Re: Comparing Google-MSN-Yahoo Maps

Your zoom box has a bug that switches map types unexpectedly.

The user interface is very cluttered; making controls smaller is not
the same as making them better or more intuitive. Too many different
types of controls are scattered around unintuitively. The icons for
each type are good, but could use polish from a good artist.

Layer differentiation as described in your patent paper was not unique
in 1999, but was standard in most cartographic, GIS, and other
applications. The scheme of control used many (but not all) methods in
use already on the web before 1999 by US Gov's Tiger Mapserver. You may
(or may not) have sufficient new idea to justify the patent in
court...an expensive and risky test.

Consider open-sourcing all (or some of the cooler elements) of your
interface, so that the community of Google Map nerds can help you
refine it in exchange for a tool to support their hobbies. After all,
you're selling a packaged data and interface experience with
support...not just data or a proprietary sidebar or CSS or javascript.

-Ian