From the Microsoft press release Microsoft Introduces New Version of Windows Live Local we learn
REDMOND, Wash. — May 23, 2006 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the third
release of Windows Live™ Local, the company’s online local search and mapping
service that gives people the ability to quickly find maps, directions and local
search information that is layered on top of rich, immersive aerial photography.
...
New Sharing Capabilities
The following new capabilities in the online service enable the seamless
sharing of localized knowledge:
| • |
Real-time traffic flow. Customizable driving directions are now even
more useful with the addition of real-time traffic flow and incident reporting
provided by Traffic.com. This functionality will be available only in the U.S.
release. |
| • |
Collections. Social networking functionality allows customers to
create lists of favorite landmarks and locations, attach personal photos and
save them to a Scratchpad. Collections can be saved, recalled later,
“permalinked,” and shared with friends and community in e-mail or through their
MSN® Spaces blog. |
| • |
Integration with Windows Live Messenger. Sharing maps and location
information from within Windows Live Messenger chats is easier. Users begin a
sharing session from the Actions menu. People sharing a chat session can see and
interact with the same Windows Live Local map and benefit from a shared mapping
and local search experience. |
Integration With Microsoft Office Outlook
Also being released today is Windows Live Local Add-in for Microsoft Office
Outlook. This add-in introduces Windows Live Local mapping capabilities to the
Outlook Calendar, enabling Outlook users to find and print maps and directions
to meeting locations from within Outlook...This add-in is available for
users of Outlook running on Windows® XP and Outlook 2003 and can be
downloaded free of charge from http://outlook.local.live.com.
New Tools for Businesses and Developers
Virtual Earth map control was also released today, enabling developers to
bring the same great mapping, imagery and local search capabilities into their
business applications and "mashups" (Web applications that seamlessly combine
content from more than one source). Virtual Earth map control is available to
all developers free of charge for limited use and can be licensed for commercial
service and support along with the rest of the Virtual Earth platform
components. Windows Live Local is built on the Virtual Earth platform, and
includes Virtual Earth map control. Key new features include support for address
lookups and driving directions, improved local search functionality, and the
ability to easily display standard data sets and Windows Live Local user
Collections.
Expansion of Windows Live Local Into and the U.K.
Following last year’s launch of Windows Live Local in the U.S., its arrival,
along with that of the MSN Virtual Earth platform, in the U.K. and Canada is
evidence of Microsoft’s ongoing commitment to provide this set of services in
new markets and regions. Customers in these countries will experience similar
high-quality local search and driving directions capabilities currently
available in the U.S. Features such as bird's-eye-view imagery, improved aerial
views and real-time traffic will be included in future releases and updates.
Bird’s-eye-view imagery, also known as oblique imagery, is an image from an
angled view taken from a range of 3,000 to 3,500 feet. The perspective offers
the customer a unique view of a given area at superior resolution.
The Virtual Earth folks just keep cranking out releases at a great pace. The traffic flow information is something I've been dying to get so that I don't have to get directions from Windows Live Local and then have to go to the Seattle Area Trafic page to see what traffic looks like. Adding the bird's eye imagery to countries besides the U.K. is pretty cool too. I wonder if I'll ever get bird's eye imagery of Lagos.
On a side note, our team worked on the user collections feature with the VE folks. The cool thing about being a platform team is that we are like sand on the beach we get in everything. ;)