Live.com Now Has 'Birds Eye' Aerials of Charlotte

[dubone]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...6&encType=1

I'm not sure if they are going through the process of getting most cities covered, or whether we made the cut on being large enough to be covered by these, but it is very cool to see something like this covering this city.

[reverbandwhiskey]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...6&encType=1

I'm not sure if they are going through the process of getting most cities covered, or whether we made the cut on being large enough to be covered by these, but it is very cool to see something like this covering this city.

[tozmervo]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...6&encType=1

I'm not sure if they are going through the process of getting most cities covered, or whether we made the cut on being large enough to be covered by these, but it is very cool to see something like this covering this city.

[Neo]

Our landscape is nowhere near this "rolling"

[dxartist]

the map needs updating.

[dubone]

Neo, I'm looking at the Birds Eye on Live.com, which is actual aerial shots from helicopter from <1000' up I believe. That CG rendering on MS Virtual Earth does look nutty, but the new thing is actual photography.

Although it is a few months old (LRT tracks are still under construction in SouthEnd), you can see the train running behind Atherton Mill.

I don't have a car, but I did find a mystery van at my place!

I think the Arlington looks pretty cool in it.

[83alphaunder]

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...6&encType=1

I'm not sure if they are going through the process of getting most cities covered, or whether we made the cut on being large enough to be covered by these, but it is very cool to see something like this covering this city.

[Neo]

Neo, I'm looking at the Birds Eye on Live.com, which is actual aerial shots from helicopter from <1000' up I believe. That CG rendering on MS Virtual Earth does look nutty, but the new thing is actual photography.

Ah, I had thought both were new. I don't recall the 3D view before but I'm more of a Google Maps user myself. The Bird's Eye view is quite nifty though, I'm glad Charlotte was added to the list of available cities. The images are very clear and fairly recent.

[monsoon]

Unfortunately it is practically useless on Firefox running on Ubuntu. I guess I will wait for the Google version.

[AuLukey]

Unfortunately it is practically useless on Firefox running on Ubuntu. I guess I will wait for the Google version.

[Neo]

I can't help you with the ubuntu part but a quick switch over to the IE tab add-on in firefox let me install and use the 3d maps.

I had no problem using the 3D feature in Firefox without the IE tab add-on. It doesn't require IE and will work with Firefox alone, but my hunch is that they don't have a Linux installer for Virtual Earth. I wonder if it works on Macs since it is also unix based like linux?

[83alphaunder]

I had no problem using the 3D feature in Firefox without the IE tab add-on. It doesn't require IE and will work with Firefox alone, but my hunch is that they don't have a Linux installer for Virtual Earth. I wonder if it works on Macs since it is also unix based like linux?

[peaceloveunderstanding]

Awesome. They covered more of the city than I thought they would.

I know this sounds silly, but Charlotte looks better from the air than lots of the other cities.

[Andyc545]

I had no problem using the 3D feature in Firefox without the IE tab add-on. It doesn't require IE and will work with Firefox alone, but my hunch is that they don't have a Linux installer for Virtual Earth. I wonder if it works on Macs since it is also unix based like linux?

[Xss]

Finally they put those aerials! Too bad they didn't add a few of the building that are right now under construction and that will probably have an impact on the skyline within some months (Catalyst, Wachovia tower...).

[Jettanout]

From what I can tell the pics of downtown were done in December of 2006 or early January 2007. The endzones of BoA Stadium still read Boston College and Navy. That game was played December 30, 2006.

[Andyc545]

From what I can tell the pics of downtown were done in December of 2006 or early January 2007. The endzones of BoA Stadium still read Boston College and Navy. That game was played December 30, 2006.

[dubone]

I'm sure it took a while to cover the whole city, just like for the regular aerials. If you scroll through the birdseye it eventually changes color tone and direction with some overlap. Still, it is fun to try to peg the date and time on those. It is great that they are at least relatively recent, as they include some of the recent changes. Before all the competition, it used to be years before you would see a change on those aerials. You'd often find your entire street missing, or a major street reconfiguration wrong for years.