[moron4hire]

Yeah, I worked on some of them, too. They were even in mapping. I had written one of the first, dynamic, 2D drawing libraries for JavaScript, long before Canvas2D, but it was hidden in proprietary consultoware.

The significance of Google Maps was that A) it had all the parts that we would recognize today as a JS single-page app, B) it had no alternative interface that people could opt to use instead (diluting the usage of that particular implementation versus the product as a whole), C) it had broad appeal and adoption, and D) it was significantly better than competitors specifically because of the "SPA-ness" of the app.

Google Maps had the features and penetration necessary to change the public perception at large of what could be done with browser-based apps.