Google has just announced that they have added StreetView to the Google Maps API! It sounds like there are some neat things that can be done with it, and I’m anxious to give it a try.
The post at the Google Maps API Blog has much more information — go check it out. If you make a cool mash-up using the new tools, feel free to share it in the comments section of this post.
A couple new API tips were posted today on some Virtual Earth related blogs.
First, the Virtual Earth / Live Maps Blog explains how to display their slick new hill shaded tiles using the VE API. I’ve already mentioned how good looking I thought these tiles are, so it’s nice to see an easy way to use them in the API.
The other is an article from Via Virtual Earth about how to customize your own mini-map inside of the VE API. While it’s not possible to really customize the default mini-map, the article explains how to create your own mini-map and customize it any way you want. It’s a bit cumbersome, but the article explains it in a very detailed step-by-step manner. Well worth the read if you’re developing any applications using VE.
Mike Pegg at Google Maps Mania just posted a short summary of new features
in the Google Maps API that were revealed at the Google Developer Day last week. There are a number of items in there, but the main one I missed was the ability to add live traffic data to your API map. It’s very simple to do, so kudos to Google for that.
It’s worth reading the full article on his site
when you get a chance.