This guy Has some time on his hands. That link probably won't make a lot of sense to you unless you're a pretty hardcore web coder (hohoho, you think, a challenge!) but basically some people have put together a set of bookmarklets -- JavaScript code you execute from your browser as a bookmark -- that do Fun Things with Google Maps.
Automated route following. Arbitrary image display. Coordinating Google Maps with realtime GPS data from elsewhere (the proof of concept is the Seattle realtime 911 registry). Loading map locations directly. Generally exploring the web app in immense detail.
I'm amazed. And not just at the technical sweetness of this set of hacks -- also at its presentation (the author releases early and often, and maintains page history) and at the simple fact that it's possible. If I were a clueless marketing dork, or a boneheaded oldschool software guy, I'd be crapping my pants at what it's possible for interested people to do, in public, to my wonderful client-side web creations.
Good thing I'm not either of those people.
This is one of those HOLY SHIT moments for me.
1 comment:
The thing that blew me away was the interactivity; and it's all done with javascript. Well, that and being able to fetch only what they need when they need it. Google Suggest does that too. No doubt about it, Google is raising the bar for interactive web pages. Looks like I'll have to convince my employer that java applets and flash aren't the best way to make interactive web applications after all.
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