Windows Live Local beta

CNET editors' review

• Reviewed by: Elsa Wenzel
• Edited by: Robert Vamosi
• Reviewed on: 06/02/2006

Windows Live Local beta is a fun and zippy mapping tool that lets you obtain real-world driving directions, find businesses, and play virtual tourist. In addition to the dynamic, drag-around satellite imagery first popularized by Google Maps, Microsoft's service enables you to mark locations with pushpins and share your customizations with other users. Windows Live Local beta also integrates with a host of other Windows Live products, as well as with the Outlook e-mail and calendar app, making this the best Web-based map for die-hard Microsoft fans. You can try this service by visiting local.live.com.

The split-screen layout of Windows Live Local beta features an array of tools on the left side and a map with drop-down menus of features on the right side. Keyboard shortcuts make navigation handy; for example, just press the plus or minus keys to zoom in or out, or right-click on a location to plot directions to or from that spot. You can close the left pane for a wider map view, and show road maps or satellite imagery or a mix of both. In our tests, we saw aerial images of urban areas that were sometimes close enough to distinguish specific models of cars on the road. And for 100 U.S. cities and some U.K. locations, Windows Live Local provides a unique, 45-degree-angle "bird's-eye" view that lets you circle landmarks from near the ground in any of the four directions. Satellite views of rural areas and other countries are a mixed bag.

To find a location, enter either business data or address data into the two text fields at the top of the page. The two fields posed a problem for us, as we sometimes typed a query into the wrong field; the single text box within Google Maps is more intuitive.

Like other beta mapping services, Windows Live Local's driving directions appeared to us to be a work in progress. Unlike Yahoo Maps beta, which opens new text fields if you need to go from point B to points C and beyond, there's no easy way in Windows Live Local beta to get directions for more than one final destination. Unfortunately, at this point, there's no easy way to send your directions to a smart phone, either. Still, we like the traffic details for 35 cities, which flag and describe jams and incidents and color-code estimated driving speeds near trouble spots.

Once you find a destination, Windows Live Local's business listings can connect you to nearby services in North America and the United Kingdom. For example, we found CNET's offices, then typed auto in the top text field, which let us narrow down our search to mechanics. Windows Live Local then instantly marked 10 car shops near work. The left-hand pane listed more options, as well as several unobtrusive text ads.

We're glad that Local beta doesn't force you to sign in with a Passport or Windows Live account, but you'll have to log in to save and share searches. Once you do that, Local displays the map of your area by default. It can also pinpoint your location without demanding that you sign in, either by identifying your IP address or through its Location Finder, a free download.

The ability to mark locations with a pushpin, then save those preferences as a collection within Local's floating scratch pad provides more customization options than Windows Live Local's competitors offer. As Microsoft pushes to integrate its series of Windows Live products, drop-down menus atop the map pane let you send a map to a buddy from your Windows Live Messenger beta account. This can be useful if you're chatting about where to meet next, and you want to make sure to pick, say, a cafe on a quiet, tree-lined street. Not only can you save locations as pushpins on a map and add notes and photos to them, but you can also save and tag your Local collections to the Windows Live Favorites beta bookmarking tool. You can also post a chosen map to your MSN Spaces blog. And of course, there are links for e-mailing and printing personalized maps.

If you use Microsoft Outlook, you can install a free Windows Live Local add-in that hooks up your Appointments window with a Locations tab for maps and driving directions, and it even lets you tack on driving time to the length of a meeting.

Because Microsoft has followed Google Maps' lead by opening its Local code to developers, savvy users can combine these maps with their own sets of data. Examples include a users' homemade version of a Local mobile tool.

Should you feel lost, Windows Live Local beta provides helpful written instructions that you can read without leaving your map, but there's no searchable list of support topics. We like that unlike other online mapping tools, Microsoft adds e-mail support through a Web-based form. You can also ping the company with suggestions for improvement.

Overall, we found Windows Live Local beta to be among the best of the available dynamic, online mapping tools. However, we wish that it allowed us to find directions between more than two points. Still, if you're a frequent user of Microsoft products--particularly the Web-based Windows Live lineup--then this easy-to-use mapping service is a natural fit.

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User opinions

WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEW How would you rate this product?

• 9/10 Spectacular October 25, 2006

  by rodneygarnett (see profile)

  "very effective" Read more >>

• 9/10 Spectacular August 13, 2006

  by stevebor1 (see profile)

  "Packed with features" Read more >>

• WRITE YOUR OWN REVIEWSee all 2 user opinions >>

Where to buy

Windows Live Local beta

This free service is available from the vendor's Web site.