07-25-2005, 10:30 AM
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Developer & Designer, News Editor Emeritus
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,959
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The War of the (Virtual) Worlds
This discussion is definitely a bit off-topic, but it's an interesting one with Microsoft and Google now fighting it out in... "War of the Worlds". By now, a colleague, a friend, a pet or even a stranger has pointed you to Google Earth or the browser-friendly Google Maps. Both allow you to zoom right in to any place in the world and search for people's houses, ATMs, your local McDonald's, and much more (yes, the possibilities are endless). But there's more! Enter MSN Virtual Earth, Microsoft's search and mapping alternative. Officially launched as a beta just a few hours ago, MSN Virtual Earth combines MapPoint and MSN technology to deliver a fast, easy-to-use mapping solution for the end user. Naturally, both have a heavy emphasis on the USA, but I've found Google's solution to have much better international support than its counterpart (for now). Living in Australia, you can probably already tell which of the two I prefer, but given the fact that MSN Virtual Earth is still a beta, I'm willing to give it time to mature and develop into a fully-functional product before I make that decision again.
So, the question is this: "who has the better Earth?" International readers will probably pick Google's offerings, while those of you based in the USA may go both ways. Let the poll decide! 
Links: Google Earth / Google Maps; MSN Virtual Earth
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