April 14, 2010

Google Chat Enhances Links to Google Maps

When you type a link to Google Maps search results in Gmail Chat, iGoogle Chat or orkut's chat box, Google replaces the long URL with the Google Maps query. Google Maps URLs are usually very long because they include a lot of parameters, but Google should do a better job at removing extraneous parameters.



"On the Gmail version of Google Talk, Google now shortens the links and makes them readable. For example, it changes the link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=HEB+near+college+station,+tx&sll=30.606817,-96.309929&sspn=0.050086,0.090895&ie=UTF8&hq=HEB&hnear=College+Station,+TX&ll=30.6128,-96.318512&spn=0.050083,0.090895&z=14 to a link where the text is HEB near College Station, TX," noticed Korben, a reader of this blog.

{ Thanks, Korben. }

7 comments:

  1. Is this a new feature? I had noticed this more than a month back... thought it was standard and is definitely pretty convenient.

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  2. love google, everything should be integrated like this, thank you!

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  3. I guess I don't understand the current obsession with URL length. It's not like you need to type them in...

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  4. It was in Gmail Labs as a feature of a module which has "graduated" in global Gmail several months ago.

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  5. this is a sweet addition to chat, map urls are ugly and difficult to recognise for less savvy surfers

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