I’ve seen the future of internet mapping technology, and the word is WOW! We all started with Microsoft’s Streets & Maps on CD, and it was incredibly useful. The internet brought us Mapquest, and Yahoo Maps, and now it was always up to date with links to everything around a spot. I started playing with the Google Earth software a few weeks ago. The satellite images with street map overlays provide detail that make me feel like I work at the CIA with a satellite at my disposal.
Today, I found out about A9 which is in beta. Their database is limited to only a few cities currently. They combined MapQuest maps, with 360 degree pics down the street. Want to know what you’ll see at an intersection? Just scroll around. to get any more detail, you’ll need to actually go there.
I came across this awhile ago because my friend actually worked on this project. Check out a bit of his story where he almost got arrested in D.C. http://www.livedigitally.com/2005/02/new-yellow-pages.html (This was when our LD blog was first starting, so the formating is a bit off)
Cool! A secret, lost to the ancients, rediscovered!