Two of the most powerful companies in the world of the computers will take their competition into space as they develop their new programs that will allow internet users to travel around our known space from their homes thanks to the most advanced telescopes and satellites of the world like the Hubble and the Spitzer Infrared.
Microsoft is expected to launch this semester a new service called WorldWideTelescope which will allow Windows users to se 1,2 million galaxies and in a nearby future more than 2 billion.
In the other end we have Google that has already launched this August the service Sky which is similar to WorldWideTelescope but allows users to access the images directly from the internet without the need for any special program.
Microsoft has stated that the program is dedicated to Jim Gray, Microsoft Research member, who has deceased while sailing near San Francisco. Microsoft also says that the WorldWideTelescope will be free for educational and astronomic communities in the hope of inspiring people to explore and understand The Universe as they never did before.
Google Sky was borne almost like a hobby from the 20 per cent available time that Google give his workers to invest in self ideas like Gmail for example while the WorldWideTelescope has been developed by the leading engineers from Microsoft.
Both Google Sky and WorldWideTelescope will allow comments and say that a future cooperation might be possible.
My opinion is that both services will have a big success and add great value to the internet allowing users to expand their knowledge of space.