Bing's Birds-Eye

When traffic planner John McDonough used an aerial shot of the Armory in his presentation to the Zoning Board of Adjustment Tuesday, he said he preferred Bing's "bird's-eye" view to Google's overhead images. The angled view of the Armory and environs was very pleasing, in my opinion, more so than looking straight down on its roof.

So after I got home, I called up the image but was afraid to do a screen shot lest Microsoft sue me. But I ended up tracing on Bing my Google path to haunts of my childhood. It was exciting to see the building where I lived as a child and my nearby elementary school, with the very lawn where I had sat anxiously on the grass during some ceremony, hoping there were no crawly bugs around. I could trace my path to a park where I spent many happy hours literally smelling the roses and playing with my siblings.

A few more flights, to Seattle and to Plymouth, Penna., where I visited relatives in summer, convinced me that Bing bird's-eye was big fun.

It did not have other features that I like very much on Google, so I decided it would be an adjunct and not a replacement. But in fairness, I have not sampled all the options. If you have not tried it, pick a destination and give it a spin. Here is a link.