Bing Maps: now prettier! Also, OpenStreetMap, taxi calculator, more

Apparently Bing Maps has undergone a bit of a facelift and has come out all Lavender-like:

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Here’s a comparison of the old view and the new:

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An interesting look, what do you think?  Check it out at maps.bing.com.

In addition, more Bing Map Apps continue to be added, the latest one called OpenStreetMap.  Chris Pendleton explains:

OpenStreetMap follows a similar concept as Wikipedia, but for maps and other geographic facts (despite its name, it’s by no means only limited to streets and roads). People, like you and me, gather location data across the globe from a variety of sources such as recordings from GPS devices, from free satellite imagery or simply from knowing an area very well, for example because they live there. This information then gets uploaded to OpenStreetMap’s central database from where it can be further modified, corrected and enriched by anyone who notices missing facts or errors about the area.

And the King of Bing Maps competition is closed, and the applications are up, also on Bing Map Apps.  Try out the Taxi Fare Calculator (The app currently covers major U.S. metropolitan cities and 18 international cities including Madrid, Rome and London), The World of Football, Ricky’s Data Viewer, and more.  Check out the Bing Maps blog post for more info, or check out the apps themselves.