Since Google released the API for their mapping software a couple of months ago, a huge amount of work has been done by amateur developers to create their own mapping projects, with new examples appearing every day. This has been ostensibly good for the online mapping community, raising the general profile of the practice and making it more accessible to the masses.
However, the philosophy of the TheirWork project is very much aligned with the open source movement and it’s values. While Google Maps allows developers to interface with their software through JavaScript, server-side control over almost every aspect of the result lies with Google.
Authorisation Keys are required for each domain that runs a Google Maps iteration. Google retain a right to set a limit of 50000 page views per Key per day. Some projects of objectionable content have already been taken down. Additionally, the Google Maps API Terms of Use stipulate that Google retain the right to add futher elements to their mapping interface, including:
the right to include advertising in the maps images provided to You through the Service at any time and without notice, and by agreeing to the Terms of Use, You agree to display those advertisements as provided to You through the Service without modification.
Of course, it’s well within Google’s right to do all of this; they have spent a lot of money developing a very cool application that is giving a lot to the mapping community, and should be commended for doing so. For a lot of mapping projects out there, GMaps is a good choice. However, the restrictions in place, and inability to retain control over how the interface may change in the future mean that it’s not a sustainable option for this project.
(A further discussion of the impact of Google Maps on the open source geospatial community can be found on this thread of the Geowanking mailing list.)
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The organisation I work for is engaged in a green mapping project; we purchased a licence from the Ordnance Survey for a year, and it is up for renewal. The licence is not cheap, so we are looking for other solutions. However, although Google maps have the indisputable advantage of price, we have decided not to use them because of the attached strings. Of course, Google has an agenda, not necessarily a hidden one; it would be naive to believe that an advertising company is acting on a basis of pure altruism, despite their pleas and their paradoxical reassurances to users (see apologies on ail.google.com/mail/help/intl/en/about.html#ads).
One of the attractions to me of Open Source software is the shift in locus of control from producer / software vendor to user. I can use what I want where I want when I want, within the wide strictures of the licence agreement, which is reassuring and reaffirming - I am more likely and more willing to give back (code, fixes, feedback) to a community of software developers than I am to give money to a company of software vendors. Google Maps doesn’t provide me with the same level of ideological comfort and reassurance.