Filed under: Web services, Microsoft
Windows Live Local Virtual Earth
Microsoft has unveilled a technology preview of a new part of its web-based Windows Live Local called Virtual Earth, which includes not only a satellite view like we're used to but also street-level photographs. It's a bit like A9's Block View, but has views in four directions instead of two, and it has a wild driving mode that lets you cruise around the streets like you're actually there. Sort of. It's definitely cool, but at the moment pretty impractical. When "driving" it's hard to stay on the streets and sometimes the views you get are unpredictable. Between this and the 45-degree aerial view that made its debut back in December, Microsoft is definitely up to some very cool stuff with Windows Live Local, but they've got a lot of kinks to work out before it crosses the line from cool into useful. However, in its current state it still might come in handy for people who navigate by landmark. Currently Seattle and San Francisco's city centers are the only areas covered by the photos.
So, just how good at time waster games are you? Think you've got the stuff? Well, The World's Hardest Game 2.0 doesn't think you do.
Yes, amazingly, it's possible to have a sequel to a game called "The World's Hardest Game". It doesn't seem logically possible, since if the first one was actually the world's hardest, how could another one come along and share the moniker? It made me doubt the name in the first place. That is, until I tried the game.
The mechanics of the game are very simple. You are a small red square, ...
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Keith said 5:19PM on 3-01-2006
Let me see if I can understand this name, here.
It's local, but only if you live in Seattle or San Francisco. But it's the whole earth...if you consider one of those two cities to be your entire world. And it's live, even though the satellite images are a few years old. And it's Windows...but it's on the web.
I wonder what made Microsoft's marketing folks decide against OS-free Outdated Virtual Two Cities.
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alfahd said 11:40AM on 6-11-2007
WINDOS LIVE LOCALVIRTUA LERTH
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fedel said 5:09PM on 12-02-2007
شكرا كثيره
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