Microsoft Releases Virtual Earth 3D (Beta)

November 6th, 2006 · 43 Comments · GIS, Microsoft, Virtual Earth

More Microsoft Virtual Earth news in the Virtual Earth category

3D is no longer just the domain of ESRI, Google and NASA. Microsoft has released their Virtual Earth 3D. What is different about Microsoft’s digital globe is that it runs inside your web browser. I’ll have to play with it some more when I get off of work, but it is visually amazing. It streams much slower than GE, but the detail is many times better. Click images for larger view:

The Digital Globe View

The detail of the 3D cities is way beyond Google Earth

Take a spin down the Las Vegas Strip

But, Tempe is still low resolution

It works with Internet Explorer 6 or 7, so Firefox users will have to wait for Microsoft to release a DirectX Firefox add-on (if that is possible).

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43 responses so far ↓

1 Dave // Nov 6, 2006 at 8:57 pm

This is really nice. I’m sure the speed thing will be fixed. Since it’s Microsoft, we may see a Developer Kit for this baby - and then watch what silly things the kids cookup.

Never count anyone with with ~60 Billion in the bank out. (http://money.cnn.com/2004/07/19/technology/microsoft/index.htm)

Dave
2 Dave // Nov 6, 2006 at 8:57 pm

Ok, that link is a few years old, but you get the point.
3 Dave // Nov 6, 2006 at 9:07 pm

The SDK is here: http://dev.live.com/virtualearth/sdk/

Dave
4 Casey // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:24 am

Wowsers. The SDK is extremely easy. Has anyone played with the SDK much? I’m a novice and looking for some sites that demonstrate some of the capability. I also haven’t looked into any licensing/usage restrictions?
5 Casey // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:25 am

Oh, James, go look at Safeco field in Seattle and rotate around. The default view is a game while another angle is bp. Its kinda crazy.
6 Andy // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:46 am

That works pretty well for a first try, but the user experience is not as intuitive or easy (or fast and seamless) as Google Earth. The 3D models in the major cities are great, though. It’s cool to see the Space Needle and Music Experience Project building in Seattle modeled. But, Microsoft better get on the imagery bandwagon and start populating their servers with something better than 15m/pixel Landsat which is what they have for my entire region, near Spokane, WA.
7 Alexandre Leroux // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:48 am

James, I slahdotted you
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=06/11/07/152247
8 James Fee // Nov 7, 2006 at 9:52 am

So that is why my server is slow!
9 hablandodesigs » Blog Archive » Microsoft se adelanta a ESRI con Virtual Earth 3D (beta) // Nov 7, 2006 at 10:43 am

[...] Mientras ESRI se prepara para el lanzamiento de ArcExplorer con el que quiere competir contra Google Earth, Microsoft ha liberado Virtual Earth 3D. En el sitio de James Free hacen una muy buena comparacion de este producto y Google Earth. [...]
10 Hans Zimmerman // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:06 am

Microsoft has done amazing job again beating Google earth hands down! Competition is good. Hopefully we will see Microsoft releasing developer tools for this once Vista is released so us coders can start writing some nice applications. Truly amazing thing from Microsoft again!
11 Andrea // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:22 am

When a Microsoft product will be good the cows will fly…..

Google earth has more features and it works under Linux! This is a clear attack from Microsoft, but I don’t belive it will be successful.

I’m sure you’ll need a teraflop PC to run Vista and Virtual Earth!

Thank’s to MS Optimization!!
12 Erin // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:29 am

Andrea, are you kidding me?

1. Microsoft makes pleanty of good products, and pleanty of bad ones. Virtual Earth is one of their good ones.

2. Google Earth does have more features because it is a different type of application. I view VE 3D as a GE LT where it gets the basic functionality working in the browser.

3. GE works on Linux, but how long did it take them to get it working? In one year if VE 3D doesn’t work on either Linux or MacOS then I’ll agree that they made a bad decision.

4. Performance of VE 3D is poor, but I don’t notice it locally. The network is getting hammered. I’m running on a PIII laptop so YMMV.
13 3pointD.com // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:54 am

Microsoft Virtual Earth Goes All 3D…

Virtual Earth 3D (click for larger image)
I haven’t checked this out much yet, but Second Life resident FlipperPA Peregrine (creator of SLBoutique.com), sends words of Microsoft’s new beta release of Virtual Earth 3D, which runs in your We…
14 Microsoft rilascia Virtual Earth 3D « fascox.weblog // Nov 7, 2006 at 1:01 pm

[...] Microsoft ha annunciato il lancio di Virtual Earth 3D, Ci sono molti screenshot da vedere qui, una comparazione con Google Earth e anche una nota sul blog di Google sul perchè Virtual Earth 3D non è una minaccia per Google stessa. [...]
15 Scott // Nov 7, 2006 at 1:34 pm

Erin, are you kidding me?

Virtual Earth *requires* IE 6/7. Microsoft can’t even get their fancy web apps to work in a standard browser, much less on Linux!

I think it’s already safe to assume they made this design (blunder) decision from the start.
16 Erin // Nov 7, 2006 at 1:42 pm

Scott, get real.

Show me where IE 6/7 isn’t the defacto standard out here (I won’t argue with Firefox being a better browser with you because I agree with that statment). I’m guessing 85% of the market on day one is pretty good.

GE didn’t work on Linux for a year after it was released to the public. But I do agree if they don’t move beyond IE 6/7 from there they will be only hurting themselves.
17 James Fee // Nov 7, 2006 at 1:46 pm

I find it humorous that making a product that works the 80% of the web browsers out there (probably closer to 90% than 80%, but I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt) is a blunder.

I don’t use IE as my primary browser, but IE Tab solves that problem for me.
18 marsun // Nov 7, 2006 at 4:28 pm

What is an Application based on a non-standard and proprietary Graphics Library (directX) good for? Reminds me on another Story of Lord of the Rings.
19 James Fee // Nov 7, 2006 at 4:36 pm

Oh so GE is worthless because it uses DirectX?

Don’t kid your self. Microsoft has released VE3D to benefit their products. Thus the first release supports the latest Windows, latest MS browsers and DirectX. What is so surprising about that?

Please, there are reasons why VE3D won’t succeed and using DirectX isn’t in the top 10.
20 marsun // Nov 7, 2006 at 8:28 pm

No “surprise”. ;o) I am not interested in the “success” of Applications, but in how long Software lasts. I avoid using Applications with artificial dependencies. Yes, it seems to be worthless to me because of DirectX.
21 James Fee // Nov 7, 2006 at 11:08 pm

Google Earth is worthless because of DirectX?
22 solasoca // Nov 8, 2006 at 4:53 am

The VE do has its advantages.For example,the virtual 3D picture can show the city much better than the photographs take by the satellites.
23 Réactions sur Virtual Earth 3D « Vision.air // Nov 8, 2006 at 5:21 am

[...] - Une série de screenshots et analyses sur ces liens par James Fee: a first look with screencaps, advertising, only one window at a time, comparing the eye candy with Google Earth, et Camden Yards. [...]
24 marsun // Nov 8, 2006 at 5:35 am

I don’t like GE for similar reasons. Not only because it depends on DirectX. But they use a proprietary license, too. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprietary
25 James Fee // Nov 8, 2006 at 6:03 am

OK fair enough, I can’t argue with that. Personally it doesn’t bother me, but I can respect you wishes not to use a proprietary platform.
26 Brian Flood // Nov 8, 2006 at 6:56 am

so is XBox and nearly all the games that run on it “worthless” because of their dependencies on DirectX?

this isn’t some small piece of software that microsoft will cast aside in the future… it’s one thing to be pro-open source but to shun all software because it’s “proprietary” is a pretty interesting take on things.
27 j2memap blog » Blog Archive » Microsoft answer to Google Earth // Nov 9, 2006 at 12:51 am

[...] Virtual Earth 3D has been released yesterday by Microsoft, and it looks definitively good. There are plenty of analysis and reaction on the web, so I just post a few links here:Google Earth BlogMicrosoft Releaase Virtual Earth 3D (Beta) [...]
28 marsun // Nov 9, 2006 at 7:31 pm

Brian, that depends on what you think has value. For me proprietary Software is one-way-software. That means you can only use it in the way the Company wants you to use it. And maybe other Software-Developers have to “invent” the same Code again. No one can learn of it. Also you depend on the Company’s Support in the future. And you have to trust them for security reasons, because you don’t know what is running on your Computer. This all has nothing to do with the size of the Software. Yes, i will avoid to use it.

James, thanks for your respect.
29 James Fee // Nov 9, 2006 at 7:41 pm

marsun, how do you rationalize the hardware side? Much of the hardware is as proprietary as the software as you well know. How does one mitigate that problem with hardware?
30 marsun // Nov 9, 2006 at 10:07 pm

James, that is a good question. I would say using Software that runs on more than one Hardware-Platform or prefering Open Standards are ways to avoid to become dependant. But i don’t have a good answer to this and i am no expert in Open Source. I know there are Open Hardware Projects out there. http://www.opencollector.org/Whyfree/

Now we are absolutely Off Topic here. ;o)
31 Krunk4Ever! » Blog Archive » Virtual Earth // Nov 11, 2006 at 3:34 am

[...] Some more references: Microsoft Releases Virtual Earth 3D (Beta) - contains screenshots of it Virtual Earth 3-D - CBS news video Microsoft Virtual Earth preview - CNET video [...]
32 kody // Nov 12, 2006 at 11:44 pm

This is really nice.
33 cesar martinez // Sep 27, 2007 at 9:43 am

bisalisar mi finca
34 Mike Lock // Oct 20, 2007 at 2:52 am

Virtual Earth seems to have packed up on my computer. Every time I try to access, it jams in mid loading, then nothing responds and I have to restart to get out of it. A Trojan program maybe?
35 h // Oct 20, 2007 at 10:03 am

g
36 GARY W. FISHBURN // Apr 14, 2008 at 7:40 am

3D Beta will not install,virtual earth does,3D install keeps running me in circles.Tried to install [ Virtual Earth 3D Beta] about 15 times. I get virtual earth,but not the 3D Beta part . I have Enternet Exployer,Google homepage,Vista Ultimate.Computer says it is already downloaded every time i try to redo it.
37 James Fee // Apr 14, 2008 at 7:50 am

Gary, not sure what to day. The 3D isn’t beta anymore, but you should be able to click on the 3D button in IE or FF on Windows and see the globe. Beyond that I can’t really help you.
38 Gary G. // Apr 18, 2008 at 9:38 am

“In one year if VE 3D doesn’t work on either Linux or MacOS then I’ll agree that they made a bad decision.” - Nov 7, 2006 at 11:29 am

It’s been a year and a half and no 3D linux support
39 audrie // May 10, 2008 at 7:48 am

can anyone talk about the GIS capabilities? How easy is it to plot points and associate data (the kind of stuff you do with ESRI products) or geodatabases.
40 Bryant // Jun 7, 2008 at 7:16 pm

Gary F. - You are not alone, I have exactly the same problem.
41 me // Jul 8, 2008 at 11:58 am

Gary F: me too, same problem
42 Manny // Jul 17, 2008 at 7:27 am

I tried to install MS virtual earth 3D with horrible results, when downloading it closed out every app that was already running on my computer and it still didn’t download properly. The program looks very clear, way better that GE but it does me no good if the installer won’t work as it should.
43 Chris Pendleton // Jul 17, 2008 at 11:57 am

There are some minimal video card requirements for installing VE 3D, but you might want to check out a blog entry I posted about troubleshooting installation issues: http://blogs.msdn.com/virtualearth/archive/2008/06/12/overcoming-proxy-issues-with-microsoft-virtual-earth-3d.aspx.