Posted 01/14/09 at 03:00:03 PM by Florence Ion

Seadragon image zooming software is one of the more interesting software technologies coming out of Microsoft Research Labs. Its implementation in web applications is potentially a big leap in the way we view images online. One such implementation is Deep Zoom, an Ajax-powered online viewer that lets you view, zoom, and pan through high-resolution photos and images in a way that is incredibly fast and smooth, regardless of the original image’s pixel density. Companies adopting this tech include the Hard Rock Café, which utilizes it in its music memorabilia showcase. Microsoft also developed and released a mobile application for Seadragon in the form of a really cool iPhone app which lets you view Deep Zoom image files.

But what if you want to turn your own photo albums into a Deep Zoom gallery? With Microsoft’s Deep Zoom Composer, you can now create a high-tech hassle-free photo album allowing you to display your images online using the Seadragon plug-in. We show you how with our comprehensive step-by-step guide!

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Posted 07/08/08 at 12:39:30 PM by Paul Lilly

One of the coolest features to find its way into Microsoft's Silverlight 2's beta build is the Deep Zoom Composer. Deep Zoom gives website developers the ability to display multiple high resolution thumbnail images, which visitors can then quickly zoom in for a detailed closeup and then pan back out without ever skipping a beat. If you haven't already, install the latest beta build, then head over to the Hard Rock Cafe and browse the memorabilia section to what the fuss is all about.

Taking the technology a giant leap forward,  Donavon West, a Microsoft MVP for Live Development, has created a 10,000 x 10,000 mosaic of Barrack Obama. Removing political affiliations from the equation, West's DeepZoomObama mosaic shows Silverlight strutting its stuff as you zoom in on any of the many images ranging from Time Magazine covers to cats wearing hats. Best of all, West details exactly how he built it using a handful of readily available free tools.

While a mosaic of Barrack Obama might be well timed with an upcoming presidential election, the door has been left wide open for Maximum PC readers to serve up more scintillating mosaics. Imagine zooming in on an Asus Striker II Extreme and uncovering a wealth of hardware images. Have something even better in mind? Show us what you got!

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