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April 11, 2008

Impressive Upgrade to Virtual Earth 3D

Well, Microsoft has been working hard. Last night they released a major upgrade to Virtual Earth that includes some impressive new features. Here's an excellent summary of the new features by Microsoft Steve Lombardi. NOTE: you will have to install the new version when you go to visit the Virtual Earth site - virtualearth.com and click on the 3D option. Let me summarize the key new features I see from a Google Earth perspective:

  1. Virtual Earth 3D Las Vegas in Google Earth

    Improved 3D buildings - Virtual Earth 3D already had more buildings with consistent quality textures (compared to GE). But, the texture resolution was low. They've now upgraded the texture resolution, increased the range of coverage to suburb areas, AND are now rendering trees as well! So far, only Las Vegas, Dallas, Denver and Phoenix have this new "version 2" upgrade. But, they promise hundreds of cities by the end of the year. Here's my initial impression: Models for the first city I tried took a while to load, but not terribly slow. Textures definitely look better, although not a huge increase in resolution. For some reason anti-aliasing is not working on my computer so edges on models look jaggy. The trees look really good - at least in Las Vegas. If they are automatically rendering trees from photogrammetry, I'm really impressed! [UPDATE 1030 ET: Steve pointed me to a new blog post, by Jerry Skaw of Microsoft, sharing more details about the 3D rendering. And the trees are automatically generated - and it matches my guess at how they would do it. See the post for more details and screenshots.]

  2. Export to KML - Microsoft has added the ability to export collections (their equivalent of placemarks) to KML, GPX, and GeoRSS. This means you can now save collections to files and use them in other things like Google Earth, or put placemarks on your GPS. Another step in improving functionality for practical use.

  3. 3D Modeling Improved Also - Steve also mentions that their 3D modeling tool, 3DVidia, was also upgraded. I'll have to look at it, but the earlier version didn't seem as good as SketchUp.

  4. Bird's Eye Enhanced - You can now see street/map labels inside Bird's Eye views. This is a cool trick in projection since the photos are taken at different angles. It makes Bird's Eye much more useful as well. Cool feature!

  5. MapCruncher integration - MapCruncher is Microsoft's application that lets you place maps and photos over a location very accurately. They've now integrated this with Virtual Earth 3D. I haven't tested this yet. But, since VE3D was missing a way to put image overlays into their world, this is a step in the right direction. I just wonder how hard it will be to use. GE has a very easy and intuitive interface for adding image overlays. But, it doesn't have the ability to accurately project them into other than rectangular overlays.

  6. Explore Collections - Steve called this GeoWeb Explorations. It's kind of like dynamically searching for user content as you move your view. Something I think Google Earth should be doing as well. You find the option in VE3D under the "Collections->Explore" option in the upper right. They have added the ability to filter your searches by KML, or other tags that appear in your scene. And, you can filter based on photos, OR 3D models. I'm guessing Microsoft has developed their own equivalent of 3D Warehouse with a few models. I haven't found a lot of models available in this mode yet.

  7. Movie Capture - Microsoft has a new capability to make movies and even claim the ability to capture up to HD quality movies. Google Earth Pro does not do a good job of capturing movies at higher frame rates (probably due to using the built-in Microsoft video codec). But, I use Fraps and can capture HD for GE anyway.

  8. Real-time Traffic - Microsoft has a new traffic application called ClearFlow that allows it to predict traffic patterns based on other traffic data. This sounds like impressive stuff. See the NY Times article, and Mickey says some good stuff about it at Digital Earth Blog. Mickey also notes what they really need is a mobile version - which I'm sure will come eventually.

  9. Improved KML Support - Steve says they can support KML files with a new "&mapurl=" parameter - meaning you can add the URL of a KML file without having to load it inside the app. He notes this means you can view a Google Mays MyMap inside Virtual Earth. Interesting! I tried this, but it is a little tricky. Steve gives example URLs for how to use the new parameter. You then look for the "View in Google Earth" inside your Google MyMaps and copy that link as your URL.

Overall - I would say this is a significant upgrade to Virtual Earth. The new features have some impressive capabilities. I'm obviously a big fan of Google Earth, so my opinion may be slanted. But, I still feel the Virtual Earth 3D interface is not as friendly or smooth as Google Earth. It will be interesting to see whether the inclusion of MapCruncher makes it easier for people to add content like image overlays. The enhancement to the 3D buildings is welcome, as is the slick addition of labels for Bird's Eye imagery. The 3D buildings (and trees!) and Bird's Eye imagery are still the main two attractions for me to use Virtual Earth 3D. But, not enough for me to use it every day.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:38 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack

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April 07, 2008

New York Times in Google Earth

New York Times layer in Google EarthGoogle and the New York Times have worked together to release a real-time news feed for Google Earth (see the announcement). Although several news organizations have experimented with KML feeds of news for Google Earth (the best current example being CBS news), this is the first time Google has supported a news layer in the built-in layers of Google Earth.

The New York Times layer (or NY Times for short) is a network link which automatically updates with the latest geographically tagged stories. Click on an icon to get a summary of articles available for that location. Click on an article to get a short summary of the story, Click on "Read more at NY Times" for the full article on your web browser.

As expected, the system is set up to be as automated as possible. It appears stories not tagged by the author are scanned for location information (towns, cities, countries) and it takes a guess for the location. In addition to different cities getting a summary, each country with news also has a summary icon which holds all the news for that summary location. Most of the stories look properly located. However, I saw a story about a French yacht stolen by pirates in Somalia, but the placemark for it is "France". I would have preferred to know the location where the yacht was stolen. At this point, I'm just conjecturing, but I hope news writers will be allowed to submit more exact location coordinates for their stories so we can get the reporter's best information. If the whole system is automated, the value of this layer will be reduced in my opinion.

There are two ways to find the New York Times layer:

  1. Turn on the Geographic Web layer - which contains previews of many of the built-in layers. Zoom in until you see one of the NY Times icons (with the gothic "T") and click on one. Then, in the upper left, click on "Show this layer" to turn on all the currently available news placemarks. You can turn off the Geographic Web layer if you want to reduce the number of icons. But, the photos, Wikipedia placemarks, and GEC placmarks in the Geographic Web layer could be useful for getting a better perspective on each location.

  2. Or, you can go to the Gallery layer folder, open it up, and look for the New York Times layer to turn it on/off. As seen here:

Posted by FrankTaylor at 02:05 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

March 31, 2008

Links: Digital Urban Booklet, GE OSX UI Tweak, Peru Meteor Strike

I'm in Utah at the moment enjoying a few days of skiing in the heavily laden snow-covered mountains. Expect a few Google Earth visualizations showing GPS tracks of our skiing soon.

  • Digital Urban Booklet - Digital Urban blog has shared many interesting urban visualizations and developed useful tools for Google Earth (e.g. here, here, and here). The blog is written by Dr. Andrew Hudson-Smith and represents things of interest to the Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, University College London (CASA). They are releasing a preview of an upcoming book in the form of a "booklet" called "Digital Geography - Geographic Visualisation for Urban Environments". The booklet has a focus on Neogeography, Web 2.0 and the various emerging techniques for urban visualisation. Available for £9.99 (worldwide postage and packaging is free). I have a copy on its way, and will provide more details after I read it.

  • GE OSX UI Tweak - Adam Betts decided he wanted to improve the look and feel to Google Earth on his Mac OS X. He has released a package which lets you replace some of the icons and layout of the buttons in Google Earth. MacApper has written a short tutorial explaining the steps taken to implement the tweak from Adam.

  • Peru Meteor Strike - Last September a meteorite struck a remote region of Peru. There were reports that locals who visited the site shortly after it struck got sick. Then scientists came to take measurements and to collect samples of debris from the site. The meteor crater was initially estimated to be 30 meters wide, but later determined to be 12 meters wide. Meanwhile, at the Google Earth Community, a member (and moderator) named 'Hill' posted his best guess from the news reports on the location of the strike. Later, as more news stories came out, he refined his guess. Eventually, a few days later, after the scientists arrived, Hill was able to get the exact coordinates of the strike - see here in Google Earth (unfortunately, low resolution imagery). Hill continued to follow the story, and recently posted that scientists have formed a new theory about the way certain types of meteorites can strike the Earth based on this strike. Read the entire thread of posts by Hill and others to follow this fascinating story (including more photos).

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 14, 2008

Armageddon Pills in Google Earth

Armageddon Pills in Google EarthYesterday I spent some time viewing a really excellent Google Earth travel documentary. The story is about a family who took off for a year to travel all the way around the world. They've written a book and a web site called "Armageddon Pills" (they were stuck in a desert with nothing to eat but a bag of M&Ms which they ended up dubbing Armageddon Pills). Anyway, they've had a very well-done KML file developed which lets you see the route they took, and includes placemarks with snippets and photos from the book. Open up the Armageddon Pills KML . You can simply start with any placemark and view the description. You'll usually see a photo, and a snippet describing their experiences in that location. The descriptions are engaging. I spent a few minutes scrolling through the placemarks to find out when and how their daughter broke her leg. There are arrows in the placemark descriptions that let you follow each placemark in sequence. You can also click on one of the "Menu" placemarks which lets you view several sections of the books and choose a story that grabs your attention.

The Armageddon Pills KML file was developed by concept3D, which in addition to making great SketchUp 3D models, also creates very professional KML files. I really like their work on this Armageddon Pills documentary. It works well, looks very pleasing to the eye, and with the excellent writing from the book, is quite fun to read. I think I'll have to buy the book when it's available.

I think Google Earth is a great way to document trips. My favorite being the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton. On a personal note, I documented our voyages in a sailing catamaran in 2002-2003 with a KML file. I may have to seek out concept3D to make a better version since I haven't upgraded the file to use any of the fancier KML 2.2 features.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 18, 2008

See Guys Putting Up Sign on Luxor Hotel & Casino

Luxor Hotel and Casino ads in Google EarthA few months ago, Google updated the imagery for the Las Vegas imagery. It is still very high resolution, although I think the quality is a bit less than the previous set (see previous release story). Still, the resolution is very good - I'd guess between 4-5 inches per pixel (previously it was reported the imagery was 3 inch resolution, and the sun angle seemed better - closer to noon). You can still see very fine details such as car types, and even people and their shadows.

It used to be that on the side of the Luxor Hotel and Casino (which is a huge pyramid-shaped building with a scale-model of the Sphynx in the front) you could see an ad for "Hair Spray" on the front of the building (see bigger version of old photo). I'm sure the ads on the Luxor change from month to month. Looking at the Luxor now , there is only a portion of a new ad from Motorola on the building. Looking even closer you can actually see two guys rolling out a new ad from Motorola. Amazing!

Now, can anyone tell me why in the older photo the building appeared to have gold-mirrored glass and you could see reflection of trees and buildings - but, now it looks all black? Is it just the sun angle? Or, did they change the glass siding? One other note about the Luxor, turn on the "3D Buildings" layer to see a 3D model of the Luxor including the Sphynx, and many other Las Vegas hotels and casino buildings. [UPDATE: From the comments - see the Virtual Earth Bird's Eye view of the Hair Spray ad - you can see the building looks black here too. It must be sun angle, and possibly photo processing in the older GE imagery that caused the gold look.]

By the way, since the new imagery is more recent, there are even more hotels present in the imagery. With one noticeable exception: The Stardust Hotel and Casino was demolished on March 13, 2007. The new imagery shows it is no longer there and new construction has already started. Watch a video of the implosion (which in Las Vegas style was done at night and included a fireworks show before the building was imploded).

Posted by FrankTaylor at 09:50 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

More entries for this category:

  1. Links: Zillow News, Virtual Volcanology, Design in GE, GearthHacks News, Ski Time, VE Geocoding - January 18, 2008
  2. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
  3. Governor of Alabama Unveils Google Earth Application - December 04, 2007
  4. Links: Tracking Santa, Netherland Statistics, Boat Parades, OpenAerialMap - December 03, 2007
  5. KFC Logo Stunt Now in Google Earth - November 19, 2007
  6. Armor All Promotion in Google Earth - November 16, 2007
  7. Defense Earmarks in Google Earth - November 07, 2007
  8. Google Earth Christmas Gift: 15% Discount on SpaceNavigator - November 02, 2007
  9. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
  10. Business Layers Have Reviews and Pictures in Google Earth - October 16, 2007
  11. Microsoft Virtual Earth Supports Basic KML and KML Searching - October 15, 2007
  12. Links: Google Maps Zoom, GE Pro Classes, 10 Features of GE, Arc2Earth V2, Spot Image Layer - October 14, 2007
  13. DigitalGlobe New Satellite WorldView I is Black and White? - September 18, 2007
  14. The Gmail Video Collection in Google Earth - August 30, 2007
  15. New Real-Time Traffic Layer in Google Earth - August 21, 2007
  16. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 08, 2007
  17. Using Google Earth and Web 2.0 Mapping Tools for GIS Visualizations - August 07, 2007
  18. News Roundup - Microsoft and KML, Minnesota Bridge, New Competition, and more - August 05, 2007
  19. Energy Production Information for Western US - July 17, 2007
  20. Largest Coca Cola Logo - Made from Bottles - July 12, 2007
  21. Pool Guy Taps Google Earth - July 10, 2007
  22. News Roundup - New GeoSearch, GeoWeb 2007, Traffic Gadget, Earthplot, Environmental Data - July 09, 2007
  23. OgleEarth Roundup: Illegal Fishing Caught, Picasa Web Albums Review, Geo-Ads Patent, HeyWhatsThat - June 28, 2007
  24. News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth - June 20, 2007
  25. Pict'Earth - UAV Aerial Photography Solutions - June 19, 2007
  26. Road Maps and Local Search for Sweden in Google Earth and Maps - June 13, 2007
  27. News RoundUp: Football Game, VesselTracker, Antarctic Bases, Egyptian Digs, 3D Cities Help, Chimps, Gallery - June 12, 2007
  28. Google Transit in Google Earth - June 05, 2007
  29. ChartGeek - Sectional Maps for Pilots in Google Earth - May 28, 2007
  30. News Roundup - GeoCommons, AC3D, LaudonTech Maps, MacFamilyTree - May 23, 2007
  31. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
  32. News Roundup: Amsterdam Google GeoDay, Google LitTrips, US Capitol - March 30, 2007
  33. Traditional Advertising Gets Boost in 3D Google Earth - March 27, 2007
  34. Google Earth Classified Ads by Safarri - March 26, 2007
  35. Movie Making Information for 300 in Google Earth - March 20, 2007
  36. gCensus - US Census Data for Google Earth - March 14, 2007
  37. Lloyd's Using Google Earth for Insurance Visualizations - March 12, 2007
  38. Major Layer Update for Google Earth - March 10th - March 10, 2007
  39. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 07, 2007
  40. News Roundup - Tax Collector, Google Federal, Virtual Worlds Conference - February 28, 2007
  41. World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth - February 27, 2007
  42. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
  43. Google Earth Advertising Gets More Credibility - February 21, 2007
  44. News Roundup - India Censorship, SightSeer, Plazes, Education - February 05, 2007
  45. Update to Ads in Google Earth/Maps - February 02, 2007
  46. Shape2Earth - GIS Data to Google Earth - January 29, 2007
  47. Dutch KLM Releases Air Fare Finder in Google Earth - January 24, 2007
  48. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
  49. Google Announces Aerial Photo Shoot for Australia Day - January 26 - January 22, 2007
  50. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
  51. SpaceNavigator Works on Mac OS X - January 09, 2007
  52. News Roundup: GlobeXplorer Acquired by DigitalGlobe, Conferences, Google Telescope - January 08, 2007
  53. Mars Sucks - A Game for Google Earth - December 29, 2006
  54. Amazing Implementation of Marine Charts for Google Earth - December 21, 2006
  55. NASA and Google Sign "Space Act Agreement" - December 18, 2006
  56. Trulia Adds Google Earth for Real Estate Searches - December 05, 2006
  57. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
  58. Exclusive Economic Zones in Google Earth - November 24, 2006
  59. Satellite Photo of KFC Logo and Viral Marketing Scheme - November 17, 2006
  60. CBS News Does Google Earth - November 09, 2006
  61. Baseball, 3D Stadiums, Videos, and Google Earth - November 02, 2006
  62. Cape Town Travel Guide for Google Earth - October 31, 2006
  63. Spanish Architecture Project in 3D by Tagzania - October 27, 2006
  64. Live Flight Sales and Driving Tips with Google Earth - October 26, 2006
  65. James Bond DVD Promotion Using Google Earth - October 20, 2006
  66. News Roundup - October 09, 2006
  67. Google Earth Enterprise in Oil and Gas Industry - October 03, 2006
  68. Ad Campaign for Saturn Aura Uses Google Earth - September 26, 2006
  69. Google Earth Las Vegas - September 22, 2006
  70. Roundup - Pillows, redtrails, earthpoint, Robogeo 5, libferris, virtual land rush - September 20, 2006
  71. Anousheh Ansari Blasts off to Space - September 18, 2006
  72. Interview With Michael Jones - Google Earth Chief Technology Officer - September 14, 2006
  73. Huge New Layers Update in Google Earth - September 13 - September 13, 2006
  74. "Prison Break" on Google Earth - September 11, 2006
  75. CBS News Does Google Earth - Missing Last Step - September 08, 2006
  76. British Airways Uses Google Earth to Improve Online Sales - September 01, 2006
  77. Turnhere.com - Videos About Places - August 15, 2006
  78. Campus Maps with 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 14, 2006
  79. Music Group Audioslave Uses Google Earth for Promotion - August 04, 2006
  80. Vancouver in 3D for Google Earth - July 21, 2006
  81. Weather Symbols in Google Earth - July 18, 2006
  82. News Roundup - July 15, 2006
  83. Magnalox Provides Live Tracking Interface for Google Earth - July 07, 2006
  84. 1000 Pizzas Publicity Stunt Using Google Earth - June 28, 2006
  85. Win a Free Trip from Surfing Magazine by Using Google Earth - June 21, 2006
  86. RoboGEO - Simplifying Georeferencing of Photos - June 10, 2006
  87. Digital Camera Illustrates Camera Shot with Google Earth - June 04, 2006
  88. Forbes Magazine Article - Maps Mania - June 03, 2006
  89. Pin in the Map - Keep it Simple - May 30, 2006
  90. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Points of Interest in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
  91. See More Recent Aerial Photos in Google Earth - May 22, 2006
  92. Google Earth Business - May 21, 2006
  93. Da Vinci Code Tour in Google Earth - May 17, 2006
  94. Ads in Google Earth - May 10, 2006
  95. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 09, 2006
  96. Win a Mazda CX-7 in a Sweepstakes Contest in Google Earth - May 01, 2006
  97. Mission Impossible III Promotion with Google Earth - April 28, 2006
  98. TheCity Local - Google Earth Dating Service - April 26, 2006
  99. City of Bergen Norway Makes Smart Business Move in Google Earth - April 10, 2006
  100. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 04, 2006
  101. Apple iPod Ad in Google Earth? - March 27, 2006
  102. Business and Google Earth in Information Week - March 22, 2006
  103. Track "Amazing Race" TV Show in Google Earth - March 20, 2006
  104. Google Earth E-mail Signature - March 14, 2006
  105. Bed and Breakfast Locations in Google Earth - March 06, 2006
  106. Here Comes the Oscars - March 05, 2006
  107. Eye in the Sky Advertising - March 04, 2006
  108. EarthPoint - Real Estate Listings with some GIS - March 03, 2006
  109. Arc2Earth Released - March 01, 2006
  110. Giant Frog Attacks Chicago - February 17, 2006
  111. Visualizing Controversial New Buildings in New York in Google Earth - February 06, 2006
  112. CNET Superbowl Guessing Game in Google Earth - February 02, 2006
  113. Win a Fiat Sedici in Google Earth - February 01, 2006
  114. South American Trade in Google Earth - January 27, 2006
  115. Sundance Film Festival "Event Map" in Google Earth - January 24, 2006
  116. KMLer for Converting ArcGIS for Google Earth - January 19, 2006
  117. Real Estate for Google Earth by Re/Max - Again! - January 14, 2006
  118. Top 500 Hotels in Google Earth - Travel + Leisure Magazine - December 28, 2005
  119. Adidas Promotion Uses Google Earth - December 27, 2005
  120. Company Specializes in Google Earth/Maps Services - November 28, 2005
  121. Ski Resorts and Snow Reports in Google Earth - November 21, 2005
  122. Everything You Wanted to Know About Singapore - November 12, 2005
  123. Example of Google Earth Ad - November 08, 2005
  124. EarthBooker - 80,000 Hotels in Google Earth - November 07, 2005
  125. Real Estate Interest in Google Earth Grows - November 01, 2005
  126. NewsGlobe a Geographic Locator for News - October 06, 2005
  127. Cruise Ship Positions and Web Cams - October 05, 2005
  128. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 04, 2005
  129. ~12 Million Google Earth downloads? Where's Mac/Linux Versions? - September 30, 2005
  130. Google Helps NASA - September 29, 2005
  131. Making Money with Google Earth - September 28, 2005
  132. Security and Privacy Concerns and Google Earth - September 13, 2005
  133. City of Portland GIS Adds 3D Buildings - September 03, 2005
  134. Business Opportunities and Google Earth - August 30, 2005
  135. Real Estate Done Google Earth Style - August 29, 2005
  136. ABC Primetime Uses Google Earth - August 26, 2005
  137. City of Portland GIS - August 25, 2005
  138. EarthPlot - Commercial Software - August 23, 2005
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