No Apple on MSN's Earth

The Register reports that Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., are shown as an empty lot on Microsoft's Virtual Earth program, which was released today. In contrast, the Apple headquarters are in full view on the Google Maps service.

It might be tempting, or fun, to jump to the conclusion that Microsoft purposefully omitted the home of its digital music and personal-computer rival from MSN's view of the earth, but it looks as if it's actually a satellite image that predates the construction of the Apple headquarters.

The image of the current Apple site on the MSN Virtual Earth service is the same as this image from Microsoft's longstanding TerraServer project, which indicates that it was a USGS satellite image taken in 1991. But 1991? That's 14 years ago. If that's accurate, why is the new MSN service relying on a satellite image so old?

Update, Monday afternoon: It looks like it is, in fact, a 14-year-old image. Microsoft issued this statement in response to an inquiry about this topic:

MSN Virtual Earth was launched as a beta, and we expect to provide regular incremental updates, as well as major upgrades throughout the year. Ensuring our customers have the best possible information from this new service is critical to us. We’re confident that upcoming upgrades will continue to deliver a service that allows our customers to search locations like never before. We have announced agreements with Pictometry Intl Corp to deliver low-level 45 degree or Birds Eye imagery and with ORBIMAGE to provide Intl aerial photos. Birds Eye imagery will be available later this year, and MS has not announced a timeline for inclusion of ORBIMAGE photos.

Today the aerial imagery in MSN Virtual Earth comes from Microsoft’s Terraserver project (terraserver.microsoft.com). Terraserver has been digitizing publicly available aerial images taken by U.S. Geological Survey's National Aerial Photography Program (NAPP) for use on the Web. The frequency in which these images are updated varies.

The age of Terraserver images in Cupertino in particular are split -- we have some photos taken in 1991, and some from 2004. We believe that differences in our competitor’s imagery are due to them working with other vendors to provide more updated photos. We’re also extending and updating our imagery and are dedicated to continued enhancement of the beta product so that our customers have the best possible local search experience.