The younger you are, the easier it is to take technology for granted. Whether you are jaded or, like me, more easily entertained, I find mapping programs like G-Maps or Mapquest simply amazing. The people who have built these tools over the last 10 years are geniuses.

Check out maps.google.com. Although they got into the map game just a few years ago, they are now the 1,000 lb gorilla when it comes to maps and directions.

G-Maps has been my favorite for quite some time now. The know-how in the geo-mapping field has improved amazingly yielding amazing maps of most of the earth and directions to just about any place on planet Earth.

What follows are cursory reviews of G-Maps, Map Quest And Rand McNally, reading them should curtail your learning curve when you arrive at the websites.

I switched to G-Maps after using Map Quest for almost nine years (more about Map Quest below). What changed my loyalty after all those years, was examining the instructions at G-Maps. You know, when all else fails read the instruction?

If Google keeps going like they have they’ll be in charge of the world in fifteen years. Google has outstanding point-to-point mapping worldwide but their real strength comes in their satellite mapping.

G-maps is very feature rich and their manual does a much better job of teaching than we can. With that in mind, let’s deal with the main applications, you will find a lot more when you delve into the site.

You can see earth satellite images all over the planet and overlay streets on those satellite images, it’s awesome. All the chief map categories are available to view.

You can see people walking around Marienplatz in Munich or read the home plate logo at Coors field in Denver. In many parts of the world, you can also get point to point driving instructions.

Another exclusive feature of G-Maps is that it lets you to modify the route it has laid out for you, simply by dragging the route marking to another position. We often know alternate routes, learned by experience that we want to stick to. The other services won’t let you change the path… with G-Maps it’s easy and immediate.

Rand McNally has been publishing road atlases for a very long time. Word has it that Fred Flintstone used their atlas. They still prefer the printed map or atlas and publish lots of them. Next time you stop at a gas station check by the register, I bet you’ll find Rand McNally maps for sale. Now, having said that, they have first-rate e-maps and directions. I find them very effective for comparing routes with Google or Map Quest as a double check kind of thing.

Map Quest has been around since the good old days of the internet… 1996… so by e-standards, it’s very old if not ancient. AOL purchased it in 2000 and remains in charge.

I could not count how many times this service has provided me with accurate road maps. They have first-rate US and European coverage but are definitely weaker on the rest of the world. If you use them in the States, they are quite specific and usually reliable. The map accuracy drops off slightly in high growth cities, mapping always lags hyper growth .

The last key feature on Map Quest, is that it will search for the cheapest gas or diesel no matter where you are in the US. It’s a good way to keep an eye on your gas budget and it only takes about 30 seconds.

Between the three of these sites, you should be able to find your way around anywhere on the earth.