I just read some updated information on Virtual Earth by Microsoft and had to sit down and think about how it could affect the way technology influences our lives. This particular technology personally interests me on a variety of aspects. Other sites such as Yahoo.maps and Google Maps have brought mapping services together- however Virtual Earth may be a step into the sci-fi realm as things begin to converge. As physical locations become searchable items online the way we interact with the world will become very different.

Some not too distant possibilities-

-Imagine walking downtown and the cookie based tracking system in your cell phone database realizes you haven't visited a coffee shop for your morning coffee. As you walk by it reminds you by name and communicates with the coffee shop server. You click "yep, I need my morning coffee" and by the time you park your car and get to the counter the barista has your morning favorite ready to go and your account has already been charged.

-Imagine walking up to a street corner and realizing you have an hour to spend before a meeting and you simply query your PDA what local spots of interests fit your user profile. It could recommend a walk in the local park depending on the weather or visiting the local tavern for a special brew you love.

-Imagine being able to sit down at a scenic viewpoint and query your portable computer about "people who have visited here" and having the ability to browse through public profiles of people who may have similar interests.

-Walking into a popular technology store and having the store database let you know that they are looking to fill a job that matches the requirements you put in your online resume last week.

There are so many forms of data that could be combined with some basic variants of the technology we already have (cell phones, PDAs, Wifi Laptops, Bluetooth enabled cars) that we could quickly see a revolutionized way of communicating.  

Virtual Earth vs. Google Earth - SearchEngineWatch.com