Microsoft Virtual Earth
Stephen Lawler of Microsoft has just finished talking about Microsoft Virtual Earth and Windows Local Live. He mostly gave us an update on new features and functionality in Virtual Earth. For instance, Microsoft is currently populating MVE with super-high resolution bird’s eye map images, down to 5 inches per pixel. Stephen also gave a demo of something that the MVE team has named “Collections.”
Collections are map-centric social networks that provide human filters to raw search and map data. Stephen describes a collection as the reverse of a mashup, a “mix-in.”
Basically, people tag places and things they are passionate about and submit that information into a shared collection. So, if you’re into record stores, you can join the record store community in Virtual Earth, share your collection of record store map points and view everyone else’s. This data set is mixed in with layers of comments and other user-collected information. Stephen showed nationwide collections for wineries, Sasquatch sightings and roller coasters.
The rest of the talk centered around enhancements to the MapPoint API, and I got a little lost. However, at the end, Stephen showed off a nice mashup that offers real-time storm tracking using MVE maps and data from the National Weather Service’s hurricane center.
