Keeping up with the Googles

Before I go further, I must say that Blogger's photo uploader, while convenient, makes laying out the page a bit frustrating, particularly because the spacing and the layout in 'preview' mode does not coincide with how it is actually viewed by others; thus, making it a guessing game as to how photos should be placed (as encountered on the post below).

In any case, the real meat of the post concerns Microsoft's release of Virtual Earth, their answer to Google Maps. While Google Maps blew Mapquest and the like out of the water with it's 'google'-simple interface, Microsoft was definitely attempting to halt the onslaught that Google's been making in recent months.

While I must confess I'm fond of recent Google products (Scholar, Maps, Earth), Virtual Earth's sliding zoom-scale and panning capability is smoother than Google Map. And particularly in the United States, aerial photos have much higher resolution. Having said that, Virtual Earth currently has no aerial photos of anywhere outside the US (I'll reserve judgment on this issue and see what Microsoft comes up with in a few months) and it's always a hybrid map/aerial photo, which may cause problems for people who only want one or the other. In any case, I don't know if many people will switch to Virtual Earth, or if it's even relevant, since most people aren't heavy map users (unlike a quasi-map nerd like me).

Regardless, Microsoft is no longer the innovator of mass-use computer software. Google's the new shark in the tank. The question is, will people despise Google the same way they did Microsoft since once you're on the top of the mountain, everyone else is clamouring to bring you down (or whether it'll different because the technology's been free for the most part).