I'd like to see actual spheres used for computers. We don't have to stick with fixed 2D projections for electronics. Render the Earth as a sphere centered on the center of the viewport. When zoomed in, it'll look flat (just as the Earth itself looks flat up close) but without the size distortions you get when you scroll e.g. Google Maps far north and south. Zoomed out, you'll see how everything actually relates in 3D space.
I admit I don't quite get that bit about not just being a stand-in for a globe. I thought the main reasons maps aren't globes is just because maps are much easier to store, and because maps can be zoomed in to an arbitrary degree. Computer displays eliminate both of those reasons.
It’s difficult to follow rhumb lines on a globe, and it can also be difficult to follow great circle arcs (depending on how the globe is allowed to spin). Making arbitrary 3-dimensional rotations works pretty well for an unattached ball, but is very annoying to do using existing mouse + multitouch UIs. Comparing shapes, distances, and coordinates of places far apart on the globe is a pain. Globes (and computer displays) are difficult to blow up to very large size, and hard to annotate.
I think spheres are great (to the point that I made myself a spherical chalkboard), but having a sphere (or an interactive orthographic projection) doesn’t replace most uses of other maps.
Interesting. How? Chalkboard paint on a globe? Does it ride in/on a globe carriage?