Mapping Platform Selection

	Platform
	deCarta	ESRI	GoogleMap	MapQuest
Scalability	+	+	+	+
Internet/Internal	Internet (hosted)	Internal and Hosted	Internet (hosted)	Internal and Hosted
SDK, Ease of development	Navigation SDK, rapid deployment for hosted solutions, no code needed for simple apps (using Wizards)	ArcGIS for desktop, client and web dev.	KML, javascript SDK	SDK
Support	+	+	good public forums	+
Development Languages	JavaScript API, WS	Java, JavaScript, C++ for WinCE, Win XP, JSP, ASP, ASP.NET, ColdFusion, ArcXML, WS, Eclipse dev environment	JSP, ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, JavaScript lib	JSP, ASP, ASP.NET, PHP, XML, WS
Major Markets	Telecom, Wireless	Goverment, Public works	mostly Consumer, Google MapEnterprise for >500K hits a day or when ads are undesired	commercial, asset management, logistics
Other pluses	Free access to TeleAtlas data	Exact boundary data	integration with search platform, Maplets, add links to maps, iPhone integration	(relatively) long history, MapInfo consulting, Points of interest SDK

Facebook integration

Here is the best intro into the Facebook architecture description:
http://www.slideshare.net/davidzhuang/facebook-platform-tech/
and API link:
http://20bits.com/2007/06/04/an-introduction-to-fbml/
and a sample (better than official one)
http://gallery.menalto.com/node/65135