March 1, 200718 yr There are several Google threads on on the board, but I thought it would be a good thing to have one place to discuss and share. (If the mods would like to combine threads here, I would be OK with that.) So I noticed something for the first time last week when searching for some properties. At the closest two levels of viewing an area in Cleveland (I have not checked other cities in Ohio or the country) there are now semi-detailed footprints of all of the buildings. http://www.google.com/maps?q=Cleveland,+OH&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=17&ll=41.499554,-81.693671&spn=0.005006,0.011544 Then yesterday, I found out you can now view traffic details for select cities in the country. There is a new button on the top right. http://maps.google.com/?q=Cleveland,+OH+44111&ie=UTF8&om=1&z=12&ll=41.450961,-81.657257&spn=0.160315,0.369415&layer=t Finally, as most of you techie types know, Google provides their API to developers so new applications can be made. One of the things that I thought was missing from the free version of Google Earth was a way to figure out the square footage of a piece of property without having to all that gosh darn math. Well, I found a website that figures it out for you. Find the property as you normally would, Make at least 3 seperate clicks and it will figure out the area in standard and metric measurement. Cool stuff. http://www.acme.com/planimeter/
March 1, 200718 yr Cincy has the traffic feature as well, but it seems that they are having trouble updating their satelite images to keep up with the fast pace of development here. Old Fountain Square, old Government Square, the work on/around UC's campus is now finished, CityWest is much further along. Man they need to play some catch up!
March 1, 200718 yr Yeah...when I say updated, I mean they updated Columbus from 2002 to 2004. A lot has gone on since then.
March 1, 200718 yr Google Maps API is great - we've taken full advantage of it on <a href="http://www.dayton.mostmetro.com/districts.asp">Dayton MostMetro</a>; especially the longitude & latitude functions that allow us to pinpoint exact locations for our various venues and then calculate distances within .01 miles between venues in our "Nearby Venues" section. (<a href="http://www.dayton.mostmetro.com/localpointdetail.asp?LocalPointID=252&DistrictID=1">example</a> - lower right hand corner). Now I just wish the API could use NAVTEQ instead of TeleAtlas. NAVTEQ is superior and is what you see when you to to google's site; TeleAtlas is what you see when you go to a website using google's API map functionality. I did some research and learned that this is most likely a licensing issue. I also wish Dayton would get hi-res. Back before Google bought it, I had Keyhole (what is now Google Earth). At that time, Dayton had hi-res - so I don't know why it doesn't now. Does anybody know how the traffic thing is supposed to work? I see random green overlays on the interstates, but no key.
March 1, 200718 yr I just compared google maps, google earth, m$ live map regular and m$ live maps bird's eye for CSU. m$ live image was a lot older the googles (map and earth - both at least two years old. The old intramural sports dome is present and you can just see the beginnings of construction work on the Euclid Corridor) but the bird's eye view was less then a year old and there was great resolution
March 1, 200718 yr Does anybody know how the traffic thing is supposed to work? I see random green overlays on the interstates, but no key. Green = Good Yellow = Slow Red = Bad They are also directional, hence the two stripes for each highway.
March 1, 200718 yr Why are there some areas with no color of striping on them?? What does that indicate??
March 1, 200718 yr Google... I can hardly keep up! My master's thesis research deals with online maps such as Google's (particularly the aerial photos), and as such I wrote a little summary of the current state of such maps. Naturally, the very day after I wrote that, Google added a major new feature! I like Google's traffic thing. Some of the other guys already had traffic, and actually have more (occasionally better) features than Google Maps, but I'm still pretty loyal to Google- it's just a lot easier to use than the competing map sites. Billy, I'm also sad about the loss of hi-res for Dayton! The images they used to have were getting out of date, but at least they weren't lousy satellite images.
March 2, 200718 yr why do people complain about updated satellite imagery? Its not like there's a satellite pilot sitting around saying, "gosh dernit, city, state just built 14 new buildings, I'd better make a u-turn!"
March 2, 200718 yr Some people complain about satellite imagery, some people complain about politics. Everyone's got there beef. stupid satellite pilots
March 2, 200718 yr Some people complain about satellite imagery, some people complain about politics. Everyone's got there beef. stupid satellite pilots I'm going to start complaining about you.
March 2, 200718 yr FYI the high rez images are typically taken from low altitude, e.g from a plane. I suspect that Google etal obtain the hig rez images of urban areas from the local GIS agency. They fly update photos evry few years. (Google may call some air photos satellite photos see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Maps) I think M$ gets all their images from USGS; the high rez is call Urban Areas in TS see usgsquads.com/aerialphotos.htm#Natural_Color_Aerial_Photography (Note that all terraserver images are in the public domain since they are USGS)
March 3, 200718 yr Does anybody know how the traffic thing is supposed to work? I see random green overlays on the interstates, but no key. Green = Good Yellow = Slow Red = Bad They are also directional, hence the two stripes for each highway. Saw this on Google Blogoscoped. Re-affirms what you just said. Google Maps Adds Real-Time Traffic Info By TomHTML New York, Boston, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta and more... <a href="http://maps.google.com">Google Maps</a> now displays live traffic data for about 60 US cities. This functionality has been available on Google Maps for Mobile <a href="http://blog.outer-court.com/archive/2006-07-25-n52.html">since July</a>, but it's now available in many languages on the standard version. The official Google Blog <a href="http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/02/stuck-in-traffic.html">explains </a> what the colors mean, although the <a href="http://googlesystem.blogspot.com/2007/02/google-maps-shows-real-time-traffic.html">Google Operating System</a> blog seems to be more accurate: Green: more than 50 miles per hour Yellow: 25 - 50 miles per hour Red: less than 25 miles per hour Gray: no data available When you're viewing an area on Google Maps where traffic information is available, a traffic light is displayed. And there's also a new button labeled "Traffic". Google's not the first to add live traffic to its maps; <a href="http://maps.yahoo.com">Yahoo!</a> and <a href="http://maps.live.com/">Microsoft</a> have already been doing that for a while now.
March 10, 200718 yr New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/10/technology/10google.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin March 10, 2007 Google’s Buses Help Its Workers Beat the Rush By MIGUEL HELFT MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — The perks of working at Google are the envy of Silicon Valley. Unlimited amounts of free chef-prepared food at all times of day. A climbing wall, a volleyball court and two lap pools. On-site car washes, oil changes and haircuts, not to mention free doctor checkups. But the biggest perk may come with the morning commute. In Silicon Valley, a region known for some of the worst traffic in the nation, Google, the Internet search engine giant and online advertising behemoth, has turned itself into Google, the mass transit operator. Its aim is to make commuting painless for its pampered workers — and keep attracting new recruits in a notoriously competitive market for top engineering talent... I know the Cleveland Clinic has its shuttle from Municipal Parking to the hospital during construction, but could you imagine how much more empty the freeways would be if UH, Progressive and CC did this. It would probably not look good for RTA though.
March 12, 200718 yr Check this out...Berlin is all 3d modeled and all the facades/materials are on as well. This is a story with a cool photo gallery of what it looks like: http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,470720,00.html
March 13, 200718 yr That is cool. If I had the time to properly learn how to skin Cleveland's buildings, I would totally start doing working on a project for us. Google is having a competition for universities to create models of their campus. The winners get a trip to Googleplex.
March 13, 200718 yr How long ago was the Cleveland satellite image updated? I noticed it looks like construction is going on in front of the federal building near the river, but I can't think of anything going on there.
March 13, 200718 yr Almost all of their images are around two years old (national security). The images of CSU still show the old Intramural Sports Dome.
March 13, 200718 yr Reuters: Viacom in $1 bln copyright suit vs Google, YouTube Tue Mar 13, 2007 9:46 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters) - Media conglomerate Viacom Inc. said on Tuesday that it was suing Google Inc. and its Internet video-sharing site YouTube for more than $1 billion over unauthorized use of its programming online...
March 14, 200718 yr Mountaintop removal is on Google Earth March 14, 2007 | LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER Anyone can now get a bird's-eye view of a mountaintop-removal coal-mining operation -- while sitting at a computer. A new feature of Google Earth, released this week, shows 22 mountaintop removal sites, including several in Kentucky. Information about the sites was produced by a group called Appalachian Voices. The group says it has identified 474 mountaintop removal projects. Google Earth is available for free download at earth.google.com. To see the mountaintop removal sites, look for "Appalachian Mountain Removal" under the "Global Awareness" section of the "Layers" sidebar. http://www.kentucky.com/263/story/16466.html
March 24, 200718 yr Anybody check out Google Transit yet? http://www.google.com/transit There are only a few cities so far, but it gives you directions on where to walk, what transit route you should take, etc... It's even got departure schedules! Here's an example for Portland... http://www.google.com/transit?ie=UTF8&ll=45.510197,-122.671967&spn=0.383982,0.687538 Great stuff!
March 28, 200718 yr ^That is cool - wonder how long before it hits other cities....(especially the monster mass transit cities like ny and chi town)
April 2, 200718 yr Did anyone happen to catch this on the Google page yesterday? Hilarious. http://www.google.com/tisp/
April 2, 200718 yr So I guess the Paper Archive option for gm ail was a gag as well....too bad, I totally fell for it.
April 2, 200718 yr Beta User Testimonials “Gmail Paper is a scrapbooker's dream. I paper archive all of my son's emails, cut them out in creative shapes, and paste them in my binders.” Anna-Christina D., Lifecoach “I've always felt uneasy about the whole internet thing. With the help of Gmail Paper, now I'm taking matters back into my own hands, literally.” Kevin S., CEO AdventaStar Inc. "Now that I have Gmail Paper, I understand the difference between labels and folders. I had one message with two labels, but when I tried to stick the paper version into two filing cabinets at the same time, it just wouldn’t go." Mayumi M., Associate "It's paper, plain and easy. I sometimes find myself wondering: what will Google think of next? Cardboard?" Bill K., Armchair Futurist
April 2, 200718 yr I heard google is coming up with GoogleMars, GoogleVenus, GoogleTheSun and GoogleTheMatrix. True story.
April 4, 200718 yr Google Desktop for the Mac 1.0 Posted Apr 4th 2007 12:01AM by Scott McNulty Today Google announced the availability of Google Desktop for the Mac (download now available from Google's Mac OS X software page). What's Google Desktop, you ask? It is an application from Google, which indexes the contents of your hard drive (including applications, most files, PDFs, as well as web histories from Safari, Firefox, and Camino) and makes it searchable a la Spotlight. Our PC using friends have had this application for awhile, and it is nice to see that Google hasn't forgotten about us Mac users... Google Desktop for Mac Score: 7.5/10 Pros: Works as advertised (for the most part). Integration with other Google services. Very responsive. Able to recover deleted documents. The price is great (free). Cons: Need to use download manager to install. Not integrated with the OS. Gmail searching didn't work for me (if it did the app would have garnered a 9 out of 10).
April 9, 200718 yr From the Google Press Center: Announcement April 5, 2007 Introducing My Maps Today, Google is launching My Maps, a new feature of Google Maps that enables users to quickly and easily create custom maps for personal use or sharing through search. With this release, creating maps mashups is now as simple as pointing and clicking. From chronicling trips, to sharing tips and documenting academic endeavors, My Maps empowers users to create content-rich maps that are relevant to their interests, expertise, or personal needs. With My Maps users can: * Mark locations on a map from a library of icons * Draw lines and shapes to highlight paths and areas * Add text, photos, or YouTube/Google Videos to a map * Add HTML for further personalization * View their maps in Google Earth Users can choose to make their My Maps unlisted or public. Unlisted maps are intended for personal use or sharing with friends and family by email. Public My Maps will be accessible through Google Maps search along with maps shared by other web sites in the KML format. My Maps users can store maps they have created or viewed when signed into their Google Account. We expect that public maps created by our users will further enrich the Google Maps and Earth search experience by providing additional rich, local, and visual information about the world from our best source - our users. My Maps is available in 10 countries and can be accessed on the Google Maps homepage at: http://maps.google.com.
April 9, 200718 yr Do I smell the end of ArcGIS as we know it?? Google is making fast gains on ArcGIS and I assume will have all of its capabilities and more very soon. Thus overtaking it as the industry standard (much like Google SketchUp).
April 9, 200718 yr I was thinking the same thing. I do think, however, that the hundreds of other regional, state and local agencies now providing some sort of free GIS for the user will still keep them in business. I can't see many entities bothering to learn GRASS. When I am in Philly this week I plan on talking to a friend of mine who is an executive at ESRI. I'll see what they think.
April 10, 200718 yr New Google Earth Imagery By GEH4EVR on Software Updates Google has updated the imagery for Google Earth Below is a list of the changes. New high resolution: * Canada: Downtown Vancouver, BC * England: Northamptonshire, Nottingshire, Berkeshire, Peakdistrict, Birmingham, Greater Manchester, Avon, Gloucestershire, Linconshire * France: Rennes, Poitiers * US: Omaha, NE; Missoula, MT; Amherst, MA; Keowee, SC; Catawba Wateree, NC/SC; Rolla, MO; Nashville (”Burbia”), TN; Gaston County, NC; Anne Arundel County, Metro Water District of Southern California; State of Arkansas Updated Imagery: * Spain: Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, and Las Palmas (Canary Islands) Spain * US: Austin, TX; San Bernardino, CA; State of Connecticut, Greater Los Angeles Area, CA * Australia: Sydney Harbour Area Fixes: * Danish plane replicants removed (read more) * Andes, Machu Picchu terrain repaired
April 10, 200718 yr Try this for laughs... Type in Cincinnati, Ohio to Paris, France and look at direction 21... I thought it was funny
April 11, 200718 yr That royally bugged me for a long time about the crappy google satellite shots of Dayton but Yahoo has a decent one now. Their satellite shots aren't quite as crisp as most of Googles but I'll take that over nothing.
April 12, 200718 yr Do I smell the end of ArcGIS as we know it?? Google is making fast gains on ArcGIS and I assume will have all of its capabilities and more very soon. Thus overtaking it as the industry standard (much like Google SketchUp). I'll wait for it to overtake GeoMedia (LSU's "official" choice for GIS) before worrying about ESRI's line of products.
April 13, 200718 yr SketchUp didn't wait long before gobbling up the competition in the 3d modeling industry. It has VERY quickly become the industry standard. Obviously it will take some time to get everyone to change over, but its only a matter of time. I wouldn't be too surprised if the same happened with GoogleMaps and all other mapping programs. All that it is short of right now is some of the technical aspects and the government information (ie utility lines and things of that nature).
April 13, 200718 yr Its one thing showing a map with current traffic conditions, where your taxi is at, and providing directions to grandmas house. (Google, Yahoo, M$) Its a completely different thing to analyze large data sets in conjunction with census figures and transit data in order to figure out the best places to install underground without seriously disrupting bus service. (ESRI, Map Info, etc)
April 13, 200718 yr An now I see there is something new again for Google Maps. It does not work for every city yet, but it does in Cleveland. You have to go to the second closest zoom and then you get a 3D wire frame of the buildings. Zoom 3+ just shows footprints.
April 13, 200718 yr Try this for laughs... Type in Cincinnati, Ohio to Paris, France and look at direction 21... I thought it was funny Those clever guys at Google ... ;)
April 26, 200718 yr New 3-D layers from AIA on Google Earth Tuesday, April 24, 2007 at 6:23:00 AM Posted by RK Stewart, FAIA, President 2007, American Institute of Architects Architects are pretty passionate about architecture -– no surprise there. However, we've come to find that the American public is too. Starting today, there are two new Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/index.html) layers with which to explore architecture’s most popular structures and take away some ideas to help enhance the communities we live in. As president of The American Institute of Architects (http://www.aia150.org/), I’m ecstatic to announce our partnership with Google Earth to launch these new layers in celebration of our the 150th anniversary. Check out this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpNaMbMr1CM) on YouTube to watch us navigate these layers from Google headquarters. Fly to America’s Favorite Architecture (http://www.favoritearchitecture.org/), a layer featuring the American public’s favorite architecture (as selected though a national poll announced earlier this year). View all 150 structures, including many with just created 3-D models of the buildings, ballparks, bridges, and memorials that characterize architecture in the eyes of Americans. And then explore the second layer, Blueprint for America (http://www.aia150.org/bl150_default.php). Blueprint is a community service effort funded by the AIA, in which AIA members donating their time and expertise are collaborating with community leaders and local citizens to enhance the quality of life in their community. You’ll be able to track the progress of these projects on Google Earth as they unfold over the next year and, we hope, become inspired to take action where you live.
April 30, 200718 yr Very amusing: [youtube=425,350]YT1d2iZdGmY EDIT: I removed URL and added new fancy shmancy youtube tool
April 30, 200718 yr Try this for laughs... Type in Cincinnati, Ohio to Paris, France and look at direction 21... I thought it was funny very funny -- reminds me of the google moon goof. if you haven't seen it just zoom in step by step until you get to the last one: http://moon.google.com/ ps -- congrats to my spouse who just got a new job with....google. nothing like commuting right across the street to go to work too. good for her.
May 6, 200718 yr From Bloomberg: Microsoft, Yahoo May Partner to Challenge Google in Web Search By Jonathan Thaw and Jason Kelly May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo! Inc. have held talks about a partnership designed to boost their share of the Web search and advertising market and catch up with Google Inc., people briefed on the discussions said... To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Thaw in San Francisco at [email protected] ; Jason Kelly in New York at [email protected] . Last Updated: May 5, 2007 00:03 EDT
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