As public WiFi becomes increasingly ubiquitous, we spend more and more of our time on shared networks. This can expose our personal data to third parties if the sites we access are not secure. Many sites use Google services to store and manage Google data. In response to this, Google is today announcing improved support for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) across many APIs, and recommending that any application that manages user data switch to using SSL.
We want to ensure that applications using the Google Maps API are free to follow this recommendation. As such we are happy to offer free access to the Maps API v3, Static Maps API, and Maps API Web Services over HTTPS to all developers from today. To load the Maps API v3 over HTTPS, the API must be loaded from the hostname maps-api-ssl.google.com. For the Static Maps API and Web Services, please use maps.googleapis.com.
maps-api-ssl.google.com
maps.googleapis.com
In addition to offering access over HTTPS, all of the Maps APIs (with the continuing exception of the Places API) will continue to be accessible over HTTP, and we recommend that sites that are using the API purely to display public data, such as store locations, continue to use HTTP for optimal performance.
Please also note that although SSL access is now available to all developers, the terms of the Maps API have not changed. If your site uses SSL because you charge for access to your application, or because your application is not publicly accessible to all users, you must still purchase a Maps API Premier license. For more information on Maps API Premier, please contact the Maps API Premier Sales team.
We hope this change assists in making your users feel safe and secure using your applications. If you have any questions or concerns about this change, please post to the Maps API v3, Static Maps API, or Web Services forum as appropriate for the service you are using.
Posted by Thor Mitchell, Product Manager, Google Maps API
When looking at a Google Map it’s not always easy to get a sense for what the area looks like on the ground. Satellite imagery can indicate the terrain, whether it is urban or rural, desert or mountainous, and Street View can help in built up areas. But to convey the beauty of more scenic locations you really need a photograph.
For this reason we’re happy to make available the Photos layer from Google Maps to Maps API developers. The Photos layer adds thumbnails of geotagged photos to the map, which are sourced from Panoramio. They are a great way to add additional context to a map, and an on the ground perspective. Photos can be added to an API map using the PanoramioLayer class of the new Panoramio library. We have also added some additional flexibility to enable you to customize both the behaviour of the layer and the thumbnails shown by your application.
Firstly, applications can listen for clicks on the photo thumbnails and obtain information about the thumbnail concerned, which can then be used to load the photo using the Panoramio Widget API. Secondly, applications can also restrict the thumbnails shown to those of a particular user, or those with a particular tag. This allows you to only show thumbnails for photos that you have uploaded to Panoramio, or only show photos relating to a specific subject, such as beaches. You can try experimenting with different tags in the example below:
For more information on using the PanoramioLayer, please take a look at the Maps API documentation. As always, if you have any questions about using this or any other Maps API feature, we recommend the Maps API forum. We hope this new layer will help to brighten up your maps, and help your users get a better sense of the landscape you are mapping.
Posted by James McGill, Software Engineer, Google Maps API team
KML and Earth had a really great year in 2010. Toward the end of the year, we added a bunch of new stuff, and wanted to recap it to let you know what we’ve been up to.
Google Earth 6.0 was launched on Nov 29th, and with it came a whole host of new features. Trees, a new Street View mode in Earth, new measuring tools. But along with the product features, it came with some new KML extensions as well:
Of course you can also check out the KML reference, check for things marked New!, and the Earth API release notes for more info.
The integration between href="http://www.google.com/fusiontables/Home">Google FusionTables and href="http://www.google.com/enterprise/earthmaps/maps.html#utm_campaign=launch&utm_source=en-na-us-entblog_Fusion-Tables-Protected-Map-Layer-Launch-Have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too">GoogleMaps API Premier makes it extremely easy to visualize thousands oflocations on a map. Fusion Tables is a powerful, cloud-based databasewith geospatial smarts; you can attach a location to any record andthen execute geospatial queries to find the relevant records.Organizations that need to map sensitive or private data willappreciate our new href="http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/javascript/overlays.html#FusionTables">ProtectedMap Layer. For Maps API Premier customers, simply pop in your href="http://code.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/premier/guide.html#Signup">clientID into Fusion Tables and voila, you can visualize your data inyour Maps API Premier implementation (and ONLY your implementation)and your underlying data tables are kept entirely private. href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2AUrNfpQvTU/TW6A-66i4II/AAAAAAAAAFU/uttNMFEYijc/s1600/protected_map.jpg">style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px;text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height:170px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2AUrNfpQvTU/TW6A-66i4II/AAAAAAAAAFU/uttNMFEYijc/s400/protected_map.jpg"border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5579538806813679746" />
The marriage of Maps API Premier and Fusion Tables enables a truecloud-based location platform: no servers to stand up, no databaseapplications to install - just upload your data and display it on amap. Dead simple and keeps your data safe - just as it should.Posted by Daniel Chu, Enterprise Geo Product Manager
At Google I/O last May we graduated Maps JavaScript API V3. Since then, we have been working hard to deliver regular new features and bug fixes. This post is just a quick recap of what happened in 2010.
We publish a comprehensive changelog of all updates made to the API. If you’d like to be notified when a new version is released and changelog updated, sign up to the V3 notify mailing list.
Here are some highlights of the Maps API for 2010:
There are also a few new utility libraries for the V3 API:
Also check out our Maps API articles, which cover topics that suit the accomplished Maps JavaScript API developer. We’ve added a few articles recently:
Finally, we’d like to thank all the developers who use our API, post on the forums and file bug reports and feature requests. We’re excited for what lies ahead in 2011 and as always we are enthusiastic about enabling developers to deliver great mapping solutions.
Posted by Luke Mahe and Chris Broadfoot, Google Maps API team
Many existing websites that use the Google Maps API also use Google AdSense to monetize their site. AdSense uses the content of pages to determine the best ads to show for that audience. However there is valuable additional context offered by the location of the map. When a map is centered on the Napa Valley for example, ads relating to wineries may be more relevant.
In response to this we are happy to bring AdSense for Maps to Maps API v3. The Maps Ad Unit overlays a set of AdSense ads on the map, in any of the supported formats. You can control where on the map the ads are placed, and the ads shown are based on the current map location. It is a simple way to monetize your maps with unintrusive and relevant advertising.
To use the Maps Ad Unit you must have an AdSense account that is enabled for AdSense for Content. If you do not have an AdSense account, you will need to sign up by filling in this form. Once you have received your AdSense publisher id, take a look at the documentation to see how to add the Maps Ad Unit to your Maps API application. As always if you have any questions or need help, we recommend posting to the Maps API v3 forum.
You may also notice that we’ve given the map type control and Google logo a refresh in this release. The new map type control is more compact and extensible, easier to use on touch screen devices, and consistent in look and feel with our other controls. We hope you like it!
Posted by Thor Mitchell, Maps API Product Manager
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