SearchCap: The Day In Search, December 13, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Topic: Bing Maps
Live Search Maps Go To China
According to the Windows Live Blog, Live Search Maps have launched in China. It’s probably more accurate to say “in Chinese,” because you can search the entire world rather than just China. (Screenshots below.) LiveSide has more.
Microsoft Acquires UK-Based MultiMap Mapping Provider
Microsoft announced this morning that it has acquired UK-based mapping platform and consumer destination MultiMap. Deal terms weren’t disclosed. MultiMap will reportedly operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft but within the Virtual Earth and search teams. According to the press statement issued, MultiMap brings “new location and mapping technology to complement existing offerings […]
San Francisco Oil Spill Maps & Wishing For Better Community Map Search Tools
Trying to figure out the impact of last week’s oil spill in San Francisco Bay, which happened after the container ship Cosco Busan hit the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge? There are maps to the rescue! Links to them below, along with some observations on the difficulty in finding community-built maps like these in Google Maps. […]
Mapping The Southern California Fires
Looking for information about wildfires in Southern California and across the California in general? This page will guide you to what you’re looking for. NOTE: Since this article was originally written, there have been many other fires on a seasonal basis. The original story is below. For the latest fires that may have brought you […]
Microsoft Releases Upgrades For Maps, Local, And Mobile
Late last month, at its “Searchification” event, Microsoft introduced a wide range of search enhancements and improvements. The company also said there would be additional updates to follow. Those are now rolling out and include feature and content enhancements for maps, local, and mobile services. The biggest news is the introduction of a new voice […]
Google Earth And 3D Warehouse Opened Up To ‘Game Developers’
On the cusp of the Virtual World Conference, starting today in California, a company called Multiverse Nework has announced a partnership with Google that opens up Google’s 3D Warehouse — terrain and metadata from Google Earth — to third party use. According to CNet, Multiverse Nework offers a platform for game developers. However, the implications […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, October 4, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 28, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Google Maps Causes US Navy To Change Its Swastika Building
You have to feel a bit sorry for the US Navy. They have a building in California that looks like a swastika from the air. But who looks at buildings from the air? Until Google Maps popularized easy access to aerial views, only the occasional bored air traveler. But thanks to Google Maps, the swastika […]
Microsoft Introduces New Live Search Index, Adds Features In Effort To Close ‘Relevancy Gap’ And Improve User Experience
Compete and Nielsen show Microsoft gaining search share over the summer, while comScore and Hitwise show the company losing share. Regardless of these numbers, however, Microsoft is confident that the search engine it’s reintroducing tonight in conjunction with its Searchification event will be a substantial improvement of the current version of Live search. Vanessa Fox […]
Live Blogging: Microsoft Searchification Day 2007
I’m sitting at the Microsoft conference center for Searchification Day. We’re within walking distance from the Googleplex, where I was for Google Searchology Day just a few short months ago. Searchology was all about Google’s unveiling of universal search, and interestingly, today could be seen as Live’s answer to that. As Nathan Buggia, Product Manager […]
U.S. EPA Selects Virtual Earth For Geospatial Maps
The United States Environmental Protection Agency has selected Microsoft’s Virtual Earth Platform for its geospatial mapping applications. The combination of diverse capabilities and imagery appears to be what appealed to the agency.
Microsoft To Use Inrix Traffic Prediction Data Across Network
Microsoft, which helped develop the technology behind traffic data provider Inrix and then spun it out, has now adopted the company’s services to provide traffic data and predictions across a range of Microsoft online and mobile properties including Virtual Earth and Live Local. Live Local had been using data from Traffic.com (Navteq), and it’s not […]
NY Times Covers Mashups And User-Generated Content
The New York Times has a long article on mashups, the state of online mapping and user-generated content more generally. It’s an overview piece, but does a good job of capturing the fact that online mapping in particular is one of the important trends online: visualizing all sorts of data on a map, whether local […]
Google Buys ImageAmerica, Mapping Feature War Continues
On Friday, the Google LatLong Blog announced the company had acquired ImageAmerica, “a company that builds high resolution cameras for the collection of aerial imagery.” Google plans to use the capabilities in Google Maps and Earth. ImageAmerica provided some of the high-resolution post-Hurricane Katrina images (no longer available) in Google Earth.
Microsoft Monday: Today’s Google Free Alternative
As part of our Google Free Mondays series this month, today is the day to try Microsoft’s Windows Live. Wait, wasn’t it Google Free Fridays this month? Yes, but I changed it to Mondays. And why do we hate Google so much we’re telling people not to use it? We don’t hate Google, silly. My […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, July 9, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, June 19, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web.
Microsoft Virtual Earth Enhances UK 3-D; EveryScape Seeks To Make 3-D Better, Cheaper
Microsoft announced that it’s enhancing Virtual Earth in the UK with improved 3-D elevation data from Intermap Technologies. These improvements will make their way throughout Western Europe and to the U.S. The idea is to use better terrain and elevation data to provide a more photorealistic 3-D experience overall. Meanwhile EveryScape says it has found […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 29, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Microsoft Virtual Earth Expands 3-D Coverage To Include New York
When Microsoft debuted Live Search Maps/Virtual Earth in 3-D last November there were many “oohs” and “aahs” but there was also the question: “Where’s New York?” It was not among the original 3-D cities that the Virtual Earth team rolled out. Now that omission has been rectified with the launch this morning of New York […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, May 22, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Google Adds Neighborhood Search To Maps, Automated 3-D Rendering To Earth
Local search is coming to a neighborhood near you – literally. Google is the latest and highest profile site to introduce what might be called “colloquial” neighborhood level search into Google Maps. What it means is that people can now use popular terms and even geo-slang in some cases to identify businesses and points of […]
SuperPages Cleans Up Its Act
SuperPages cleans up its act? What I mean by that is the new site design is a great deal cleaner and easier to navigate than the old site. Some awkward elements remain, such as old style “disambiguation” pages. But the new results pages are more user friendly and less cluttered. There are also more refinement […]
Globe Glider Enables “Next Generation” Maps Mashups
Super Mapping Mashup -> Globe Glider Next Generation from the Google Earth Blog reports that Globe Glider has enabled more features to wow those who want to do map mashups. Now you can integrate Virtual Earth to Google Maps and Virtual Earth to Google Earth, when before you were only able to tie Google Map […]
Google Maps Introduce User-Generated Content
When Google launched its personalized mapping tool, My Maps, the company said it would soon be integrating user-generated content. It appears that is now happening on many Google Maps searches (hat tip to NLC Marketing Blog).
Google My Maps: Mashups For The Masses
Google has just launched “My Maps,” an impressively simple tool within Google Maps that allows users to create personal “mashups” and save or share those with friends or the world at large. A range of formatting options enables the maps to be highly customized and include images or video. Maps can be created “manually” by […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, April 3, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Live Search Maps Adds New Features And Firefox 3D Support
Microsoft added a range of new features to Live Search Maps, including Firefox support for Virtual Earth 3D. Some of the new capabilities are live right now, and some are going live later today. Below is a list of the new tools and features and their descriptions from the distributed press materials.
Google Under Fire For Showing Pre-Katrina New Orleans Images; Others Doing The Same?
Google goes back to pre-Katrina maps from USA Today reports that Google Maps has changed their satellite imagery of New Orleans to show pre-Katrina images, getting some local residents angry and wondering if there’s some type of cover-up in the works. However, it’s unclear if these are pre-Katrina images or not — and the situation’s […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 28, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Vutool: Virtual Map Of Streets Being Developed?
TechCrunch has a provocative post about a “stealth startup” called Vutool. According to the post, the company was/is seeking to create a 3-D street-level view of the entire country by having people take multiple images from cars. The post suggests that the company failed to get series A funding and was acquired by Google.
SearchCap: The Day In Search, March 14, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Google Maps Tailgates Yahoo, Microsoft With Real-Time Traffic Info
Google Maps has caught up with Yahoo and Microsoft in adding live traffic reporting for the United States to their online mapping service. Google Operating System spotted the change today (and Google now has the official word up here). To see the traffic yourself, just go to Google Maps and click on the new "Traffic" […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, Feb. 9, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
SearchCap: The Day In Search, Jan. 23, 2007
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web:
Mapshark: A Search Engine For Mashups
Since the advent of the Google and Yahoo (and more recently Virtual Earth) mapping APIs there are hundreds of developers and entrepreneurs who have built interesting and useful mashups. But how does one find them? Of course you could search on Google, Yahoo or Microsoft Live or look at some of the worthy blogs devoted […]
Looking At Microsoft’s Continued Long Game In Search
Hooked on Google from the San Jose Mercury News revisits a theme from Microsoft that I’ve reported to readers over the years. That’s how Microsoft’s failure to beat Google in search — despite millions in spending — gets the "it’s early days, give us time" defense from Microsoft. The defense is partially true, but it […]
SearchCap: The Day In Search, Dec. 29, 2006
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web: