RSSGoogle Earth Gets Featured Content
By Nate Mook | Published September 13, 2006, 12:28 PM
Google on Wednesday plans to deliver an update to its Google Earth application that includes content from a number of premium sources. The features are overlaid atop areas in a map so users can learn about their significance.
Perhaps the most notable addition is before and after imagery provided by the United Nations Environmental Program, which shows 100 areas of extreme environmental degradation around the world. Users can click to see how the Earth has changed in the past 30 years, primarily for the worse, and learn about crisis zones.
Discovery Networks, meanwhile, is offering virtual tours of the world's major attractions, cities and natural wonders. Three to five-minute video segments will play within Google Earth, detailing the history and significance of major landmarks.
Content from the National Parks Service will overlay information on over 10,000 trails and 58 national parks atop satellite images, offering detailed park descriptions and visitor information. The Jane Goodall Institute will let users track Fifi and the other Gombe preserve chimpanzees from within Google Earth.
A Turn Here feature includes city video guides told from an insider's perspective, Google says, connecting users to hidden gems in cities around the world from New York to Stockholm.
Google says the initial list of content providers will be expanded and updated automatically over time. Users can recognize the content features through special icons, and is located in Google Earth's "Layers" section. Existing users will see the new content show up without having to update their software.
you see forest gone, new houses where it was all greenery. I like the idea, besides its FREE so why complain.
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|I keep getting an AREA51 error when trying to use this program....anyone else?
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|Nope, shows up just fine.
115.81567W, 37.23872N
Also notice, they have a man-made oasis just to the NW of it.
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|"Users can click to see how the Earth has changed in the past 30 years, primarily for the worst, and learn about crisis zones.'
Nice unbias opinion.
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|ANd could you provide us with an alternate?
Seriously, what improvements to the landscape will we see over the last 30 years? New Forests? New rolling foothills?
No.
We'll see the craters and and the barren land we've created.
Of course, the bias here is calling it a bad thing. Others might call it progress.
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|Of course, the bias here is calling it a bad thing. Others might call it progress.
Looks like you already did it for me.
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|Its not an opinion if its fact.
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|Great! Now we all can check on how that Global Warming is progressing courtesy of the UN Environmental Program.
There may even be a link to place where we can throw money at the "problem".
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|The problem is overpopulation.
We merely need to kill all the idiots who think we're causing it. Problem solved.
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|Fairly radical solution, but worth considering.
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|i think the problem isn't overpopulation, but resource control.
Also, i think there's no disagreement that the world is getting warmer, only if WE are the cause or not. I think rather than trying to point fingers, we should be looking at:
1) If this is going to become a serious problem and how
2) if there's anything we can do about it.
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|1.) Depends on whether or not you consider -30 year 'round after loosing 60% of our habitable land mass a problem.
2.) Short of leaving the planet? No.
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|reminds me why hawking said we need to learn how to live on the moon. If we can manage that then it's a good and bad thing, we will be able to survive but then I fear the environment issue will be crushed by "progress" since fear of extinction will disapear.
BTW this may be a surprise to some but the planet only has about 300 million years left before things start falling apart naturally.
http://www.astronomycafe.net/qadir/q79.html
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|wednesday, when? i want it :) really, really :)
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|Just fired mine up.
It's there under "Featured Content".
Pretty nifty stuff.
[Edit: They *really* need to standardize how the content is delivered. Some of them pull you straight tot he web. It should *always* be an option. As it is now, it's s guessing game what will happen when you click on one. That sucks.]
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