Gno Schitt

You are not behind. Google Maps is the best ever. They have also made their google maps system open for enterprise level implementations now ("google maps enterprise"). I really think that anyone serious about working with mapping on the web needs to take a hard look at how they can use GME to make it happen.

When you add the features of Google Earth, SketchUp, and now the potential offered by Google Street Level stuff and Google Maps for Mobile (ie, Smartphones, Palms and Handhelds), you have a feature rich, very dependable, highly usable platform on which to add your features and functionality.

Plus you can advertise that you use Google as a technology partner, and who doesn't like the sound of that?

(okay, Microsoft, Yahoo, MapQuest, and AOL don't like the sound of it, but who's keeping track of those losers these days anyway?)

I like some of the hidden pictures in the new street level stuff. I don't have links, but I've seen ET in a field with a beam of light, and the google street view team is outside of their HQ in San Fran when the Van drove by. Also saw a reasonable "picture" of the van reflected in a window of a store it was driving by.

I'm curious as to how long it will take to cover more of the country, and how often they will update it, as in a year or two, some of those street views may be a little off.