I’ve always considered MapQuest and Yahoo Maps to be incredible in that you could get precise directions to anywhere in the US in seconds. It’s one of those things that is so useful you’re in awe every time you use it.
Well, Google has done it again.
Check out Google Maps, which not only let you see the US as a whole (I’m always looking for a good map of the US) but you can drill down to individual streets. The feature I love is the ability to drag your way around the map in real time. There’s no refresh, it’s as if the entire map is in your browser and you’re just navigating around like you’re flying in a little plane flying above the ground. It really is impressive, and incredibly useful too.
After seeing this, I look forward to other goodies that may be in store. (That was written in 2003, before Gmail and before Google Desktop. He may be onto something)
Ah crap! I just posted about this. You beat me to it.
That is extremely cool! I couldn’t play with it too long, but I wish there was a quicker way to narrow down your search. I knew approximately in Utah where I wanted to view, but I still had to step through each level of zoom and re-center my target.
Of course, if I’d had more time to play with it I might have found that functionality. :)
I really like the way the maps look, though. Mapquest is cool, but as a map it’s hard to read. Google’s maps seem nice and smooth and easy to follow.
Forget my comment about moving the map around…my brain must have been temporarily offline.
Now to wait for support for Opera
How cool! Thanks Dan.
I plugged in my zip code and it went to immediately. That was impressive. It would be nice though to have a better way to zoom in (from the mouse). One thing I was looking for is to see if it has my address, which has existed for 18 months but isn’t found by mapquest. It turns out my street is there, but no names for the streets.
That is cool. I especially like the fact you can type in and get directions without having to go through the hassle like mapquest it is compiled well.
Cameron: What do you mean by a better way to zoom in with the mouse? You can switch to any zoom level in one click.
In brief use, I kinda wish Google Maps would somehow mark the place you look up, so that as you zoom out you still know where it is. I’ve mentioned it to them through their feedback link, and I guess we’ll see …
Yes, you can switch to any zoom with one click, but you first have to center what you want, by dragging it to the center. I’d like a zoom box. The other sites I think let you click anywhere on the map and it centers that.
You can also double-click on the spot you want to be centered, so it takes a total of three clicks to get what you want. I see what you mean though.
Turns out you can also use the arrow keys to navigate and then use-[+-] to zoom in and out. That’s closer to what I wanted.
please delete yahoo.
i want to use ONLY GOOGLE
Delete Yahoo, huh? Have you been drinking?