Today we released version 2.2.0.1 of MashZone – which is of special interest for users of MashZone’s Google Maps integration. Feel free to grab your copy of ARIS MashZone at mashzone.com.
Except for the Google Maps topic this version is a hotfix that does not introduce new features (or changes existing ones) but fixes bugs. The release notes document which ships with each MashZone installation contains a list of fixed defects.
To install the new version 2.2.0.1, as you already know, the setup detects existing MashZone installations on your system, creates a backup and updates it to the most recent version. Your MashApps, data feeds and other settings are migrated automatically.
So, why is this of special interest for users of Google Maps in MashZone? Recently, Google announced deprecation of one of their APIs: Maps API for Flash. Of course, Google Maps and the JavaScript based API continue, but the Flash based implementation is going to be deprecated.
Unfortunately, MashZone – with its user interface being Adobe Flash based – is affected by this. For those of you utilizing the Google Maps integration in MashZone this means:
- Existing MashApps continue to work according to Google’s deprecation policy.
- It is not possible to generate new Google Maps API keys for Flash anymore. Such keys are necessary to enable new MashZone installations to utilize Google Maps. Existing keys, however, are still valid.
- To enable the Google Maps widget in MashZone you have, as of MashZone 2.2.0.1, two options:
- Use either your existing Google Maps API key for Flash or
- Use your Google Client ID which is available to Google Maps Premier API customers.