brian's blog

Microsoft today released a Google Maps competitor, Virtual Earth.

It's pretty snappy; I'm impressed by it. There aren't many Microsoft products I prefer over a Google equivalent, but I think this may be the first. The zooming transition prevents me from losing my bearings. My only gripe is the poor driving directions integration.

And already, there's scandal! From Forbes, Did Microsoft Wipe Apple Off the Map?

Internet sleuths discovered that anyone using Microsoft's new "Virtual Earth" Web site for a bird's-eye view of Apple's corporate headquarters saw only a grainy overhead photograph of what appears to be a single, nondescript warehouse and a deserted parking lot - not Apple's sprawling campus, with 11 modern buildings surrounding a plush courtyard.

Funny stuff. But I bet if it were deliberate, it would have been Google's headquarters that was erased; after all, that was the creating team's chief competitor.