geo2web.com

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The moment they start letting people put messages in Street View is the moment it becomes worthless. How are we supposed to use this stuff if Google allows their employees to put messages in the pictures? I mean where does this stop? Does Google allow Ford Motor Company or Apple Computer to send their employees out to get their pictures taken with Mustang Convertibles and iPhones because they paid Google? I can only guess that Street View is a joke and those who really want to build a business should use Pictometry instead.

Work for Google, put messages in Street View

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BBC Britain from Above Map

Users can have a ’sneak peek’ as to what is coming in the New Series

View the Map

“It’s like Google Earth, but for real.”
Telegraph

Andrew Marr takes to the skies exploring Britain from above.

An epic journey revealing the secrets, patterns and hidden rhythms of our lives from a striking new perspective.

Britain looks very different from the skies. From a bird’s eye view of the nation, its workings, cities, landscapes and peoples are revealed and re-discovered in new and extraordinary ways.

Cutting edge technology allows you to see through cloud cover, navigate the landscape and witness familiar sights as never seen before.

[Extract from BBC Britain from Above]

The programme starts on Sunday August 10th at 9pm on BBC One and then switching over at 10pm on BBC Two. It will air for three weeks concluding on Sunday August 21.
[or view it after it has been broadcasted using the BBC iPlayer for 7 days]

UK Users can see some short clips from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/britainfromabove/stories/rewinds/edenproject.shtml

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How small can a map be and still be legible? ZoomMap.org, a spinoff of the Hong Kong-based Universal Publications Ltd., is publishing some very small maps indeed. Douglas Li of ZoomMap writes:

[W]e create and publish miniature maps — magnifiable up to 50? — of various areas in Hong Kong and China. When I say miniature, I mean tiny, on the scale of saying “a fistful of maps.” They are provided in two different sizes (KeyMap: 150mm ? 230mm and CardMap: 235mm ? 355mm), and go for about $25 and $35 Hong Kong Dollars, which converts to $3.3 and $4.6 CAD, respectively.

I believe they’re the smallest professional maps of its kind, as nobody else ever decided to make such small city maps before. They’re in full detail, which means that they contain all the information available on commonly larger maps. When folded, the KeyMap is about the size of a key, while the CardMap is about the size of most credit cards.

They come with a magnifying glass with 2.5? and 4? zoom, as well as a protective PVC cover to protect both the map and the magnifying glass.

Links added. The maps aren’t available overseas, but the concept is very interesting: the smaller a map physically is, the more likely you’ll take it with you. Whether it’s usable in practical terms is another question.

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As the Street View car passed Google’s California head offices, the Googleplex, hundreds and hundreds of Google Employees came out to form a huge welcoming committee for the passing camera car.

There’s loads of things to see, as many employees have clearly prepared for the event! For example, here’s a life-size yellow Street View guy:

Elsewhere, in a clear nod to our very own discovery of a fight on Street View, a couple of Googlers are engaged in a slight altercation.

In another self-referential move, a couple of people are taking part in a tiny Tour-de-France!

The in-jokes don’t stop there either - one Googler took the opportunity to make a “Web 2.0? marriage proposal! See his website to find out if she accepted.

There’s tons more silliness all up and down the street, as it seems the entire Googleplex came out for the event - so have a browse and share your best finds in the comments!

Thanks to GmapsMania.

Locations: California / Categories: Street Views

View in Google Earth

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Google decided to take some new Street View images at the Googleplex in Mountain View, California. This time they must have let the employees know, as there are many Googlers lining the street. They must have given advance warning, because some people came prepared.

One Googler named Michael Weiss-Malik, a member of the Google Geo team that dos Google Maps/Earth, actually decided to make a wedding proposal in Street View. He put up a sign which you can see here:

View Larger Map

He also has a web site called MarryMeLeslie.com which describes why he did it, and why it’s called “2.0″. If you turn your view to the left or right, you can see the line of Googlers down the street. Move your view down the street to get a look at all the interesting things they decided to show. You can also view these with the Street View layer inside Google Earth for a more immersive experience.

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This is very cool. Roman Nurik of the Google Maps team has created a driving directions simulator for the Google Earth plug-in. With Roman’s tool it is possible to enter your requested directions into the Google Earth browser plug-in and watch a car simulate driving the route. Check out the screen capture below.

My first thoughts on this are that you could use this to create virtual tours of any area on Earth or that you could add street view to this as well so that you could have a first-person view of the route.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

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Chemical Brothers Tour Map

The Chemical Brothers are asking for fans to make a short video clip (from 2 to 20 seconds) or take a photograph about their favourite Chemical Brothers track and to upload the results to a Google Map.

A selection of the best work will be featured in a new concept music video for the Chemical Brothers. To celebrate the launch of the new Chemical Brothers’ album ‘Brotherhood’ videos will feature on a Google Earth channel available on September 1, as well as on the Chemical Brothers YouTube channel.

To submit a video or photograph you need to visit the Chemical Brothers Google Map of their current tour. When you click on gig on the map you are given that gig’s details and a unique tag. If you use this tag when you add a photograph to Flickr or a video to YouTube your photo or clip will automatically appear on the Chemical Brothers’ Google Map.

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Domain

Australian property website domain.com.au have reacted quickly to the launch of street view in Australia by adding the panoramic imagery to their site functionality. The Google Map showing the location of the property and the street view appear on the property details page.

When you are looking at potential houses on-line it is useful to be able to scope out locations with street view. Not only can you get a quick preview of the property but you can take a virtual stroll around the neighbourhood.

StreetAdvisor

StreetAdvisor has also reacted quickly to the Australian launch of street view. StreetAdvisor is a community sharing website where residents can rate the streets that they live in. The site carries ratings for neighbourly attitudes, noise levels, traffic problems etc.

Now it is also possible to check out the street in Google Maps street view.

Immobilio

French real-estate search engine Immobilio is the first European site to add Google street view. So if you are looking to buy a property in France you can now view prospective properties in Google Maps street view (where available).

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