Yahoo! Maps, Flash, AJAX, & APIs

by November 2, 2005

Yahoo! launched a Flash-based beta of their maps product today along with an AJAX version for API developers. TechCrunch describes some of the UI enhancements:

"A simple drag and drop module on the top left lets users move around easily (even easier than the great Google drag method). There are multiple ways to zoom into and out of a map, including using the scroll wheel on the mouse, or the page up/down buttons on the keyboard. The arrow keyboard keys also allow for scrolling off-screen to new areas. There is excellent integration wth Yahoo Local businesses. A click shows more information, and options to add it to the driving directions itinerary."

Perhaps even more compelling, however, is one of the sample applications in Yahoo's Maps Application Gallery: a Local Events Browser that: "blends multiple Yahoo! APIs (5 to be exact) to put events on an interactive map with useful features like a calendar, tag cloud and built-in image search."

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