Ask.com's Mapping Imagery More Current than Google and MSN?

Google Earth Blog is reporting that Google Earth has made a large update to their imagery. The beauty of streaming imagery like that used by Google Earth is they can continuously update the underlying data without having to push any updates to users. Of course, there are still the occasional update to the Google Earth client to improve usability and add new mapping features, but the imagery data the program interacts with all resides on the server.

One item from the release caught my eye, living in Minnesota:

Google just released all new aerial and satellite photos for Google Earth and Maps today. They just had a big update to the database less than a month ago on 9-September. This is amazing! Here's a summary from their announcement at the GEC:
* the whole state of Minnesota, South Carolina, North Dakota, Missouri (updated to 2005), Idaho, Maryland, and now full coverage for the entire state of Texas

That's not what I'm seeing. Here is a shot of an area near my home along the Mississippi River as it cuts between Minneapolis and St Paul (you could find this by searching for 4601 E Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55406):

The building under construction on the left of the image has been finished for at least the 2+ years I've lived in the area, making that image at least two years old, and probably closer to three. For comparison, here is the same location on MSN's maps.live.com:

And on maps.ask.com, where the building now exists:

Is Ask more current than Google or MSN in your neck of the woods?

Not sure what causes it to look like it shifts so much in the first two images. It's definitely the same bridge in all three photos (last rebuilt in 1992).

Yes they made it by using older photos. For example in La Palma, Spain, there was a very big bridge, constructed four years ago. One year ago it appeared on Google Earth, now?��Ǩ�� guess what? It?��Ǩ�Ѣs the same as with your bridge.

The bridge may be left-right straight, but is it up-down straight? I'm thinking not. All three images were clearly taken by satellites or aircraft somewhat south of the bridge (assuming north is up, which is standard), but first two images were taken from a much more southerly angle than the third. This is also apparent from the long, rectangular building at lower right; its southern wall is visible in the Google/MSN images but not in Ask's.

I trust everyone also noticed that Google's and MSN's image data are, in fact, from the exact same source. ;-) (Check out the cars.)

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