According to the Google Earth Blog (via USA Today), there is a great new 3D version of Disney World coming to Google Earth. It’s due to come out as soon as next Tuesday (May 20).
It will include 3D models of items in Epcot Center, Animal Kingdom, Disney Hollywood Studios and 22 hotels and resorts. There will also be interactive features on the map, such as videos and the ability to make reservations.
We’ll post more info about it once it is released.
Two days ago we told you it’d be here this month, and it’s out already! As reported by Ogle Earth and the Virtual Earth Developer Blog, you can go download it
right now.
Some initial thoughts:
Enough talking — this is one of those things you really need to experience for yourself. Go get it!
As reported by the Google OS blog, Google Maps is getting a minor facelift. They are replacing the tabbed search boxes at the top with a single search box that knows what you’re looking for.
I’m still seeing the old version (as are many other people), but the new one is apparently being rolled out. Here is a comparison of the old and new search boxes.
Google has just released
a layer for Google Earth which shows some data about the path of the cyclone in Myanmar, along with some maps to display the extent of the flooding. They were built by UNOSAT, an organization working to help the people of Myanmar.
Also, NASA has created a simple KML that shows a powerful satellite image of the storm as it was charging toward the coast.
Update, May 7: NASA has added an image showing the current aerial view of the country. Extensive flooding is quite visible. Get the file here.
Here are a few screenshots from the files:
As posted on the Google Maps API Blog
, the Maps API now can geocode addresses right to the rooftop. In particular, it will now drop the pushpin on the proper side of the street for any given location.
It seems to work quite well. I tried a variety of addresses (family members) around the country, and it put it right on each of them.
Oddly enough, this feature isn’t in Google Maps yet. If you search Google Maps for your address, it still shows it in the middle of the road. Is there a logical reason to leave it that way, or do they just need to get around to adding the feature over there?
According to an article on CNET News, Google is in the process of building a tool known as “Google Ocean” to map the terrain of the ocean floors. Similar to Google Earth and Maps, Ocean will provide the base data (depth mesh and some imagery), and allow users to populate it with data for things like current, shipwrecks, coral reefs, etc.
Capturing the entire ocean in high res would take approximately 100 ship years, so it is assumed that Google will start by using something like the Predicted Depth Map from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, then fill it in with a patchwork of higher resolution data from a variety of sources.
There is no timetable for when Google Ocean might be released. Last December, Google met with various oceanography experts to discuss the project, so at this point it should be well underway. If we hear any more news about a pending release, we’ll let you know.
Google has added a neat feature that combines Google Maps driving directions with StreetView. When you’re looking at your list of directions, look for the little camera icon next to each item. If you see one, then you can view those directions in StreetView. It draws a blue line with large arrows inside of the StreetView window to help show your route.
Google has created a video that shows off this new feature. After you’ve watched the video, try it out for yourself. If notice anything interesting during your trip, show it off in the Google Earth Hacks new StreetView section.
As reported by the Google Operating System blog, Google Maps now includes traffic predictions.
Simply pick a day of the week and a time, and Google will color the map to show typical traffic conditions on that day/time. There are a few oddities I found in it, but it’s a neat idea. For example, here it Atlanta at 5am on Sunday:
What’s up with the heavy traffic on 400? While there might always be an accident somewhere in town, the predicted traffic for that time of day should be all green.
All in all, it’s a neat idea. Here are a few pictures that walk through a Monday morning rush hour (5am-8am):
It shows conditions slowly getting worse, which is exactly how things go at that time of day.
My main concern lately with Google Maps traffic is the sporadic coverage. One day they’ll have almost everything covered, and the next day there will be gray sections everywhere. I’m not sure where they get their data from (and it may not be their fault), but the lack of consistency makes the service far less useful.
That being said, after e-mail and web browsing, Google Maps traffic is the killer app on my cellphone. I use it a lot. This new feature isn’t on the mobile version yet, but I don’t care if it makes it there or not. When I’m checking from my phone, all I need are live conditions. If I want to look at predicted traffic for another day, I can do that from my PC.
Denver has emerged as one of the flagship cities for both Google Earth and Virtual Earth. Google Earth has built a ton of 3D models in the city, and Virtual Earth has already converted it to “version 2.0” with over 100,000 3D models (as well as 300,000 trees). Therefore, I thought it’d be a good place to compare some things.
I already did a quick comparison of Turner Field in Atlanta, but that wasn’t completely fair since Atlanta isn’t an updated city in Virtual Earth. For this comparison, I picked three different locations in the city and captured similarly positioned screenshots from each of the two programs. In each set of pictures, the Google Earth image is on the left, and the Virtual Earth image is on the right.
Please note that this brief review is about visuals only. This doesn’t get into usability, extendability, layers, etc. This is just graphics, pure and simple. A more in-depth review will come later.
Coors Field
The trees add a nice touch of realism in the Virtual Earth model, but the Google Earth model blows it away.
City Overview
They’re pretty comparable here. Virtual Earth has more buildings in view, but overall they look quite similar.
Downtown Park / State Capitol
Here is where Virtual Earth really shines. The extra buildings in the background and the trees look excellent. Google has a few nice touches (such as the statues) and the building looks a bit better, but the trees really make the Virtual Earth page feel more realistic.
Conclusion
All in all, things haven’t changed much — they’ve just scaled up. Just as before, Google’s buildings look a little better, but Microsoft has a ton more of them. This should be a fun battle to watch over the next few years!
Google Earth 4.3 is just starting to become available. You probably won’t find it through the normal pages yet, but the Google Earth Blog found a clever loophole to allow you to get it now — simply visit this page
and you can grab it.
My initial thoughts:
StreetView is neat, but not very useful. The version on Google Maps feels much smoother and easier to use.
The sunlight feature is very cool! Terrain and buildings look different as the day progresses and the light hits them from different angles. Terrain also casts shadows, though 3D buildings do not. Here is a short video showing some areas transitioning from day to night:
As expected, the 3D buildings load much better. Also, there are a whole lot more of them in many cities. It appears that some are auto-generated, but Google hasn’t confirmed that yet. I’m of the personal opinion that they automatically generate some, but then hand-tweak each of them, but that may or may not be accurate. Google Earth Blog weighs in on this as well.
Also, many cities now have a bunch more 3D buildings in them. According to the Google Earth Blog, San Francisco, Baltimore, Raleigh, Charlotte and Phoenix are some of the cities with new buildings. I can confirm that Atlanta has new ones as well.
In particular, Turner Field (home of the Atlanta Braves) finally looks good. I was at a game a few days ago and took a picture with my cell phone (N95 rocks!). Here is a comparison of that photo to a similar view in Google Earth 4.3 and Virtual Earth:
It’s worth mentioning that Turner Field in Virtual Earth is still a “1.0” building, so it’s likely to improve once Atlanta is updated. Also, I still can’t get over how cool the trees look in Virtual Earth. That being said, the stadium looks way
better in Google Earth. It’s not even close.
Here are a few more screens I grabbed:
Have you tried it yet? What do you think?