Microsoft and Google Fighting for the Skies

Robert writes "Today's SF Chronicle has an article about Microsoft and Google's new battle for the skies. Both companies now have similar products that combine maps and satellite photos. Roads and driving directions can be superimposed on imagery on both products." From the article: "Google and Microsoft are engaged in a major battle over Internet users. Each has unveiled a series of features designed to keep users loyal and grab a bigger share of the lucrative search-engine market. Yahoo, in Sunnyvale, also is a major competitor, though its executives have yet to express any interest in aerial images. Amazon.com offers street- level photographs of businesses through its A9.com search engine. "

msn maps sux

[poison_reverse]

the satellite images they are using are sometimes 10 years old or more! Google's images are very recent and accurate. Nice try Micrsoft but google has you beat on this one.

Tin Foil Hats Unite!

[0110011001110101]

FTFA

Aerial photographs used by Microsoft and Google can be outdated. On Microsoft's service, an overhead view of Apple Inc.'s headquarters in Cupertino showed only one building instead of the sprawling campus of 11 buildings.

Now why would they want us to think Apple only had 1 building.. hrrrmmmmmmmm?!?!?

Quality...

[ktakki]

Both Google Maps and MSN Virtual Earth are supposedly "beta" products, but MSN VE looks more like a proof-of-concept than a beta. Compare equivalent views of Long Island Sound:

MSN Virtual Earth [msn.com]

Google [google.com]

It's not as if the Sound, Long Island's North Shore, or the Connecticut Shoreline areas haven't been photographed countless times by state and Federal agencies. I'm surprised that Microsoft exposed something that looks so slapdash to the public.

Oh, wait...

k.

Um you have heard of TerraServer right?

[MSFanBoi]

Microsoft has been doing this for a LONG time. Much longer than Google. What were you saying now???

Re:The Winner in the long-term

[L.Bob.Rife]

Search isn't Google's strong point anymore.

Huh? Please explain what you think Google's strong point is. Please tell me what Google's main focus is since you claim it isn't indexing and searching information.

Competition?

[Sierpinski]

In most other realms, competition is viewed as a good thing. It seems that with Microsoft (or any other large software company) that they want to completely squash the opposition.

Where did that land them before? In court for an anti-trust lawsuit. (Which seems to have had very little, if any, impact on them as a company. How many billions of dollars busiess do they do in a year?)

Competition should be the motivation to strive for excellence, not to hit your competition over the head with a giant iron hammer that still has yet to be patched with SP2.

Re:Competition?

[thomas.galvin]

In most other realms, competition is viewed as a good thing. It seems that with Microsoft (or any other large software company) that they want to completely squash the opposition.

To be fair, competition is only seen as a good thing by the people being competed over. Almost any business owner with any sense wants to be the best, and only, at what he or she does.

Re:Quality...

[andycal]

It is hit and miss. For my house MSN is better, for my office Google is MUCH better. For one thing google has use color images which tell you more. MSN's appear to be IR images which are not as interesting to look at. Google's big advantage is closeups of the whole globe Pyramids [google.com] Great wall of China [google.com].

MSN will not zoom in beyond the general globe image on these areas.

Also, for me MSN keeps failing to load images, I have to move away and back seveal times to view a whole page of images.

Real value in the APIs

[joeytheslimeball]

Google has a mapping API [google.com] that lets webmaster's create mapping applications on their own sites using google's massive map server resources. Already a very lively developer community [google.com] has grown around it. Some sites have even built complete GIS systems [globalcoordinate.com] on it. Microsoft's virtual earth also has an API [viavirtualearth.com]. that looks very usable. I think that the competition between these two giants will only bring good things to us all.

Re:Mapping Abilities are Growing

[viva_fourier]

Yes, I remember when terraserver.microsoft.com was in beta around 5 years ago(back before *beta* was cool) and a friend of mine used it to check property lines on a rural piece of land he intended to purchase...

Microsoft had chosen to keep it a closed, fee-based service, and it subsequently was a bit stifled in development and acceptance.

All Google did was open it up and keep it free, and it seems to be more widespread.

Of the two approaches, Microsoft prefers to make money on its own terms as they have always done. Whereas, Google seems to be letting the market dictate where the technology is moving as well as how(if) they will profit from it...

Re:What?

[10e6Steve]

So if Microsoft had maps long before the stone age then why the sudden surge in Microsoft's interest in maps? Why did they change their map user interface so to pan easily? Or view map images over satellite images? Microsoft did have their terraserver back in the 90s, but using it was difficult and inefficient. Along comes Google and they cleaned up the interface and made made looking at maps cool and interesting again. Just like Google didn't invent the first search engine but they took the existing way people search for something and made it better and easier to use.

Microsoft just took Google's ideas and made it their own.

And to be clear, Microsoft's maps are ancient just like Microsoft. The satellite images are from a decade ago which make them useless. The images are limited to only of the United States. And their images are black and white! It now the 21st century and Microsoft is still back in the 20th century.