Windows Live Local
A beta version of Microsoft Corp.'s new online local search and mapping service goes live Thursday morning. Windows Live Local, powered by Microsoft's mapping and location platform, Virtual Earth, combines bird's-eye imagery with driving directions, Yellow Pages and other local search tools. It will be available at http://local.live.com (but not until 9:01 am PST).
Among the intriguing features available in the new service is a 45-degree bird's-eye view of major U.S. cities that currently include Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle, which ends up representing about 25 percent of the U.S. by population according to Microsoft. These images, fascinatingly enough, recall the sort of low-level aerial photography captured during World War II reconnaissance flights rather than the satellite images we've come to commonly associate with these service over the last year or so. The images were taken by Pictometry International Corp. using low-altitude overflights and then melded with satellite imagery and road maps. This gives you a 360-degree panorama from the four cardinal compass directions and you'll also be able to zoom in on a given location. A yellow indicator informs you during a search whether a birds-eye view is available for that area.
Some very clever navigational aids in the product really enhance productivity. One that really impressed us is the ability to merely click on a point on the map and have the system immediately calculate directions for you, rather than having to start from a search bar asking for a street address. Suppose, for instance, you have a general idea where the ball park is on the map but not the street address or even necessarily the actual street. You just click on the map and directions are generated from that.
You can also get step-by-step directions using bird's-eye or satellite views and identify construction areas along a specific route. And there are several print options, such as print-only directions, the adding notes to printed directions, or even having thumbnail pictures print along with each turn in the route.
Windows Live Local also includes an updated version of Location Finder to help people using a Wi-Fi-enabled PC easily determine their current location as a starting point. Keep in mind that this requires an ActiveX download, which pulls in the names of access points your machine can see and their signal strengths and then calculates your location based on Microsoft's database. The folks at Microsoft told us to expect accuracy of within a few hundred feet.
User-customizable pushpins are another feature that should prove useful. You can use them to annotate directions or an itinerary with specifics (say the time you want to meet, specific street corner, and so forth) and then share them with others via e-mail, Web logs, MSN Spaces or MSN Messenger.
Expect to see a steady stream of information available on other countries as well as additions, updates and improvements to what is currently available.
Source
Among the intriguing features available in the new service is a 45-degree bird's-eye view of major U.S. cities that currently include Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle, which ends up representing about 25 percent of the U.S. by population according to Microsoft. These images, fascinatingly enough, recall the sort of low-level aerial photography captured during World War II reconnaissance flights rather than the satellite images we've come to commonly associate with these service over the last year or so. The images were taken by Pictometry International Corp. using low-altitude overflights and then melded with satellite imagery and road maps. This gives you a 360-degree panorama from the four cardinal compass directions and you'll also be able to zoom in on a given location. A yellow indicator informs you during a search whether a birds-eye view is available for that area.
Some very clever navigational aids in the product really enhance productivity. One that really impressed us is the ability to merely click on a point on the map and have the system immediately calculate directions for you, rather than having to start from a search bar asking for a street address. Suppose, for instance, you have a general idea where the ball park is on the map but not the street address or even necessarily the actual street. You just click on the map and directions are generated from that.
You can also get step-by-step directions using bird's-eye or satellite views and identify construction areas along a specific route. And there are several print options, such as print-only directions, the adding notes to printed directions, or even having thumbnail pictures print along with each turn in the route.
Windows Live Local also includes an updated version of Location Finder to help people using a Wi-Fi-enabled PC easily determine their current location as a starting point. Keep in mind that this requires an ActiveX download, which pulls in the names of access points your machine can see and their signal strengths and then calculates your location based on Microsoft's database. The folks at Microsoft told us to expect accuracy of within a few hundred feet.
User-customizable pushpins are another feature that should prove useful. You can use them to annotate directions or an itinerary with specifics (say the time you want to meet, specific street corner, and so forth) and then share them with others via e-mail, Web logs, MSN Spaces or MSN Messenger.
Expect to see a steady stream of information available on other countries as well as additions, updates and improvements to what is currently available.
Source
posted by Reşit @ Windows Live Local: 11:50 PM
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