Over the last couple years, Microsoft has burnt boatloads of cash to become “Google with a different colour scheme”, by following Google’s lead and releasing copycat products a few months after the Google versions (simplified search engine, desktop search). Now they’re about to do it again with MSN Virtual Earth, a mapping service with many conspicuous Google-Maps-esque features such as overlaying popups on the map and dynamic zooming.
Online mapping services are not a new idea, but Google was the first to make a compelling map browsing engine that runs in any modern browser with no plugins required.
In related news, Keyhole is to be renamed “Google Earth”. Let the conspiracy theories begin!
This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 25th, 2005 at 12:46 pm and is filed under general. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
I find it amusing that Keyhole only covers the British Isles and North America… the rest of the world doesn’t exist…