Google Maps Sucks
The first time I saw Google Maps I was amazed. Between the fancy AJAX interface and high resolution satellite imagery hours vanished toward what felt like minutes.
Last night I took a look at Microsoft’s Live.com Maps. It seems they’ve been doing some updating.
The pictures below speak for themselves, and I’m not even including the in-browser 3D maps (yes I know Google Earth does the same.)
Google Maps (Click text for external link, images for zoomed jpg)
…
Still not impressed?
What if you want to see what the other side of the building looks like? Not a problem — Microsoft offers north, south, east, and west views.
To be fair, Live.com maps does not have footage for the entire United States. Some areas stink, still stuck with grainy B&W ariel images. However, this is hardly limited to major US cities. I was able to see my old small hometown in Wisconsin, the garden behind the house I grew up in clearly visible. Perhaps the demise of Bill Gates and his company has been exagerated.
Very cool. This will be fun to use for real estate research once they get more coverage. I already use Google Maps’ photos, but you can’t really get a sense of being there from an flat aerial view. I think those angled views will become very useful.
Comment by DerekBeau — June 27, 2007 @ 1:44 am
[…] Andrew over at Web Publishing Blog has posted a post with an inviting headline: Google Maps Sucks. He posts some visual comparisons between Google Maps and Live.com Maps. Interesting. […]
Pingback by 10 Sites That Make Me All Fuzzy Inside » WebbyOnline.com — June 27, 2007 @ 3:28 pm
Yeah, too bad it works only in the US. There ARE other people out there outside America, Google & Microsoft!
Comment by Dave — July 15, 2007 @ 3:47 pm
Too bad these are NOT current photos.
the one in my area is at least 3 yrs old.
They still have streets missing
Comment by Janie — August 10, 2007 @ 7:33 pm
Yeah, it doesn’t really matter whether you can get a different view on the picture or not, but in the pictures you showed, the goole pictures were of better quality anyway. Do these things even consitute Google Maps sucking? (Also you spelled arial wrong.)
Comment by Logan — April 21, 2008 @ 5:30 pm