Congratulations! Windows Live Local Wins PC Editor's Choice Award

"There's no doubt about it—all those billions in licensing fees we've paid to Microsoft over the years have finally paid off. Windows Live Local, in beta testing now, has to be one of the most addictive Web search tools out there. We're most excited about the 45-degree bird's-eye images of major U.S. cities including Boston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle (with others coming). Windows Live Local lets you soar like an eagle through all these major cities without ever leaving your desk."

 

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Back in August I thought that Google Earth was the best of the pack – but now, the kudos goes to Microsoft’s Windows Live Local which includes Virtual Earth along with these new and improved features:  

BIRD'S EYE VIEW –  Exclusive to Microsoft is their 45º “Bird's Eye View” providing a rich immersive mapping experience. Clicking the rotation arrows in the navigation panel, quickly displays a 360º panoramic view.

Compare these two images of New York’s Madison Square Garden: 

Google  - versus -  Microsoft

Bird’s Eye View Currently Covers These Major U.S. Counties: 

• Arkansas (Bentonville)
• California – Los Angeles, Orange County, & San Francisco
• Colorado (Broomfield County)
• District of Columbia – District of Columbia
• Florida – Duval (Orlando)
• Georgia – Fulton (Atlanta)
• Indiana – Marion  (Indianapolis)
• Kansas – Wyandotte
• Kentucky – Fayette (Lexington)
• Louisiana – Orleans, Lincoln County
• Maryland – Baltimore City
• Massachusetts – Suffolk County (Boston)
• Minnesota (Dakota & Olmsted County)
• Nevada – Clark County (Las Vegas)
• New Mexico – Bernalillo (Albuquerque)
• New Jersey – Hudson, Lawrenceville & Trenton
• New York – Erie, New York, & Suffolk
• Ohio – Hamilton
• Tennessee (Coming Soon)
• Texas (Fort Worth)
• Pennsylvania – Philadelphia, Montgomery County
• Washington – King County (Seattle) 

CUSTOM PUSHPINS – <Right-Click> anywhere on the map and add your own Pushpins. Include your own notes, add them to your Scratch Pad, or share them with your friends. 

Example Shared Scratch Pads: 

• Advertising from the sky
• Airplanes Caught in Flight
• Amusement Parks
• Amusement Parks II
• Boston Freedom Trail
• Corn Maze Collection
• Famous Homes!
• Las Vegas Tour
• New York Landmarks 
• NFL Football Stadiums
• Playboy Mansion
•  Saturn V Rocket at the Houston Space Center 
• Scenes of the Week 
 
• United States Landmarks
  
  
• A Packed House Watching the Boston Red Sox at Baseball Fenway Park
  
  

CONTINUOUS & LAYERED SEARCHES – Besides entering addresses in the “Where” field; the “What” field locates business names, landmarks, and keywords (i.e. Movie Theater, museum, park, pizza) in the current map view. Subsequent searches are layered in different colors on the search pad!

 

DRIVING DIRECTIONS – Get driving directions from any two points on the map. The Start and End points can be street addresses or specific points. The directions are displayed, and can be emailed or be custom printed.

  

LOCATE ME – After installing Microsoft's FREE Location Finder application on a regular WiFi enabled laptop, Tablet or PC will display the person's present location simply by clicking on the “Locate Me” button – all without the addition of any separate hardware or GPS Device!. (Location Finder Privacy Statement & Editorial)

 

IMPROVED & EASIER USER INTERFACE – Many updates to the navigation & zoom control, pan control, and bird’s eye view indicator. MapPoint Technology Specialist, Chris Pendleton uses the “Brady Bunch” to explain the new navigation system. 

Mouse Shortcuts: 

<Left-Click> + <Drag> Moves the map in that direction.

<Right-Click> on the Map to select:

• Drive To (location you clicked)
• Drive From (location you clicked)
• Add Pushpin
• Zoom to Street (not available in Bird’s Eye)
• Zoom to City (not available in Bird’s Eye)
• Center Map Here 

<Wheel-Click> + <Drag> draws a Zoom-In Box on the map

 

<Scroll Wheel> + < Up/Down> Zooms In & Out

 

Hover over an icon displays the icon's pop-up menu.
  

RESOURCES 

• Alex Daley's presentation on integrating Virtual Maps into web applications.
  
  
• Birds Eye Tourist – Blog dedicated to Microsoft's BE Maps
  
  
• Chandu Thota – SDE Lead, Virtual Earth Blog.
  
  
• How to: Run Windows Local Live with Customized Settings
  
  
• MapPoint Development Center
  
  
• MapPoint Web Service SDK, Version 4.1 contains documentation describing the core concepts, requirements, development guidelines, and class library for MapPoint Web Service. The SDK also contains sample code, both in C# and Visual Basic .NET
  
  
• Steve Lombardi demonstrates the new “Bird’s Eye” photography on Channel 9
  
  
• Virtual Earth – Community Newsgroup
  
  
• Virtual Earth – Development Team Blog
  
  
• Virtual Earth – MSN Groups
  
  
• Virtual Earth for Developers – Alex Daley MapPoint Technical Evangelist
  
  
• Virtual Earth Software Development Kit (SDK) provides programming references and how-to topics for getting started with the standard map control for Virtual Earth. You can use this control to build your own Web sites that use Virtual Earth maps. (Support Documents: Virtual Earth Map Search Control, VE Standard Control SDK, and VE Commercial Control SDK.
  
  
• Research Project Virtual India - currently only has street-level maps of Bangalore (in the middle of the southern tip). Research web site.
  
  
• NEW! Preview: Microsoft Virtual Earth with "Street Side Views" Preview.
  
  
• NEW! MapCruncher lets users quickly convert existing maps into an online format that’s as fast and easy to use as Virtual Earth. PDF and raster maps can be converted in minutes just by clicking on corresponding landmarks on the user's map and the global maps in Virtual Earth. MapCruncher re-projects the user's map, rendering correctly registered and zoomed tiles that can be mashed up seamlessly with Virtual Earth’s standard road, aerial, and oblique imagery.

Hey, Inquiring Minds Must be Right! :-)