Pretty Imagery in Google Earth and other Google Maps/Earth News

Google Earth 6.2 had a "prettier" version of its imagery. No, it's not new data just a new smoothing algorithm.

Today, we’re introducing a new way of rendering imagery that smooths out this quilt of images. The end result is a beautiful new Earth-viewing experience that preserves the unique textures of the world’s most defining geographic landscapes—without the quilt effect. This change is being made on both mobile and desktop versions of Google Earth. While this change will appear on all versions of Google Earth, the 6.2 release provides the best viewing experience for this new data.

- i Programmer

- Google Blog

The update of Google Maps on the Web now offers better bike route information via detailed rendering.

Since no bike path is the same, many users have requested an easier way to differentiate the different types of bike routes that are available. Starting today, a new legend feature can help you understand what the different colors on the bike maps symbolize.

- Google Lat Long Blog

The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Research Centre of Feng Chia University in Taiwan, has successfully completed Taiwan’s first municipal works cloud-based map platform, which will allow city government officials and policy makers to have a clear picture of the city’s major construction projects.

It's built on Google Earth Enterprise and is expected to be made public (no date yet).

- FutureGov Asia

Update: Directions OnPoint - A Conversation with Marissa Mayer, Google

Per reader requests we are also offering a podcast (.mp3) version.

—- original post 1/17/11——

If you missed our Directions OnPoint interview with Marissa Mayer from last week, you can view the archived version on demand at any time. Mayer is the VP of Google’s Location and Local Services group. She was formerly the head of Search and User Experience and was the 20^th employee and first female hired by Google in 1999. We discussed the following issues:

• What has to happen to jumpstart participation in location services?
• Google will face competition with Facebook Places, Foursquare, Gowalla. Where are we headed and what catalysts might lead the way toward offering a service more palatable to users, considering all of the issues with privacy, frequent users programs, etc.?
• Are users ready to get beyond "point information," that is, checking in at a discrete location, and instead share their "orbit" (where they go regularly, a polygon) with marketers? To me that’s far more valuable and frankly, less scary to share.
• What’s next for Google Maps/Earth? Will it become a more robust platform for the “prosumer” of geospatial information? We’re already seeing new products like Google Earth Engine and Google Earth Enterprise…so what’s next?
• What are the opportunities for Google and location based advertising?
• ...and many more questions from those who attended the "live" webcast.

Esri Aids Visualization of Medical Aid for Non-Profit

Direct Relief International launched an online aid-tracking portal,  the Online Medical Aid Distribution Map last week. It provides pharmaceutical and medical manufacturers a map of where their aid packages have been sent.

Direct Relief is more than 60 years old that provides aid such as asthma inhalers, syringes, IV bags and other medical supplies to community health clinics for 18 million low-income and uninsured people worldwide.  The solution involves tech from Google, SAP and Esri, though it’s unclear to me what the Esri bit does:

Meanwhile, Direct Relief incorporated the visualization functionality of Esri’s ArcGIS application into Google Earth maps to display where the medicine is going, Taugher said. At this stage, the map can overlay shipping locations with data on shipment routes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on hurricane tracking and the Environmental Protection Agency on factors such as air quality.

- eWeek
- press release

Education Tidbits

If you’ve not seen it the Google Earth for Educators page has all sorts of resources, lesson plans, info about grants for using the tool in education. (I’m sure some of the ideas can be used with other tools as well.)

- via @manomarks

Northwestern Michigan College’s Water Studies Institute is mapping the bottom of Grand Traverse Bay in a month long project, the second phase of the Grand Traverse Bay Hydrographic Research Project. Student interns from NMC’s Freshwater Studies degree program and Great Lakes Maritime Academy as well as Michigan Sea Grant, are conducting advanced multibeam hydrographic surveys of both east and west arms of Grand Traverse Bay and northern Lake Michigan. All research is being conducted onboard the NMC research vessel Northwestern and continues through Aug. 12 and will produce the first new maps in 80 years. Among the finds in the first phase? A shipwreck.

- Local Edition

A team led by University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye tracked one plume during research voyages in May and June. And, they are heading back to find any others they might have missed. “The plumes are a mixture of seawater and methane gas, oil and other hydrocarbons that are spewing from the broken well a mile below the water’s surface off the coast of Louisiana.” Recent federal reports confirm plumes, which could be a threat to water life, just like the oil is. The tool of choice to find and map the plumes? Sound waves. “The presence of gas changes the speed that sound passes through the water,” Joye explained.

- Miami Herald

Podcast: Google Earth Pro Now with Location Intelligence Data

Google announced new datasets including demographics, parcels, traffic counts in its for fee Google Earth Pro this month. Why? What market is the company looking capture? Are those data enough? And, do they belong in Google Earth Pro? Our editors explore the new additions.


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