Replies: 10 comments
It's an interesting map, but the businesses thing doesn't seem to work - or, if it does, it's not apparent what it's supposed to do.
I think a better map can be found here (no, it's not Flash):
http://www.mbta.com/schedmaps/subway/index.cfm
Posted by Lee @ 04/04/2002 10:29 AM EST
Steve McMurdo is certainly entitled to his opinion. We all like to think that our own creations are the best.
Posted by Smitty @ 04/04/2002 10:55 AM EST
Steve McMurdo is certainly entitled to his opinion. We all like to think that our own creations are the best.
Posted by Smitty @ 04/04/2002 10:55 AM EST
Steve McMurdo is certainly entitled to his opinion. We all like to think that our own creations are the best.
Posted by Smitty @ 04/04/2002 10:56 AM EST
Steve McMurdo is certainly entitled to his opinion. We all like to think that our own creations are the best.
Posted by Smitty @ 04/04/2002 10:56 AM EST
Truly, truly awful. As soon as the page loaded, it started to scroll and went right off the screen. I hadn't clicked on anything or even moved my mouse pointer. Having clicked on Help to find out how it's supposed to work (a bad sign in any case), I still find it unusable. It's not an April Fool's hangover, is it?
Posted by Alan @ 04/04/2002 11:01 AM EST
My reaction:
I noticed text appearing when I moused over certain objects on the map, but the text was so tiny I couldn't possibly read it. (1280x1024 resolution, 21" monitor) Is it readable at lower resolutions? Plus, the mouse cursor usually obscures a portion of the text.
The map keeps scrolling up and down the page, apparently based on the location of my mouse cursor. At my screen resolution, the whole map fits on my screen, so I have no need to scroll. When I move my mouse around, it's to use my browser buttons or menus, or to access my desktop, or to use my Windows menu bar, or to switch between windows (such as the WebWord comment form, and this map). While doing so, I have this map moving around like it has a mind of its own. Each time I return to the map I have to re-orient it so it's fully visible in my window.
When I clicked one of the map objects that has mouseover text, a new window was launched (ACK!). The new window did a Flash detection, then shot me to this non-existent page:
http://amtec2002.sasked.gov.sk.ca/~weybcomp/ultra
OK, at this point I gave up.
Posted by Jack Schonchin @ 04/04/2002 01:01 PM EST
I have to agree with John and Steve M.... the city of Weybern map is an excellent use of Flash. Why? Because providing single session drill-down capabilities into a vector-based image set is one of the primary functions Flash was built to accommodate. If this page were purely HTML/image-based, a user would need be forced to reload the page multiple times to accomplish what Flash can do with a vector-based map. If only MapQuest's Weybern map were as usable.
Posted by Shane @ 04/04/2002 04:52 PM EST
Shane,
I did not say that I liked the Weybern page. I merely said that someone else liked it. I think it is kind of average. However, I do like your argument for why it is a good page. Thanks.
Posted by John S. Rhodes @ 04/04/2002 08:10 PM EST
Shane,
Sorry, but I disagree. The idea of using Flash for this kind of map is excellent and, as you say, it's one of the things which Flash was built for. Implemented properly, Flash would be the best way to present this kind of content. But this is a lousy implementation.
Posted by Alan @ 04/05/2002 03:14 AM EST