O.T.: Live.com Maps Adds Birds-Eye

Windows Live Local (Microsoft's answer to Google Maps) has recently added something called "Bird's Eye View" to their satellite/aerial photo mapping layer this week.

It's hard to explain but somehow it looks higher resolution than Google's closest zoom, and it is shot at a different, lower angle (though if you wanted to see the scene from another angle, you'd be in trouble). In any case, it's worth a look. If you knew the date of the imagery (something neither site seems to be interested in releasing) you could pick out your car, and maybe yourself on the image.

New Orleans Superdome As Seen by Live.com
New Orleans Superdome As Seen by Google Maps

Take Your Pick: Superdome, As Seen by Live.com (Left) & Google (Right)

If you thought Google's high-res aerial shots were hard to come by, the Bird's Eye View is even worse, reserved only for parts of the biggest cities.

Listen, I'm as big of a Google fan as anyone. But one thing that I have always given Live.com credit for, though, is using the black and white hi-res aerial photos (albeit old ones) in areas where the color photos are not available. Google just says "not available" once you get down past a certain zoom level in rural areas.

So on Live.com, you can actually see my old house and not just the general city area. Problem is, the black and white aerials were taken at least 10 years ago, so modern buildings such as, say, Wal-Mart or my new house are missing from the map. Still, I say it's better than nothing. And maybe in another 20 years, we'll have the Bird's Eye View here too :)

My Street As Seen by Live.com
My Street on Google - Where Is It??