Wish You Were Here!

I have been enjoying some of the new technology tools available out there that allow us to explore the world and I thought I would share some of my favorites and all of them are free. Enjoy!

Google Earth
If you haven't played with this, you should. The application (which you download from Google) combines aerial photography and other resources to allow you to see places in your neighborhood (type in your address to see) or on the other side of the world.
http://earth.google.com/

A9 BlockView Images
A9, a division of Amazon.com, has started putting together views of major cities from the point of view of someone walking down the street. This is great for familiarizing yourself with landmarks before you take off to find an address in an unfamiliar town. They have focused on 24 city centers, but they are actively expanding.
http://maps.a9.com/

Google Maps
If you are just trying to get directions, I recommend this site (can you tell I am a Google fan?). You can look up a street map or satellite image and then get driving directions from or to that location. It is easy to use and very practical.
http://maps.google.com

Windows Live local - Virtual Earth
Microsoft doesn't want to be left behind, so they have put together a beta that allows you to tour a city behind the wheel of a race car, sports car, or on a walking tour. They only show San Francisco and Seattle right now, but the idea is fun. They combine the street view with an aerial view so that you can get your bearings.
http://preview.local.live.com/

Ok, one last one. This one isn't technically a map program, but uses maps and is just interesting.

Zillow
This site allows you to type in a US address and then provides you the current market valuation of the property. This information is mapped on aerial photography and includes the pricing of homes in the rest of the neighborhood. You can get additional information about the property. They say the accuracy varies by state, so check out the site for additional details.
http://www.zillow.com/

If you know of other cools sites that use technology in fun ways, I would love to hear about them.