[Web4lib] FW: [DDN] Google points way to Maps' code (fwd)

[Richard Wiggins]

I agree, the Google PR team should not go to press if the product is
not available for download.

On the other hand, Google seems to treat the word "Beta" VERY
conservatively.  Google News, for instance, is still listed as Beta,
many months after announcement.

Heck, Gmail, which I've been using since April 2004, is still badged as Beta.

Google has $85 billion in market cap but their free services may have
wrinkles. Google Video was a beta clunker out of the chute but I bet
someday it delivers.

/rich

On 6/30/05, D.H. Mattison <dmattison at shaw.ca> wrote:
> The URL to the Google Maps API is http://www.google.com/apis/maps/ and it is
> in beta. On a related note, I was disappointed when trying to download the
> free version of Google Earth yesterday that it's also in beta and currently
> unavailable (http://desktop.google.com/download/earth/index.html where it
> says in part "... we're sorry we can't offer you a download right now. As
> you know, Google Earth is in beta, and we're still building out our ability
> to take on new users. ...). Don't you hate it when something's publicized
> and then you learn it's still in beta and can't actually be downloaded.
> There's nothing on the Google Earth main page that says the product is in
> beta. And who would've thought Google couldn't meet the download demand.
> 
> David Mattison
> Victoria, BC, Canada
> dmattison at shaw.ca
> Tiki Wiki Hut: http://www.davidmattison.ca/tiki
> Ten Thousand Year Blog: http://www.davidmattison.ca/wordpress
> 
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