Well, it will have to be something other than Photosynth for me, so I’m not concerned about its release data. I won’t risk my data in a Microsoft format. I’m aware there are various panorama tools, but haven’t had need to try them yet; probably will after my field trip to the Rockies.

I love surfing the web!

Yes you are right, making a photosynth is kind of a pain. For it to work correctly you have to take a ton of photos. To correctly synth a room you would have to take 100′s of photos.

There is a technology that works a lot like street view, but much smoother. A company called neustep(neustep.com). They’ve done something pretty neat by offering an open platform that is free for hobbiest, non profits, and semi commercial version for freelancers. The technology that they developed is called a WebWalk. Currently I am in the beta user group for their webwalk.com debut. And i’m in love with their platform, and presentation. If you are interested in streeview and synth you’ll love neustep’s webwalk.

-Joan