We launched the first version of maps with the Yellow Pages project around the start of the year. This received a ton of great press thanks to our (admittedly insane) idea of driving around the entire country taking pictures of every street we could. Of course, like all projects, there were a number of improvements to be made. I think that the new beta maps are a tremendous step in that direction.
There have been so many innovations lately in the mapping and local search areas. Google has their beautiful (and very usable) street maps and satellite images and driving directions. And they just released the Google Earth client-side application for free (when Keyhole wrote it they charged money for it) -- which seems great, but I'll have to wait until the port it to Mac or Linux. Yahoo Local itself hasn't had a big release in a while, but since they've written what is currently my favorite general web search engine, it can only be a matter of time before they up the ante. And speaking of upping the ante, Microsoft is incorporating arial photography into their local search results. (Though I almost couldn't post about it because their local site doesn't work in anything other than IE.)
And these are just the major players. I'm certain that we haven't seen the last of them, and the best new application could likely come from some we've never heard of yet. However, in the mean time it is great working side-by-side with the team here that continues to innovate and focus on providing a useful local service. (I'm personally of the opinion that sidewalk views are a lot more useful than a satellite photo when you're trying to figure out how to get to a restaurant. But don't get me wrong -- satellite views are beautiful eye-candy, I've spent hours looking at my old neighborhoods. "Look, I can see the top of the building I used to live in!")
Someday they will all converge and we'll have real-time 3-D feeds of every inch of the world. And the map will become the real and we'll all quote Borges and drink absinthe. In the meantime, it's great fun to watch (and participate in) the race.
Please keep in mind that this is just a beta. We plan on tuning and improving it, and you can help. If you have any feedback on the maps, please use our feedback form or just send me an email directly (dewitt at unto). I'll make sure your ideas get in the hands of the right people.
[Update: I just got a heads up that something is going to happen at http://developer.yahoo.net/maps around noon PDT today. Like I said, it was only a matter of time before they up the ante...]