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Sneak Peek at Microsoft's WorldWide Telescope
Ted.com has a great sneak peek at Microsoft's new WorldWide Telescope project. In this video, presented by Roy Gould and Curtis Wong, you are able to see a combined view of satellites and telescopes from all over the planet and nearby space. The compiled image is rendered using Microsoft's new high-performance "Visual Experience Engine" that allows users to pan and zoom across the night sky seamlessly.
why don't they just combine it with DRM and get the full packages - watching us, watching them, watching us...
D00d, I luv the way you say "Linuzz" instead on "Linux", and "Abble" instead of "Apple" (even if I don't really get "Abble") but you missed the obvious and oh-so-original "Open Sores" line that cracks me up everytime.
Back on topic, Google have already done this, Celestia have already done this (and Celestia is free software - sorry, "open sores"), so what's *not* to bash about Microsoft (damn, that should be M$) arriving late to the party? What does Microsoft bring to the party that we don't already have - in spades - already? Fanbois?
I know, I shouldn't feed the troll, but it was so cute, sitting there under the bridge...
This is where the serious fun begins.
How is this different from Google Sky?
Google sky is from Google and the worldwide telescope is from Microsoft.
hth
A. The WorldWide Telescope (WWT) is a rich visualization environment that functions as a virtual telescope, bringing together imagery from the best ground- and space telescopes to enable seamless, guided explorations of the universe. WorldWide Telescope, created with Microsoft®'s high-performance Visual Experience Engine(TM), enables seamless panning and zooming across the night sky blending terabytes of images, data, and stories from multiple sources over the Internet into a media-rich, immersive experience. Couldn't find the same about Google Earth (Sky): Explore the sky with Google Earth
Whether you're an astronomer or stargazer, Sky in Google Earth brings millions of stars and galaxies to your fingertips.
In related news Microsoft has issued a press release indicating that users looking up are taking revenue from Microsoft, who now owns the copyright to 100% of the sky. "As we all know DRM is a critical issue today. If people could just look up any time they pleased there would be no need for our new software. Innovation would be stiffled and we have scientists who say the sky might fall." said Microsoft product manager I M ATwat. "For many years we at Microsoft have endured casual astronomers looking up at the sky, and focused our efforts at prosecuting only professionals. However, today we will be launching an education campaign aimed at educating the public about the legal dangers of looking up. We are launching a new tool SGA - 'Sky Genuine Advantage' which will inform the user that piracy is illegal and won't be tolerated. Delivery will be via Microsoft Blimp. We at Microsoft look forward to providing our users with legal computerized views of the sky for a very reasonable price."
These posts express my own personal views, not those of my employer
Firstly they act like a Vogon Constructor Fleet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogon_Constructor_Fleet and destroy all competition to their plans...
Second they try to take over the internet like Infinidim Enterprises http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mostly_Harmless#Infinidim_Enterprises took over the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Worse, Steve Ballmer starts performinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vogon_poetry as can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMU0tzLwhbE
Now they come up with this... Their very own version of the Total Perspective Vortex http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_Perspective_Vortex
Rumour has it that after the Vista debacle, MS is going to rename itself to MyCrowSoft and their next OS will be far more powerful than any other ever released. Fully optimised for mobile applications, it will ship in an innovative new format with a shock proof coating of black feathers...
Apologies for the urls, formatting etc. but I'm not used to this yet.
Jesus was an invention of the Romans - watch "The Pharmacractic Inquisition" for something more credible...
As soon as I heard him say "holistic" I hit the back button. Learned a long time ago the term holistic us usually a codeword for inane bullshit.
You know, I'd be surprised if it runs on XP, let alone Linux.
I'm the "Microsoft Visual Experience Engine" has some core dependency like DirectX 10, or whatever, that is a big pain in the ass to port. (Not to mention, corporate strategies behind Vista and all that).