Microsoft on Monday announced the availability of MapPoint 2006, a new business mapping software. MapPoint 2006 can help customers improve decision-making capabilities and increase new business opportunities through the use of maps and geographical information, enabling better analysis, visualization and communication of business information. It also enhances its usefulness for mobile information workers by adding new Global Positioning System (GPS) integration and driver guidance capabilities so that users can make the most out of time spent away from the office. MapPoint 2006 is available today, and comes in two offerings: a stand-alone software package as well as one that includes both the MapPoint 2006 software and a new GPS locator hardware kit.

New MapPoint 2006 features that I like:

1. Wi-Fi positioning is also available through a computer’s wireless network capabilities and the Microsoft’ Location Finder, which accesses a database of known Wi-Fi access points to determine a user’s location.

2. Updated geographic data and a new GPS task pane that uses information from connected, compatible GPS devices to display current location, speed and traveling direction.

3. Driving directions for Windows XP users determine location from a connected GPS device and combine it with route information to deliver voice and text direction information.

3. MapPoint 2006’s demographic data refreshing capabilities will enable businesses to visualize up-to-date trends and combine business data with demographics to focus their marketing and better analyze results.

4. Easy integration with Microsoft Office solutions.

MapPoint 2006 launch by Microsoft source

The European Union’s Trademark and Design Office, is claiming that Microsoft’s new font for Windows Vista and Office 2007 is a copy of Frutiger Next, a design patented by Linotype, an old German company.

The agency says that Segoe’s letterforms “differ only in minor details” from Frutiger. The three judges in the case noted that Microsoft disputed the documentation of Druckmaschinen’s fonts but “does not contest the claim of the Applicant that they should be considered identical.”

Microsoft applied for at least eight design registrations in January 2004 for different weights of Segoe UI, its user interface font. However, Linotype’s parent company, Heidelberger Druckmaschinen, has appealed against the move.

Jensen Harris, a Microsoft program manager, has written: “We’re not just introducing a new UI in Office [2007] — we’re also introducing a new UI font. It was conceived, designed, and totally optimized for ClearType,” a technology that smooths fonts on LCD screens. It will be turned on by default for the first time in Windows Vista.

How would you answer if at a crowded conference someone asked you outright why Windows Vista is better than Windows XP?

Or for that matter why Office 2007 (formerly 12) should be preferred to Office 2003?

Mini-Microsoft, Redmond’s rogue blogger, asks how “If your non-techie friend or financial advisor or Mom asked you that question, what are you going say?

“I only ask because recently I was watching a video of a speaker at Microsoft. During the Q&A, he asked that question of a lady Microsoftie in the audience. Not only could you tell her brain was momentarily frozen (uhhhhhh), you could feel that the entire crowd hit a panicked brain freeze. The lady then came up with an almost apologetic answer saying the Vista is more stable, safer, and faster than XP.”

This is clearly an important response which ought to be instantaneous for people who actually work for Microsoft, he thinks

“I do think Vista is great, but even I can’t come up with a 30-second knock-it-out-of-the-park reason as to why anyone would part with their hard-earned money to upgrade to it. Which I feel bad about and I’m going to work on it. I figure everyone at Microsoft needs to have an honest answer as to why our two cash cows are worth upgrading to.”

Hmm, whenever were snake-oil salesmen stumped for such a reply? Maybe it’s a sign of honesty at Redmond.

There’s an interesting piece over on Paul Thurrott’s blog today. Paul is Mr Supersite who specializes in Microsoft software.

He’s been testing both Windows Vista and Office 12 (2007?) for a while now, so what’s his take in the state of readiness of these products?

I’ve been using Office 12 on my main desktops and notebooks since late last year on a regular basis, and I’ve traveled with Office 12 three times so far. It’s fairly stable, but Outlook 12 suddenly coughed up a hairball last week and is now marking every word I type as a spelling error (using those squiggly red lines), thus making the spell check feature useless. And don’t get me started on Windows Vista: I’m working on a Vista book and I’ve had to reinstall Vista on just my main desktop three separate times this week. It’s a real time suck.

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