Really cool software

My 14-day free trial is almost up, but I'm seriously considering buying this. Quite possibly one of the coolest programs I've seen, Keyhole combines street mapping (like Mapquest) with satelite and high-resolution aerial photography to deliver some kick-ass graphics. The animations and fly-arounds are reminiscent of hi-tech spy movies. In fact, CNN uses Keyhole graphics all the time, for example in covering the weather or the conflict in Iraq. As for me, I looked at my apartment and campus, at some of the areas I've hiked, and at different places in and around Chicago and St. Louis.

One of the neatest features is being able to tilt and see terrain. I was really hoping that tilting would also allow you to see the height of buildings, but at least in Chicago it did not. But all the navigation commands (pan, zoom, rotate, and tilt) are real-time, as opposed to websites like Mapquest for drawings or even like Terraserver for photographs, which require you to click and wait for the newly re-centered or re-zoomed image to load. So you can plan a route or figure out that windy road thru the park. Also, Keyhole has a database of many points of interest like hospitals, public transportation, fast food, and more.

So I sit here twiddling my thumbs, trying to decide if it's worth the $25 per year subscription. I guess the novelty will wear off, but for now it's very enticing.