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Microsoft Kills Off MapPoint and Streets and Trips In Favor of Bing Maps

Posted by Unknown on from the 90s-time-warp-fixed dept.

DroidJason1 (3589319) writes Microsoft has killed off two of its mapping products, MapPoint and Streets & Trips. Both of these services have received their last update and will soon be retired in favor of Microsoft's premier mapping product, Bing Maps. The company has yet to go public with a press release announcing the retirement of these two mapping services, but the Redmond giant has quietly mentioned the fate on both the services' websites. MapPoint was first released back in 1999 and made it easier to view, edit, and integrate maps into software. Streets & Trips was a route planning package. Microsoft is now pushing Bing Maps exclusively.

5 of 174 comments (clear)

  1. Problem with proprietary 'free' offerings by jkrise · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You never know when they will get killed. Same goes for Free Sharepoint, Free Office 365, Free One Drive etc. Get off them and breathe free.

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
  2. I'm always amazed MS blew the mapping race by 0xdeaddead · · Score: 5, Interesting

    when they had Microsoft TerraServer running on those sweet DEC Alpha's back in 1998. Instead of launching a new and exciting mapping service, they just settled for a minor showcase for SQL Server 7 with a database greater than 1TB.

    Talk about a company with zero vision.

    1. Re:I'm always amazed MS blew the mapping race by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Because upper management there is only concerned with a project long enough to use it to jump to the next bigger project. And, bigger is not defined as more important. It's a project with more employees. When I jumped to Expedia very early in that company's history, it was a pleasure to work there. Importance of a project was based upon the number of customers and/or profit. The goal of making a good product and attracting and keeping customers was pounded into us constantly. At Microsoft, making a profit or making customers happy was never a goal of upper management. I never once heard any feedback from customers. At Expedia, we did constant A/B tests and were told exactly what worked and what didn't. That's how you make a better product.

  3. And, probaly, nothing of value was lost. by wvmarle · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I for one had never even heard of these products, and I don't think I've ever encountered a web site using it. All I see is Google Maps when sites need to do something with mapping.

  4. Re:What MS needs to do is by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Damn right about Google. Their maps' legibility have fallen dramatically since their last iteration. When I open my local area, the names of roads, lanes, paths, woods, ponds and lots of other cartographic noise are visible, but whole towns and villages are missing. Only one or two villages are visible out of the 20-30 in the area and these are in a lighter font than the damn 10 hectare wood/pond/back-lane next to it. On top of this, odd places are highlighted (far more prominent) even when logged out. I've no idea why the name of a farm business 5 miles away is more important than the 3 000 people living anonymously in the unlabelled village next to it.