Bing beta brings bling to maps

Stephen Withers
Thursday, 03 December 2009 07:13

Your IT - Home IT

Not to be outdone by Google's Street View, Microsoft is adding Streetside to Bing Maps. Other changes increase the attractiveness of Microsoft's map site, providing you don't have a philosophical objection to Silverlight.

Microsoft's Live Search Maps have included Streetside photography for some time, but the implementation that's part of the beta Silverlight version of Bing Maps goes a lot further.

Like Street View, Streetside stitches together multiple photos that were taken along the street to give a continuous panorama.

It also provides labels (eg street names) that fade out when the image is stationary, and a compass to show which way you're facing.

Another feature of the Bing Maps beta is Photosynth integration. Photosynth.com models that have been geo-annotated are shown on the maps.

(Photosynth is a technology developed by Microsoft and the University of Washington that turns a set of photographs into a 3D model.)

Aerial photography is available, but "Bird's Eye" takes it up a notch or three by transforming the photography into a 3D model which is rendered to provide, well, a bird's eye view of urban areas.

Please read on for more on Bird's Eye and other features of the Bing Maps beta.