Last week's announced contract (press release) with Microsoft for use of DigitalGlobe imagery (both newly added to the archive and historical) is another opportunity to find more B2B deals. McCarthy can see the company participating in enterprise implementations of Virtual Earth. He noted that now it's easier than ever for those in the enterprise to use imagery, but he quickly added, "not professionally," by which I believe he meant, in analyses.

In the interview I did dip into the waters of metadata. I pointed out my frustration that neither portal makes it easy for end users to find out the date or platform of the imagery on screen. McCarthy noted consumers "don't need or want that" (with which I disagree) but rather such information is available for professional users. I will note that the latest iteration of the API for Virtual Earth now has tools to access metadata.

The most interesting dichotomy in the DigitalGlobe/GeoEye contracts is the inclusion of exclusivity in the GeoEye deal. I wonder which choice, to be exclusive or the be "equal opportunity," will deliver more money to company coffers. I guess time will tell, and perhaps, like Tele Atlas and NAVTEQ, acquisitions will tell which company ends up where.