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Tag: google earth

  • Google Is Shutting Down The Google Earth API

    Google announced that it will stop offering its Google Earth API a year from now. The company says it’s going away for security reasons, and in accordance with its policy, will offer it for another year before turning it off.

    Google had this to say on its Geo Developers blog:

    Over six years ago we introduced the Google Earth API, enabling developers to build rich 3D mapping applications in the browser, using JavaScript. And over the years, developers have built quite a number of fascinating applications.

    However, the Earth API is built on a technology called the NPAPI plugin framework, and recently, for security reasons, both Chrome and Firefox have announced they’re removing support for this framework. These security reasons, combined with dwindling cross-platform support (particularly on mobile devices), had made building applications that leverage the Earth API untenable for developers.

    While the API may technically be around for a while, due to the browser security threats, most browsers will only support the API up to the latest versions. You can see the list here.

    The API will officially be shut down on December 12, 2015.

    Image via Google

  • Google Starts Selling Google Earth Imagery To Businesses

    Google announced the launch of Google Maps for Business imagery, which enables businesses to buy and use Google Earth imagery for the first time.

    Through the new program, Google is giving businesses access to high-res aerial imagery from around the continental U.S. Organizations will be able to view the imagery on a desktop GIS system via WMS, include it on their Google Maps v3 JavaScript API web app, overlay it directly within Google Earth, and view it on native mobile apps and mobile sites.

    “Since launching Google Earth in 2005, imagery has become a powerful tool to virtually visit almost anywhere in the world right from a computer, tablet or phone,” says Google Maps for Business product director Vinay Goel. “Organizations also need this type of imagery for their business—whether they’re mapping public service projects, reviewing the environmental impacts in a region or evaluating a property.”

    “Businesses want accurate, comprehensive and useful maps, and with Google Maps for Business imagery, organizations now have better access to commercial, high-quality satellite photography,” Goel says.

    With the new offering, businesses can use Google Maps Engine to quickly obtain the Google Earth imagery as soon as it’s available.

    Google didn’t disclose the pricing in its announcement, and is telling interested parties to contact its sales team.

    Image via Google

  • Google Earth Images Reveal Possible Overfishing

    Researchers this week revealed that they may have found overfishing using images from Google Earth.

    The study, published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, shows that some fishing weirs located in the Persian Gulf are much larger than they are supposed to be. Fishing wiers are large traps that use tides to catch fish not far from shore.

    “This ancient fishing technique has been around for thousands of years,” said Dalal Al-Abdulrazzak, lead author of the study and a PhD student at the University of British Columbia. “But we haven’t been able to truly grasp their impact on our marine resources until now, with the help of modern technology.”

    These traps, according to the study, could be catching up to six times the amount of fish that their host countries have reported officially to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization. Researchers looked at 1,900 Persian Gulf fishing weirs using data from Google Earth and estimate that around 31,000 tonnes of fish were caught by the traps during 2005. This is far more than the 5,360 tonnes reported to the UN for that year by the seven countries the weirs are located in.

    “Time and again we’ve seen that global fisheries catch data don’t add up,” said Daniel Pauly, a co-author of the study. “Because countries don’t provide reliable information on their fisheries’ catches, we need to expand our thinking and look at other sources of information and new technologies to tell us about what’s happening in our oceans.”

  • Google Launches/Updates 3D Imagery For 50 Cities In Google Maps, Earth

    Google announced that it has either launched or updated 3D imagery for 50 cities in Google Maps and Google Earth.

    “if you’re using the new Google Maps, try holding Ctrl and then dragging the camera view around,” Google says in a Google+ post. “This will give you a camera that lets view in any direction.”

    Google Maps 3D

    Recently launched cities include:

    Anniston, AL; Auburn, AL; Barstow, CA; Bastrop, TX; Bend, OR; Birmingham, AL; Boulder City, NV; Buffalo Core, NY; Cape Girardeau, MO; Casper, WY; Cheyenne, WY; Chicago, IL; Chico, CA; College Station, OH; Delano, CA; Desert Hot Springs, CA; Dubuque, IA; Edmonton, NY; Enid, OK; Farmington, NM; Grand Forks, ND; Grand Junction, CO; Great Falls, MT; Hanford, CA; Healdsburg, CA; Helendale, CA; Hot Springs, AR; Idaho Falls, ID; Kelso, WA; Killeen, TX; Las Cruces, NM; Lawton, OK; Leeds, OK; Madera, CA; Malibu, CA; Merced, CA; Modesto, CA; Ocala, FL; Odessa, TX; Ojai, CA; Picture Rocks, AZ; Pittsburgh, PA; Prescott, AZ; Rapid City, SD; Redding, CA; Riverside, CA; San Angelo, TX; San Francisco, CA; St George, UT; Texarkana, TX; Twentynine Palms, CA; Victoria, TX; Winnipeg, TX; Yuba City, CA.

    Google has a list of all cities where 3D imagery is available here.

  • Street View Hits Google Earth Apps For Android, iOS

    Google announced a new Google Earth update today (7.1) for Android and iOS, which brings Street View to the experience. Somehow this wasn’t already a part of it.

    “Whether you’re on foot looking for the best sushi place in a new neighborhood or you’d like to do some virtual archaeology around Pompeii, we’re all explorers of the world around us in our own way,” writes Google Earth product manager Haris Ramic in a blog post. “Your definition of adventure is unique, so we like to offer several ways to explore the world.”

    “Have you ever wanted to take a tour of Stonehenge or retrace the steps of Christopher Columbus?” continues Ramic. “With the addition of Street View to Google Earth for mobile devices, you can explore many sites from street level right on your mobile device. And with the new streamlined interface, a simple click of the Earth logo in top left will give you quick access to more information through layers like Panoramio Photos and Wikipedia. Just in case you decide to visit these places yourself, Google Earth’s improved directions enable you to visualize step-by-step transit, walking and biking directions in full 3D.”

    The update also makes Google Earth available to over 100 countries.

    In related news, Google has also launched new satellite imagery for Google Maps and Google Earth, removing clouds, and making the imagery clearer and more accurate. More on this here.

  • Google Launches New ‘Cloud-Free’ Satellite Imagery For Maps, Earth

    Google announced that it’s launching new satellite imagery for Google Maps and Google Earth, and says it’s “virtually cloud-free”. This, of course, means clearer and more accurate imagery.

    Google Earth Engine tech lead Matt Hancher writes in a blog post, “Our satellite imagery is usually created like a quilt: we stitch together imagery of different parts of the world. Using a process similar to how we produced the global time-lapse imagery of the Earth, we took hundreds of terabytes of data from the USGS’s and NASA’s Landsat 7 satellite—sometimes dozens of photos of a single spot in the world—and analyzed the photos to compute a clear view of every place, even in tropical regions that are always at least partly cloudy.”

    “The result is a single, beautiful 800,000 megapixel image of the world, which can be viewed in Earth and Maps when you’re zoomed out to a global view,” adds Hancher. “This global image is so big, if you wanted to print it at a standard resolution of 300 dots per inch you’d need a piece of paper the size of a city block! This image is then blended into our highest resolution imagery, giving a beautiful cloud-free global view and detailed images in the same seamless map.”

    Here are a couple of the before and after comparisons Google shares:

    Cloud free imagery on google maps

    Cloud free imagery on google maps

    These are Central Papua, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, respectively.

    The new imagery can be seen by turning on satellite view on Google Maps or zooming out while in Google Earth.

    Google gets into more technical details in a post on its Lat Long blog.

  • The New Google Maps Is Real, And Here Are All The Cool New Things It Does

    It has been officially announced.

    Last week, a couple screen caps of an apparently upcoming Google Maps redesign leaked. While the authenticity of these was questioned, it seemed likely that they were real. Now, it’s pretty much certain than they were, as another leak has sprung ahead of Google I/O.

    DroidLife reported on a sign-up page for the new Google Maps leaking last night, and has shared screenshots of that. Luckily for those interested, this includes descriptions of all the new features, so we don’t have to wait for Google’s keynote today to learn about what it does (assuming this is where they are planning on unveiling it, which seems highly likely).

    There are a lot of new features. Here is Google’s run down from the leak:

    The most comprehensive map, now built for you: The new Google Maps draws you a tailored map for every search and click you make. So whatever you’re trying to find or wherever you’re trying to go, you’ll always have a map highlighting the things that matter most.

    Discover more with every search: The new, smarter search box is your starting point for discovery. One search makes all the information you need available at a glance – read up on your destination, see ratings and reviews and sometimes, even take a peek inside.

    Dive into your world: From outer space to the streets, the new Google Maps gathers all the imagery of a location into one spot making it easy to explore your world from every angle.

    Earth View: The things you love about Google Earth are now directly integrated into the map, so you can see the planet without a plug-in. Or a passport. *Available on WebGL-enabled browsers.

    Flight Search: New flight directions help you find flight options, ticket prices, and estimated travel times right on the map.

    Find the best way there: You can now compare multiple modes of transportation right on the map to find the best way there and the best way home.

    A map that gets better with use: As you search the map, star places you like and leave reviews, the map starts to adapt and can suggest things like restaurants you might enjoy or the quickest way home. In other words, the more you use the new Google Maps, the more helpful it becomes.

    It’s a pretty big overhaul, and one that seems like it will only make Google’s hugely popular maps service all the more useful, though we’ll have to wait until people can start using it to truly now how good the revamp is.

    It will be interesting to see if any complaints come out from competitors. Don’t forget the FairSearch Coalition was formed because of Google’s Flight Search feature, and it looks like they’re making that a much more prominent part of the Google experience.

  • Learn How NASA Uses Google Earth For Space Missions

    Learn How NASA Uses Google Earth For Space Missions

    Google has shown that it has an interest in space what with its founders funding space missions, and the company sending Bugdroid to space. Beyond that, though, the folks at Google create tools that are invaluable to mission strategists at NASA.

    In the latest Google Tech Talk, Matt Deans of NASA’s Intelligent Robotics Group, discusses how the U.S. space agency uses a variety of Web tools and Google Earth to create the Exploration Ground Data System, or xGDS. Here’s more:

    Did you know that NASA uses Google Earth for mission planning and real-time mission operations? Are you curious about the software NASA is developing to carry out future human and robot missions? Would you like to know how modern Web frameworks can be used for data-driven field science?

    The Exploration Ground Data System (xGDS) is a suite of reusable software tools for human and robotic missions. xGDS supports mission planning, ingesting and managing geo-referenced and time-series data, and visualization/analysis. xGDS is highly modular, Web-based and makes extensive use of Apache, Django, the Google Earth plug-in, JQuery, and
    MySQL.

    In this talk, I will discuss the use cases that xGDS was designed to support and describe how it is implemented. I will show how the Intelligent Robotics Group has used xGDS for exploration missions involving astronauts (Arizona), planetary rovers (Canada and Hawaii), and personal submarines (British Columbia and Florida). And, I’ll briefly talk about how xGDS can be used for other applications, such as crisis and disaster response.

  • Google Launches Big Google Earth Update

    Google launched a major update to Google Earth this week for the desktop, iOS and Android. The update includes the addition over over 100,000 new tours and a million new photos in Tour Guide.

    “As you navigate in Earth, tour guide acts as a local exploration expert suggesting interesting places near the location you’re visiting,” Google said in a Google+ update on Tuesday (via TheNextWeb). “Today’s update adds over 100,000 new tours of popular sites, cities and places across 200 countries, as well as enhancements to existing tours.”

    “The new, richer tours combine 3D flyovers, Wikipedia snippets and – for the first time – place highlight and more than 1 million user-generated Panoramio photos in order to create an immersive and educational exploration of your favorite places,” Google added. “Each tour ends with a selection of photo thumbnails which were selected from Panoramio as the best representation of a given place. Clicking on one of the thumbnails enables a full screen photo experience.”

    The Tour Guide feature is available on Google Earth 7.0. Google introduced this version back in October bringing the tour guide feature to the desktop.

  • Google Adds A Ton More High-Res Imagery To Maps And Earth

    Google announced another big Google Maps and Google Earth update, with the addition of more high resolution, satellite and 45° imagery.

    The aerial and satellite imagery in Maps and Earth has been updated for 164 cities and 108 countries/regions. The 45° imagery has been expanded to include 40 more U.S. cities and 20 more international cities.

    Space Needle

    Space Needle

    Bridges in the Sky, Linz, Austria

    Bridgets In The Sky

    Centre de Conférence, Luxembourg

    Centre De Conference

    Thun Castle, Switzerland

    Thun Castle

    Google lists all the areas that have each flavor of imagery in this blog post.

  • Google Earth 7 Gets Tour Guide, New 3D Imagery

    Google Earth 7 Gets Tour Guide, New 3D Imagery

    Google announced the launch of Google Earth 7, which brings the 3D imagery and tour guide features previously launched in Google Earth for Mobile to the desktop. It has tours of over 11,000 sites around the world.

    “The tour guide feature serves as a local expert, suggesting nearby places you might want to explore and helping you learn about those locations,” says Google Earth product manager Peter Birch. “For whichever area you’re viewing in Google Earth, thumbnails highlighting pre-created tours in the same area will dynamically update at the bottom of the screen. Simply click on one of the tours, and you’ll embark on a virtual flyover of famous, historical and cultural sites close by. Educational and fun facts from Wikipedia will also appear on the screen as you fly in and around locations like the Great Wall of China, Stonehenge, and more.”

    Google Earth Tour Guide

    “In addition, Google Earth 7 now includes the comprehensive, accurate 3D imagery we’ve already made available on Android and iOS for Boulder, Boston, Charlotte, Denver, Lawrence, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Portland, San Antonio, San Diego, Santa Cruz, Seattle, Tampa, Tucson, Rome and the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay),” he adds. “And today, we’re adding more 3D imagery for a handful of metropolitan regions including Avignon, France; Austin, Texas; Munich, Germany; Phoenix, Arizona; and Mannheim, Germany. The experience of flying through these areas and seeing the buildings, terrain and even the trees rendered in 3D is now consistent across both mobile and desktop devices — making all of your virtual travels more realistic than ever.”

    Google Earth

    Google Earth 7 can be downloaded here.

  • 5 Cool Ways Developers Have Used Google Maps And Google Earth APIs

    On its Geo Developers Blog, Google will highlight a “map of the week” each week, looking at different, interesting ways developers have used its APIs in their own applications. This month, Google launched MoreThanAMap.com showcasing some of these things, where you can find even more.

    Following are some interesting things that have been highlighted over the course of the year.

    Virtual Kenya

    Helping People Find High Ground And ATMs

    Finding Cheap Airfare

    Volkswagen Street Quest

    Nature Valley Trail View

    Earlier this month, Google launched a couple new Maps APIs for location-enabled apps: the Google Maps Tracks API and the Google Maps Geolocation API. More on those here.

  • Google Maps And Earth Get New High-Res Imagery Updates

    Google Maps And Earth Get New High-Res Imagery Updates

    Google announced its latest imagery update for Google Maps and Google Earth today.

    “Our quest to create the most comprehensive and accurate map of the world is ongoing, but we’re happy to take a pause and share some impressive progress that our Google Maps and Earth imagery teams have recently made,” the company says.

    Google, I bet you are. Today, Apple CEO Tim Cook also posted an apology for his company’s maps product that took over for Google Maps on iOS. In case you haven’t heard, there have been a few complaints (about things like accuracy).

    Google has released new 45° imagery in 51 cities, as well as new high resolution aerial and satellite imagery in 17 cities and 112 countries/regions.

    Leaning Tower of Pisa

    Leaning Tower

    The Forks in Winnipeg

    The Forks

    Citadel of Lille

    Citadel of Lille

    Texas State Capitol

    Texas State Capitol

    The full lists of places with new or updated imagery are as follows (via Google LatLong Blog):

    Cities with new high resolution 45° imagery:

    United States: Ames, IA; Anderson, IN; Billings, MT; Bloomington, IL; Carmel Valley, CA; Cedar Rapids, IA; Coeur d’Alene, ID; Corvallis, OR; Danville, IL; Dayton, OH; Detroit, MI; Dubuque, IA; Elizabethtown, KY; Enid, OK; Florence, SC; Grand Forks, ND; Great Falls, MT; Gulfport, MS; Hartford, CT; Kankakee, IL; Kenosha, WI; Lafayette, IN; Lancaster, CA; Lansing, MI; Lewiston, ID; Los Banos, CA; Madison, WI; Medford, OR; Michigan City, IN; Olympia, WA; Pocatello, ID; Sheboygan, WI; Sioux City, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; South Bend, IN; Terre Haute, IN; Utica, NY.

    International: Angers, France; Clermont-Ferrand, France; Coimbra, Portugal; Dijon, France; Grenoble, France; Livorno, Italy; Lyon, France; Newcastle, United Kingdom; Oberhausen, Germany; Palermo, Italy; Pisa, Italy; Toulouse, France; Troyes, France; Winnipeg, Canada.

    Areas with new high resolution aerial updates:

    Florence OR, Kellogg ID, Casper WY, North Platte NE, Concordia KS, Alva OK, Austin TX, Nevada MO, Chilicothe MO, Toulouse FR, Clermont-Ferrand FR, Angers FR, Nantes FR, Troyes FR, Lille FR, Thun CH, Lucca IT

    Areas new high resolution satellite updates:

    Canada, United States, Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Madagascar, Zambia, Angola, Malawi, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Sudan, Uganda, Central African Republic, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Benin, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Mali, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Turkey, Iran, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Finland, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece, Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzebekistan, Turkmenistan, China, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Thailand, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, The Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand

  • Google Maps Gets A Ton Of New High-Res Imagery

    Google announced that it has added a whole bunch of new aerial and satellite imagery to Google Maps and Google Earth, and new 45 degree imagery in Google Maps.

    Bordeaux, France

    Bordeaux

    Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, OH

    Paul Brown Stadium

    Google has new high-res aerial imagery in the following cities in the U.S.: Centralia WA, Tillamook OR, Salem OR, Dos Rios CA, Mount Shasta area CA, Lassen area CA, Joshua Tree area CA, Ely NV, Elko NV, Las Vegas NV, Lander WY, Onawa IA, Ames IA, Perry IA, Bolivar MO, Mountain Grove MO, Rolla MO, Coldwater KS, Spearman TX, Hereford TX, San Antonio TX, Tyler TX, Lafayette LA, Huntsville AL, Waycross GA, Palatka FL, Fort Pierce FL, Allentown PA. It has also added imagery to Torre de Coelheiros in Portugal, Baiona, Ourense, Torrelavega, San Sebastian, Pamplona, Nulles, Guadassuar, San Miguel de Salinas, Castellar de la Frontera, Los Palacios y Villafranca and Bailen in Spain, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Lyon, Dijon, and Grenoble in France, Livorno, Rome and Catania in Italy, Montreux, Neuchatel and Zurich in Switzerland, Olympic Park in England, Munich, Heidelberg, Flieden and Alsfeld in Germany, and Salzburg in Austria.

    There are additional high-res updates to the USA, Greenland, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina, Antarctica, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Zambia, Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Algeria, Morocco, Western Sahara, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Greece, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Belarus, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Khazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Iran, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand.

    Google has new 45 degree imagery for: Bend, OR, Bloomington, IN, Buffalo, NY, Cincinnati, OH, Columbus, IN, Columbus, OH, Conway, SC, Evansville, IN, Fort Wayne, IN, Gastonia, NC, Hamilton, OH, Indianapolis, IN, Jackson, TN, Joliet, IL, Kokomo, IN, Lincoln, NE, Louisville, KY; Mankato, MN, Muncie, IN, Owensboro, KY, Palm Valley, FL, Rochester, MN and Wilmington, NC in the U.S. Internationally, there’s new imagery for Béziers, France, Bordeaux, France, Lille, France, Marseille, France, St. Etienne, France, Platja d’Aro, Spain and Blanes, Spain.

  • Google Earth Scout Thinks She’s Found Lost Egyptian Pyramids

    People uncover weird stuff all the time using Google Earth satellite imagery – alien structures, crop circles, the lost city of Atlantis, and structures that resemble giant male members, just to name a few. But now, a satellite archaeology researcher thinks that she’s uncovered a couple of never-before-recognized Egyptian pyramids.

    UNC Charlotte alum and decade-long studier of satellite imagery Angela Micol first discovered the two distinct sites, which are located about 90 miles apart.

    The first site features a four-sided “truncated pyramidal shape” that Micol says is about 140 feet wide. If you zoom out on it, you see that it’s actually part of a larger series of unidentified mounds that are all rather similar in structure. Micol says that they are similar to the alignment of the Giza Plateau pyramids.

    The second site (seen at the lead) has a much bigger, triangular-shaped mound of about 600 feet. Surrounding that are more plateaus of 250 feet and 100 feet widths, respectively.

    “The images speak for themselves. It’s very obvious what the sites may contain but field research is needed to verify they are, in fact, pyramids and evidence should be gathered to determine their origins. It is my hunch there is much more to these sites and with the use of Infrared imagery, we can see the extent of the proposed complexes in greater detail,” says Micol.

    The structures, which come from Northern Egypt, have been verified as officially undiscovered by Egyptologist Nabil Selim. Selim has discovered pyramids of his own, Sinki at Abydos for example.

    “My dream is to work with archaeologists to release sites that I have identified over the past ten years of research. This research is the frontier of discovery and it’s just beginning to advance views of our ancient past,” says Micol.

    [Google Earth Anomalies via Discovery News]

  • Google Releases Marvelous 3D Imagery For More Cities

    Google has expanded its coverage of 3D Google Earth imagery to include Denver and Seattle.

    Google announced the imagery, to make its maps more appealing, back in June. The imagery, first available on Android, made its way to iOS a couple weeks ago.

    Safeco Field (Seattle)

    3D imagery in Seattle

    Downtown Seattle

    Downtown Seattle 3D imagery

    Denver Art Museum

    Denver Art Museum

    Wells Faro Center (Denver)

    3D imagery in Denver

    Google has been adding a lot of impressive imagery to Google Earth and Google Maps recently. The California State Parks and Hawaii Street View imagery have been particularly breathtaking.

  • Google Maps Gets Beautiful New High-Resolution Imagery

    Google announced some new updates for Google Earth and Google Maps, including a new catalog of high-resolution and satellite imagery, as well as 45° imagery.

    Google has published high-res aerial and satellite imagery for 25 cities and 72 countries/regions. New 45° imagery includes coverage for 21 U.S. cities and 7 international locations.

    The following cities have new high res aerial imagery: Antelope Wells NM; Bryce Canyon UT; Green Bay WI; Huron, SD; Hutchinson, KS; Olympia WA; Park Hills, MO; Peach Springs, AZ; Phoenix, AZ; Placerville, CA; Riverside, CA; Rosenfeld, TX; Waverly, OH, Wiener Neustadt, Austria; Alicante, Spain; Denia, Spain; Gandia, Spain; Las Rozas, Spain; Lugo, Spain; Santander, Spain; Sueca, Spain; Vitoria, Spain; Bern, Switzerland; Geneva, Switzerland; and Nyon, Switzerland.

    These countries and regions have new high-res satellite updates: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Greenland, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Italy, Jamaica, Latvia, Lesotho, Libya, Lithuania, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

    These cities have new high-res 45° imagery: Anderson, CA; Beech Island – New Ellenton, GA; Cape Girardeau, MO; Carthage, MO; Chicago, IL; Clarksville (outskirts), TN; Columbus – Reynoldsburg, OH; Dayton, OH; Everett, WA; Galena, KS; Idaho Falls, ID; Joplin, MO; Lafayette (outskirts), LA; Lancaster, CA; Louisville, KY; Lowell, MA – Nashua, NH; Pittsburgh, PA; Pueblo (outskirts), CO; Redding, CA; Springfield, IL; Yuba City, CA, Birmingham, UK; Catania, Italy; Denia, Spain; London, United Kingdom; Meyrin – Vernier, Switzerland; Munich, Germany; Neuchatel, Switzerland.

    Here are a few shots Google has highlighted:

    Olympic Park and Village, Stratford, London, United Kingdom

    Olympic Park

    Bryce Canyon

    Bryce Canyon

    The Frauenkirche

    Frauenkirche

    The Trump International Hotel and Tower

  • Google’s 3D Maps Imagery Hits iOS Before Apple’s

    In early June, Google announced that it would be releasing a fully explorable, 3D version of Google Earth. Today, Google announced that the imagery is now available for iOS devices.

    In case you missed it, here’s the entire presentation from last month:

    Here’s a shorter look at the imagery:

    The imagery has been available on Android devices for about a month, but Google has still managed to beat Apple itself at getting 3D imagery on iOS devices. Apple’s will come this fall with the release of iOS 6.

    Google’s imagery is now available on the new iPad, the iPad 2 and the iPhone 4S.

    “A map must be comprehensive and accurate no matter where you are or what device you use,” says Google Earth Product Manager Peter Birch. “We also believe maps can be useful in ways you might not have imagined. With today’s release of Google Earth for iOS you can literally fly through breathtaking 3D city landscapes and images and follow virtual tours of places you’ve never been — all with a simple swipe of your fingertip. It’s a new, and I think magical way to explore the world in which we live.”

    “Also new in this release is a ‘tour guide’ to show you interesting places to explore,” says Birch. “We’ve put together short tours of thousands of famous places and historical sites across the globe so it’s easier than ever to discover amazing places. Just pull up the tab at the bottom of the screen to open the tour guide. Each image highlights a tours or place of interest in the area you are looking. Click on an item and you will be flown there. As you fly in and around the sites, snippets from Wikipedia provide additional information about the location. It’s like having a local expert right beside you! The tour guide is available for all iOS devices running iOS 4.2 and newer.”

    The latest version of Google Earth for iOS can be found here in the App Store.

  • Google Shows You A Gallery Of Timelapse Videos Of The Earth’s Surface From Space

    Google has teamed up with the USGS and Carnegie Mellon University to make available timelapse videos of the Earth’s surface from the Landsat satellite program, in honor of the program’s 40th anniversary.

    “Over the years, Landsat has collected petabytes of images offering an historic perspective on planetary change that can help scientists, independent researchers, and nations make informed economic and environmental policy decisions,” Google Earth Engine software engineer Eric Nguyen and Carnegie Mellon University Visiting Researcher Randy Sargent say in a joint blog post.

    “We believe these may be the largest video frames ever created. If you could see the entire video at full resolution, a single frame would be 1.78 terapixels which is 18 football fields’ worth of computer screens laid side-by-side,” the two say.

    You can find a featured gallery of videos here. Included are the growth of Las Vegas, the drying of the Aral Sea, and the Amazon’s deforestation, to name a few.

  • See How Google Maps Keeps the World from Being Crappier

    See How Google Maps Keeps the World from Being Crappier

    The over-brains behind Google Maps regularly get together with non-profit organizations to make maps that help those groups further their mission and hopefully make the world a more convenient place to live. Just this year, Google Maps has partnered with various organizations to visualize information about a nature conservatory’s adopt-an-acre program, how to preserve natural habitats via street expansion, and, most recently, a map to track and hopefully stop the spread of the wildfires raging in Colorado.

    Seeing how organizations have used Google Maps to help visualize their data and thus promote their mission, Google Earth Engine do-gooders Rebecca Moore and Dave Thau were joined by a couple of developers from some of Google’s non-profit partners at Google I/O to talk about how developers can get linked up with NGOs and make maps that help keep the world from being a more crappy place.

    Here’s the description Google offered of the video:

    Developers are behind many cutting-edge map applications that make the world a better place. In this session we’ll show you how developers are using Google Earth Builder, Google Earth Engine, Google Maps API and Android apps for applications as diverse as ethno-mapping of indigenous cultural sites, monitoring deforestation of the Amazon and tracking endangered species migrations around the globe. Come learn about how you can partner with a non-profit to apply for a 2012 Developer Grant and make a positive impact with your maps.

    After all, Google has to save the world, right? If it doesn’t, there won’t be any people from whom it can track browsing information.

  • 3D Google Earth for Android Released, Incites Requisite Fanboy Bickering on YouTube

    Now that Silicon Valley is in the throes of Google I/O‘s Garden of Techie Delights, many yummy fruits are dropping from the Google Trees this week. Continuing to roll out the upgraded 3D imagery to more platforms, the company has released a new version of Google Earth for Android with 3D imagery available for several cities in the United States and one iconic European city.

    In case you missed the announcement of Google’s next generation of mapping imagery, Google is making an ambitious effort to create fully rotatable 3D maps of the world’s metropolitan areas. As it was described at the Next Dimension conference earlier this month, the new imagery is intended to give Google Earth users the feeling that they’re flying over these cities. Punctuating that the sensation of flight is what you’re supposed to be experiencing when you use these new Google Earth maps, Google put together another video to remind you how to use Google Earth 3D:

    Aside from being available in Rome, the Google Earth for Android update will contain 3D maps of the following U.S. cities: Boulder, Boston, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, San Antonio, Charlotte, Tucson, Lawrence, Portland, Tampa, Rome or the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Peninsula and East Bay). In the Lat Long Blog post announcing the release, Google says that it hopes to expand the 3D availability to enough metropolitan areas by the end of the year so that the “population” of the Google Earth 3D coverage will be 300 million people.

    The Google Earth for Android update with the 3D imagery is currently available in Google Play but a version for iOS has yet to be released. The availability of Google Earth’s new 3D maps for iOS has been something of a curious issue as there’s been some speculation of how the app might be arriving on iOS given that Apple is now in the 3D mapping business. Given that Google Earth has already been available for iOS for quite a while now, it’s hard to imagine that Apple would simply give the app the boot just because it’s now got a rival service. Then again, Apple can be notoriously restrictive when it comes to what non-Apple services it will allow users to access on Apple platforms.

    Interestingly, in the comments section on the YouTube page for the above video, microbes masquerading as tech fanboys commenced with angrily drooling about who is copying who here, Google or Apple, now that the latter is going to be using its own mapping service in iOS 6. The video hasn’t even been posted publicly for a full 24 hours yet there’s already 224 comments ripe with insolent vitriol. If you’ve got a thing for the intellectual equivalent of manually removing turds from a mule’s fundaments, or if you just like to document the painful decay of the Queen’s English, you might want to pay a visit to the page.