Friday, December 9, 2005

Windows Local is Live

Microsoft’s new mapping tool – powered by Virtual Earth – is live now. It’s called “Windows Live Local” (Windows Live being the portal/RSS reader/Start.com-lookalike that has been around for a while). Guess what, it looks exactly like Google Maps/Local. Dragging didn’t work as good as with Google Maps though, at least not in Firefox – it’s hard to describe, but it feels broken because the map doesn’t react well to the cursor (which always shows a “click here” icon, even though nothing happens on a click).

What Windows Local does make look better though are zoom transitions. Also, they map the whole world right from the start as opposed to Google Maps, but they also do not have much detail for Europe and other non-US locations.

At Windows Local, you can also add your own “pushpins”, which are information bits at any location, and then you can “blog it” at MSN Spaces – if you have Internet Explorer, that is, because this feature doesn’t work for Firefox. (I think it might be possible Google gives us something in this direction, too... right now, dozens of Google Maps API-using tools allow users to add information to places on a map.)

Selected locations on Windows Local, like New York or San Francisco, are available in a very nice “Birds Eye View” mode. I could take a look at the Statue of Liberty and other places, and this would be a very hot feature if it would be available in more locations.

[Via Gary Price, Search Engine Watch.]

Windows Local is Live by Philipp Lenssen | Comments (9)

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