Microsoft

Microsoft Live brought out "1 Click Directions" recently. It's an interesting approach. Instead of your needing to supply a starting direction, Microsoft is providing directions coming from North, South, East and West using major highways as the starting reference point.
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Live has added 1-click directions.
2007-11-15

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Looking more like Google than ever, Microsoft Live is moving more and more towards a cleaner and cleaner brand.
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Live defaults to a web search but knows enough to feature local results when a search includes a geographic qualification. Almost looking like "tags" , Related Searches are utilizing the search string and further qualifying it with other presumably "popular" modifiers.
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Live Local Search Results include refinements based on category and neighborhood. Within each listing are prompts to review and their new "1-Click Directions" capability.
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Live business listing landing page defaults to a business info section replete with web results for the business in question. Strong promotion for the 1-click directions is provided here. The neighborhood the business is located in is given but it does not link to a neighborhood page. Find Nearby is promoted and the list of options is interesting.
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Live Landing Page with user reviews (apparently Citysearch only). The Find Nearby changes for this listing.
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Live Find Nearby for Transportation Lines. Treating the multi-billion dollar Regional Transportation District that supplies all public transportation along the Denver corridor with a small bus service is not equitable.
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Live 1-Click Directions is an interesting innovation. It doesn't require the user to enter a specific starting location. The user just has to tell the system what direction he or she is coming from. The site uses the closest major highway exits as the "starting location" assuming the user knows how to get to the major highway from wherever he or she is.
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Live provides refinement by Neighborhood via a pop-out in the results listing. No indication of the boundaries for any neighborhood seems to appear on the map.
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Live provides some support for handling multiple businesses located at the same address. This is useful but more could be done particularly when it comes to a whole shopping mall.
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Live Maps provide the user with 2D and 3D views (when using a Windows machine), as well as road, aerial, and birdseye views. Traffic information is also available.
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Live detail fly-outs on the map provide basic listing information along with send functionality (mobile and email), driving directions, adding listing to a collection, and zoom.
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Live birdseye view is unique and relatively useful.