Do You Recommend Google Maps API or Microsoft Live Maps? 252
KSobby writes "The organization that I work for is going to be redoing our website in .Net/AJAX. On the site, our members will have profile pages listing where their organizations are located (our members are scattered throughout the world) as well as other pertinent information for the general public. It is a non-profit organization, so funds are tight. My question to you: If we include maps, which API do we go with: Google or Microsoft? We're in a Microsoft environment (we're non-profit and Microsoft basically gives us everything for free) but the ubiquity of Google may be enough to sway us. Has anyone used either extensively? Used them in conjunction with .Net?"
Google Maps (Score:5, Interesting)
Use Mapquest Posts (Score:2, Interesting)
Public Class clsMapQuest
Public Function getURI(ByVal sAddress As String, ByVal sCity As String, ByVal sState As String, ByVal sZip As String, _
ByVal eAddress As String, ByVal eCity As String, ByVal eState As String, ByVal eZip As String) As System.Uri
Dim url = New System.Uri("http://www.mapquest.com/directions/main.adp?go=1&do=nw&rmm=1&1gi=0&un=m&1da=-1.000000&1rc=L1AAA&cl=EN&qq=1ADqpk24ofB2jYKpLHmT3IrHtNULGZ1VfknQeG8q6dxJgEtN7CeFUnb5SEv%252bJWlcbWPnl0M7%252b67%252bVpZHGFstcHqygipB4A9d3ycQaU2xZGlB95cz%252f2hH3L7KkN9HGXgw5lwfp2xqke87%252fPms3%252beCPWx77qxw68xL9LeHFv%252fl0dBTGY6LmosMXw%253d%253d&ct=NA&r=f&1si=navt&rsres=1&1y=US&1ffi=&1l=2VLCNCRRO9iutFDEWL41bg%253d%253d" _
& "&1g=&1pl=&1v=&" _
& "1n=&1pn=&1a=" _
& sAddress & "&1c=" & sCity & "&1s=" & sState & "&1z=" & sZip & "&2y=US&2ffi=&2l=&2g=&2pl=&2v=&2n=&2pn=&2a=" _
& eAddress & "&2c=" & eCity & "&2s=" & eState & "&2z=" & eZip & "&panelbtn=2")
Return url
End Function
End Class
Err... (Score:4, Interesting)
In the mean time, didn't Microsoft & Yahoo turn over dissidents to China? And didn't Google refuse the subpoena of user data from the US government when Microsoft & Yahoo gave it over without question?
I understand paranoia about your identity perfectly well. It just seems stupid to focus on the smaller threats when there are larger ones nearby, you know?
Actually, maybe I understand the paranoia better than you. I mean, you posted that while logged in...
Certainly Microsoft (Score:2, Interesting)
If you're a business, doing real business things, you always want to go with Microsoft solutions. I've recently discovered the absolute incredible ease with which Microsoft handles business clientel -- i.e. me.
Google owes you nothing -- you aren't Google's customer. They make no money off of you, nor anyone like you. They'll gladly ignore all of your wants and desires to please their profit centres -- and rightfully so, it's a business. Microsoft needs to make you happy. You are, or represent their client-base, which includes me.
You want backwards compatibility down the line? Vista 32bit still support windows 3.1 applications. What is that, almost twenty years old? And keep in mind that you have a legal relationship with Microsoft too. If you spend $1.00, you have a claim, whatever it may be. Microsoft can't do illegal things with your property. Google can, you have no contract with them at all. All the privacy policies in the world are useless, and say so right in them: "this policy is subject to change without notice" -- gee thanks for the enforceable legal agreement.
I've said it before -- yesterday -- I'll say it again. If you're running a real business, doing real business things, with real people, with real objectives, you want to run with the Microsoft option, and you really want to ignore the Google alternatives. If you're just having fun doing things on your own, then it doesn't much matter what you use -- it's just recreational.
Oh yeah, and you'll get phenominal support from Microsoft. I've never heard of any support from Google. Community help, my ass.
Re:How about this then? (Score:5, Interesting)
Did you actually read that report? In my humble opinion, it was basically some guys opinion dressed up as a scientific study. There was no repeatable methodology and the author didn't even bother to fully fill out the matrix. Go read the comments on the story you linked to, if you want to get more detailed commentary.
Incidentally, I say this as a very biased person. I work for Google, on Google Maps. As per usual, what's written here is my own opinion and not that of my employers. I won't comment on the Google vs Microsoft debate - it's not my place to do so - but I'd like to say that I've seen first hand (and participated in) the very strict procedures we have in place to protect peoples privacy.
For instance, I'm one of the very few people who have Maps logs access (ie, I can see cookies and IP addresses), and that's only because I work directly with the servers on a day-to-day basis and do abuse handling as part of my job. The vast majority of Maps developers have no logs access at all. I have to periodically rejustify my access, I'm not allowed to track any individual cookie or IP address for longer than 24 hours, my own usage of the logs is recorded and audited, I'm not allowed to take the logs out of their secure holding area and am not allowed to give logs in non-scrubbed form to anybody else. Violating these rules is grounds for instant termination. Contrast this with ISPs which sell clickstream data [seekingalpha.com] on the open market.
I'm not trying to make any statement of policy or anything, because that's not my job, but if end-user privacy is going to be a deciding factor in which maps product to use, hopefully now you have more insight into how seriously we treat end user data (what I described applies to all Google products by the way).
Re:Compatibility (Score:5, Interesting)
I think that people should seriously consider using both depending on their needs. If you're looking to do international mapping Google is probably the way to go but if you're going to be centered in large metro areas in the US and you're looking to use SWEET aerial photos, Microsoft's Live Maps kick ass (75m, far more recent than Google Maps, and better resolution).
I live and die by Google Maps API for what I need at work (plotting interest and applicant levels by zip code) because it's easy for people to use and many are already familiar with it. That just works for what I need but that doesn't mean that it's the best option for every application.
*shrug*
Re:How about this then? (Score:4, Interesting)
Having evaluated all, I'd say go with Google (Score:1, Interesting)
I've worked with all of the major mapping APIs doing fairly extensive customisations. On a code level at least I would definitely say you should go with Google. Out of the APIs I've used Google was definitely near the top and Microsoft was last. My main bugbear about MS is that so many things seem to be hacked onto the API as afterthoughts, and functionality hasn't been very well thought out.
That said, you have mentioned that you have users around the world so you will want to investigate coverage in each of the APIs (and don't forget the others that are out there, Yahoo!, Multimap.com, map24).
Finally, as someone else said "try all of them", and you can do that quite easily by using the Mapstraction [mapstraction.org] library rather than coding to any specific API.