Well, only just after that post it looks like I’ll have to challenge Daniel to use the new Whereis interface and tell me it’s not better, because it’s a LOT better thanks to some AJAX kinda stuff (and of course the new graphics that bring it well into 2002 
). Clicking to re-centre the map is lots faster now because you only need to reload the map image, not the entire HTML page. It also features dragging but that doesn’t work as nicely as the drag feature in Google Maps.
Good work to Whereis for getting this stuff going, it makes the site a lot nicer to use than before, when it was actually quite frustrating as everything disappeared and was rendered again each time you clicked. Wow, and I also just noticed that you can change the map size, which is great to see instead of the postage-stamp map view the site’s always had.
Now they just need some keyboard shortcuts, haha!
Comment (1)
I wouldn’t blame the devs, it could be management’s fault the site was outdated. I daresay the tech guys would have known how backwards the site was but the funding wouldn’t have been there to improve it. It was probably a case of “we have a web-based map, lay off the dev guys, it’s done!” Then some management guy’s nephew showed him the uber-cool Google Maps interface at a family barbeque and suddenly an Ajax map was number one priority. Call me cynical if you want.