webDotWiz Online has a Space

Deep zooming photo collections

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:47:21 GMT

Today’s digital cameras easily make it possible to snap good quality photos. We can enjoy them on our computer in all their glory but it’s more difficult when it comes to sharing these photos online so others can partake of our photography wizardry.

Even uploading your photos from Windows Live Photo Gallery to your Live Space in a resolution that enables your family and friends to download and print them can cause some grief at the other end especially for those not on a broadband connection. Those panoramic photos you’ve made in Live Photo Gallery are another story altogether.

To provide a means to show off your photos in all their glory is the purpose of a free software tool called Deep Zoom Composer. DZC enables you to layout your photos in the composer window, it processes them and upload them to a site for others to view.

After you’ve added the photo or photos to the composition pane and it’s time to export, Deep Zoom Composer breaks your collection into small tiles (256 x 256 pixels). After everything is uploaded onto your album at PhotoZoom and you’ve passed around the website address, the collection downloads the tiles required to build the first scene in the visitor’s browser. As the visitor zooms in or pans around your photo album, more tiles are downloaded to build up the view. This technique by the way is how Live Maps build up its views on-screen rather than downloading one huge map image to your browser.

To get started with Deep Zoom Composer you’ll need to download the Microsoft Silverlight runtime (it’s a bit over 4Mb in size). Silverlight is cross-browser and cross-platform add-on that brings rich media experiences to your browser and desktop. For example, Silverlight is being used by NBCOlympics.com to provide about 2000 hours of online coverage of the Beijing Olympics (sadly not for Australia). The download site for Deep Zoom Composer is here.

Once Deep Zoom Composer is started, create a new project and use Add Images in the right-hand pane to build a list of (possible) images you want to use in your composition. Alternatively, if you have a large panorama, you might prefer to use just one image.

In composition mode, you can move your images around the compose canvas, re-size them, or remove them from the composition. In the latest version of Deep Zoom Composer you’re able to build a panorama while you’re in compose mode so that saves you having to go to Live Photo Gallery to create a new panorama.

Once your happy with your composition, then go to Export to have DZC process your photos and upload to your own album on PhotoZoom.

Look at a couple of sample sites that have been created using DZC to get your creative juices flowing. The Yosemite project and Visual Story Telling sample mentioned in this week’s list of sites will give you plenty of ideas.

-----------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Windows Live Tags: Live Photo Gallery,PhotoZoom,Deep Zoom

Sites for Thu 07-Aug-2008 – Astronomy, Malware, Malvertisements, SQL Server 2008, Popfly Olympic games, Rushworth Community House, Deep Zoom

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 10:00:24 GMT

Today’s sites:

2007 Office document translation: blogs.msdn.com/translation/
ALERT: Fake Internet Explorer 7 update spam circulating: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
ALERT: timetrack media and winningsurveys.com: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Amateur astronomer spots gassy ‘cosmic ghost’: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26042475/
CNET Networks site compromise - Threat Type: Malicious Web Site / Malicious Code: securitylabs.websense.com
Customer case study - Cancer Lifeline moving from Excel to Access: blogs.msdn.com/access/
Edison PC Power Management Software (Free): www.verdiem.com/edison/
IHMC CmapTools version 4.18: cmap.ihmc.us/download/
Intelligent Spelling Check in Office 2007 - the blue squiggly line: blogs.msdn.com/davidmcg/
Live Europe Weather Map with Windows Live Tools Map Control: tozon.info/blogs/andrej/
Malware Alerts - Problems at Yahoo! and CNET: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Microsoft Releases SQL Server 2008: www.microsoft.com/presspass/
Microsoft’s Vision: blogs.msdn.com/stevecla01/
My.Yahoo.com downloading trojans?: www.dslreports.com
OLC Beta 12.1 Frequently Asked Questions: blogs.msdn.com/outlook/
Popfly Olympics: blogs.msdn.com/msozacademic/
Programming - Teaching Casting: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/
Rushworth Community House History 11 Video: rushworthrtc.spaces.live.com
Update to Webmaster Tools: blogs.msdn.com/webmaster/
Waimea Canyon Panorama: photozoom.mslivelabs.com
Word Tip of the Week - Make That Look Like This: blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_office_word/

---------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Windows Live Tags: Today's sites,Deep Zoom,Popfly,Olympics,Rushworth,Malware,Exploits

Sites Wed 06-Aug-2008 – Apple, Grocery Choice, Malvertisements, Deep Zoom, Olympics, WindowsLive.com, Live Spaces birthday

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 11:02:47 GMT

Today’s sites and a few from yesterday (Tuesday):

7 Unmissable Tips for Writing Great Content for the Web: blogs.msdn.com/springboard/
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing: www.nbcolympics.com
Biting the Apple: blogs.msdn.com/stevecla01/
Clean Image Installation List: blogs.msdn.com/tomholl/
CNN spam: blogs.msdn.com/tzink/
Deep Zoom Composer Updated - Again! (August 4): blogs.msdn.com/expression/
Demo of Google's privacy issues: blogs.technet.com/jamesone/
Exploding Star That Everyone Missed: www.space.com
Fake Flash updates - Facebook and MySpace are not the only distribution conduits: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Grocery Choice: www.grocerychoice.gov.au
Happy 4th birthday, Windows Live Spaces: thespacecraft.spaces.live.com/Blog/
Linked Live IDs Getting Pushed On Windows Live Spaces: www.liveside.net
Office Labs Releases Speed Launch: blogs.msdn.com/stevecla01/
Old mysurvey4you malvertizement reappears: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Olympic Form Guide - Cycling - Men's Road Race: www.abc.net.au/news/
OneNote goes to law school: blogs.msdn.com/inside_office_online/
Perfect Car Finder: www.kbb.com
Silverlight + Deepzoom + Cars: blogs.msdn.com/markjo/
Speed Launch from Microsoft Office Labs: www.officelabs.com/projects/speedlaunch/
Watch the Olympics Live now at NBCOlympics.com: on10.net
Where will your laptops be this summer?: blogs.msdn.com/ukschools/
Why Speed Launch?: www.officelabs.com
WindowsLive.com Launches with Community Content: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/
Wired Gets Collingwood Community Connected: www.premier.vic.gov.au
Writing Plugins For Windows Live Writer – Logging Errors: scottisafooldev.spaces.live.com
Your Live Space could be highlighted on WindowsLive.com: thespacecraft.spaces.live.com
Zooming with constraints: blogs.msdn.com/lutzg/

---------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Windows Live Tags: WindowsLive.com,Deep Zoom,Malvertisements,Grocery Choice,Windows Live Spaces

Sites Sun 03-Aug-2008 and Mon 04-Aug-2008 – Deep Zoom photo collections, Solar eclipse, TeamZonesports, MobileMe, Live Clubhouse

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 10:31:07 GMT

A shortish list of sites (for a change…) with some more examples of Deep Zooming photo collections:

Sunday:

Early stereo recordings restored: news.bbc.co.uk
Slydial - Voice Message Service (U.S. only): www.slydial.com
Solar eclipse photos from Northern Hemisphere on Aug 1: news.bbc.co.uk
Study revives six degrees theory: news.bbc.co.uk
TeamZoneSports - Free Sports Team Websites: www.teamzonesports.com

Monday:

Communication, Influence, Organisation, Results: blogs.msdn.com/jmeier/
Deep Dive introduction into the Virtual Earth ASP.NET control: www.liveside.net
Deep Zoom Space Needle Seattle: www.windowsvistablog.com
Manic Miner (online game): www.nxtgenug.net/manicminer/
New Deep Zoom Composer Released with PhotoZoom Upload: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/
Student Day at Tech.Ed Australia Sep 2 2008: www.microsoft.com.au/teched/
Virtual Earth ASP.NET control – video training: blogs.msdn.com/angus_logan/
What Apple Should Have Done with MobileMe: www.brandonleblanc.com/blog/
Windows Live Clubhouse: communityclubhouse.spaces.live.com
Windows Live Clubhouse and new Windows Live site launches on Aug. 4th: vasudevg.blogspot.com

---------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Deep Zoom,Solar eclipse,MobileMe,Live Clubhouse,Windows Live

Sites Sat 02-Aug-2008 – Cowes regatta, Deep Zoom Composer, Vista, Climate change

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 10:29:36 GMT

Today’s sites:

Attracting Young Women to Software-Related and Other Engineering Fields: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/
Cowes Week 2008 Aug 2 to 9: www.skandiacowesweek.co.uk
Cowes Week 2008 Pelican Racing Live Stream: www.ix-m.com/pelican/
Deep Zoom Composer Update Aug 1 2008: blogs.msdn.com/expression/
Large Hadron Collider nearly ready: www.boston.com/bigpicture/
Little Things in Word - Ellipsis Ending a Sentence: blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_office_word/
Live Icons in Windows Vista - Demo: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/
Live Maps / Virtual Earth at Cowes Week: blogs.msdn.com/markbrown/
RealClimate: www.realclimate.org
Ryanair Destination Map: www.ryanair.com
Total solar eclipse in Northern Hemisphere: www.abc.net.au/news/photos/
Visual Studio Middle School Toy - Visual Declarative Designer: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/
Visualizing Climate Data in Phase Space: blogs.msdn.com/jgalasyn/
XNA Game Studio - Movipa Mini Game Released: blogs.msdn.com/xna/

---------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Cowes,Deep Zoom,Vista,Climate change,Word 2007

Sites Fri 01-Aug-2008 - Live Maps, Solar eclipse, Olympics, Live FrameIt, Water on Mars

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 10:19:12 GMT

Today’s sites:

3D Geology Maps: www.3dgeomaps.com
Cheezburger in Popfly: blogs.msdn.com/johnmont/
Cloud Computing and Microsoft: blogs.msdn.com/dachou/
Detroit through the years viewed on Live Maps: detroit1976.naviciti.com
Don't Like Microsoft Virtual Earth Imagery? Then, "Patch" It: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Geological mapping gets joined up: news.bbc.co.uk
How Live Mesh is being used by one person: forums.community.microsoft.com
Is Google Making Us Stupid?: www.theatlantic.com
Learn More About the Silverlight Olympics Player with NBC: blogs.msdn.com/nickmayhew/
Literacy Debate - Online, R U Really Reading?: www.nytimes.com
Logic Puzzle - Buying donuts puzzle: blogs.msdn.com/tom/
Microsoft launches Windows Live FrameIt – Customise your photo feeds: www.liveside.net
NASA confirms water on Mars: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25954096/
OneGeology - Earth Geological Map Data: www.onegeology.org
TheAtlantic.com Online Magazine: www.theatlantic.com
Total Solar Eclipse - Stories from the Path of Totality: www.exploratorium.edu/eclipse/
Tough choices for U.S. states during budget crisis: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25955845/
Watch NBC’s coverage of the Beijing Olympics in Windows Media Center: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/
Windows Home Server - Community Add-Ins: forum.wegotserved.co.uk
Windows Live FrameIt - Deliver photos to your frame:
Windows Live FrameIt Team Blog: frameitblog.spaces.live.com

------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Live Maps,Olympics,Live FrameIt,Mars

Sites Thu 31-Jul-2008 – Deep Zoom samples, Vista tips, Live Mesh update, Live Search update, Bridge safety, Live Maps, Live FrameIt

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:14:49 GMT

Today’s sites:

6 Things You should Download after Getting Vista: www.makeuseof.com
10 Skills You Need to Succeed at Almost Anything: www.lifehack.org
ALERT: Malvertizements featuring Skype in circulation: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Astronomy Picture of the Day: antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/
Bridge inspections: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22262284/
Bridge Tracker - Check Safety of Bridges (Live Maps): www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21840954/
Deep Zoom Kevin's Flowers (Test): www.webdotwiz.com/deepzoom-kevtest.htm
Deep Zoom Waranga Basin: www.webdotwiz.com
Demo - Instant Search in Windows Vista: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/
Essential Downloads for Vista: on10.net
Europe's Mars Express Probe gets eyeful of Mars moon: news.bbc.co.uk
Eye on Earth Water Watch: www.eyeonearth.eu
Eye on Earth Water Watch (and Live Maps / Virtual Earth): blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Foundations of Digital Games International Conference: www.foundationsofdigitalgames.org
Live Mesh Service update - new build now available (July 30 2008): blogs.msdn.com/livemesh/
Live Mesh Tech Preview available in Australia: blogs.technet.com/itproaustralia/
Live Search - New home page helps you explore more on the Web: blogs.msdn.com/livesearch/
Live Search U.S. (to experience the new look): www.live.com/?scope=web&mkt=en-US
Mesh-up: blogs.msdn.com/ukhe/
Qantas jet explosion took out crucial instruments: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25927052/
Why Vista? (Volume 2 - Windows Meeting Space): blogs.technet.com/danwoodman/
Windows Live FrameIt - Deliver photos to your frame:

---------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Live Mesh,Live Maps,Vista,Live Search,Mars,Deep Zoom,Silverlight Streaming,Live FrameIt

Sites Wed 30-Jul-2008 – Deep Zoom, Photography, LA quake, Mojave Experiment

Wed, 30 Jul 2008 10:53:45 GMT

Today’s sites:

Aero-News Network: www.aero-news.net
Before his time (Humour): blogs.msdn.com/officeoffline/
Deep Zoom Kevin's Flowers (Test): www.webdotwiz.com/deepzoom-kevtest.htm
Favorite Windows Vista Runtime Improvements (RTI): blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/
'Gay lube oil' contained banned steroids: www.abc.net.au/news/
Gnofract 4D: gnofract4d.sourceforge.net
Illegal filesharing - A suicide note from the music industry: www.guardian.co.uk
LA Quake originated about eight miles under Chino Hills: www.latimes.com/news/
Live Mesh Mac client now not available for download [Updated]: www.liveside.net
Microsoft Automotive: www.microsoft.com/auto/
Microsoft brings Live Search to cars: blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/
Microsoft Photography Competition at the Department of Engineering 2008: www.eng.cam.ac.uk/photocomp/
Mojave Experiment is go: blogs.technet.com/james/
My Movies Media Center Plugin: on10.net
Rocket Racing League Announces Presence Loudly At AirVenture 2008: www.aero-news.net
SilverCalendar: www.xamlguide.net/silvercalendar/
Sphere - A Multi-Touch Interactive Spherical Display: research.microsoft.com
Systems of belief... and Ray Ozzie: blogs.technet.com/jamesone/
TechNet Magazine Utility Spotlight (July 2008): technet.microsoft.com
The "Mojave Experiment": www.mojaveexperiment.com
What if Apple had conducted the ‘Mojave Experiment’?: blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/
Windows Installer CleanUp Utility: technet.microsoft.com

-----------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Deep Zoom,Photography,LA quake,Mojave

Sites Tue 29-Jul-2008 – Apple, Windows Live FrameIt, Games development

Tue, 29 Jul 2008 06:40:26 GMT

Today’s sites:

Apple Fails to Fix DNS Flaw: blogs.technet.com/idubraws/
China becomes biggest Net nation: news.bbc.co.uk
DNS Checker: www.doxpara.com
Handy How To Videos for Word 2007: blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_office_word/
How to convert 3DSMax content for use with GMax: blogs.msdn.com/ptaylor/
Microsoft Research releases free software for academics: arstechnica.com
Microsoft's Sphere display in action (Video): blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com
Online Advertising Business 101: www.liesdamnedlies.com
Scholarly Communication: www.microsoft.com/mscorp/tc/
Why Vista? (Volume 1 - UAC): blogs.technet.com/danwoodman/
Windows Live Wave 3: New photo feed service – Windows Live FrameIt: www.liveside.net
XNA - Efficient Development - part one: bittermanandy.wordpress.com
XNA - Efficient Development - part two: bittermanandy.wordpress.com
XNA - Efficient Development - part three: bittermanandy.wordpress.com

---------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Windows Live,Games,XNA,Vista

Sites Mon 28-Jul-2008 – Tour de France, trueSpace for schools, Cassette tapes

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 11:16:35 GMT

Today’s (short) list of sites:

2008 SysAdmin of the Year (How I Saved the Day!): www.sysadminoftheyear.com
Domino Computation: kybernetikos.com
Domino Logic: neil.fraser.name
Google's Assault on Wikipedia: www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/
Say So Long to an Old Companion: Cassette Tapes: www.nytimes.com
Tabbed mouse rollovers in Live Maps / Virtual Earth : blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Tour de France Cycling News, July 28, 2008: www.cyclingnews.com
trueSpace7.6 FREE Fully-featured 3D Authoring Package: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/

-------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Tour de France,trueSpace,Schools

Sites Sun 27-Jul-2008 – Apple MobileMe, School, OneNote

Sun, 27 Jul 2008 07:08:31 GMT

Midpines, California, near Yosemite National Park where a bushfire is burning.

Today’s list of sites for you to finish off your weekend:

Apple admits to lost MobileMe messages, bad karma: www.engadget.com
Bushfire threatens homes near Yosemite Valley: www.msnbc.msn.com
How to add Sound Effects, Music and Video to your Silverlight App: silverlight.net/blogs/msnow/
Live Maps / Virtual Earth with ArcGIS Drive Time Polygons: resources.esri.com/
Microsoft Belfast - School Technology Innovation Centre: belfast-stic.spaces.live.com
OneNote Cross Border Curriculum Sharing Project: belfast-stic.spaces.live.com
OneNote curriculum project in Ireland: blogs.msdn.com/onenote_and_education/
Photosynth Moves to Live Maps / Virtual Earth: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Roundup: Apple still hasn’t cleaned up its MobileMess: www.last100.com
Some Thoughts on the Open Web Foundation: www.25hoursaday.com/weblog/
Wholeschool Online Resources for Education: www.wholeschool.tv

------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,MobileMe,OneNote,Education,Live Maps,Silverlight

Sites Sat 26-Jul-2008 – Live Maps, trueSpace, Computer Science, OneNote, XNA Creator Club, Windows Vista

Sat, 26 Jul 2008 09:45:32 GMT

Today’s sites:

Create and Export 3D Models to Live Maps / Virtual Earth with trueSpace: ve3d.spaces.live.com
Eclipse enthusiasts rejoice on August 1 in Northern Hemisphere: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25849049/
FoodTube: www.foodtube.net
Homestar Runner: www.homestarrunner.com
Microsoft Expression Community: expression.microsoft.com
Microsoft Visual Studio Middle School Power Toy 1.0: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/
Microsoft Visual Studio Middle School Power Toy 1.0 Download: www.microsoft.com/downloads/
NoteOne-derful: blogs.msdn.com/ukschools/
PC Decrapifier: www.pcdecrapifier.com
The "Mojave Experiment": www.mojaveexperiment.com
Vista start-up times: blogs.technet.com/jamesone/
Why does Vista take so long to start up... and what you can do about it: blogs.technet.com/eileen_brown/
With shared notebooks, collaboration is not just a buzzword: blogs.msdn.com/michael_oldenburg/
XNA Creators Club Community Spotlights: creators.xna.com/community/spotlight/

------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,trueSpace,Live Maps,OneNote,XNA,Windows Vista

Sites Fri 25-Jul-2008 – Live Mesh, Live Search, Facebook, trueSpace, Spam, Windows Live Photo Gallery, Imagine Cup

Fri, 25 Jul 2008 10:05:48 GMT

Today’s sites:

Bushwalking Saturday July 26 to Dunlop Hill from Rushworth Community House: rushcomhouse.spaces.live.com
Developing Science/Technology Curriculum that Scales: blogs.msdn.com/mis_laboratory/
Ford posts $8.67 billion loss, looks to small cars: www.msnbc.msn.com
Live QnA About The Latest Updates To QnA: www.liveside.net
Live Mesh - How to Sync Your Favorites Folder: blogs.msdn.com/kaevans/
Live Search coming to Facebook: www.liveside.net/blogs/
Microsoft trueSpace7.6 ships. Who should care? Animators, artists, graphic designers...: virtualearth.spaces.live.com/Blog/
More information on Windows Live Wave 3: www.liveside.net
Outlook Connector Public Beta release with Windows Live Calendar support: mailcall.spaces.live.com
Qantas plane makes emergency landing: www.theage.com.au
Roman Ormandy, trueSpace creator on trueSpace 7.6: forums1.caligari.com/truespace/
trueSpace and Live Maps / Virtual Earth Newbie Troubleshooting: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
UPS spam: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
Windows Live Photo Gallery Will Soon Recognize Faces In Pictures: www.liveside.net/blogs/
Winning the Imagine Cup world finals - how they did it: www.istartedsomething.com

------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Live Mesh,Live Search,Facebook,trueSpace,Malware,Live Photo Gallery,Imagine Cup

Sites Thu 24-Jul-2008 – Live Maps, Virtual Earth 3D, trueSpace, Live Spaces, Microsoft Outlook, XBox 360

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:55:02 GMT

Today’s sites:

Announcing trueSpace for Live Maps / Virtual Earth 3D Development: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Choose Your Avatar on Community Clips: www.officelabs.com
Community Broadband Network: www.broadband-uk.coop
Create professional looking photographs and movies: www.microsoft.com/australia/windows/
Data Execution Protection in action: blogs.msdn.com/ntdebugging/
Deleting Comments from Blog Posts on Live Spaces: questionsinlife.spaces.live.com
DIY schemes for super-fast Net: news.bbc.co.uk
Drawing Fractal Trees - Part 3: blogs.msdn.com/avip/
Faster ways to clean-up Comment Spam on Windows Live Spaces: robdolin.spaces.live.com
Fraudware via Blogspot - no advertising required: msmvps.com/blogs/spywaresucks/
How to install the Nortwind sample database in SQL Server Express: blogs.msdn.com/dparys/
How the WorldWide Telescope works: on10.net/blogs/jonudell/
Identity Theft, Spyware and Viruses - Security Videos: www.microsoft.com/australia/protect/
Manned spaceship design unveiled: news.bbc.co.uk
Mars lander pulls all-nighter: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25803322/
Microsoft releases new Outlook Connector with Windows Live Calendar beta synchronisation for all: www.liveside.net
New Microsoft Office Outlook Connector version 12.1: blogs.msdn.com/outlook/
RussianSpaceWeb.com: www.russianspaceweb.com
trueSpace 7.6 announced – amazing models, uploaded to Live Maps Collections: www.liveside.net
trueSpace 7.6 Free download to use with Live Maps 3D: www.caligari.com
XBox 360 new pricing (Australia): www.xbox.com/en-au/hardware/

------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Live Maps,trueSpace,Live Spaces,Outlook,XBox

Show me the way to Amarillo

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 11:07:40 GMT

Remember the days when an atlas was compulsory on the school book list? Then we had homework that consisted mainly finding capital cities, rivers and mountains. We traced maps out of our atlas and coloured them in (tracing paper was another tool we required in those times).

Now that we have web resources such as Live Maps (Live Search Maps to give it its full name – you’ll see why in a minute) we can locate a city and, in a whiz, have a list of restaurants, plumbers, hotels and theatres all located on the map we’re viewing.

We can search for towns, cities, regions and landmarks – and plumbers, electricians or takeaways (that’s where the Search in Live Search Maps comes into the picture).

The businesses or locations we search for will be clearly displayed on our Live Map and as we pan the map, new items will be displayed from our search query. For example, try searching for hotels around your local town and then pan the map to another nearby town or city. By the way, the way this works is that Live Maps shows those businesses who have registered with Yellowpages.

Our school atlas couldn’t give us directions from, say, our home to our relatives in our capital city. So obtaining driving directions is another feature of the web’s online maps. You can try obtaining directions from your home to the MCG when your team reaches the Grand Final.

On Live Maps, a click on the Collections button opens up more possibilities. Leaving aside the ability to add various locations to your own list which you can save and thus come back to at a later time, there is a set of drawing tools.

These tools enable you to carry out tasks such as finding the straight line distance between two places or the area of selected region of the map. For example, you could obtain the length of the street you live in or the area of your house block.

Perhaps you’re looking at buying some real estate and want to do some checking for yourself – put Live Maps to work to obtain the information you need. In fact you’ll find that more real estate agents are using Live Maps to show off the properties they have for sale or rent.

Naturally big events have their place in the world of maps. So, for example, the BBC have an interactive map of all the locations where the various sports will be held in Beijing and you can spend some time familiarising yourself with the city. If sport is not your thing, in Live Maps go to the Collections button and choose Explore collections to plan your next overseas trip.

Homework: how many banks are available in the Amarillo area?

Here are some sites you should browse to see more about what webDotWiz has mentioned above:

Ask.com Maps and Directions: maps.ask.com/maps
BBC Sport's Beijing Olympic Interactive Map: news.bbc.co.uk
Harley-Davidson Great Roads Explorer: www.harley-davidson.com
Indianapolis Motor Speedway Virtual Seating Map on Live Maps: www.virtualbirdseye.com
London Executive Property Map on Live Maps: www.london-executive.com/propertybird/
Mapping Balloon Travel Patterns on Live Maps: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Measuring distance and area in Live Maps: virtualearth.spaces.live.com/Blog/
OpenStreetMap: en.wikipedia.org
OpenStreetMap - London: www.openstreetmap.org
PlanetEye Maps: www.planeteye.com/Map.aspx
Spyk Property Search (Australia): www.spyk.com
UltraCamX Digital Aerial Camera: www.vexcel.com/products/photogram/ultracamx/
Virtual Bird's Eye: www.virtualbirdseye.com
Virtual Globetrotting: www.virtualglobetrotting.com
Windows Live Maps Sightings (Bird's Eye): virtualglobetrotting.com

-------------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Live Maps,Live Search Maps,Maps,Searching

Sites Wed 23-Jul-2008 – ABC iView, Photography, Windows Search, Games for Windows - LIVE

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:37:52 GMT

Today’s sites, including a look at the new Internet TV service from our Aunty ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). It’s so encouraging (oh, yeah…) to see that webDotWiz’s connection is one-tenth of that required. Being a Telstra ISDN subscriber about to lose ISDN on Dec 31 2008, and the only option being dialup or, perhaps, satellite broadband, it’s so encouraging after 12 years of being online that we’ve made such progress in the rural areas of Australia (oh, yeah, again…).

Here’s what ABC iView is offering:

Now it’s on to today’s list of sites:

ABC iView Internet TV Service: www.abc.net.au/iview/
About Games for Windows - LIVE: www.gamesforwindows.com
About the latest updates to Live QnA (July 22 2008): liveqna.spaces.live.com/Blog/
Beauty and Elegance of Computer SCIENCE: www.virtualcompsci.net
Examples and Exercises in Computer Science: blogs.msdn.com/alfredth/
Font Embedding on the Web: blogs.msdn.com/ie/
Games for Windows - LIVE is now FREE: gamerscoreblog.com/team/
How ICT training helps people to reach employment - Case Study: blogs.msdn.com/tomurphy/
Line Rider Online Game: linerider.com
Messenger Library on Linerider.com: blogs.msdn.com/messenger/
Microsoft in the Chemical Industry: www.microsoft.com/industry/manufacturing/chemicals/
Pushing the Limits of Windows - Physical Memory: blogs.technet.com/markrussinovich/
Should I use SkyDrive or Office Live Workspace to store files online?: blogs.msdn.com/ianm/
Super Easy Animated Layout in Silverlight: blog.nerdplusart.com
Windows Digital Photo Possibilities: www.microsoft.com/windows/possibilities/photos.aspx
Windows Live for Windows Mobile just released: blogs.msdn.com/wlfwm/
Windows Search 4.0 to be available on Windows Update: windowsvistablog.com/blogs/windowsexperience/
WPF application written in Visual Basic: blogs.msdn.com/goto100/

--------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,ABC iView,Photography,Windows Search,Games for Windows-LIVE,Computer Science

Sites Tue 22-Jul-2008 – Live Maps imagery updated, Live Mesh, Periodic table, Windows Home Server

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:43:54 GMT

Tuesday’s list of sites including another large collection of new imagery on Live Maps:

New imagery has been added for the United States, Austria (the complete country is now covered), Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. New Bird’s Eye imagery became available for North America and various countries in Europe. (via LiveSide.net)

IM Control update – default names, tell where the conversation is coming from: blogs.msdn.com/angus_logan/
Live Maps / Virtual Earth - Finding a Postcode : blogs.msdn.com/mikeormond/
Live Maps / Virtual Earth Imagery Release - July 2008: blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/
Live Mesh Infrastructure Update (July 21 2008): www.liveside.net
Live Mesh Tutorial - Synchronizing Messenger Plus! Skins, Scripts Etc: www.liveside.net
Oldest New Testament Bible goes cyber: www.abc.net.au/news/
Periodic Table of Videos: www.periodicvideos.com
Periodic Table of Videos on YouTube: www.youtube.com/periodicvideos
Scientists tap motion in the ocean for energy: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25709843/
Windows Home Server Add-ins: www.wegotserved.co.uk
Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 - come and get it: blogs.technet.com/homeserver/
Windows Home Server Power Pack 1 Released: blog.seanalexander.com

-----------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Live Maps,Live Mesh,Windows Home Server

Sites Mon 21-Jul-2008 – British Open, Tour de France, Deep Zoom, Yosemite Deep Zoom Project, Doctor Who

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 10:41:42 GMT

Today’s sites:

137th British Open Championship: news.bbc.co.uk
Decision Matrix (with Excel spreadsheet): blogs.msdn.com/mswanson/
Deep Zoom Sample Sites: www.diigo.com
Dwarf planet named for Polynesian god Makemake: www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25752661/
Gerrans thanks Anderson after maiden Le Tour win: www.abc.net.au/news/
Lost tapes of the Dr Who composer: news.bbc.co.uk
Scaling Hyper-V: blogs.technet.com/jamesone/
Silverlight PhotoGallery - How to and files: www.silverlight-blog.it
Simon Gerrans Homepage: www.simongerrans.com
Tour de France - Stage 16 (157km) Cuneo to Jausiers Description: tdf.sbs.com.au
Yosemite Deep Zoom project from xRez is now live: adamkinney.com
Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Imaging Project (45 gigapixels): www.xrez.com/yose_proj/

--------------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,Golf,Tour de France,Deep Zoom,Yosemite,Doctor Who

Sites Sun 20-Jul-2008 - British Open, Tour de France, iPhone

Sun, 20 Jul 2008 10:43:49 GMT

Today’s sites including a summary of play on day 3 of the British Open and yesterday's stage of the Tour de France:

Adding Your Own Images to Popfly Games: blogs.msdn.com/johnmont/
Does "In Case of Emergency" contact info need to be default feature on Smartphones: blog.seanalexander.com
Evans eyes strategic battle of the Alps: www.abc.net.au/news/
Experiments in Building a Silverlight Photo Control (Part 3): mtaulty.com
George Eastman House's photostream on Flickr: flickr.com/photos/george_eastman_house/
Greg Norman leads British Open by 2 shots after round 3: news.bbc.co.uk
Indian Railways Official Site: www.indianrailways.gov.in
iPhone in the Enterprise? It’ll happen but not for the right reasons: blogs.technet.com/adhall/
Live Mesh tutorial - Synchronising Windows Live Messenger content : www.liveside.net
Microsoft .NET Micro Framework Tools & Resources: informatix.miloush.net/microframework/
Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 July CTP: blogs.msdn.com/msroboticsstudio/
Microsoft to improve efficiency of Indian Railways: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
MobileMe disaster continues: Now it's not 'Exchange for the rest of us' anymore: community.winsupersite.com/blogs/paul/
Silkworm farming: www.smithsonianmag.com
Silverlight Layout Fundamentals Part 1 - What is Layout?: blogs.msdn.com/devdave/
The Times of India: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Windows Live Messenger For BlackBerry: www.liveside.net
YouTomb: youtomb.mit.edu

------------------------

Posted using the Tech Preview of Windows Live Writer.

Technorati Tags: Today's sites,British Open,Tour de France,iPhone