A month or so ago I discovered that Microsoft's Bing Maps no longer include the Ordnance Survey (OS) maps layer for the UK. I normally use GoogleMaps, but I might head over to Bing Maps for this feature. Google's maps aren't all that clear, like the colour palette or lines are too faint, that and junctions and which road is which vanish under a blue line when you plot a route (probably not a Google-only issue)...

The OS map layer was pretty handy, mostly for showing walking routes and sites of interest, along with adding clarity where the plain ordinary layer didn't. But my usage of these maps online (you can buy them in paper format for hiking) predates Bing Maps' (Windows Live Maps) inclusion of them. Before this they were part of Multimap, which Microsoft acquired... 18 years ago... [wow!] Back then I would print off a map when I needed to find somewhere new or unfamiliar; it made no sense for me to buy a satnav (and I didn't have a smartphone back then), let alone keep one up-to-date - just print off a map on a sheet of paper and scribble on a few notes, done. I would often keep the map to a client's address in a folder for future use.

These days I have used a satnav in my car, but mainly because they're old-hat now and they kept finding their way to me for free. Generally the maps are out of date but good enough. Beyond that, having a smartphone with GoogleMaps is handy, particularly if a little lost. Generally, however, I prefer to look at a map (yes generally at my computer) beforehand, to plan a journey the somewhat old-fashioned way. When riding my bike, handling maps in any format is a bother (I've never looked into putting anything on my handlebars), although a folded up map in a shirt pocket is sometimes the way to go. But if out actually hiking, then I would keep a paper map in my backpack, along with a compass.

Anyway, there's not much of an explanation for why Microsoft have ditched these maps, other than cost saving I suppose, and the general ensh!tification of things that big corporations buy up, run into the ground, and ultimately ditch (Geocities bought by Yahoo!, which it then closed down. Picasa acquired and later shutdown by Google. Skype, by Microsoft. And Winamp by AOL, to name a few).

www.openstreetmap.org is now something I have discovered.