Comments on: Google mapping spec now an industry standard

KML, a Google language to describe map data, is now an industry standard. Let a thousand online map flowers bloom?

[lmasanti]

Microsoft...

Microsoft... began using "standard" Java to begin modifying it into
other language getting time to destroy its enemies....

[Shankland]

good point, but...

Sun needed Microsoft as a Java partner far more than Google needs Microsoft as a KML partner. Google Earth has more influence than Microsoft's Virtual Earth.

[Manhattan2]

We have been doing this for over a decade

Google is slowly catching up to what our team of engineers has been working on for years. In fact we can remember visiting the KeyHole booth at Comdex years ago thinking to ourselves how far behind they were. Time is Critical! If Google, Microsoft, or Yahoo want to see where mapping is headed you have to look at it using 4D logic! It is a 4D planet! We will be opening up our research and database soon, we promise!

[Shankland]

Who do you work for?

Whose team of engineers is so far ahead of Google? You've piqued my interest with the time dimension, but you're going to have to be a bit more forthcoming if you want to convince us all that you're in the vanguard.

[quikboy2]

Correction about Live Maps "slowness"

Take a look at Steve's (works as program manager for VE)comments about CNET and their mention of Live Maps's "slowness":

"The CNET author comments that the map loads slowly in Live Maps. To compare I loaded the same KML file in Google Maps and it was indeed much quicker (15 seconds and 5 seconds respectively). But then I noticed something interesting - on Google Maps the polygons representing the parks didn't load at all. Live Maps took longer as it was reading, parsing, and displaying the entire KML file. Its nice to see Live Map's KML support coming along as quickly as it is! Our work is definitely not done as we e still have a lot of KML workitems on the backlog ... expect even more improvements and better KML support in our upcoming releases."

It may be slow, but it loads up the whole thing!

[quikboy2]

Link to his blog where I got it from right here

Forgot to mention that : http://virtualearth.spaces.live.com/Blog/cns!2BBC66E99FDCDB98!14516.entry