Taking Streetview-type maps to the next level

Common complaints (apart from privacy) about the new Streetview-style functionality on online map platforms are difficulties with definition and scrolling.

So, some clever folk at Microsoft have taken a look at the problem and come up with Street Slide.

The system combines the best aspects of the immersive feel of map bubbles (the technical term for individual, 360-degree location capture) with an overview provided by a strip-type browsing.

Engineers ran tests with users to see what they thought of the new system. The user experience was "greatly enhanced" by Street Slide and (all credit to Microsoft for saying so) found to be an improvement on similar functionality from its existing Bing maps system and that of arch rival Google.

Here's a clip:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-_T949uSwU