Microsoft's View of "My Town"

This is a typical view of my area this time of year -- a view that is apparently appreciated by Microsoft. For the second time in a little over a year, Microsoft has selected a local company to partner in the Microsoft Windows Live program.

The first was Pictometry International Inc. for their development of a system for capturing and analyzing aerial digital images. That system is the basis of Windows Live Local (http://local.live.com).

The second, Kirtas Technologies, was announced locally yesterday:

"(October 18, 2006) — Technology giant Microsoft Corp. needed a partner for its massive digital books project and found it in a 5-year-old company in Victor.

Kirtas Technologies, which makes high-speed scanners for books and the software to edit and organize them, will be part of Microsoft's Live Book Search project. The digital books will become available early next year, Microsoft and Kirtas said Tuesday."

See the Democrat and Chronicle article for the full story.