Point: Local Live Maps

When it comes to Web 2.0 apps, online maps are easily the thing I use the most. I don't go anywhere these days w/o first pulling up the map on MapQuest, Google maps or, for a coupla years now, local.live.com (starting back when it used to be called MapPoint). I generally use Google for my search engine, so don't think it's just the MS employee thing pushing me -- I genuinely like local.live.com better.

Google and MS have been in an arms race for years on the maps stuff, doing fancy stuff like 3D globes and other goo that looks good in demos, but that I don't need. However, in this war of the world (so to speak : ), today MS fired a decisive shot across the bow, I think -- the "Send" menu. This is huge for me, because I can send the directions to my phone, either via SMS or via email, and I get a great display clearly optimized for my smartphone. Not only does it have a great mini-map, but the directions are easy to read (saving me from printing the directions for just a single trip) and it has a link to reverse the directions (the one thing I never remember to do).

Oh sure, I can do the same thing with the Google maps "Email" menu, but when I follow the link on my phone, there's no map (although there is a handy link to reverse the directions). Also, the directions don't read as well and I swear it's faster to surf to the local.live.com directions (although this might just be the MS bias talkin' : ).

On the other hand, I just noticed that Google maps has a new "Add destination" link for multi-destination trips, which is the only thing I use AAA online TripTiks for and you have to be a member to access the feature (I am, but still it's kinda clunky...). Hey, local.live.com guys -- can I have that, too?!?

P.S. I think I've scared the most reactionary, close-minded folks away, so I think I'll cool it on the postscripts for a while ('til I feel like it again : ). BTW, my definition of "close-minded" is "those who don't think I have the right to express my opinion," not "those who disagree w/ me." Hopefully I managed to shake the former off my RSS feed while keeping the latter.

Hey Chris, I must admit i love and much prefer local.live.com to google maps. However one thing that has struck me when using google maps for directions in the UK, is that it sometimes uses a very weird routing system where it gives you a really long route.

If you compare google maps to RAC or someone you normally find that the RAC gives you the best route.

Must admit i haven't compared to local.live.com

RAC?

Chris, Did you try google.com for an RAC search?

If not, http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=RAC&btnG=Google+Search

:)

woops, RAC is a british breakdown and repair company.

I still use Yahoo maps for driving directions, they are the easiest to follow with turn by turn maps.

BTW sending to phone doesn't seem to work well on my cingualr 3125, the web site doesn't open correctly

Chris, I'd like to respond to your campaign to scare off what you call close-minded folks. (I may have inadvertently started this mess by posting the first critical comment when you took Petzold's faux-political commentary and turned it into an actual political commentary, although probably someone else would have if I hadn't.)

I'll preface this by saying that I'm sure you wouldn't agree with my political views. You might even think I'm "reactionary". Likewise, I don't agree with many of the political views you've posted. I'm sure you hold your positions because you feel they would lead to the best result for this country, and I'd hope that you'd extend the same courtesy to me, rather than feeling that people like me are actively seeking to harm our country.

Having said that, I'm not sure how posting your political views, day after day, apropos of nothing, is an effective way to scare off close-minded people rather than people that don't agree with your views.

If you had a programming site that you really enjoying visiting on a regular basis, as I enjoy visiting yours, and the author of the site took it upon himself to inject his conservative political views into every post, I suspect you'd get annoyed after a while and maybe even stop visiting the site. Not because you felt the author didn't have the right to post those things, but because you were interested in the sites for other reasons and didn't need to be confronted with politics nonstop.

I am much more interested in politics than the average person, but that does not mean I want to think about it 24/7. In fact, at times I just don't want to deal with it. I think many others feel the same way, so it is frustrating when you're in what you believe is a nonpolitical arena, say a programming web site, and someone thrusts their political views onto you.

If I were in your shoes, I think I'd prefer to find common ground with the people who were fans of my site and books, and focus on our shared interests, like programming. Otherwise it can quickly turn into a weird situation where people start feeling they have to not only share your interest in WPF, but also in politics, food, religion, music, etc., or they don't belong to your group here.

Having said that, you certainly have every right to post whatever you want. If you want to mix your political views in with your coding topics, that's your decision. Although I don't think it's a wise decision, in a way I respect that your willing to potentially alienate people and lose sales to stand up for what your believe.

I'll personally continue visiting your site either way, and I'll continue buying your books as well, if I they are good.

And although I'd prefer you to stay on topic (or at least what I had previously perceived as the topic of the site), I must say in a way this whole thing has been kind of amusing. I'm kind of eager to see what's next ("SOMEONE suggested I had 'no right' to post gay porn on this site, so for the next few months every WPF post will be accompanied by a graphic picture of two well-endowed guys getting it on, until I have driven off all the close-minded people.")

Thanks, Bob. It's nice to know that you're on my site "24/7". : )

Seriously, I didn't ever mean for this site to be technical only; just about stuff I was interested in. Maybe as I grow older and have less focus on my own needs, I have less tolerance for my government inforcing its will willy-nilly on my fellow citizens, both in this country and in the rest of the world.

To be clear, the club should always be about expressing discenting opinions respectfully.

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