Filed under: Internet, Web services, Microsoft
Microsoft updates Live Search maps, announces Live Search 411
The other day Goog 411 graduated from Google Labs. So while Gmail is still in beta, the much younger service that lets you get phone numbers and directions on your phone is 100% officially launched. So what does Microsoft do? They announce Live Search 411.
Right now if you dial 1-800-CALL-411 you get a "coming soon" message. But if history teaches us anything, when Live Search 411 launches it will work almost exactly the same way as Goog 411.
Microsoft is also announcing/confirming a small boatload (perhaps a kayak or a canoe) of new features for the desktop versions of Live Search:
- Improved driving directions with dynamic rerouting based on traffic, and landmark clues to let you know if you've gone too far
- Improved 3D imagery coverage. Now Live Search Maps has bird's-eye 3D imagery for 80 percent of the US.
- User generated content is incorporated into Live Search local results
- Virtual Earth updates including multipoint trip routing, enhanced geocoding, and map control support for Safari 2.0
- An updated version of Live Search for Windows Mobile 5.0/6 will be available today with support for voice input and GPS
- Live Search for Blackberry beta
With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet.
They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...
