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Friday, 29 February 2008

Out of this world maps

Posted on 14:15 by Unknown
Posted by Wei Luo, Senior GIS Specialist

I am excited to see that David Rumsey's maps have come to life in Second Life, the extremely popular online, 3-D world. It's such a cool idea: historical maps in a virtual world. I've spent hours playing with the Rumsey maps that appear in Google Earth, sliding back and forth between today's borders and the maps of yesteryear. I find the constellation maps in Sky to be particularly awe-inspiring; I am always amazed at how accurately our ancestors were able to portray the night sky without the aid of powerful telescopes.

As a self-proclaimed map nerd, I'm grateful for the work David has done to make historical maps accessible to the world, and appreciate the innovative ways that he has found to display such fragile documents in digital formats. I highly recommend exploring the more than 17,000 maps of all kinds available on his website, as well as visiting Rumsey Maps Island in Second Life. Being able to interact with a 17th century map in an online world is a pretty amazing experience.
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Show us your style

Posted on 10:50 by Unknown
Posted by Bryce Stout, Product Manager

Do you have style? Are you a SketchUp Pro enthusiast? Then you'll want to check out our 2008 SketchUp Sketchy-Edge Style Building Competition. This is a great chance to test out the new Style Builder and try your hand at a modern take on old-fashioned sketching -- and maybe win some fun prizes. Read more about it, then get to work. We can't wait to see what you create!


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Tuesday, 26 February 2008

Come together

Posted on 14:05 by Unknown
Posted by Tanya Keen, Google Earth Outreach

Recently we announced collaborative mapmaking in Google Maps. What does this mean for those of you working at nonprofits? Simply put, it's easier to make maps with your coworkers, partners, donors, and beneficiaries.

Here are just a couple of ideas:
  • Get your program leads to post photos and videos of what they're doing in the field. Recent photos and videos go a long way toward demonstrating your impact on the communities you serve, which matters to donors and potential partners.
  • Have your donors, partners, and volunteers add themselves to a collective map of all of your supporters. You're all working toward the same goal, and it's encouraging to see who else is on your team.
And here are what some pioneering groups have already done:
  • Burma Chapters US
  • Our Stories
  • Dirty Ditching Diesel Collaborative
If you haven't explored this feature yet, click "Collaborate" within the My Maps tab to invite others to edit your map. To guide you along, we've added a new tutorial on the Google Earth Outreach site, which shows you step-by-step how to collaborate on your maps. Whether you're changing your local landscape or tackling global issues, collaborative mapmaking helps many grassroots efforts reach global proportions.
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Refine by user ratings and neighborhoods

Posted on 11:50 by Unknown
Posted by Constantinos Michael, Software Engineer

Ever since I moved to the New York City Google office I've had an agenda: exploring the best the city has to offer like so many other New Yorkers do. Sometimes this can be an overwhelming experience, since the city has more than 18,000 food vendors according to nycvisit.com!

Fortunately, finding the best places just became a lot easier with the addition of user ratings and neighborhood refinements to Google Maps. Now when your search has a wide variety of interesting results, you'll get the opportunity to hone in on that midtown-east bakery with the delectable bagels or find some really great flowers in Chelsea. If you are visiting and can't make up your mind on where to stay, you can even get the best hotels in two different neighborhoods at the same time. All you have to do is look for the "Refine by" link, click on a neighborhood or user rating, and the new results will appear immediately.


New York doesn't have the monopoly on good neighborhoods, of course. Next time I visit the rest of the Maps team in Mountain View, CA or in the Seattle area, I'll use refinements to find a cool bar or some good downtown seafood. So, find the best of what your own neighborhood has to offer, and enjoy!

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Monday, 25 February 2008

The South China Sea Project

Posted on 21:14 by Unknown
Posted by Phil Verney, Google Earth Community Development

We always enjoy seeing people use our products to shed light on global issues. One great example is the layer created by the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project. This large Global Environment Facility project, implemented by the United Nations Environment Programme, is working to develop regionally co-ordinated programmes of action designed to reverse environmental degradation, such as the loss of coastal habitats and the over-exploitation of fisheries in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand.

This layer was developed to share information about the South China Sea Project with the Google Earth community. It is also being used as a tool for sharing geographical information and data among scientists and managers from seven countries bordering the South China Sea.

According to the Project Director, Dr. John Pernetta, this KML provides "an overview of the regional network of government ministries and departments, research institutes, and universities involved in the implementation of project activities; the project’s suite of habitat demonstration sites and pilot activities bordering the South China Sea basin; and information and data for 135 mangrove, coral reef, seagrass, and wetlands sites of the South China Sea studied during the project."

By providing rich information in the description bubbles, this KML uses Google Earth as the geographical search engine to provide an in-depth analysis of the South China Sea. This layer is a great example of how to connect with a wide audience. We encourage you to explore it in the Google Earth Outreach Showcase, and get a feel for the beauty and importance of this region.

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Are we going to Greece or Thailand?

Posted on 17:16 by Unknown
Posted by Giri Rao, Software Engineer

A couple months ago, my wife and I decided to go on a vacation. I suggested we go to Greece, but she insisted on Thailand. I thought I could win her over by showing her some of the historical areas of Greece, so I promptly brought her to Google Maps. Unfortunately, I couldn't read a thing since all the labels were in Greek. When she tried to check out Thailand, we had the same problem.

I realized that our maps were much less useful for people who don't recognize non-Latin characters. I decided to tackle this the Google way: fixing it myself! Now, in addition to seeing the local label for a location, you'll also see an English version of the local pronunciation for Greece, Thailand, Russia, and many cities in Japan. Google Maps is now more useful for viewing the world!

And with that problem solved, my wife and I still had to decide if we were headed for the bustle of Bangkok or the ancient wonders of Athens (or Athina, as the Greeks say it). Looks like my wife won this one... Thailand, here we come!
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Friday, 22 February 2008

The art of science and engineering

Posted on 16:16 by Unknown
Posted by Michael Weiss-Malik, Software Engineer

(Cross-posted on the Official Google Blog.)

Google Moon and Google Mars are great examples of products that required much more than pure software engineering to produce. There was quite a bit of science, and even a little bit of artistry, that went into their creation. They both expose large volumes of imagery and information in simple and accessible designs, and it turns out that I'm not the only one who thinks that they qualify as art in this regard.

New York's Museum of Modern Art has honored both products by including them in their exhibition Design and the Elastic Mind, which opens to the public on February 24th. The exhibit showcases objects and systems that pair modern design with innovations in science and engineering in creative ways. Google Moon's Apollo landing panoramas and Google Mars' imagery of the largest canyons and volcanoes in the solar system were intended to do exactly that, by applying Google Maps technology to places that are out of this world.

We're delighted that MOMA saw fit to include us in their lineup, and recommend the show to anyone living in or visiting the New York area. It runs through May 12th.


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Putting Google Earth to the test (Answers)

Posted on 13:00 by Unknown
Posted by Adelia Barber, Doctoral Student at UC Santa Cruz

Pencils down! It's time to see how you did on our ecology pop quiz.

1. Use your Internet research skills to learn a little bit about Ngorongora Crater in Tanzania, then find the site in Google Earth. Can you find the safari vehicles? Large animals? What kinds of plants do you think are growing along the shores of the lake? What kinds of plants would you find along the crater rim?

Yes, you can see safari vehicles and some animals (probably elephants) in the Google Earth imagery as you scan around the roads that run through Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania. As for the plants in this area, the shores of the lake are white in the imagery, indicating that this is a saline lake with salt residue around the edges. Therefore, we might expect to find halophytes (salt adapted plants) growing around the lake, and broadleaf trees that are more typical of a tropical ecosystem growing around the crater rim.


2.Judging by the characteristics of the trees, what time of year do you think the picture was taken over Central Park in Manhattan?

In Central Park, the grass is bright green, about half the trees are green (having leaves), and the other half are brown (with no leaves). The grass is green because it is irrigated, and the evergreen trees (such as pines and other conifers) would be green all year round. But, the additional presence of leaf-less, deciduous trees indicates that this imagery must have been taken sometime after the leaves changed color in the fall, but before they re-emerged in the spring. So, sometime in winter is a good guess for the timing of these photos.

3. John Muir described a few trees growing on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley when he visited there in the mid-1800s. Are there any trees still growing on the top of Half Dome?

Sadly, no trees remain on top of Half Dome; they were all cut down for firewood while hikers were still allowed to camp on top of the dome.


4. The Tigris River flows through central Baghdad. Is there any vegetation growing on the islands and sand berms in the middle and on the edges of this river?

Yes, there is clearly vegetation on the sand berms and islands along the Tigris River in Baghdad. These plants don’t really look like trees, but are probably bushes and small marsh plants.

5. You’re considering accepting a plant biologist job that would require you to survey the vegetation on the shores of Prince William Sound immediately outside of the small town of Valdez, Alaska. Are you going to be working in the trees or in more open vegetation?

The Google Earth imagery shows that the terrain around Valdez, Alaska is a mixture of dense conifer forest and more open shrub-lands. If this wonderful plant-biologist job also included surveying the high mountains around Valdez, we would be working in a treeless, high-alpine environment. Sounds like fun to me!

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Thursday, 21 February 2008

Sometimes simpler is better...

Posted on 14:41 by Unknown
Posted by Jeffrey Martin, Product Marketing Manager

...just take the case of our new Static Maps API. Unlike our other APIs, which embed an interactive map in your web pages, the Static Maps API embeds a static snapshot. The snapshot map loads fast, making it ideal for content-heavy and multimedia-rich pages.

And because they are not rendered using JavaScript, maps generated by the Static Maps API can be added to emails as attachments. On webpages and in gadget ads, it is possible to combine the Static Maps API with the JavaScript API to make the static map interactive when a user rolls over or clicks on it.

This new API is perfect for putting together maps like "Best sushi restaurants in Portland," "Tallest buildings in Chicago," or a simple storefinder like “Bob's Organic Market," or creating a map to send as an email attachment that shows where events for your wedding are taking place.

Now, defining a map image is as easy as can be; you just choose your zoom level and create placemarks – no Javascript required. Done! A Google Map appears on your site, enabling people to find you – or the things you care about.

To find out more, check out our developer's guide.
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Putting Google Earth to the test

Posted on 13:50 by Unknown
Posted by Adelia Barber, Doctoral Student at UC Santa Cruz

One of the most dreaded things for a field ecologist (myself included) is spending all day at the computer. Instead, we'd rather be, you guessed it, in the field. For this reason, I’m one of Google Earth’s biggest fans -- even when I have to be indoors, I can explore the world. I’m a doctoral student at UC Santa Cruz in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, doing research on the ancient bristlecone pines, the oldest living trees on earth. I've been using Google Earth on a daily basis to import my data quickly, see it overlaid on aerial imagery, plan my route, upload points to my GPS, and then turn off the computer and head out into the field completely prepared. You can read about my work, and examine some of my data, in a new case study that’s up on the Google Earth Outreach site.

I’ve also found that Google Earth is great in the classroom. While teaching an introductory biology class, I decided to replace an outdated library assignment with a virtual plant ecology search mission. Want to test your own knowledge? Head to Google Earth to look up the following locations and take a stab at answering some of my questions:

1. Use your Internet research skills to learn a little bit about Ngorongora Crater in Tanzania, then find the site in Google Earth. Can you find the safari vehicles? Large animals? What kinds of plants do you think are growing along the shores of the lake? What kinds of plants would you find along the crater rim?

2. Judging by the characteristics of the trees, what time of year do you think the picture was taken over Central Park in Manhattan?

3. John Muir described a few trees growing on the top of Half Dome in Yosemite Valley when he visited there in the mid-1800s. Are there any trees still growing on the top of Half Dome?

4. The Tigris River flows through central Baghdad. Is there any vegetation growing on the islands and sand berms in the middle and on the edges of this river?

5. You’re considering accepting a plant biologist job that would require you to survey the vegetation on the shores of Prince William Sound immediately outside of the small town of Valdez, Alaska. Are you going to be working in the trees or in more open vegetation?

These questions are, of course, very specific to the subject matter I teach in my class, but Google Earth is a fun way to explore just about any subject, from history to English. It's a great tool for scientists, academics, and educators alike. Check out the case study or my webpage to learn more. And be sure to check back tomorrow for answers to see if you made the grade!
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Wednesday, 20 February 2008

Where in the world is... (Answers)

Posted on 13:05 by Unknown
Posted by Matt Manolides, GIS Specialist

Great detective work, everyone! Here are the answers, just in case there were a few questions that stumped you.

1) This city is getting a belated Australia Day present from the Google Earth Team.
-- Sydney

2) Until now, this famous Frank Gehry building was shown as under construction.
-- Ray and Maria Stata Center, MIT (Boston)
3) This city is host to a young basketball team that's very exciting to watch, despite having their top draft pick sidelined for the entire season.
-- Portland, Oregon

4) Still providing spring water, this architectural landmark is one of the best-preserved Roman constructions on the Iberian Peninsula.
-- Aqueduct of Segovia


5) This salt dome is not only home to one of my favorite hot sauces but also a bird sanctuary.
-- Avery Island, Louisiana

6) Named after the 13th century bishop of Toulouse, this historic California mission town can be viewed in high-res.
-- San Louis Obispo

7) This city has an amazing mix of Islamic and European architecture, including a church built inside a former mosque.
-- Cordoba, Spain
8) You can now view The Manor where the Whiskers, Lazuli, Commandoes, Zappa, and Starsky families live and play.
-- South Africa (referencing the Kalahari Meerkat Project in the Kuruman River Reserve)

9) Come to this city to join me at a Giants game.
-- San Francisco

10) Every year on January 20th, this city is awash with drum beats while adults march through the streets dressed as cooks and soldiers.
--San Sebastian, Spain


The following is a more complete version of the updates in this data push:


New high resolution:
Americas:

- Canada: Significant amount of British Columbia, Oxford County (Ontario)
- USA: Madera (CA), Fernly (NV), Silver Springs (NV), Yerington (NV),
Cambria (CA), Creston (CA), Delaware, Connecticut

EMEA:

- Spain: Avila, Burgos, San Sebastian
- Portugal: Lisbon

- South Africa: 2.5m imagery for western half of the country

Asia & Oceania:
- New Zealand: Auckland, Wanganui Province, Tararua Province
- Australia: Sydney, Newcastle

Updated Imagery:
Americas:
- Canada: Vancouver
- USA: Portland (OR), Bay Area (SF, Oakland, Peninsula), San Simeon (CA),
Morro Bay (CA), Garden Farms (CA), San Louis Obispo (CA), Arroyo
Grande (CA), Nipomo (CA), Santa Maria (CA), California City (CA),
San Bernardino County (CA), Riverside County (CA), Salt Lake City (UT),
Denver (CO), Kalamazoo (MI), Detroit (MI), Hardee County (FL),
Martin County (FL), Tampa (FL), Philadelphia (PA), Boston (MA)
Onodaga County (NY), Norfolk (VA), Island County (WA), the state of
Hawaii, the state of Ohio, the state of Louisiana, the state of Virginia,
and the state New Jersey.
- Cuba: Havana - Brazil: Sao Paolo EMEA:
- France: Tours - Italy: Torino
- Spain: Almeria, Logrono, Pamplona, Santander, Segovia, Valladolid, Alicante,
Bilbao, Castellon, Cordoba, Coruna, Costa Blanca, Elche, Gijon, Huelva,
Leon, Oviedo, Salamanca, Vigo, Vitoria, Catalunya, Andalucia
- UK: Kent, Norfolk
- Switzerland: Zimmerburg, Pfannenstiel
- Denmark: Copenhagen
- Finland: Helsinki
- Norway:
Oslo
- Iceland:
Reykijavik
- Ukraine:
Kiev
- Latvia:
Riga
- Serbia:
Belgrade
- Kenya: Nairobi
- Senegal: Dakar

Asia:
- Turkmenistan:
Ashkhabad
- Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek
- Myanmar: Rangoon

Updated Terrain:
State of Arkansas
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Go by miles or kilometers

Posted on 09:32 by Unknown
Posted by Dave Barth, Product Manager

Most of us think primarily in terms of either miles or kilometers, and converting from one to the other takes a bit of mental power that, personally, I think could be put to better use. We've heard the same from our users, so this week we've added the ability to view your driving directions in either miles or kilometers, no matter which part of the world you're in. Just click the km or miles link below the directions if you want to switch your units, and hit the road.

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Tuesday, 19 February 2008

Where in the world is...

Posted on 11:35 by Unknown
Posted by Matt Manolides, GIS Specialist

Happy February, Earth fans!

It took a full two months for us to get ready for it, but we've finally pushed out the first imagery update of 2008 -- and I hope you'll find that it was worth the wait! Most of the updates in this push are centered around the U.S., though there are a quite a few very high quality updates all around the world.

1) This city is getting a belated Australia Day present from the Google Earth Team.

2) Until now, this famous Frank Gehry building was shown as under construction.
3) This city is host to a young basketball team that's very exciting to watch, despite having their top draft pick sidelined for the entire season.

4) Still providing spring water, this architectural landmark is one of the best-preserved Roman constructions on the Iberian Peninsula.
5) This salt dome is not only home to one of my favorite hot sauces but also a bird sanctuary.

6) Named after the 13th century bishop of Toulouse, this historic California mission town can be viewed in high-res.

7) This city has an amazing mix of Islamic and European architecture, including a church built inside a former mosque.
8) You can now view The Manor where the Whiskers, Lazuli, Commandoes, Zappa, and Starsky families live and play.

9) Come to this city to join me at a Giants game.
10) Every year on January 20th, this city is awash with drum beats while adults march through the streets dressed as cooks and soldiers.
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Friday, 15 February 2008

Ready for the weather

Posted on 14:29 by Unknown
Posted by Jeff Martin, Product Marketing Manager

I'm headed to the mountains for the weekend, so I just checked the weather conditions for my route using one of my favorite sites, weatherbug.com. If you look up your local weather (or the weather of wherever you may be going this holiday weekend), you have the option to "change tracking station." This brings you to a great use of our Maps API -- a Google Map where you can choose from thousands of weather monitoring sites around the world. These micro-stations feed real-time temperature, wind, and precipitation data of the exact location you're looking for directly to your desktop.

Looks like I may encounter wind and some snow. I'll pack my chains and consider that a small price to pay for the predicted knee-deep powder tomorrow!
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Thursday, 14 February 2008

Love is in the air...and in Google Earth!

Posted on 00:17 by Unknown
Posted by Chikai Ohazama, Product Manager, Google Earth

There's plenty to love about Google Earth, like being able to explore the universe, track the weather, and watch YouTube videos in the place they were made. But it's our imagery that's at the, well, heart of the matter.

As you can imagine, the Google Earth team is always on the lookout for good views from the air. That's why we are so pleased to find, just in time for Valentine's Day, that the world seems to be filled with hearts! See for yourself by downloading this KML file and clicking the Play button: there are heart-shaped islands, heart-shaped pools - and for those of you who keep an eye out for "other-worldly" activity, there's even a crop heart. Just think of it as our virtual valentine to you!



A field in deepest rural Wiltshire, UK has a mysterious heart in the middle of it



This natural heart shaped island can be found off the coast of Croatia near Turkljaca



5 miles from Brampton, Ontario (Canada) this heart shaped lake is tucked away among the trees


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Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Mapping with Google Spreadsheets

Posted on 18:07 by Unknown
Posted by Christiaan Adams and Sean Askay, Google Earth Outreach

On the Google Earth Outreach team we're always looking for ways to help non-profits share their stories. One great way to spread your message is by creating a layer for Google Earth or Maps. You probably know by now that placemarks can be created using something called KML. Most people think this file format is really hard to use, but with the help of Google Spreadsheets and a little imagination, you too can create your own layers. And to make creating placemarks in Maps and Earth even easier, we've just released our new and improved Spreadsheet Mapper 2.0 tool. Instead of getting bogged down maintaining a bunch of KML code, this tool lets you:
  • Create up to 400 placemarks.
  • Use our six ready-made balloon designs to create great-looking placemarks.
  • Create and share your own balloon designs by using a simple HTML templating system.
Ready to dive in? Check out the tutorial, which includes a YouTube video to help you follow along.

For added inspiration, see how the folks from Edge of Existence used this tool to showcase their top 100 most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) mammalian and amphibian species. And it's not just for organizations; we encourage anyone who is looking to create their own layer in Maps or Earth to try it out.

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Your content on Google Maps

Posted on 10:35 by Unknown
Posted by Jess Lee, Product Manager, Google Maps

Our goal is to create the world's most comprehensive virtual atlas -- the best, most complete map of the earth. This is no easy task, and we know we can't accomplish it without the help of our users, because nobody knows a neighborhood better than the folks who live in it.

In April of 2007, we launched a feature called My Maps that lets anybody create a map quickly and easily just by pointing and clicking. We wanted to enable all the world's local experts to map our their neighborhoods, their hobbies, their interests.

Over the past 11 months, people have created more than 9 million My Maps, encompassing a total of 40 million placemarks. That's an impressive 1 new placemark created every second! We never anticipated that people would become so interested in mapmaking, which used to be accessible only to priests, scholars, and academics.

To give you a better sense of what's being created, we've put together a page that randomly displays My Maps, showcasing ones that were recently edited or added. We've seen everything from hotels in Havana to birthplaces of the 2008 presidential candidates to the aftermath of an oil spill to bird-watching spots in Oklahoma. We hope that this new page helps you discover some fascinating maps too.
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Tuesday, 12 February 2008

The six Rs of Google Earth Outreach

Posted on 18:29 by Unknown
Posted by Rebecca Moore and Steve Miller, Google Earth Outreach

As part of the Google Earth Outreach team, we're big fans of the three Rs of environmentalism: reduce, reuse, recycle. We also abide by another important set of Rs: release, revise, repeat. By trying out new ideas, listening to feedback, and making changes, we think we'll do a better job of helping out our partners.

In that spirit, today we've updated our site to include some new content. Over the course of the week we'll show you around in detail, but for now, here's a quick tour:

Getting Started guide: Since launching the Google Earth Outreach program last June, we've seen a growing interest from nonprofits in using Google Maps. So we've created this step-by-step guide to help organizations get started using Maps, Earth, or both.

Case studies: Today you'll find a few new ones featured. The "Ecology of the Ancient Bristlecone Pines" looks at how researchers use Google Earth in their fieldwork studying bristlecone pines in the White Mountains of California. The "EDGE of Existence" case study describes the making of a KML showing the 100 most endangered mammals on earth. (The KML code was generated from a spreadsheet by our new Spreadsheet Mapper 2.0 tool. Stay tuned for more on that!) We've included an update to the Neighbors Against Irresponsible Logging (NAIL) case study describing how Google Earth helped them win their environmental battle to save a redwood forest. Finally, we're pleased to publish an update from Appalachian Voices, describing their new and innovative "MyConnection" site, which shows individuals how they are personally connected to mountaintop removal coal mining in Appalachia. Update: read what Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has to say about this initiative.

Tutorials: In addition to the new Spreadsheet Mapper tool and tutorial (which we'll be telling you more about tomorrow), we want to let you know about our new Collaborate on Your Maps tutorial that highlights the collaborative mapping capability introduced recently to MyMaps -- potentially very useful for volunteer groups and nonprofits.

And last but not least, since our program is designed to help the nonprofit community make the most of our mapping tools, we thought we ought to have a map of that community right on our homepage. If your organization is using Maps or Earth -- or is thinking about doing so -- you can add your organization to our map in just a couple of minutes. This is a small first step toward more actively involving our partners in our site to share ideas, challenges, and successes.
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A dozen more cities in Street View

Posted on 12:45 by Unknown
Posted by Vaibhav Vaish, Software Engineer

We're happy to bring you Street View in 12 more cities today. This effectively doubles our Street View coverage. And there are many new sights to explore, including our first glacier, the "drive-in" Mendenhall glacier in Juneau, Alaska:


View Larger Map

If you find glaciers too icy, consider the slightly warmer Great Salt Lake:


View Larger Map

And where do you think we found this grand railway station?


View Larger Map

Street View coverage has expanded to include:
  • Albany and Schenectady, NY
  • Boise, ID
  • Juneau, AK
  • Kansas City, MO (home of the railway station!)
  • Manchester, NH
  • Milwaukee, WI
  • Research Triangle Park (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill), NC
  • San Antonio, TX
  • Salt Lake City, UT
And don't forget, you can easily embed Street View panoramas, like the ones above, in your own web pages and blogs. So explore, embed, and enjoy!
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Monday, 11 February 2008

Are you a supermodel(er)?

Posted on 17:02 by Unknown
Posted by Allyson McDuffie, Google SketchUp Education Program Development

Today we announced the Google 2008 International Model Your Campus Competition, which invites students around the world to create 3D models of their campus. To get inspired - or to go on a virtual college tour - check out what last year's winners modeled. Then, visit the competition website to register. We can't wait to see what you come up with.
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Truly global

Posted on 08:33 by Unknown
Posted by Chikai Ohazama, Google Earth Product Manager

When I was an intern at Silicon Graphics in the '90s, some engineers and I would speculate about what it would take to accomplish impossibly large goals, like how much 3D graphics power we'd needed to perfectly recreate reality or how much disk space we'd need to store satellite imagery of the entire world at 1 meter resolution. They were fun exercises that you'd never expect to actually happen given where technology was at the time.

But as I sit here today, browsing Google Earth, those hypotheticals are no longer out of reach. When my partners and I started Keyhole back in 2001, we were focused on creating a dynamic, three dimensional, interactive map of the US with satellite and aerial imagery. We made good headway on this goal, but that only covered a little more than 6% of the world's land surface. Google acquired us in 2004, and that took us to a whole new level. It was now conceivable to tackle the inconceivable, to create a database of satellite and aerial imagery for the entire world at sub-meter resolution.

Over the past three years, the imagery team at Google has been executing on this challenge, partnering with townships, national governments, and commercial imagery providers to gather and stitch together the millions of pieces of this global imagery puzzle. We've also, of course, spent a lot of time creating new tools so that everyone can better navigate and use the unprecedented maps we've been creating. However, the new tools and layers are more obvious than the intricacies of the foundation, and so I want to take a moment to highlight just how global Google Earth is.

Google Earth is available in 13 languages and has been downloaded over 350 million times by people from around the world. People tell us that the reason they use Google Earth is because it covers the areas they care about with high resolution detail -- whether it's Timbuktu, Cabo San Lucas, or Whitiangia, New Zealand. No other online mapping provider in the world offers this global reach with sub-meter resolution imagery. In fact, we cover more than a third of the world's land surface and half of the world's population with this sort of "high definition" imagery. That means you can see details like Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe, the Taj Mahal in India, and the world's tallest completed skyscraper in Taipei, images you can't explore anywhere else online. Google has been able to provide this unique global imagery by partnering with hundreds of aerial and satellite imagery providers around the world. From the small town of Castillia, Colombia to National Geographic photographers like Michael Fay, we are constantly working with new content owners to include their imagery in Google Earth. It turns out that our global imagery database is helpful for reasons even beyond our expectations: it's been used in critical humanitarian efforts from the mountains of Pakistan to the deserts of Sudan.

All of this would not have possible if we took the pragmatic approach and just focused on just the most populated cities of the world. We were given the freedom and encouragement to pursue our lofty and seemingly impossible goals, which in the end has enabled an ecosystem of map mashups and KMLs that would have otherwise not existed.

We hope you enjoy the view, and continue to check back here for imagery updates and innovations.
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Thursday, 7 February 2008

From style makers to mapmakers

Posted on 14:55 by Unknown
Posted by Jeff Martin, Product Marketing Manager

Who loves New York? Gucci does. And they're willing to bet lots of other people do too. The CEO and the creative director used our Maps API to highlight some of their favorite places on guccilovesny.com. And they're inviting people to take part. You can upload your favorite spot to the site for a chance to get featured on the map. Now if only Madonna would upload some photos from the fundraiser she threw in NYC last night...
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Tuesday, 5 February 2008

Super day for a super map

Posted on 09:20 by Unknown
Posted by Brittany Bohnet, Elections Program Manager

We've done it before and we're doing it again, this time in a much bigger -- dare I say super -- kind of way.

Today, we announced our Super Tuesday map, a one-stop shop for elections-related news and results. Included in the map are results by county, an embeddable map code for your website or blog, a Super Tuesday YouTube layer of geo-tagged user videos, Google News election headlines, as well as Twitter updates from around the country. Google Maps aficionados will be able to pan around the nation and view all 24 primary state results in real time.

Super Tuesday will be extremely important for the remaining presidential candidates, as it will play a role in determining who will receive their party's nomination. We put together this map to help you follow all of the excitement on the campaign trail.

And if you're looking for something to do while you await more results, embed the map onto your website or blog, create your own Super Tuesday video on YouTube, send text messages to Twitter, or spend your time reading up on the action in Google News.

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Saturday, 2 February 2008

NYC Super Bowl specials map

Posted on 13:39 by Unknown
Posted by Greg Donaker, Software Engineer, Google Maps

Since my favorite team, the 49ers, didn't make it to the Super Bowl this year, I'll be rooting for the Patriots this Sunday. But no matter who wins, half the fun of watching the big game is the atmosphere. UrbanTailgate.com has put together a Super Bowl My Map with all the best places to watch the game in New York City. They list over 80 bars holding tailgate parties and point out who's offering Super Bowl specials. So if you're in New York, check it out and find the perfect place to cheer on the home team... or the Patriots!



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Friday, 1 February 2008

All the news that's fit to map

Posted on 11:04 by Unknown
Posted by Evan Parker, Software Engineer, Google Maps

It may be hard to imagine that people working at the BBC ever get downtime on the job, but during a quiet night shift, one employee decided to tinker around with Google Maps. The result? A mashup that shows the locations of BBC bureaus and reporters around the world. If you click on one of the map icons, you can read stories that are generated from that location. You can also find out which specific reporters are covering stories from a particular place and read their work. Being both a maps enthusiast (obviously!) and a bit of a news junkie, using this mashup is a mix of business and pleasure. You can read more about it, or head straight to the map to follow the world's news.
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