[jack_robbieson]

I'm sure most people hit the maps from a search, not just to drag the map around...

I know people who spend hours dragging the map around in Google Earth. And while I'm sure that a lot of people are going to the terrain maps via a search, there's most certainly another large chunk of people on there just dragging the maps around (I do it myself in a number of mashups/web apps that I visit regularly).

Given the post's examples, I think the critique is more than warranted, and I also think you're underestimating the benefit of prioritizing the labels.

Consider this: if paper maps disappear (along with the newspapers), shouldn't there be something marking the seas, mountains, and deserts?

[pyre]

I don't like the idea that paper maps will disappear though. But I also don't like the idea that 'always on' Internet everywhere means that everything should reside in the 'cloud' (for as much as the term even means any more). If paper maps are going to disappear, I would want there to be some sort of an off-line replacement b/c maps are probably one thing that is used more often in areas outside of cell service.

[_delirium]

That's one reason (among many) I like OpenStreetMaps, since it has an API that lets you download subsets of data for offline usage, along with bulk dumps of the whole thing. Allows for all sorts of offline uses, not to mention data mining, that are impossible with Google Maps.

[garibaldi]

OpenStreetMaps is great for offline usage, I just wish the online page was faster.