Last week Google announced an update to Google Maps that makes it more 3D without a plug-in. The tech behind it is called WebGL and Google's implementation for Maps is called MapsGL. WebGL is supported by four of the five top browsers (versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera are in, Internet Explorer is out). Using WebGL reveals 3D buildings on the otherwise 2D maps of Google Maps, shadows based on time of day and some more elegant transitions from one view to another.
So, what is WebGL? "WebGL is a new technology that brings hardware-accelerated 3D graphics to the browser without additional installed software." It's software that takes advantage of a the hardware's GPU, so you need both the a compatible browser and the right hardware to test it out. (I wrote about GPUs in Directions Magazine.) The library is managed by the Khronos (corrected TWICE per comments, was "Chronos," then Kronos but now correct!) Group (a standards organization) was released as version 1.0 this past March.
Danny Sullivan reports that the new Siri voice automation on the new iPhone 4s disappoints in the Google Maps department. He could not, with voice, get to the details of a query as he would have liked.
Google Maps breathren, other Google efforts, have been "fired" as of last week. The announcement prepares for the demise of Google Code Search, Google Buzz and Buzz API, iGoogle (I use that!), Jaiku and the University Research Program for Google Search.
Creating a map on Google Maps allowed the language technology group to add places and points of interests and even upload videos providing information on that location in Cherokee. Cherokee is one of the many languages that Google supports.
