MapForums

May 2007

In the News

3DConnexion enhances Live Search Maps 3D experience
On May 1, 3DConnexion announced that their navigation devices are now supported by the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform, enabling customers to fly through the Live Search Maps 3D world in a manner not previously possible with a mouse and keyboard alone. With the SpaceNavigator add on, Live Search Maps customers are able to able to simultaneously pan, zoom and rotate the immersive 3D experience available in Live Search Maps 3D. Check out the press release at EMEA Press Centre - A regional gateway to Microsoft news and information.

Recent Updates - Microsoft Virtual Earth

Virtual Earth bird’s-eye and aerial imagery expanded
On May 26, the Virtual Earth team expanded its Bird’s-eye and aerial imagery to several markets including the US, UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, among others. With this update, over 11.5 terabytes of imagery has become available to Virtual Earth platform customers around the world. For a detailed list of updated cities please visit the team blog at Virtual Earth / Live Maps.

Microsoft Launches Rooftop Geocoding Service
A new geocoding service for Virtual Earth is available through its SOAP API that can match addresses to the actual rooftop of buildings rather an approximate location along a street as competing services currently provide. This is possible thanks to Microsoft’s implementation of Group1’s GeoStan product. See below for sample results (show image that Frank provided but use the following explanation: “Location 1 is the Rooftop Geocode, Location 2 is the point on the road network used for driving directions, Location 3 is an example of an estimated location without rooftop geocoding.

Recent Updates - Live Search Maps

Live Search Maps expands 3D offering to NYC and abroad
On May 29, the Live Search Maps announced the availability of three-dimensional photorealistic views of New York City buildings and landscapes as part of the Live Search Maps offering. Live Search Maps customers are now able to view thousands buildings in the New York City alone, providing them with a digital representation of NYC from their computers. With this announcement, new 3D imagery also became available in 13 other cities in the U.S., UK and Canada including Ottawa and Indianapolis bringing the Live Search Maps 3D coverage to over 73 cities in the US and abroad. If you are interested in learning more, please visit the team blog site at Virtual Earth / Live Maps.

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