Here’s one of the more imaginative uses of Google
maps I’ve seen in a while. It’s a very simple interface, and an even simpler concept. Called
SoundSeeker, they show us a map of Manhattan with a
little stickman at various points around the city. Click the stickman and you get a popup telling you where you are, a
date ,and an embedded QuickTime file. The QuickTime plays a soundscape from that place. Usually very simple, a bird
tweeting in mid-town in the park, cars passing in the street. I wish there were more sounds available, and I imagine
this will be fleshed out over time. But in the meantime ,it’s still a pretty cool feature.