A trip & Live Maps Vs. Google Maps

Made a last minute decision to join my parents on a trip to Tibet this week. Until now I have only made use of Google Maps. Having seen the detail in Microsoft's Live Search Maps, I decided to test it out. The results are shown below.

Google Maps


MS Live Search Maps

First, Live Search Maps offer more labeling detail than Google Maps. The sheer number of labeled city names and provincial information makes eyeballing cities a possibility. Furthermore, the detail extends to the lines drawn around the map. The total straight line distance is reported. However, searching for places is effectively monolingual. Input of Chinese text into the search bar offers no results. On the other hand, text of other languages work well in Google Maps and enables faster placing of pins, saving eyeballing time.

Second and most important of all, there is no easy way to embed Live Search Maps. That is the reason why it is an image above. Embedding requires writing your own Javascript methods that call the Live Search Maps API along with a good guess of the coordinates. This is a far cry from Google Maps that just generates html code on the fly.

Last, those red pins are just ugly.

Brisbane Day 5 to 6 - University of Queensland and City Botanical Gardens

View the previous post here or return to the trip index here.

23 Apr 2009 to 24 Apr 2009

Time flies and before I know it, it is the last two days in Brisbane. Did the usual routine of getting to the DASFAA conference on the conference bus. The last day always seems so empty. Delivered the talk in the morning, stayed for lunch before deciding to check out the St. Lucia campus of the University of Queensland.

Entrance to conference venue


Many nice green open fields for students to sit around


I was inside the compound of the Forgan Smith building


The Forgan Smith building


Heading towards an exit I passed by a nice park with a large fountain in a lake


Bus stop in front of the Eleanor Schonell Bridge designated only for pedestrian, cyclists or CNG buses


Close-up of the bridge


Walking along the river bank to the CityCat jetty


Boarding the CityCat to get back to the CBD


Buy your ticket from the men behind the counter, conductors will come around to check your ticket


The cockpit of the hi-speed ferry


Apartments along the river


Stopping at another jetty, it takes at least three people to operate a CityCat, one to manage the mooring, one for tickets, and the last for steering


Reaching the CBD, another CityCat headed in the opposite direction


Dis-embarking at the North Quay 1 jetty



Went back to Hotel George Williams for some rest, it is run by the YMCA


Later in the afternoon, went around the city again. A church along Ann St. opposite King George Square


Walked into the City Hall to view a small art exhibition


Made from items depicting aborigines


This has kind of a 3D effect to it


Manga Girl by Chris Booth, amazingly, my camera's face detection actually recognised it as a face. Whoever said that manga characters are distorted...


Video of a man (left) asking some serious survey questions and the clown (right) answering them, sometimes in a childish manner. Both are the same person -- the artist David m Thomas


Wandering further around the City Hall but there's nothing more to see


Headed down Albert Street to the City Botanical Gardens


A good deal of various vegetation here


Whoa, some serious plant vandalism must have occurred here


They even have bamboo


The Old Government House


Stumbled into the Queensland University of Technology that is next to the gardens


A cafe in the garden that is closed


Arrived at the riverbank


A wooden platform allows one to walk about the mangrove swamp at the river bank


Feeling exhausted I left the park and went to Mick Omalleys Irish Pub at Wintergarden on Queen St. for dinner


Aaaah, no it's not coke, it's Guiness


Many beers on tap at the bar, this pub is big


Dinner is a 200g steak with pepper sauce not as good as the other Corkman Irish pub in Melbourne


Aaaah, this time it's Kilkenny


Same Church along Ann St. at night


The next morning, waiting opposite the hotel for my coach to the airport


Off I go


Departure Hall


Gazing at the plane and...


Saw this thick black smoke rising up from some factory chimney, so much for breathing in the fresh air


Beef pasta and lots of 10 inch screen movies


I forgot what this is, I think it is some chicken pie

Thus ends my rather uneventful trip to Brisbane. There is nothing much to see or do in the city itself. I guess it would have been more enjoyable if I had the time to head out to the Gold Coast or the Sunshine Beach.

Return to the trip index here.

Brisbane Day 2 to 4 - Around & Night Views of the City

View the first post in this series and trip index here.

20 Apr 2009

Back in the city from Lone Pine Koala sanctuary, I walked across the Victoria Bridge towards Queen St, the main shopping district, to look for lunch and some views of the city.

Ferris Wheel and Griffith University behind it


The Conrad Treasury Casino


Bank of New South Wales building


The Telegraph Newspaper Company Limited


I decided to pick this for lunch in a food court in Wintergarden Center, a shopping mall


AUD 8.45 for a pepperoni pizza and a canned drink. After lunch, I continued exploring the area around Queens St.


The Irish Club along Elizabeth St.


The Brisbane City Hall adjacent to King George's Square, hosts a small museum, functions rooms and exhibition rooms. It was completed in 1930


Close-up of the arch



The ceiling and floor inside


The School of Arts

I first thought that this was a tomb of the unknown soldier. However it is actually the Shrine of Remembrance on ANZAC Square. Seems like this place will be host to memorial services this weekend on ANZAC day. It feels surreal that three years ago my guide for my Turkey trip detailed about the Battle of Gallipoli during World War I and now I am here in front of a memorial half-way round the globe where the soldiers came from.

Central Station, it's a real metro station inside


St Andrew's Uniting Church, interestingly built on a slope in 1905. Brisbane is indeed hilly


St. John's Cathedral on Ann St, the only Victorian Gothic Cathedral under construction in Australia


Another nice looking building with fancy corridors


For dinner, I decided to take the plunge back at Wintergarden Center at Mick Omalleys Irish Pub at the basement


The pasta special for AUD 10 was pretty pathetic. However XXXX beer is actually good!

Night shot of Conrad Treasury casino on my way back to Hotel George Williams. That ends my second day in Brisbane. Tomorrow I will be up early to attend the opening of the DASFAA 2009 conference.

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21 Apr 2009 to 22 Apr 2009

The next two days were spent mainly at the conference in the University of Queensland, attending some talks and slacking off in the internet room. Highlights of the first and second nights were the reception and banquet respectively. After the reception on the first night, I went around the South Bank with some friends to take some night shots.

Great piping hot breakfast again. It's either spinach, mushroom and toast or sausages, bacon, eggs, and toast


The opening session with the usual reports


Slacking off in the internet room. They get real cool iMacs everywhere with WinXP on them...


The John Hay Building where the conference was held


Off for a night stroll around the city after the reception on the first night. A highway along the CBD is built right beside the river bank. It is as if there is no where else to put it but on the river


A Nepalese temple/shrine at the South Bank


Being far from the ocean, there's an artificial beach at the South Bank


The ferris wheel lighted at night


Skyline at Victoria Bridge at night


An interesting company name on my way to the conference venue the next day


The banquet was at the Summit Restaurant at the lookout on Mt. Coot-tha, where the city is in full view


Banquet Food


Night view of Brisbane from Mt. Coot-tha

Before I know it, the banquet was over and it will be the last day of the conference tomorrow. Unfortunately for me, my presentation is tomorrow, leaving me with no time to take any day trips out of the city before returning home.

Check back for the next post soon

Return to the trip index here.