just added 2 profile for lat/long). it should be up and running in a bit as it's kind of a no brainer.. only complaint would be that there could be an easier way to get lat/long by user input (maybe I skipped it on the API page?). meh.

  • ex girlfriend maps... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Alex P Keaton in da ( 882660 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:53PM (#12951873) Homepage
    How long before we get ex girlfriend maps?
    There are a few I would like to see, including- best chili dog map and cheap beer map.
    How long before someone finds out the next time google is going to be taking pictures, and writes something really raunchy on their property in huge letters.
    This would also be a great way to advertise... Hey look, those cars are parked in such a way to spell out slashdot as seen from the sattelites!!!!
    If a man speaks in the forest, and there is no woman there to hear him, is he still wrong?

  • satellite view (Score:2, Interesting)

    by gooogle ( 643307 )
    I noticed the maps API does not allow you to switch to a satellite view like their web counter-part. If they added that, the cool factor on this thing would double.

    Overlaying polygons and lines is a neat feature though. No need for using flickr to mark out areas on static maps when you can do so on dynamic maps right through the google API.

    That's what google does so well; build the foundation, open up the API and let the developers build on top of that foundation. Some really cool things will come out in
  • Already [vestaldesign.com]

  • shameless plug (Score:3, Informative)

    by harshaw ( 3140 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:54PM (#12951894)
    There are a number of fantastic google maps hacks site popping up.

    You might want to check out placeshare.org [placeshare.org] to see a simple site that does flikr style tagging with user managed locations.

    There are a couple other sites that are moving in the same direction... there were some excellent demo's at the where2.0 conference yesterday.
  • all hail the slashdot dupe editor king [slashdot.org]!

  • "Re:50K Pageviews" (Score:5, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 30, 2005 @01:57PM (#12951924)
    I suppose the question is, do they consider each tile you load from their map server a page view? If they do, it wouldn't take many users scrolling around on the maps to get their.

    "A "page view" is the number of times users download the JavaScript, not the number of map tiles, so it is a fairly high limit for most sites. Also, we are not restricting use of the API to small sites -- we are just asking that sites who have more page views than 50K contact us first to ask permission so we can make sure we can handle the load.

    Bret Taylor
    Product Manager, Google Maps"
  • This is going to change the web in a small way and I for-see corporations world-wide using Google Maps API's in the few days to a week. I also can predict that even more crazy scripts and mods to Google Maps will appear soon. I better get back to the Google wagon and continue tinkering with refined web-ideas! Thanks Google!
  • He slashdotted himself by posting his hack.
  • making a viewer that works in all browsers?
  • Kids! You too can now plot to take over the world using the resources of your home computer! Just call up your Google Map of the country(ies) you wish to subjugate, order your evil minions from EBay or the third-world country of your choice, release the latest Windows Service Pack, and watch as you become Supreme Kahuna!!* *Minion Loyalty Not Included
  • I see in their disclaimers that "Google retains the right to put advertising on the map in the future.". I can't help but wonder if this is a sign of things to come. They'll let everyone and anyone use their maps, spread them around the web, maybe until Google maps are the only maps to use, and then WHAM! Adverts appear on Google maps everywhere.

    OK, it's a tin-foil hat theory but I can see it happening...
  • ... "hacks in place such as my where I work".

    Service Unavailable

    Does that mean you're unemployed now?

  • method (Score:2)

    by hey ( 83763 )
    Its neat how the API works.
    You get the browser to read in some javaScript from a Google Site then you write javaScript in the page to use loaded classes. Nice.
  • I think the real news to this story is the edited addition to the story:

    CT: Sorry for the dupe. Teach me to forget to relaunch my mail client.

    Oh my God! The slashdot editors almost realized they have a job! And he almost did it! Kudos to CmdrTaco for apologizing once for a error that occurs damn near daily!

  • More Shameless plugs... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Mz6 ( 741941 ) * on Thursday June 30, 2005 @02:23PM (#12952112) Journal
    I integrated Google Maps with Storm Data.

    http://www.stormreportmap.com [stormreportmap.com].

  • People posting dupe comments. (Score:5, Interesting)

    by I don't want to spen ( 638810 ) on Thursday June 30, 2005 @02:24PM (#12952121) Journal
    Yes, I'm off topic, but why do people think that multiple posts saying that its a dupe is any less annoying than a dupe in the first place? People who saw it before know its a dupe, people who didn't won't care. Neither of them benefit by being told its a dupe a hundred times.
  • Here is another site that shows For Sale By Owner properties.

  • Obligatory... (Score:1, Redundant)

    by airship ( 242862 )
    (1) Put link to own server on Slashdot.
    (2) Server instantly is slashdotted and goes up in flames.
    (3) ????
    (4) Profit!

  • thats nice... (Score:2, Funny)

    by alfrin ( 858861 )
    AFTER they sue and shutdown numerous sites using Google Maps.
    Come on Google, make up your god damn mind
  • It's interesting to note the the "Google Maps API" contains some goodies that make it into a nice cross platform AJAX toolkit as well as a maps API.

    Take a look at the GXmlHttp, GXml and GXslt classes:

    http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/#GX m lHttp_code_ [google.com]

    So if Microsoft limit their recently announced AJAX toolkit to IE only, then it seems Google are ready to offer an alternative!
  • Mark it down on your calender boys. Today is a fine moment in Slashdot history.
  • this disclaimer:

    The Maps API is a free beta service, available or any web site that is free to consumers. Google retains the right to put advertising on the map in the future. Please see the terms of use for more information.

    and all of the verbage in terms [google.com]. Like this one which blows my idea out the water: remove, distort or alter any element of a Google Brand Feature (this includes squeezing, stretching, inverting, discoloring, etc.)

  • Google Maps Wiki (Score:2, Informative)

    by yellowbkpk ( 890493 ) *
    Forgive the karma whoring, but I host a Google Maps wiki at the following URL:

    http://gmaps.yellowbkpk.com/ [yellowbkpk.com]

    So far people have posted their sample Google Map mashups there along with some code samples. Most of this was done before the Google Maps API was released, so some of the sites may not work due to the new javascript file version.

    Also, make sure to check out the Google-Maps-API and Google-Maps Google Groups. The Google-Maps-API group is particularly active and there ahve been over 100 posts just to
  • In an ironic twist? Yahoo also released their Maps API [searchenginewatch.com] today as well.

  • How long before DVD John fixes it so I don't need an API key?

  • (work in progress)

    Here [24.125.88.66].

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