It's official - InfoNow is now a Microsoft partner and will be pushing the Virtual Earth and MapPoint Web Service platforms for its customers. Why is this significant? Oh, I don't know....maybe because they are one of if not the biggest integrator of MapQuest technology into customer applications....maybe because they've been seen as thought leaders in the industry and have a great pulse on what they need to do to best serve their customers....maybe MapQuest has been slow to innovate when compared to Microsoft (and Google)....maybe MapQuest is losing customers every day and InfoNow doesn't want to be victim to losing their customer base because the platform they're pushing is losing the battle. All possibilities, all possibilities. The good news is that if you're an InfoNow customer you now have an option to join about the AJAX mapping train (or opt for the MapPoint Web Service maps). You won't lose much if any functionality by moving and how cool are you to have access to tiled maps, aerial photos, bird's eye imagery and an integrated 3D envorinment that runs in the browser? Pretty cool, is how cool you are. Here's a link to the official press release from InfoNow. Where are those MapQuest defenders now?? You can still have your MapQuest.com, just don't expect to see it on many other web sites.