Satellite photos have been available from different Internet sources for several years. But in most cases, the images were hard to navigate and the quality was limited. Google Maps and Virtual Earth both offer easy access and an often stunning level of detail.
So, the space shuttle astronauts aren't the only people who can enjoy such high flying views of Earth.
Two of the Internet's biggest companies, Microsoft and Google, are competing to deliver aerial photos of your hometown and your back yard to your computer screen.
Earlier in 2005, Google enhanced its Web search service and online mapping product (maps.google.com) by adding satellite photos of North America. Last week Microsoft followed suit with MSN Virtual Earth (virtualearth.msn.com).
Both services are free, and both give you a fascinating view of your world, from the house next door to a mountain or skyscraper on the other side of the country.
In the satellite map space, who are the companies that will dominate mapspace? Google is the obvious early leader. Its Google Local service, although in many ways still quite rudimentary, is now offering free online listings for businesses. This could be the beginning of a full-fledged directory service. Google has been exceptionally astute. By cannily releasing its service for outside use, it has harvested hundreds of man-years of free software development and experimentation. It's got a front seat at the cutting edge. The experiments come at a price, though, because the results are there for all to see.
Microsoft is surely watching developments closely. Microsoft's mapping service, Virtual Earth, is a poor second cousin to Google's offering but then again a slow start has never stopped Microsoft from a fast finish. Yahoo! has a Local search engine of its own. Amazon.com's A9 site has added some street-level photographs to its mapping service giving its users a tantalizing view of what the future may hold.
Both services get their satellite photos from the same sources. Their images of Louisville show the same leafless winter forests and brown lawns and the same barge passing under the Kennedy Bridge.
The age and detail of the images can vary from one region to another, and many shots can be several years old. Microsoft was criticized for showing a view of New York City that still had the T win T owers of the World Trade Center. And the Louisville images lack a few recent additions, such as 4 th Street Live and The Courier-Journal's new press building.
Views of urban areas have more detail than images of towns, farmland or forests.
Microsoft gets points for getting you closest to your destination. With Virtual Earth, you can zoom down to the bleachers at Louisville Slugger Field. With Google, you have to download a separate program to get that level of detail.
Both online services offer features that could help you find your way around an unfamiliar city. Type "WiFi" with a Google image on the screen and you instantly see labels for all of the Internet access points within your view.
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Learn more about satellite and aerial mapping at: Aerial Maps
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