Google, Yahoo APIs

New York Times has an article about opening up their APIs to the developer public, which I wrote about earlier this year. Both Google and Yahoo released tools to allow anyone with the right coding skills to merge data onto their online maps. Apparantly, Microsoft "plans to introduce a competing service, Virtual Earth, with software that programmers will be able to use in similarly creative ways."

Looks like Google is really innovating the online web services space, while Microsoft is catching up. Some skeptics are wondering what the value of these experimental "beta" programs to Google or Yahoo are. However, it's companies like Google that take risks and spend a percentage of their efforts to create something new and interesting without profit as the motivator that come out successful. Like life, companies grow and find their passions when you move yourself out of your comfort zone and into the new and unknown (ie taking risks).

Google Map now does Tokyo!
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tokyo&spn=0.145996,0.243639&hl=en

Google Map moon:
http://moon.google.com/