So I pull up Google Maps today to find a Taco Bell (because the one near me was recently torn down to make way for a BIGGER Taco Bell, but it still not finished), and I am greeted with what looks like a simplified version of the site.

Upon further inspection, it is more featureful, and just visually simplified.

This new Google Maps now contains a Terrain View, can pull in Wikipedia articles for all of the locations on the map, and pulls images from a new Google service called Panoramio.

It is pretty friggin sweet.

Take a look at this screen shot of the terrain map, loaded with Wikipedia articles & photos: http://nexdot.net/gmaps_new_wikipedia_and_photos.jpg

The internet needs more standards and APIs. The things that differentiate the 200 different clones of an original idea, also clutter and confuse the internet. If the clones worked together, to form a network, everyone could choose their niche clone, and still enjoy content from the rest of the clone-network. For example: Youtube clones. If all Youtube clones worked together on a standard API, they could aggregate all of the videos, comments, and users together to form one large Video Sharing Network. Another example: del.icio.us clones. If all del.icio.us clones worked together on a standard API, they could aggregate all of the bookmarks, tags, comments, ratings, and users together to form on large Social Bookmarking Network. Google is giving the tools for one large Social Networking Network to exist.

Next, once there is an OpenAPI for each form of web2.0 product, we need a central OpenAPI that links all of those APIs together. Then we will have one global network, filled with tags, and users, and sharing, and stalking, and a lot of highly targeted advertising. Everyone will be happy, and the internet will implode.

[Via TechCrunch]

Note: They are rolling the feature out to select test accounts now. If you do not have IMAP options in your settings, you are not cool enough. Google will most likley do a full scale roll out shortly.

For ages, Gmail has been strictly POP3-only for external access. It got the job done, but it lacked functionality. There are a few key differences between POP3 and IMAP4 (at the user level) that make the addition of IMAP very exciting news. With traditional POP3 access to email, you generally are required to download the message (thus removing it from the email server). This sucks if you use a web interface (such as Gmail) & a remote client or mobile device equally… you would be missing emails from the web interface as they were downloaded to the remote client or mobile device. Google tried to combat this problem by adding a “keep on server” option. This was cool, but now things you do to the emails do not sync between the web interface and the remote client or mobile device (such as an email being marked as ‘read’). IMAP solves these problems! With IMAP you aren’t removing the email from the server on download, and all actions performed on an email, are synced between the clients and server. And the best thing of all? IMAP PERSISTENT CONNECTIONS! Think Microsoft Exchange-like functionality… without Exchange (or Microsoft). You can have a constant connection to an IMAP server and be notified instantly of new mail and have changes synced on the fly. This is why IMAP rules.

Good job Google. Good job! I have been waiting for a LONG time to see IMAP available on my account. I use Gmail for domains, so I have @nexdot.net and a bunch of my other sites hosted at Gmail. I was previously using my Motorola Q to access them all via POP3… it sucked. Now I have switched them all over to IMAP and I couldn’t be happier.

http://mail.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?ctx=%67mail&hl=en&answer=75726