I loved the flyover feature of the old Microsoft software atlases of the 90's. Better than the wireframe of Flight Simulator, but still only granular to a mile square, if I remember correctly. I look forward to flying over Paris, London, my old home town, my ancestors' villages, and who knows where else.
And....Retail and chain restaurant real estate people (the folks who decide where to put the stores) will certainly use these systems, and not just for fun.
I worked in the trade area group at a "big box" retailer, and two of our staff would fly out to whatever city where a new store was proposed, drive around, drink a lot of coffee, take a lot of pictures, and mark up maps with competitors' locations, apparent traffic flows, and whatever else they could see that seemed relevant. Back at the office, the maps were pinned with population demographics, planned highway or other development info, etc. Companies with smaller stores do the same thing without the travel, and frequently miss some salient characteristics.
I see these folks using such mapping, with geo-coded data laid over the photos, to plan locations better.
And whenever you get the urge to say some technology has no use beyond amusement, remember that the head of Western Union said the same thing about the telephone (unless he didn't).
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I loved the flyover feature of the old Microsoft software atlases of the 90's. Better than the wireframe of Flight Simulator, but still only granular to a mile square, if I remember correctly. I look forward to flying over Paris, London, my old home town, my ancestors' villages, and who knows where else. And....Retail and chain restaurant real estate people (the folks who decide where to put the stores) will certainly use these systems, and not just for fun. I worked in the trade area group at a "big box" retailer, and two of our staff would fly out to whatever city where a new store was proposed, drive around, drink a lot of coffee, take a lot of pictures, and mark up maps with competitors' locations, apparent traffic flows, and whatever else they could see that seemed relevant. Back at the office, the maps were pinned with population demographics, planned highway or other development info, etc. Companies with smaller stores do the same thing without the travel, and frequently miss some salient characteristics. I see these folks using such mapping, with geo-coded data laid over the photos, to plan locations better. And whenever you get the urge to say some technology has no use beyond amusement, remember that the head of Western Union said the same thing about the telephone (unless he didn't).