New Movable Type, Google Maps feature coming for bloggers
Last Updated: Thursday, August 16, 2007 | 2:12 PM ET
CBC News
This week and next, bloggers will get their hands on some handy new tools to jazz up their product, using Moveable Type and Google Maps.
On Monday, Six Apart Ltd. released Movable Type (MT) 4.0, the latest incarnation of the company's popular blogging tool. MT 4.0 beta was released in June to enthusiastic reviews from industry sources including PC World, Network World and InfoWorld.
The full version of 4.0 promises numerous new features including a completely redesigned interface, upgraded installation wizard and dozens of new plug-ins.
Along with MT 4.0's release, Six Apart announced the launch of the Movable Type Open Source (MTOS) initiative. Under the project, the company will release a GPL (General Public License) version of MT 4.0, to be available later this summer.
The MTOS version will be "a slightly different product" from the commercial version, according to a statement on the company's website, but details of those differences are not yet available.
Add Google Maps more easily
Another new blog tool is a feature enabling bloggers to add Google Maps to their sites more easily. Google promises that the feature, which is slated for release next week, should be extremely easy to use.
"[This feature] enables users to add a map to their website or blog just by copying and pasting a snippet of HTML," Google spokesperson Wendy Rozeluk wrote in an e-mail.
"This new functionality will enable Google Maps users to share maps in the same way that YouTube users share videos. The embedded map will be fully interactive, like the Maps API, but creating one will not require any programming skills. Users can drag and click or zoom in on a location, and view it in map, satellite, and hybrid modes."
Rozeluk could not provide a specific date for the release of the map tool, adding that its release has not been officially announced yet.
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