By now you’ve probably seen Google Maps – I’m not sure when it debuted but I’ve seen multiple blog references in the past week or so. The service is certainly slicker than what I’ve seen on MapQuest or MapBlast, and I’m sure it will remain popular even after Google figures out how to monetize it. What really excites me about gmaps is not the map technology per se but how it’s delivered. I won’t go into the details here (jgwebber’s blog has a pretty good dissection) but it’s based on loading only the parts of the page that have changed. As Webber points out, the technique differs from Gmail’s mechanism, but the effect is the same. Instead of reloading the entire web page to perform an action, client-side logic retrieves data from the server and inserts it into the appropriate place in the page structure. This results in a much smoother user experience, not to mention reduced network traffic. This idea may not be original to Gmail but I don’t know of another mass-market app that uses it.
The approach isn’t without its drawbacks; it complicates the presentation layer and (potentially) introduces yet another stripe of browser-dependent code. But I think it’s a step in the right direction for web apps, especially those that deal with lots of complex relationships in persistent objects. I’m eager to apply the concept to a project so I can get more comfortable with the design implications.

To my ever-increasing chagrin, I’m not done with the “Andrew 2004” DVD project. These were supposed to be Christmas gifts, and now it looks as though they aren’t going to make the Valentine’s Day shipping deadline. I’ve overcome – actually, given up on correcting – a couple of audio flaws in one of the movies. The discs are burnt and labeled. But once again, I’ve been undone by the case inserts.
Last year I had a terrible time trying to get the printed image to align properly on the form. This year I switched to new software, figuring that even if I didn’t fix the alignment problem I would at least get away from the bizarre UI of the original package. It took a call to customer support (at least this new package has it!) but I did figure out what’s going on with the alignment. Evidently whatever coordinate system the printer uses doesn’t originate exactly at a corner, so in switching from portrait to landscape I had to recalibrate the software. I did so, and got good results. Final step: print a bunch of copies, stuff them into the DVD cases and make a triumphant (if somewhat belated) trip to the PO to send them on their various ways. Easy like pie!
Of course, this would be the perfect time for my printer to run out of ink, which it did. With six copies left to print. Sorry folks, but it looks like I’m not going to finish this week.