Google Maplets and Us

While browsing the usual tech blogs, I stumbled upon an article about a new addition to Google Maps – Google Maplets
(http://www.searchenginejournal.com/introducing-google-mapplets-a-mashup-of-mashups-on-google-maps/5297/).

The idea is that you can combine different Google Maps mashups that according to you make sense in a particular context and present these mashups on one map. Video presented by Google Maps product manager Thai Tran explains very well what Maplets are and can be seen here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dFtfxv1JdXI).

What's interesting about the video is not the presentation of the topic – it could have been any new technology or gadget, but the last 10 seconds of it where Thai says “We can't wait to see all the great things that you'll create with maplets.” Why is this so important? One reason – us. We, human beings get bored too fast. Our minds are hungry for information and abstract thinking, we can't just take something that performs one, two or ten things and be happy with it. We need something that can do whatever we want it to do, not something that it was programmed to do. We need to imagine something and the make it.

This is the reason why Google Maps is so successful and important - anybody can create a simple mashup to express some data visually – just search mashups repository to find what you need and apply to your map. Found something that you can use but don't like how it was done? Change it! Can't find what you are looking for – create it! And from these three levels, beginner, intermediate and expert, your mind is no longer bound by some pre-programmed functions but by your imagination which we all know is infinite.

Now imagine the same phenomena in hardware world. For years hardware has been literally locked by vendors; take Sony for example, a good company but they virtually lock you into using their Memory Stick which is nothing more than a regular flash card made to Sony's standards. Why lock users into using proprietary hardware that hardly differs from the widely available CF? One reason - money. They want you to use their product, that's all. And this is just a small example of hardware monopoly by vendors.  Their final goal is for consumer to buy new products even if they are just derivatives of previous ones.

Over the years the software industry has been changed with open source software and it has been proven to be a successful model, it's about time hardware industry experienced the same open revolution.