Newsletter Archive
November 2008
Online Marketplace Scout24 Group Relies on Virtual Earth
On Nov. 1, Scout24 Group of the German Telecom Group, which recently expanded in Germany and Europe to become a leading online marketplace, renewed its contract with Microsoft Virtual Earth. More than 6 million people use Scout24 each month to find and purchase cars, real estate, and consumer electronics, and as a service for employment, dating, finance, and travel. With the help of Virtual Earth, Scout24 can offer higher, state-of-the-art usability to their customers, including the opportunity to see the exact location of the searched objects on the map and an appropriate route. More Information.
RAC Takes Online Navigation to the Next Level with Multimap Technology
On Nov. 5, RAC launched a new online route-planning service using the latest mapping technology from Multimap and Microsoft Virtual Earth. The route planner map can be overlaid with local information from Multimap — such as the location of restaurants, parking areas, railway stations, and Wi-Fi hotspots. It also integrates the Virtual Earth aerial and bird’s-eye1 imagery to help customers explore and find their destinations with ease. More Information.
Weather Central Launches ReportStorms.com
In early November, Weather Central Inc. launched ReportStorms.com, a beta community social networking site where people can report storms in their own areas. The site is built with Microsoft Virtual Earth and the Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in. Additional features include weather search filtering, alerts, and history. Community members also can build their own profiles, upload avatars, and hold weather discussions in forums. More Information.
NMobile with Virtual Earth Releases for the iPhone
In mid-November, Njection Mobile (NMobile) launched for the iPhone. People can use the application to find and report speed ticketing traps. Using Microsoft Virtual Earth and GPS capabilities, people can map where law enforcement officers tend to park and pull over speeding drivers. Later, other drivers with the application can enable audio alerts notifying them about specific traps based on their locations and rate the traps. More Information.
U.S. EPA Integrates Virtual Earth in Its Cleanups in My Community Web Site
In early November, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency integrated the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform on the Cleanups in My Community site. On the site, citizens can view a map highlighting contaminated and hazardous facilities and locations that the EPA is in progress of cleaning. Viewers also can click a link for each location on the map to see more information on the facility, provided by the EPA. More Information.
Cornish Councils Gain Fingertip Control of Fleets with Masternaut and Virtual Earth
On Nov. 11, Caradon and North Cornwall District Councils in the United Kingdom selected Masternaut Three X’s innovative satellite tracking system to manage their fleets. With the service, which uses Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping technology, councils can monitor and manage their fleets over the Web, tracking refuse collection vehicles, street sweepers, and housing maintenance vehicles — all with pinpoint accuracy. The system provides lone-worker security that gives managers the ability to see exactly where each vehicle is on the Virtual Earth map, helping them to keep track of individual staff members. More Information.
Kansas DOT Selects Virtual Earth to Showcase Road Conditions to Citizens
In mid-November, the Kansas Department of Transportation switched from its own base map to the Microsoft Virtual Earth mapping platform on its 511 Web site. Citizens looking for road conditions and road work can now see them on Virtual Earth. The map is supplemented with a full description of the condition. More Information.
Pitney Bowes Fire Locator Application Uses Virtual Earth
In mid-November, the Pitney Bowes Inc. Advanced Concepts and Technologies Group built Fire Locator, an application that provides timely information about fires in the United States. In addition to visually mapping out fires or potential fire locations, the application features data feeds from NASA’s Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, which shows hot spots for wildfires; InciWeb Incident Information System; Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination (GeoMAC); California wildfire risk zones; aerial thermal imaging; fire boundaries; Flickr photos; and local news feeds. More Information.
Diabetes Australia Raises Awareness with the Help of Virtual Earth
On Nov. 17, Diabetes Australia launched its first diabetes map developed by Hands-on Systems on the Microsoft Virtual Earth platform. It is the only national map to monitor the spread of diabetes in Australia. The map displays data on the number of people diagnosed with diabetes in all parts of Australia, incorporating information on age, gender, and type of diabetes. Combining Virtual Earth and the National Diabetes Services Scheme registrant database, this new service can help raise awareness of the condition and offer access to information in a visual and consumer-friendly way. More Information.
Windermere Unveils Renovated Web Site with Enhanced Virtual Earth Integration
On Nov. 18, Windermere Real Estate Services Co. announced the unveiling of its revamped company Web site. The site simplifies searching for a home with one search box. Its integration with Microsoft Virtual Earth has expanded to display the search results and feature a photo viewer that showcases larger photos of homes on the map’s interface. More Information.
MSNBC Highlights “Cries of Help” from Mayors to Obama Using Virtual Earth
In mid-November, MSNBC published a map highlighting the help that U.S. mayors deem necessary from President-elect Barack Obama, such as requests and suggestions for handling the economic downturn. The information was gathered through an online survey to mayors across the nation. Concerns are categorized by topic, including economy and health care, and pinpoint the location of mayors who responded. When clicking the icon on a specific location, an information box pops up with the city, population, mayor’s name, and his or her concerns or requests. More Information.
Bravofly Enhances Its Search Capabilities with Multimap and Virtual Earth Technology
On Nov. 21, Bravofly SA launched its new online mapping service to help customers locate and compare more than 100,000 hotels around the world by integrating the Multimap application programming interface (API) and Microsoft Virtual Earth aerial and bird’s eye imagery. Using Bravofly’s advanced search option, customers can organize vacations, weekend breaks, and business travel, filtering by accommodation price, distance to city center, and tourist attractions. Using the Multimap and Virtual Earth technology, Bravofly customers can see hotel locations and their surrounding areas, helping to inform their destination choices. More Information.
Chris Pendleton Presents the Opening Keynote at Navigation & Location USA 2008
On Dec. 2, Virtual Earth technical evangelist Chris Pendleton presented the keynote address, “Unlock New Revenues Through the Web,” at Navigation & Location USA 2008. He discussed how to convert mapping cost to profit center and combine Microsoft software, including Microsoft Virtual Earth, to enhance and optimize the mapping experience. More Information
Recent Updates - Microsoft Virtual Earth and Live Search Maps
Latest Virtual Earth Imagery Release
In early November, the Microsoft Virtual Earth team announced 41.07 TB of new imagery, including orthoimagery for cities in Spain and Japan. The release also includes new bird’s eye imagery for multiple cities in Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Kingdom, and the United States. For more information and to view a complete list of new imagery, please visit.
Microsoft Photosynth Exploration Available in Live Search Maps
On Nov. 6, Live Search Maps integrated Microsoft Photosynth exploration as part of its Collection Explorer feature. People can find examples of Photosynth technology by searching for a location, clicking on the Explore Collections link, clicking the Photosynth button, and launching the viewer through clicking on search results or rolling over a pushpin. In addition, people who have created their own synths can log on at Photosynth.com and upload the synths to the map. More Information.
Project Silk Road Launches with Virtual Earth API Expansion
On Nov. 13, Microsoft announced the launch of Project Silk Road at the PubCon Las Vegas 2008 conference. The release offers a broad range of tools and services to help publishers and developers generate traffic, increase engagement, drive insight, and boost productivity and agility of their sites. The new features include expansion of Microsoft Live Search and Microsoft Virtual Earth APIs, syndicated contextual and search advertisements, a Microsoft Office Excel add-in within Microsoft adCenter for tracking keyword performance, an improved Webmaster Center, a Custom Web Error Toolkit, Instant Answers, and video syndication. More Information.
* Bird’s Eye view and 3-D view are available in many major cities worldwide. In addition, traffic updates are available in many major U.S. cities. For 3-D view you must have Virtual Earth 3D beta installed on your computer. For traffic information availability, visit http://maps.live.com; on the action bar, click on Traffic.
