RSSGoogle Earth adds even more detail, sunlight effects
By Tim Conneally | Published April 16, 2008, 2:03 PM
Google Earth 4.3 for PC, Linux, and Mac has been released in public beta, with an official release expected in a few weeks. Some of the additional features include real-time day and night lighting effects and enhanced POV controls.
The unofficial Google Earth blog notes this is not a major release, but it still shows off some eye-catching tweaks. The real-time lighting effect illuminates the Earth according to the time of day, and actually creates a sunrise and sunset effect on other layers at appropriate times when turned on. Skies change colors, and rendered buildings cast shadows on one another.
The 3D Buildings layer has also been tweaked to run faster, with buildings appearing in gradually increasing detail. Street View has also increased slightly in detail with "jump to street view" appearing as rendered icons on the map when the layer is activated. Images have also been given dates so users can see how up-to-date their chosen view is.
Navigation has received a new point-of-view upgrade which appears in the upper right hand corner as an eye icon. This controller locks into a first person-style point of view, allowing the camera to be rotated on its X/Y/Z axis.
can we see that place in google earth satellite to place macca medina in night.
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|Very cool...the street view images displayed in Google Earth are now full resolution by default! Check out the Top 1000 Google Street View sightings in Google Earth!
http://streetviewgallery.corank.com
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|would be nice if some updated satellite images were there instead. Most of my area is more than 5 years old!
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|that's not really Google's problem. Since they basically lease the images from the people who do.
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|Atleast for your areas maps are 5 years where as for me from Sri Lanka not even have full coverage of Google Earth for the whole country.
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|It is theirs since they decide to lease it from outdated sources or skimp on paying for up to date content. That's the least one can ask for form a really cool entirely free program... :-/
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|Nunja,
I was thinking the same thing. They should update the maps before they screw around with more features people don't use.
It's hard to complain about a free program, however.
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|Yes, that makes sense. Google should cough up outrageous amounts of cash to purchase newer images for a program that costs them money to develop and yet there isn't any revenue coming from the vast majority of its users. Yes, that is sound logic. Be thankful the program is even free.
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|Perhaps it should be called "Google Earth - let's travel five years in the past and look for things that arent even there".
It's frustrating when you look up a something you know is there but hasn't been built yet.
I have a Garmin with 5 year old maps, are you interested as we know you don't need up to date images. Jackass.
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|You are a clever one. Top marks!
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|It's a market thing.
Most major cities are pretty up-to-date. The payoff for Google dwindles greatly the more rural the areas get.
It doesn't hold true for all areas (mine, for instance is about 2 years old, even though I am only 25 miles from Minneapolis).
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