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Microsoft Unveils Street Slide Map UI

Posted by kdawson on from the how-it-ought-to-be dept.

theodp writes "For show-and-tell at SIGGRAPH 2010, Microsoft Research brought Street Slide, 'a multi-perspective street slide panorama with navigational aides and mini-map.' Very slick (demo video). Technology Review explains that Street Slide stitches together slices from multiple panoramas, making it possible to see all the shops on a street at once. Someone using Street Slide's panoramic view can slide along the facades looking for places of interest (perhaps guided by logos or ads at the bottom), and zoom back in to a classic Bing Streetside bubble view at any time."

11 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. Why don't they use Silverlight? by bogaboga · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am surprised that folks at Microsoft have decided to employ Adobe's Flash other than their own Silverlight.

    You see, in the past, one would get a dialogue asking them to install Silverlight in order to see content. It makes me wonder whether Silverlight is slowly dying - at least in Microsoft's opinion. Remember the KIN ?

    1. Re:Why don't they use Silverlight? by mark72005 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No - something had to have entered the public consciousness before it could possibly be remembered.

    2. Re:Why don't they use Silverlight? by recoiledsnake · · Score: 5, Informative

      What makes you think they're using Flash. Only the demo video is in Flash, the implementation will most likely be Silverlight(new version of Bing Maps already uses it). Also, the only way to develop apps for Windows Phone 7 is through Silverlight(XNA for games), so I don't they're abandoning it anytime soon. Far from it, they're pushing it more.

      --
      This space for rent.
    3. Re:Why don't they use Silverlight? by bogaboga · · Score: 4, Interesting

      That sounds reasonable but as indicated in my post, one would get a dialog advising a Silverlight install; in fact, Microsoft's 'modus operandi' in the past had been to 'force' an install or upgrade.

      These days, I see nothing pushing Silverlight at all!

  2. Re:Holy crap! by UnknowingFool · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Microsoft Research does many innovative things. It's Microsoft management that either fails to capitalize on it or takes a good idea and ruins it. Sometimes good ideas (ie MS Kinnect) escape and makes it into a useful product.

    --
    Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
  3. That reminds me of this by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Informative

    From seven years ago.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Route_panorama
    http://www.cs.iupui.edu/~jzheng/RP/index.html

    1. Re:That reminds me of this by Culture20 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Except that is entirely different. That is mostly what google street view does (except expanded with view bubbles). That is simply a long panorama. Google Street View is a panorama + 360 view bubbles. Street Slide takes Street View-like view bubbles and intelligently stitches them back into a panorama for getting a good spatial map of an area. Then when you need to zoom back in, it pushes you into the correct bubble. It is much easier for a person to view and use than either of the previous models.

      So what you are saying is that the panorama that is created by stitching image slices together (a la Dr. Zheng et al)...

      Technology Review explains that Street Slide stitches together slices from multiple panoramas,

      ...has hyperlinks on it that bring it to a Google bubble view. I give props to Microsoft for putting peanutbutter in their chocolate, but they didn't do a lot of inventing here.

  4. I still see a problem by Linker3000 · · Score: 3, Funny

    But we still have to leave our basements to visit the shops do we? If only there was some way of telling the shops what we wanted and then they'd deliver them right to our door for mom to bring down.

    --
    AT&ROFLMAO
  5. They were worried about handling slopes... by aapold · · Score: 3, Funny

    but I see it made the grade....

    --
    "Waste not one watt!" - CZ
  6. Re:Holy crap! by FriendlyPrimate · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The rumor is that there's a reason for this. Cash-rich Microsoft supposedly employs some of the best and brightest software engineers on go-nowhere projects simply to keep them out of the available workforce. Since this talent doesn't end up in competing companies, this helps them maintain their monopoly position in their cash cows.

    Microsoft is not full of idiots. The saying may go "Don't explain anything by conspiracy that is more easily explained by stupidity.", but that doesn't mean the opposite isn't true every once in a while.

  7. None so blind by westlake · · Score: 3, Informative

    These days, I see nothing pushing Silverlight at all!

    With the possible exception of Netflix...

    Symbian...Microsoft's Flash challenger Silverlight hits Symbian

    and porn. AEBN's Silverlight Player Gains Traction with Users