New Windows Live Local Service Delivers State-of-Art Advances for Web-Based Mapping and Local Search
Written by Microsoft Corp
Wednesday, 07 December 2005
Service offers unique bird's-eye exploration of U.S. cities with one-of-a-kind tools.
REDMOND, Wash., Dec. 7 - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) will introduce a beta version of Windows Live(TM) Local, an online local search and mapping service that combines unique bird's-eye imagery with advanced driving directions, Yellow Pages and other local search tools tomorrow, Dec. 8, 2005, at 9:01 a.m. PST. Powered by Virtual Earth(TM) mapping and location platform, these features give users useful new ways to map and find directions to various locations and better visualize their surroundings from multiple aerial vantage points.
"We believe Windows Live Local sets a new standard for what people can do with maps, directions and local search," said Christopher Payne, corporate vice president of MSN Search at Microsoft. "The combination of immersive aerial imagery, customizable map annotations, innovative driving directions and the ability to share local search information with others gives users an incredibly powerful and easy way to find what they want and get where they want to go."
The new service, which will be located at http://local.live.com , contains a range of new capabilities that will be exciting to search and mapping users. The most visible of these features is a new 45-degree bird's-eye view of major U.S. cities such as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Seattle and Las Vegas. Covering about 25 percent of the U.S. by population, these bird's- eye images are captured by Pictometry International Corp. via low-flying airplanes and then integrated with road and satellite maps to simulate 360- degree panoramas that can be viewed from four compass directions. On-screen navigational tools and preview tiles enable navigation between directional views or zooming in closer to a destination. Now people will be able to experience what it's like to be there, whether they are evaluating a new house to buy, choosing the exact location to meet someone, or just taking a virtual vacation. Over the next couple of years, Microsoft plans to continuously update bird's-eye, aerial, and road map data and imagery as well as local listings and information.
Taking the Guesswork Out of Getting There
The new Windows Live Local service also gives users some great new ways to identify where they want to go and map the best route to get there. First, users will be able to point to anyplace on the map that interests them and immediately calculate directions to it. Now, even if the user doesn't know the address or name of a place -- such as a park, shopping mall, parking garage or other spot that is hard to identify by address or name -- he or she can simply point, click and get directions to that location. In addition, the new service provides a range of new driving direction capabilities, including step-by-step directions using bird's-eye or satellite views, identification of construction areas along a specific route, and several innovative print options such as print-only directions, the addition of notes to printed directions, and thumbnail pictures of each turn in the route. An updated version of Microsoft® Location Finder is also available in Windows Live Local to help people using a Wi-Fi-enabled laptop, Tablet PC or desktop PC to easily position their current location as a starting point to their search experience. The degree of accuracy is usually within a few hundred feet of a user's actual location.
Additional Ways to Share; More Bird's-Eye Views Planned
Today's launch also offers users the ability to customize their maps by adding their own user-created Pushpins, which can be annotated with useful information about a location such as which corner of an intersection to meet, the baseball field and time "Johnny's" game will start, or the camping site selected for the annual summer trip. Pushpins can be used to create itineraries for a set of activities and in all cases can be easily shared with others through e-mail, Web logs, MSN® Spaces or instant messages sent with MSN Messenger.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
NOTE: Microsoft, Windows Live, Virtual Earth and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Mobile Technology Feature - Top 10 Business Apps for Android - Android has become one of the most popular mobile operating systems
in the world due to advanced software, competitive manufacturers, and an
app market that is filled with exciting and useful applications. Read
on for this fine Top 10 List compiled by tech writer, Blake Sanders
The Really Big List of Mapping, Geo location Mobile developer resources, APIs and Tools - The Mobile Ecosystem... no question that mobile is huge and
the opportunity for developers, in particular, geo developers! There's
loads of developer resources on the web so to help the developer,
here's a listing of just some of the fine dev resources, blogs,
toolsets and more to consider when developing or porting your app to a
smartphone or Tablet.
ArcGIS.com Mashup Tutorial with Flickr and Foursquare data-
Here's a simple "how to" tutorial on working with the free ArcGIS.com
to easily import KML or RSS data from Flickr and foursquare into ArcGIS
to create your own custom map mashup. ArcGIS.com has some recent
updates including support for KML, be sure to check it out!
Most Users of Free Photo Apps Say Adding Cool Effects is Most Useful - Adding cool effects
to photos was rated as the most useful thing by more than halfof
consumers surveyed using free online photography services, according to
CatchFree a free
online service that helps people find the best free mobile and web applications
to perform useful tasks.
Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Up Close - No Replacement for the iPad But Pretty Darned Sweet - As could be
expected, speculation and blogging is rampant with many stories and
pseudo "reviews" coming out, many of them touting the next "iPad
killer".
Mobile Developer Resource - MapQuest & The Mobile Worker - Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing,
insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field
workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in
to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done
Flickr GPS Photo Tag Tip - Here's a tip for Flickr users who want to share their GPS information
with their photos. note, in order to do this you'll need to be
capturing photos using a GPS-enabled or GPS-aware camera (see you're
smartphone hardware settings to ensure that GPS or location sharing is
turned "ON)".
Mobile data usage in Canada to triple between 2010 and 2012 - Some interesting, yet not terribly surprising, numbers on mobile
usage coming out of Canada. According to a report summarized on
Techvibes, mobile usage is soaring, in particular, the smartphone
segment
Social Location Directory
Do you have a location-aware application, social location service or other location-sensitive service that you'd like to share with us? Please browse this growing directory of Social location Services and feel free to leave a link to your favorite service! See the Directory HERE
Suggested Reading
The Underground Guide To The iPhone:
The iPhone is – if I may say so – one of the greatest mobile
revolutions of the past decade. More and more, mobile phones seem to
materialize out of our wildest dreams. Because of the tight integration
of third-party applications, you can do nearly everything with your
device — be it gaming, working, fooling around, and of course phoning.
Good Mobile Messaging: Executives and professional field forces spend an increasing amount of time on the road tending to business.
Mobile Apps - Native or Web?:
You probably have a plan to build a mobile app, but you've struggled
with the basic question - Should I build it using open web standards
such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, or should I build it as a native app
for the devices I want to target?
iBike Coach App- a new “Always On” feature always gathers data
Nike+ GPS App- for sports tracking, recording and sharing
Featured Events
Content & Apps for Automotive Europe 2012 (18-19 April, Germany)
will give you key insights on how in-vehicle connectivity is being
revolutionised as OEMs integrate dynamic content to stay relevant
throughout the vehicle life cycle.
Location Intelligence for Enterprise - Europe 2012, January 16-17, London Hear from Google, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tesco, Willis, Oracle,
ESRI, Microsoft, PBBI and many more as they debate the best strategies
for business models and integration.
Consumer Telematics Show 2012 (Jan 9, Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, USA) is the most prestigious and
dynamic consumer telematics focused meeting for the automotive industry.
Held in Las Vegas on the eve of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES),
this year's senior-level speakers will include General Motors, Audi,
Toyota, Panasonic, Continental, Hughes Telematics, Gartner, KIA,
Mercedes-Benz and many more
Esri Dev Summit - The
Esri Developer Summit (DevSummit) brings together developers and GIS
professionals from all over the globe. March 26-29, 2012, Palm Springs,
CA
