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June 20, 2007

Tour de France 2007 in Google Earth

Tour de France 2007 in Google Earth As in the previous two years, biking enthusiasts have put together the details on the routes for all stages of this year's Tour de France. Someone called "Timetxu" in the Netherlands has published this TdF 2007 KMZ file in this forum post (Dutch).

Viewing the Tour de France routes in Google Earth is one of my favorite examples of the power of Google Earth. With GE's 3D terrain, you can tilt your view and truly get a feeling of how challenging this race really is - even if you have never been to see it in person. An important difference this year for Google Earth viewers is that the imagery for the French Alps has been greatly improved now that Google Earth includes medium resolution 2.5 meter resolution imagery from Spot Image. Still fuzzy up close, but better than it was last year. Also see a thread of posts with some other KML files showing some of the different stages for this year's Tour de France.

The GE file for this year's TdF posted above is not as detailed as some previous versions of the Tour de France, but it gives a good overview of all the stages. Last year Google helped develop an official Google Earth file (in four languages) for the stages for the official TdF web site. And someone even developed a live tracking capability of the race for 2006 (see below). Maybe we'll see some other innovations before the race begins on July 7th.

Related:

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:18 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack


June 20, 2007

News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth

  • GE 4.1 Stuff - The Google Earth 4.1 beta has been out for more than a month. There are a couple little features I haven't mentioned. First, they fixed a bug which prevented you from looking straight up in Google Earth. And, when using the SpaceNavigator you can look up at a 3D Building and when you let go the view stays looking up (pre-4.1 would pop the view back to the horizon). In addition, during time animation, the background star field animates according to the passage of time (see a post about this at Barnabu's site). There is an annoying bug in 4.1 which prevents the compass in the upper right from automatically disappearing like it is supposed to. There are also a number of subtle rendering bugs which are annoying. I hope a new beta will come out soon.

  • Plotting a Trail - Googler John Gardiner posts about his hobby of helping plan trails. He uses topo map overlays, a GPS track and placemarks to help communicate a planned trail. See an example trail near South Yuba River in Northern California.

  • Business Reviews - Google has added a new feature to Google Maps which lets you review and rate a business you find in a map search. Maps already showed ratings and reviews from other web sites, but it also now allows you to give your own reviews and ratings. Simply search for a business and choose "More Info". Then choose "Write a review". You have to be logged in to a Google account. Very simple and straight-forward. A couple of suggestions I have: Allow folks to just give it a rating without writing a review, and allow people to use anonymous as a reviewer name (but, limit them to one review per establishment).

  • More Second Earth - Avi Bar-Ze’ev, former Keyhole developer of the application which became Google Earth, shares his thoughts about the recent article by MIT Technology Review called Second Earth. Avi goes into depth about the possibilities / impossibilities of Google Earth and Second Life being combined as a mashup. Definitely a worthy read if you liked the Second Earth article. Wade Roush (author of the Second Earth article) even commented he really liked Avi's article.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 07:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

June 05, 2007

Google Transit in Google Earth

Google Transit in Google EarthGoogle Transit is a Google Labs project whose objective is to provide information on public transportation schedules and routes in order to encourage better use of this mode of transportation. Currently available in over a dozen cities, and including most of Japan's regional and national air and rail system and ferries, this is already an ambitious project. I just discovered that some of this information has apparently been available in Google Earth for some time. If you open the Layers folder for "Transportation" there is a "Transit" sublayer. If you turn the Transit layer on and visit one of the cities listed on the Google Transit site (e.g. San Diego, Seattle, Austin, Pittsburgh, Portland, Honolulu, ...), you will see the routes for public transportation. If you zoom in closer you even see the bus stops, and links in the description will take you to the web site of the public transportation web site for that city.

What would be really cool is to fully link the ability to get real-time information. Check out the Google LatLong blog (the official Google blog for the Geo products Maps and Earth), which says that in some of the supported cities in Google Maps (not in Google Earth yet) they will tell you the next departure times for a specific bus stop! Try this in this map of Zurich for example (click on the little bus icons, then "View upcoming departures"). You can also search for specific bus stops like this "59th St - Columbus Circle Station, new york" (this works in GE too).

Apparently details about this support came from Googler Thomas Fly during a presentation some time ago. I'm surprised I hadn't noticed it. via GoogleOperatingSystem blog. More information at WorldChanging.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 22, 2007

US Township and Range Land Survey Info for Google Earth

Township and Range in Google EarthRealtor innovator Bill Clark of Earthpoint.us first introduced an innovative interface for finding houses in Boise, Idaho using Google Earth. He has continued to innovate with real estate interfaces since that time. In particular, he has created a number of useful tools for projecting the US Public Land Survey System (read a Wikipedia article about PLSS). Using his Township and Range web site you can determine what township a property belongs to and plot it in Google Earth and compare the land to the satellite photos. It also lets you load files to view different datasets of the townships as overlays in Google Earth.

Bill has also released a set of detailed instructions on his blog for how you can generate a parcel map of a property with the help of the township data and a plat map. This could be interesting to those of you who are casual real estate owners and do not have access to GIS applications. (Note: the data is for information purposes and does NOT serve as a real survey.)

Posted by FrankTaylor at 08:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

May 17, 2007

New Google Earth Layers Update: Amsterdam 3D, Forest Service, Taiwan Roads

Google very quietly pushed out a layers update yesterday. I have some speculation on why they are being quiet - see below. Here's what I've managed to determine was added with this update (with help from GEB readers):

  • Amsterdam 3D - As mentioned yesterday, Amsterdam has lots of 3D buildings. Most of the city is covered with very simple gray block buildings, but there are a few new high resolution buildings. I saw a blog entry from the Netherlands which alluded to the city having shared their GIS data for over 150,000 buildings, but I haven't verified its authenticity yet. Read my post for more details. Here is a YouTube demo of the new Amsterdam buildings via Nederkaart (Dutch).

  • Forest Service - Check out the new sub-layer under the "Parks and Recreation" called "USDA Forest Service". The layer includes outlines for the borders of all the national forest areas, nicely done placemark descriptions for each area with photos and links to more information, and - as you zoom in closer to each area - more placemarks appear showing campsites, ranger offices, winter recreation areas, lookout towers, and more. A very handy way of learning more about US forest areas! This layer goes really nicely with the "US National Parks" layer (which is right below it).

  • Taiwan Roads - Taiwan now has detailed roads if you turn on the "Roads" layer. Google just added detailed roads in Google Maps for Taiwan and a bunch of other countries at the end of April. If they already have added Taiwan to Google Earth, then the other countries can't be far behind.

  • Panoramio - One GEB reader (named Siemen) says the Panoramio layer was updated.

  • Digital Globe logo - The Digital Globe satellite photo layers now sport a new logo when viewed in the layers pane. Minor little addition. The DG layers show where photos have been taken by the satellite company over the past few years.

  • Giant Building Removed - The giant building someone posted in the 3DWarehouse in Bratislava which got included in the 3D Buildings layer, has been removed.

So, why so quiet? Last year Google did major new announcements of new data and layers just before the Google Geo Developer Day and anniversary of the release of Google Earth. I suspect they are doing something similar for this year's Google Developer Day on May 31. There hasn't been an imagery update since March - so they are definitely saving up for that. So, look forward to a LOT of new data in about two weeks!

Posted by FrankTaylor at 07:37 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

More entries for this category:

  1. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
  2. Having Fun with Google Earth and SpaceNavigator - May 10, 2007
  3. Microsoft's Virtual Earth 3D - Video Demos - May 09, 2007
  4. Possible "LOST" Island Locations in Google Earth - May 08, 2007
  5. News Roundup 2 - Science Visualization, Netherlands GIS, Flu Map, Nokia SportsTracker - May 06, 2007
  6. "If I Go in a Straight Line Around the Earth, Where do I Pass?" - May 03, 2007
  7. Globe Glider Video Demonstration - May 02, 2007
  8. News Roundup - Chile Border Crisis, Caribou, Gumball Rally, Emotions - April 30, 2007
  9. New Google Maps: Russia, Turkey, Taiwan, Thailand, Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Estonia - April 26, 2007
  10. News Roundup: My Maps/YouTube, Nokia N95, Census, Arc2Earth, Show-n-Tell - April 13, 2007
  11. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
  12. My Maps - New Google Maps Update Supports Google Earth Features - April 05, 2007
  13. 677 US Marine Charts for Google Earth on 1 CD - March 31, 2007
  14. Dig a Hole Through Google Earth - March 16, 2007
  15. News Roundup - Version stats, KML Editors, GooPs, Hey What's That? - March 15, 2007
  16. US Migration Patterns in Google Earth - March 12, 2007
  17. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 07, 2007
  18. New Video Demos of Latest 3D Buildings for Google Earth - February 26, 2007
  19. Guatemala City Sinkhole Location Found in Google Earth - February 24, 2007
  20. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
  21. SpaceNavigator News: Fly Inside Demo, Security Checkpoints - February 22, 2007
  22. More Details on New Layers/Updates - February 18, 2007
  23. Australia Has Detailed Roads in Google Earth - February 17, 2007
  24. Navigation Tricks with Google Earth 4 - January 31, 2007
  25. Track Cruise Ships in 3D in Google Earth - January 22, 2007
  26. Sundance Film Festival Map in Google Earth - January 17, 2007
  27. Google Earth Blog World Headquarters - January 16, 2007
  28. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
  29. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
  30. Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race in Google Earth - December 27, 2006
  31. Amazing Implementation of Marine Charts for Google Earth - December 21, 2006
  32. Interesting Satellite Visualizations for Google Earth - December 15, 2006
  33. Santa's Toy Hunt and Santa Tracker in Google Earth - December 13, 2006
  34. Historical Maps - Now Viewable in Other Language Versions of Google Earth - December 11, 2006
  35. Shipwreck - A Historical Documentary Including 3D in Google Earth - December 08, 2006
  36. Trulia Adds Google Earth for Real Estate Searches - December 05, 2006
  37. YouTube Demo of SpaceNavigator with Google Earth - November 28, 2006
  38. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
  39. Historical Maps for Denmark - November 26, 2006
  40. Google Supports Geography Awareness Week - November 13, 2006
  41. Nuclear Bombs in Google Earth - November 10, 2006
  42. Route du Rhum - Live Sailing Race in Google Earth - November 01, 2006
  43. Trip Report and News Roundup: Flight to Las Cruces, Sensors, BBC on Maps, New blog - October 18, 2006
  44. US Forest Service Creates Google Earth Air Traffic Control - October 12, 2006
  45. Plane Crashed into Building in New York - See Location in Google Earth - October 11, 2006
  46. Flickr Geotagged Photo Statistics in Google Earth - September 28, 2006
  47. GPSVisualizer Supports New Google Earth 4 Time Support - September 15, 2006
  48. Google Earth 4 Time Feature Example - September 14, 2006
  49. News Roundup: Tides, Scientific visualization, Geody, Movie Times - August 24, 2006
  50. Ramses II Move Planned with Google Earth - August 23, 2006
  51. Goggles - Google Maps Flight Simulator, Also: Google Earth Flying - August 08, 2006
  52. Ping Pong Ball Interface to Google Earth - Cool! - July 30, 2006
  53. My Backpacking Trip and the Lost Couple Found After Three Days - July 24, 2006
  54. Battleship Google Earth - July 19, 2006
  55. Bus Live Tracking at USC - Research Project - July 14, 2006
  56. FSEarth 3.0 - MS Flight Simulator and Google Earth - July 08, 2006
  57. Magnalox Provides Live Tracking Interface for Google Earth - July 07, 2006
  58. Sailing Adventures and Anchorages of the Caribbean - July 01, 2006
  59. Pete Goss in 2006 Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Race - June 18, 2006
  60. Watch a GPS Phone Being Delivered via UPS Live! - June 07, 2006
  61. Pin in the Map - Keep it Simple - May 30, 2006
  62. Unicycling for College Money - Track Max in Google Earth - May 28, 2006
  63. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Points of Interest in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
  64. Tour de France 2006 in Google Earth - May 25, 2006
  65. Volvo Ocean Race Leg 7 in Google Earth - May 18, 2006
  66. Juicy Geography Lesson on GPS - May 03, 2006
  67. Tagzania - Powerful Google Maps/Google Earth Mashup - April 26, 2006
  68. magnalox - New Features for Google Earth - April 25, 2006
  69. Directions for Europe Now in Google Maps/Google Earth - April 24, 2006
  70. Bowdoin College Campus - A Google Earth Map - April 22, 2006
  71. Seattle 911 Live in Google Earth - April 18, 2006
  72. Mini-News Roundup - April 17, 2006
  73. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 04, 2006
  74. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 5 - April 03, 2006
  75. GlobalFlyer Attempting Third World Record - March 15, 2006
  76. Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 in Google Earth - March 10, 2006
  77. Best Topo Map Interface for Google Earth - March 09, 2006
  78. Bermuda Treasure Shipwrecks Map - March 07, 2006
  79. FSPilot Connects FS2004 to Google Earth - February 26, 2006
  80. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 in Google Earth - February 19, 2006
  81. Maps of Torino, Italy - Winter Olympics Site - in Google Earth - February 05, 2006
  82. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
  83. Sundance Film Festival "Event Map" in Google Earth - January 24, 2006
  84. Enhancement to GPSVisualizer for Google Earth - January 23, 2006
  85. Endangered Frigatebird "Lydia" Tracked in Google Earth - January 21, 2006
  86. Enhanced Road Layers for Google Earth - January 19, 2006
  87. Transatlantic Sailing Adventure Using Google Earth - January 18, 2006
  88. CIA World FactBook in Google Earth - January 13, 2006
  89. Google Earth for Cars - January 07, 2006
  90. Volvo Ocean Race Leg 2 - January 06, 2006
  91. Globe Glider - Integrated Maps within Google Earth - January 03, 2006
  92. Official Google Earth Santa Tracker - December 23, 2005
  93. Santa's Route in Google Earth - December 21, 2005
  94. Wilco Database of Concert Tours - December 14, 2005
  95. Gone Sailing! Passage Plan in Google Earth - December 13, 2005
  96. More GIS Data for Google Earth - December 01, 2005
  97. Tracking Birds with Google Earth - November 25, 2005
  98. Transat Jacques Vabre 2005 Race in Google Earth - November 16, 2005
  99. Fantastic Google Earth Documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton - November 14, 2005
  100. Everything You Wanted to Know About Singapore - November 12, 2005
  101. Another Sailor Documents Trips Using Google Earth - November 09, 2005
  102. Lewis and Clark Expedition in Google Earth - November 08, 2005
  103. MapLandia - Unique International Google Maps/Earth Website - November 02, 2005
  104. GPS/Photo Tracks - RoboGEO v2.1 Supports Google Earth - October 31, 2005
  105. New Satellite Photos for Pakistan - Kathryn Cramer - October 25, 2005
  106. Hidden Logging in Tropical Forests Revealed - October 22, 2005
  107. Magnalox - GPS Story Telling for Google Earth - October 19, 2005
  108. View All the World Heritage Sites - October 13, 2005
  109. Documenting a Recent Flying Trip - October 09, 2005
  110. Aussie Crag Climbing - October 07, 2005
  111. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 04, 2005
  112. Watching Sports with Google Earth - September 27, 2005
  113. Tracking a Whale Shark in the Indian Ocean - September 24, 2005
  114. Sailing the Seven Seas - September 10, 2005
  115. Google Earth/Maps Helps with Archeological Discovery - September 07, 2005
  116. City of Portland GIS - August 25, 2005
  117. Geocaching Google Earth - August 15, 2005
  118. Arizona Hiking Trip - August 10, 2005
  119. Earth at Night - August 09, 2005
  120. Flying - Keeping a Flight Log - August 05, 2005
  121. Geotagged Flickr photos on the fly... - August 03, 2005
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