Via Scoble, Microsoft has updated Live Local (aka "Virtual Earth"). I took a look and was delighted to find that in the Firefox version, they are using inline SVG to draw driving directions.


This is great news for SVG advocacy and it is actually EXACTLY what I've been asking for: A high-profile web application made by a big company to endorse SVG. I just thought Google would be the first to do this (in fairness, the new Google Maps API v2 does have a secret option for SVG support, but it is not enabled by default in Google Local).

My only complaint (and you know there had to be at least one) is that Windows Live Local doesn't seem to use SVG in Opera 9 (well, Driving Direction paths are not visually showing up in O9 anyway).

Update: The new features surrounding traffic, construction and accidents do not seem to use SVG, they use rasters generated server-side.

By the way, I discovered this by using the Inspector in the latest version of the Firebug extension (via Alex Russell). If you are a web developer, I highly recommend that you check out this fantastic extension - it may be replacing my need for the DOM Inspector.

To see the inline SVG with Firebug on Windows Live Local:

  • Go to Live Local in Firefox 1.5
  • Click "Driving Directions", enter a start/end address
  • Expand the Firebug pane (click the red 'x' in the status bar)
  • Click the "Inspect" button in the Firebug pane
  • Click the driving direction line/path in the Local Live page

Digg this story if you want...


§260 · May 25, 2006 · Firefox, Google, Microsoft, RIA, Software, SVG, Technology, Web · · [Print]

2 Comments to “Microsoft Live Local Now Uses SVG”

  1. rikk says:

    is there any free API for that? Any experience reports?

  2. Mario Wunder says:

    I am a big fan of the SVG format – vector rule ! I’d like to join the question of rikk… do you know if there are any free API’s for it? Pls post a link or sth. thanks