Microsoft adding to portfolio with imaging camera and services courtesy of Vexcel

This from the Rocky Mountain News... Microsoft Corp. is in the process of acquiring Boulder-based remote-sensing company Vexcel Corp. for an undisclosed sum. "The acquisition is part of Microsoft's exciting vision to deliver a dynamic . . . digital representation of the real world that provides the best local search and mapping experience to consumers, businesses and government," said Jerry Skaw, Vexcel's marketing communications manager. The news comes two days after Google Inc. announced it bought Boulder-based @Last Software, also for an undisclosed amountAbout VexcelFounded in 1985, Vexcel Corporation is an internationally recognized remote sensing company specializing in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) Technologies, remote sensing ground stations and mapping and photogrammetry systems with offices in the US, Canada, Austria, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and sales operations in China and Australia. In 1999 its Austrian office—Vexcel Imaging GmbH—introduced the UltraScan 5000™ precision film scanning system, today’s best selling photogrammetric scanner, and in 2004 started shipping the UltraCam-D aerial camera. In addition to these aerial imagery collection devices, Vexcel offers the UltraMap-Server for image cataloging, archiving and post-processing. FYI, Vexcel's flagship product is UltraCam, a large-format digital aerial camera... sounds to me like Microsoft plans on enhancing the recently announced "street side" offering with some more imagery.. now courtesy of their own camera! - see http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/8274/ - For more on this see http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech/article/0,2777,DRMN_23910_4552066,00.html