Bing Blogs

Bing Blogs

This is a place devoted to giving you deeper insight
into the news, trends, people and technology behind Bing.

Maps Blog — Apr 2009

Apr

29

20 09

Visualizing Swine Flu on Virtual Earth

What the heck is going on with this swine flu thing? I was in the elevator at The Roosevelt last night and these guys are saying, “Don’t eat the carnitas (pork) no matter what.” Um, I don’t think you can get this new swine flu from eating pig, but apparently you get from any other normal means of transmitting any other flu strain – hand shaking, kissing, swapping spoons, etc. I’m buying stock in Purell. Well, while there’s quite a bit of information available about this swine flu some Microsoft Virtual Earth fans decided to map the outbreak, so here are a couple applications using Virtual Earth to visualize the outbreak. Live Search Maps has a collection highlighting reported cases (both confirmed and unconfirmed) and the routes they traveled between home and vacation / business where they apparently contracted the strain. The collection also has information about each point on the map. The official description is, “ 2009 Swine Flu H1N1 Outbreak and Migration Map - Map of 2009 Swine Flu H1N1 outbreaks and migration paths reported from news and government agencies. The map lists reported dates and paths of infected persons traveling... Read More What the heck is going on with this swine flu thing? I was in the elevator at The Roosevelt last night and these guys are saying, “Don’t eat the carnitas (pork) no matter what.” Um, I don’t think you can get this new swine flu from eating pig, but apparently you get from any other normal means of transmitting any other flu strain – hand shaking, kissing, swapping spoons, etc. I’m buying stock in Purell. Well, while there’s quite a bit of information available about this swine flu some Microsoft Virtual Earth fans decided to map the outbreak, so here are... Read More
Apr

28

20 09

Virtual Earth Imagery Release, April 2009

Another massive release of imagery coming online for my fellow Virtual Earthlings to peruse. This release is a mere 9+ TB of data; however, it covers over 1 million square kilometers of Earth. Here’s the list of new areas that came online or were refreshed this month – all ortho, but a mix of satellite imagery and aerial photography. Albania Elbasan Shkoder Vlore Argentina Bahia Blanca Bariloche Lake Buenos Aires Catamarca Comodoro Rivadavia El Bolson El Calafate Lake Hunmahunaca Mar del Ostende Mar del Plata Mendoza Neuquen Puerto Madryn Resistencia Corrientes Rosario Salta San Miguel Tucuman San Salvador Jujuy Santa Teresita Santiago del Estero Viedma Australia Albany Albury Wodonga Alice Springs Armidale Bairnsdale Ballina Barooga Cobram Bathurst Bonville Broken Hill Broome Bulahdelah Busselton Cessnock Dubbo Dunk Island Dunsborough Echuca Moama Fiji Gladstone Goodiwinid Goulburn Grafton Gribbles Settlement Griffith Gympie Horsham Kakadu National Kangaroo Island Central Kangaroo Island... Read More Another massive release of imagery coming online for my fellow Virtual Earthlings to peruse. This release is a mere 9+ TB of data; however, it covers over 1 million square kilometers of Earth. Here’s the list of new areas that came online or were refreshed this month – all ortho, but a mix of satellite imagery and aerial photography. Albania Elbasan Shkoder Vlore Argentina Bahia Blanca Bariloche Lake Buenos Aires Catamarca Comodoro Rivadavia El Bolson El Calafate Lake Hunmahunaca Mar del Ostende Mar del Plata Mendoza Neuquen... Read More
Apr

27

20 09

Virtual Earth Web Cast Playback – April...

Shout out to all of you who listened in on the web casts for April. Both web casts are now available on demand for your viewing and listening pleasure (see below). If you missed any of the our web casts, you can listen and learn at any time via our Microsoft Virtual Earth resources page . Fleet and Mobile Workforce Solutions What’s New in Microsoft Virtual Earth Next month’s web casts have already been posted for registration, so feel free to get on that by following the links to the Microsoft Momentum web site. Our web casts for May will cover Business Intelligence within the Enterprise: Visualize Data Across the Enterprise with Virtual Earth - Join this webcast for an in-depth exploration of how to use the Virtual Earth platform as a data visualization tool in line-of-business solutions throughout your organization. From supply chain management and emergency response to market analysis, e-commerce, and more, Virtual Earth helps provide easier, more intuitive access to data in solutions that are key to an organization’s success. This will take place live on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 @ 10AM PDT. Developers Can Boost Business Across the Enterprise... Read More Shout out to all of you who listened in on the web casts for April. Both web casts are now available on demand for your viewing and listening pleasure (see below). If you missed any of the our web casts, you can listen and learn at any time via our Microsoft Virtual Earth resources page . Fleet and Mobile Workforce Solutions What’s New in Microsoft Virtual Earth Next month’s web casts have already been posted for registration, so feel free to get on that by following the links to the Microsoft Momentum web site. Our web casts for May will cover Business Intelligence within... Read More
Apr

23

20 09

Rendering Static Virtual Earth Bird’s Eye...

It recently occurred to me that there is a misunderstanding within the Virtual Earth Web Service SDK that may lead you to believe that you could set the MapStyle enumeration to get a Bird’s eye image. Not the case. This is part of the method for getting tiles (not an actual map). So, via the Virtual Earth Web Service you have access to all of our tiles – road, aerial, hybrid and Bird’s eye, and in desktop and mobile flavors – and can make your own mapping experiences with them. This post will show you how to get the Bird’s eye tiles and create a single stitched image for displaying a single, static image, inserting Bird’s eye images into documents, showing off to your friends, etc., etc. The following application will allow a user to enter an address, geocode the address, take the coordinates and request the Bird’s eye map tiles via VEWS, then stream a new image out of the tiles for rendering to the client. You will need to add references to the Token Service , Imagery Service and Geocode Service for this application. You will also need to enter your username and password for your developer or customer account in order to access the Virtual... Read More It recently occurred to me that there is a misunderstanding within the Virtual Earth Web Service SDK that may lead you to believe that you could set the MapStyle enumeration to get a Bird’s eye image. Not the case. This is part of the method for getting tiles (not an actual map). So, via the Virtual Earth Web Service you have access to all of our tiles – road, aerial, hybrid and Bird’s eye, and in desktop and mobile flavors – and can make your own mapping experiences with them. This post will show you how to get the Bird’s eye tiles and create a single stitched image... Read More
Apr

22

20 09

Happy Earth Day, 2009

Happy Earth Day, my fellow Virtual Earthlings. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to highlight a couple Virtual Earth applications? Ok, I could think of a few ways, but since we’re all stuck inside on Earth Day….wait, maybe I should go work outside today….I’ll give you some relevant sites that have integrated Microsoft Virtual Earth into their applications to help conserve Mother Earth and give you a reason to feel good about working inside...little comfort, I know. Los Angeles County just announced their Solar Map project which leverages Virtual Earth to allow homeowners and businesses to go online to determine if their properties are good candidates for solar power. The program uses roof size, pitch and shading from nearby trees, buildings and mountains to provide a building’s solar potential and the potential value of installing solar panels. By typing in an address, a person will learn the property’s roof size, area suitable for solar panels, electricity produced, electricity savings, carbon reduction, nearby solar installations and case studies, available rebates from utility companies, and information about installers. Within... Read More Happy Earth Day, my fellow Virtual Earthlings. What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to highlight a couple Virtual Earth applications? Ok, I could think of a few ways, but since we’re all stuck inside on Earth Day….wait, maybe I should go work outside today….I’ll give you some relevant sites that have integrated Microsoft Virtual Earth into their applications to help conserve Mother Earth and give you a reason to feel good about working inside...little comfort, I know. Los Angeles County just announced their Solar Map project which leverages Virtual Earth to allow... Read More
Apr

19

20 09

Toggling 3D Weather in the Virtual Earth...

I had a few inquiries as to how one could programmatically turn weather off in the Virtual Earth AJAX Control. Didn’t know there was weather? Yes, turn on 3D by clicking the “3D” button on your favorite Virtual Earth web site (such as Live Search Maps ). Once you get down to a particular zoom level you’ll see the clouds appear (given it’s a cloudy day in the respective city). In fact, we improved the cloud presentation in our latest release last week, see “ Virtual Earth API Release Information, April 2009 ” for more information about the release. We built a checkbox in the Live Search Maps 3D settings that allows you to disable weather. So, go to Live Search Maps, click options, then click 3D settings and you’ll see a check box for enabling/disabling weather. But, what about the API? Well, there’s currently no supported way to do this so I’m gonna give you a bit of a hack; but, for those of you who deal with the situation of weather just getting in the way of your data visualization, you’ll appreciate this and it will be worth the risk (as minimal as it is). The following code will turn off weather: function... Read More I had a few inquiries as to how one could programmatically turn weather off in the Virtual Earth AJAX Control. Didn’t know there was weather? Yes, turn on 3D by clicking the “3D” button on your favorite Virtual Earth web site (such as Live Search Maps ). Once you get down to a particular zoom level you’ll see the clouds appear (given it’s a cloudy day in the respective city). In fact, we improved the cloud presentation in our latest release last week, see “ Virtual Earth API Release Information, April 2009 ” for more information about the release. ... Read More
Apr

17

20 09

AT&T Launches Child Locator Service...

AT&T just launched a great new service to keep an eye on your little ones when they’re not with you. The new application dubbed “FamilyMap” allows parents to track their child’s whereabouts anytime via AT&T’s location framework. Parents will give their children an AT&T device, then login to the FamilyMap web site for viewing where their children are on a Microsoft Virtual Earth map. The portal has a number of features such as schedules, history and places considered safe for the children. All of this information can be slapped onto a Virtual Earth map chalked full of map data, aerial image and photography, but perhaps most crucially in this circumstance our high resolution Bird’s Eye photography which really illustrates an area of interest by providing an angled view of a location for additional context. About FamilyMap The service enables users to see details such as location on a map and surrounding landmarks like schools and parks. Users can also toggle between satellite and interactive street maps. Families can customize their mapping experience by assigning a name and photo to each device within their account, and can also label... Read More AT&T just launched a great new service to keep an eye on your little ones when they’re not with you. The new application dubbed “FamilyMap” allows parents to track their child’s whereabouts anytime via AT&T’s location framework. Parents will give their children an AT&T device, then login to the FamilyMap web site for viewing where their children are on a Microsoft Virtual Earth map. The portal has a number of features such as schedules, history and places considered safe for the children. All of this information can be slapped onto a Virtual Earth map chalked... Read More
Apr

09

20 09

Virtual Earth API Release Information,...

Today we released updates to the Microsoft Virtual Earth AJAX control and a new version of the Virtual Earth 3D map control. We’ve added a couple new methods for adding and removing pins (and DIVs) in the AJAX control; added performance improvements for AJAX and 3D; enhanced geocoding and parsing across the board (AJAX and Virtual Earth Web Service) and fixed a few bugs in the AJAX and 3D controls. There are lots of architectural changes behind the scenes that you won’t appreciate unless you’re inside Microsoft, so I will spare you the details of those. Now, that being said, for the AJAX map control we just upgraded Version 6.2, so you already have access to the new features and can start using them today without changing your link to Virtual Earth. Everyone is on 6.2 because we’ve either auto-upgraded you or you made the switch yourself. The Virtual Earth 3D control will require an update! Download the latest bits by going to your favorite Virtual Earth-powered web site (such as Live Search Maps ) and click 3D and you will be prompted to install the latest bits. Here’s a little breakdown of the new features for your reading pleasure: Native Support... Read More Today we released updates to the Microsoft Virtual Earth AJAX control and a new version of the Virtual Earth 3D map control. We’ve added a couple new methods for adding and removing pins (and DIVs) in the AJAX control; added performance improvements for AJAX and 3D; enhanced geocoding and parsing across the board (AJAX and Virtual Earth Web Service) and fixed a few bugs in the AJAX and 3D controls. There are lots of architectural changes behind the scenes that you won’t appreciate unless you’re inside Microsoft, so I will spare you the details of those. Now, that being said, for... Read More
Apr

09

20 09

Caterpillar Launches on Virtual Earth

Looking for some heavy duty equipment? Caterpillar just launched their new global dealer locator leveraging Microsoft’s Virtual Earth platform . The dealer locator application allows users to search by address, dealer name or latitude/longitude pair. Within each search type, there is a number of attributes to choose from to filter your search down to the exact location and type of dealer you’re looking for. You can specify the type of product you’re looking to purchase – Machine; Truck Engine; Marine Engine; Electrical Power Generator; or Industrial, Oil & Gas Rail Engines (some serious iron they’re pumping here). You can search based on the type of product you’re looking to rent – Machine or Tool; or Electrical Power Generator. And, you can search based on the type of product you’re looking to service – Machine, Truck Engine, Marine Engine, Electric Power Generator, or Industrial, Oil & Gas, Rail Engines. These values become a part of the search when the query is sent off to determine the best location to fit your needs. Results are presented back in a list format highlighting the dealer in your area (in yellow) and additional dealers outside your area in case you’re up for... Read More Looking for some heavy duty equipment? Caterpillar just launched their new global dealer locator leveraging Microsoft’s Virtual Earth platform . The dealer locator application allows users to search by address, dealer name or latitude/longitude pair. Within each search type, there is a number of attributes to choose from to filter your search down to the exact location and type of dealer you’re looking for. You can specify the type of product you’re looking to purchase – Machine; Truck Engine; Marine Engine; Electrical Power Generator; or Industrial, Oil & Gas Rail Engines (some serious iron... Read More
Apr

01

20 09

Virtual Earth in Hospitality Web Cast Playback

As a follow up to my hospitality focused web cast last week “ Hospitality Businesses Create Strong Guest Connections with Virtual Earth (Level 100) ” or in the case that you missed the web cast (shame on you), the recording is now available for download on the Momentum web site . I talked about some pretty interesting scenarios around Virtual Earth and its place in Hospitality. Those of you in the industry should take a wee bit of your time to listen in. Also, Tyler Davey from Infusion was my guest presenter and showed some great examples where Infusion has built some valuable solutions leveraging Virtual Earth. Tune into next month’s web casts : April 16 @ 10AM PDT – Steve Milroy of TerraSystems will take the reins and focus on Virtual Earth in Fleet Management scenarios in a session titled, “ Manage Fleets Cost-Effectively with Virtual Earth .” In a challenging economy, managing a fleet efficiently is more important than ever to reduce costs and improve fleet utilization. Learn how organizations like J.B. Hunt Transportation Services, United Biscuits, Wackenhut Security, and the City of Anaheim, California, work with the Virtual Earth platform to: • Increase fleet and workforce efficiency... Read More As a follow up to my hospitality focused web cast last week “ Hospitality Businesses Create Strong Guest Connections with Virtual Earth (Level 100) ” or in the case that you missed the web cast (shame on you), the recording is now available for download on the Momentum web site . I talked about some pretty interesting scenarios around Virtual Earth and its place in Hospitality. Those of you in the industry should take a wee bit of your time to listen in. Also, Tyler Davey from Infusion was my guest presenter and showed some great examples where Infusion has built some valuable solutions leveraging... Read More

Server:BLUBINGCOMWS3