Microsoft’s 3D Virtual Earth

Microsoft’s Virtual Earth is the online competitor to the Google Earth software. Recently, Microsoft added the ability to see certain cities in 3D. According to the webpage, the following cities are available in 3D: Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Fort Worth, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle. However, a fellow blogger found more.

From the photos I had seen online of the 3D feature, it looked amazing, so, of course, I had to check it out for myself. I had to switch to Internet Explorer before I could begin the install of the Virtual Earth 3D feature.  Strangely, my installation errored out. According to the error message, I had a beta version of the .NET 2.0 software installed on my computer (how did that get there?) and I had to uninstall it first. I went to Add/Remove programs and chose the option to uninstall, but the uninstall errored out as well! The error message said something about me having programs on my computer dependent on this software. Jeez. Now I had to start Googling. I found a forum where someone had posted the same problem and another person had responded by offering this link from Microsoft that would uninstall the software. I gave it a shot.  Surprisingly, it worked and I didn’t even have to reboot.

Installing the new, non-beta .NET Framework took forever, but eventually it was done and I had a link to Virtual Earth on my desktop. I double-click and IE opens to yet another error message. This time, I’m informed that I have hardare accleration turned off. Quick check…no I don’t! I’m also told how to check my DirectX settings (Start –> Run –> dxdiag). I ran some tests, and one failed. Hmmm...OK, fine…reboot.

Finally it worked, but it killed my CPU usage to run Virtual Earth in my web browser. Unfortunately, my computer is a couple of years old, so I guess this was a bit much for it to handle. (It does run Google Earth just fine though). As Virtual Earth zoomed in to street level, the 3D renderings slowly filled in, looking more like artist renderings than actual photos, which I guess they kind of are. I suppose this would look better if my computer could keep up with the technology.

For comparison’s sake, I launched Google Earth 4.0 beta. This version of Google Earth shows 3D buildings, but only in certain areas, and, for the most part, they are non-textured buildings rendered in boring grey & white. Virtual Earth certainly beats Google here. However, some enterprising Google Earth users have been rendering textured buildings for import into Google Earth. For example, this guy. The trick is to open the files they’ve created in Google Earth. Here’s how. Right click this link: http://www-video.eecs.berkeley.edu/~avz/DowntownBerkeley.kmz and choose "Save Target As" (IE users) or "Save Link As" (Firefox users).  Save the file somewhere handy, like the desktop. In Google Earth, go to File –> Open –> and open the file you just saved. Trickier than Virtual Earth, but still cool.

The bottom line,  if your PC can handle running Virtual Earth, the 3D buildings look much better than in Google. In addtion, with Virtual Earth, all of Microsoft’s Live Local features (traffic data, e-mail integration, bookmarks) are available. Microsoft has upped the ante, I hope Google plays catch up because, overall, I prefer the Google application. I love the way the globe spins and slowly zooms in on your chosen location. It’s as if you’re controlling a real satellite. I have to stick with Google for now, since my computer is just too old for this, but when I can afford my next laptop, I’m sure Virtual Earth will be a breeze to use.

Tags: Microsoft