Google Maps – Finding if a Point is on the Map

Here is a quick function to check to see if a point is within the bounds of the current map in Google Maps:

function pointInMapBounds (map, point) {
    var bounds = map.getBoundsLatLng();
    if( point.x < bounds.minX || point.y < bounds.minY ||
         point.x > bounds.maxX || point.y > bounds.maxY ) {
        return false;
    } else {
        return true;
    }
}

The two parameters passed to the function are:

• map a GMap object and
• point a GPoint object

If you just want to test whether a Lat/Lon is inside the bounds of a map:

function latLonInMapBounds (map, lat, lon) {
    var bounds = map.getBoundsLatLng();
    if( lat < bounds.minY || lat > bounds.maxY ||
         lon < bounds.minX || lon > bounds.maxX ) {
        return false;
    } else {
        return true;
    }
}

The three parameters passed to the function are:

• map a GMap object and
• lat in decimal degrees
• lon in decimal degrees

Motorola Rockr (iPod Phone) – Boycott Intentional Cripplining of Technology!

What a great idea.

What an idiotic implementation.

The Motorola Rockr (press release, photos) is a great concept: integrate the two must-have portable technology items (phone and MP3 player) into one device.

Intentionally crippling it (allowing ONLY 100 songs, even if you upgrade the memory) is one of the stupidest ideas I have seen foisted on consumers of late.

When will corporations learn that consumers want devices that are crafted for their convenience, that are open and expandable, not crippled?

My guess is Apple forced this limitation on Motorola so they would not have a product that would compete with their iPod products. Sure, you have a phone with and iPod in it–but we still want you to buy a full-featured iPod that can hold more songs.

But doesn’t that defeat the purpose of buying an integrated device?

Boycott the Rockr. Let the Apple and Motorola know that people want consumer-friendly, expandable technology–not crippled technology.

More from Playlistmag.com:

Steve Jobs announced that the ROKR would play up to 100 tracks (including songs and podcasts), yet that figure doesn’t jibe with the size of a standard Flash memory chip. By Apple’s calculations, 100 songs takes up approximately 400MB of memory. Is someone producing a 400MB Flash chip now?

iTunes 5 keeps track of the number of tracks authorized for playback on the phone so even if your 100 tracks have used only 350MB of the card’s capacity, you can’t add more. Similarly, although you can swap in a new card that contains new tracks, those tracks won’t play until they’ve been approved for playback by iTunes.