Photo of Terence Eden. He has a beard and is smiling.

Terence Eden’s Blog

Mapping in HTML - a proposal for a new element

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Two men are confused by a paper map

This is a sketch of a proposal for a new HTML element to simplify displaying maps on a website. I'd like your comments and criticisms before I submit it. This is born out of my frustration of using different JavaScript mapping solutions - my phone has a mapping app, why do I need to share my location with a website and their mapping provider? At the moment, if I want to use Google Maps, or OpenStreetMap, or Carto, or any other mapping provider, I have to load in a bunch of external JavaScript …

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Can I own my identity on the Internet?

· 18 comments · 750 words · read ~533 times.

A padlock engraved into a circuit board.

The ultra secure messaging app, Signal, requires a mobile phone number in order to sign up to it. This, as my friend Tom Morris, points out, is madness. People don't own mobile phone numbers. They are rented from mobile operators. Yes, you may be able to move "your" number between a limited set of providers - but it ultimately doesn't belong to you. An operator can unilaterally take your number away from you. If you move to a different country, you will almost certainly have to change your…

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