We specialise in dynamic websites, online stores and E-newsletters.

Recently we’ve completed Store Locator enhancements and improvements for the following organisations:

Next - Now shows International Stores around the world (and is a lot brighter in look and feel too).

Coop - We’ve helped alter the colours, integrate different aspects of their data-feeds and stream-line some functionality.

O2 - We’re now hosting the O2 store locator at http://o2.asymmetry.co.uk which gives us the flexibility to make changes for them a lot quicker and more effectively.

Happy Christmas everyone, I hope 2009 is an exciting and proposperous one for you all too!

We’ve just completed our first implementation using Multimap’s latest javascript API. Primarily it provides the familiar ’slippy’ (draggable) map interface gracing the latest version of Multimap’s web site and that featured on Google maps. The advantages of using Multimap’s Javascript API over other providers are the following:

1. You can pick up the phone and get support from a human being in this country!
2. You get a guaranteed service, no possible future changes to the terms and conditions for the duration of your contract
3. A really powerful suite of geocoding management and distance calculation tools.
4. The service is fully documented, which on the whole is pretty comprehensive.

You pay for this privilege, but you are paying for access to Multimap’s 12 years of online mapping experience. Our latest implementation can be seen on the Aspire Property web site  where we have integrated the Multimap API with Aspire’s current web site and web design.

It features:

• automatically zooming ’slippy’ maps to fit your search criteria
• a full location search by property price, property type
• location branch details highlighted with branch icons and info
• custom property detail pop up windows
• integrated local information, including schools, train stations and tube stations

There are loads more improvements and features the Multimap API will let us do and we’re hoping to be let loose on more clients to implement them in the future.

We’ve previously used Google Maps to create a similar ’store-locator’ product however now Multimap have introduced this new API we can now utilise their advanced spatial (and non spatial) filtering and searching systems rather than having to build them bespoke for each implementation and then integrate with the Google Maps API.

Multimap have a new web site, and are slowly transitioning their users across to it, if you haven’t seen it aleady then it’s well worth a look - follow the “try our new site” link under the logo. The new Multimap site, the first new iteration since I left is wonderful, it’s slick, it’s left brain, it looks and feels like a Mac application or a modern 2007 web application, it’s more than a web site. The maps can be as big as you want them - my 17″ widescreen Imac was filled with Bartholemews map data, I can click and drag and pull maps around, I can save locations to access later.

The route planning has also had a major overhaul and is now cleverly split into 3 panels - an overview of the entire route, a smaller map of the starting location and a similar one of the end point. The interface in all of the sections is simply lovely, clean, and easy to use.

The exciting thing from my point of view is that we are now starting to see the site working like a true mapping application, it’s more than a web site. I can easily use the bits I want to, hide the bits I don’t, save the things I want to return to, print out the results and send them to my friends. Interestingly you’ll probably use it in a completely different manner to me, you’ll have a completely different experience and hopefully you’ll love it just as much.

In fact when Simon demo’d the site to us in a meeting last Friday I discovered so much more to the site than first meets the eye, and also there’s so much more to come, as if the Ebay mash up, point saving, and worldwide integration wasn’t enough!

They’re still transitioning to the new site so at the moment you’ll have to select the “try our new web site” under the logo (and can return to the old site at any time).

As always with Multimap and when you’re dealing with new technology and 10million users it’s sometimes a little slow or there are small glitches but overall Simon Lewis, and the team at LBi have done a fantastic job. More interestingly all the functionality on the web site, is available to Multimap business customers using their API, so if your business has an old fashioned store locator, maybe it’s time to get in touch and upgrade it to the new Multimap system, take advantage of all the fantastic new features and more importantly that beautifully slick user experience. If Apple Mac made maps this is what it would be like.

We’re pleased to announce probably our most significant development to date: the Homebase.co.uk store locator. This service uses the Multimap service to provide ‘find you nearest’ store functionality for the UK and Eire on the Homebase web site. We turned the implementation round in a few contracted days to deliver this fully functioning store finder. Do you need to show your customers where your stores are on your web site, or need your store finder upgrading or enhancing then get in touch.

We’ve also upgraded the Carparks4u.com web site which now uses the Multimap API (XML based) to deliver it’s mapping which provides enhanced functionality such as data piracy prevention, enhanced search engine optimisation, click tracking and reporting. If you need a php based application to do this - then we’ve already written the code so maybe we can help, and if you need further integration with your internal systems then we’ve already done the hard work so we can concentrate on the cool bits.

Thanks to the fact that the latest web browsers support Open Standards in certain places it means that we can develop simple little tools to make our lives easier. The OpenSearch standard allows us to create a little piece of code which tells your web browser to add a new search engine to the little search box in the top right hand corner (which normally defaults to searching Google). Well if you have Internet Explorer 7 or Firefox 2 then opening this file will add the ability to search the php website directly from your browser (php is the code we use to make interesting web sites).

If you’re not so technically minded this file will let you do the same on the Multimap web site - give it a go, you can easily uninstall them if you don’t like them and you never know it may make your life just that little bit easier. We created these two this morning but there are a whole host of other ones at the Mycroft web site.