Google introduces Labs for Google Maps

I'd like to have a default zoom depending on viewport center - it should be larger in cities than in the field. Should be relatively easy to interpolate if they log (lat, lon, zoom) tuples of how humans use the map.

No all that ground breaking in itself, but really hammering home the feeling that Google is pulling out the stops this year. What next, I wonder.

Let me copy their lifejacket here ;-)

If such a [Labs] feature breaks, and you're having trouble loading Maps, use this escape hatch: http://maps.google.com/maps?ftr=0.

The latitude/longitude (LatLng, shades of "creat" ;-) tooltip and marker features are neat, but:

- the tooltip is annoying - possibly only show after a >1s delay, or turn on with context, like putting the marker

- checking marker vs. tooltip, the tooltip seems to present the LatLng at the wrist of the hand cursor, not a finger ?

- cannot copy LatLng text/value from marker ...

(HN, now doing feedback form duty ...)

P.S. while I'm at it: general Google search, and Maps search itself, doesn't seem too savvy about LatLng strings taken from random web sources. A little bit of elbow grease there could go a long way ...