I guess its no big surprise but once again Google Earth will be making headlines this week.. now as the app and imagery served up via Earth was apparently used by the terrorists plotting to strike against JFK airport. Lets just be glad that these guys were’rnt clued in enough to actually get away with their plans… kudos to the enforcement people for foiling this latest attempt. See Here
Archives for June 4, 2007
Apple iPhone launch date set for june 29 – iPhone or N95 which one do you want??
Coming June 29.. the much anticipated Apple iPhone… do you want one? Loads of hoopla surrounding this one although is it really a big deal? I’m a bit skeptical about this mainly due to the high price tag. I’ve been a user of Nokia’s high-end Symbian smartphones for several years now and so its not really a big deal to me that Apple is coming out with this device. Obviously the recent news about Apple’s iTunes store now serving up DRM-free music downloads makes sense now doesn’t it? Mind-you, Apple could do some serious damage to Nokia’s efforts to penetrate the North American market – particularly the young, hip crowd (with cash!) Speaking of cash, bring some cash with you when you go to buy this one as it will come with a serious price tag. If music is the big selling point of this one then will it be worth it? Gee, you can already grab a device like a Nokia 5300 music phone from AT&T… a sweet music phone with great MP3 player, loads of memory and its cheap – no doubt one of the best “low-end” mobile devices on the market today! So what will it be.. an Apple iPhone or a more sensible choice like a Nokia N95?
See HERE for more on the iPhone release – see also http://www.apple.com/iphone/ – see video clip below showing an iPhone being used by Google CTO Michael Jones at Where2.0
NavQuest.com offering free "MAP IT" Feature
This new feature from navquest allows marine enthusiasts and marine businesses to map their location and trips via a simple URL on the Nautical Charts and satellite images. “MAP IT” Highlights include:
– Send (print, e-mail & SMS) customized maps, satellite images and destination information with location, navigation directions to customers, friends and family via simple URL/Link.
– Share your favorite fishing, diving, marinas, surfing & deal locations via a simple URL/link to customers and friends
– Put your business or a favorite location on the map.
– Allow us to expand the functionality of your websites to attract and retain users via NavQuest.Com Map-It feature.
– Outsource your map-enabling and destination information needs with URL/Links and avoid a significant expenses associated with establishing, and maintaining a mapping infrastructure platforms.
To explore our new “MAP IT” feature please visit: http://www.navquest.com/mapit.asp – according to the company NavQuest.com is the internet’s only FREE Online Marine Navigation service and Water Enthusiast Portal
– Send (print, e-mail & SMS) customized maps, satellite images and destination information with location, navigation directions to customers, friends and family via simple URL/Link.
– Share your favorite fishing, diving, marinas, surfing & deal locations via a simple URL/link to customers and friends
– Put your business or a favorite location on the map.
– Allow us to expand the functionality of your websites to attract and retain users via NavQuest.Com Map-It feature.
– Outsource your map-enabling and destination information needs with URL/Links and avoid a significant expenses associated with establishing, and maintaining a mapping infrastructure platforms.
To explore our new “MAP IT” feature please visit: http://www.navquest.com/mapit.asp – according to the company NavQuest.com is the internet’s only FREE Online Marine Navigation service and Water Enthusiast Portal
Listening to your KML in Google earth – Wild Sanctuary
No doubt one of the coolest things I saw (and heard) at last week’s where2.0 was listening to KMLs in Google earth – actually you can also listen using Google maps too. Bernie Krause of the Wild Sanctuary announced that he’s sharing his vast collection of soundscapes with the World. So what you might think… well, think about this… this is likely one of the largest private collections of digital sounds of wildlife and various ecosystems that you’ll ever find. Even better, the soundscapes are being shared via KML so now users of Google earth can enjoy listening to their 3D mapping experience while being immersed in the sounds of nature. The soundscapes are also available via Google Maps. See more on this at http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/11779/ or grab the KML at http://earth.wildsanctuary.com/ – HEre’s a sample video clip I captured at Where2.0
Fast Company slams Google’s "real time" street views
More “ripping” on Google’s Street Views… this time its from Fast Company. In an “interesting” read, the publication not onl;y refers to the high-res imagery as a form of stalking (I assume because you can make out people’s identities) but in an amusing piece of mis-information they even refer to the imagery as being real time! Come on man, the images were like take several months ago. The article rounds up by noting that people are still trying to determine the usefulness of the imagery. I for one find them useful for helping locate a building or address by taking a virtual stroll down the street prior to actually going there. In a somewhat related matter. Microsoft will soon be rolling out additional 3D street-level imagery for the following cities: Austin, Texas; Cape Coral, Florida; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Savannah, Georgia; and Tampa, Florida. Northampton, England, and Ottawa, Canada – recall New York was recently rolled out in high-res by the company.
Fast Company slams Google’s "real time" street views
More “ripping” on Google’s Street Views… this time its from Fast Company. In an “interesting” read, the publication not onl;y refers to the high-res imagery as a form of stalking (I assume because you can make out people’s identities) but in an amusing piece of mis-information they even refer to the imagery as being real time! Come on man, the images were like take several months ago. The article rounds up by noting that people are still trying to determine the usefulness of the imagery. I for one find them useful for helping locate a building or address by taking a virtual stroll down the street prior to actually going there. In a somewhat related matter. Microsoft will soon be rolling out additional 3D street-level imagery for the following cities: Austin, Texas; Cape Coral, Florida; Cincinnati; Indianapolis; Savannah, Georgia; and Tampa, Florida. Northampton, England, and Ottawa, Canada – recall New York was recently rolled out in high-res by the company.