The New Google Maps

Google introduced the new Google Maps at Google I/O this week. Along with a brand new shiny look it has added Earth mode (see 2:11 in video) which is a lite version of Google Earth minus the Google Earth plugin. This will run in all modern browsers and no extra software will have to be installed; I also expect more features will be added to the web app with time. For us Chromebook users, this is a must needed feature. As I have told many of future Chromebookers, cloud enthusiasts, and techies the only major thing that Chromebooks were missing was Google Earth. Here's hoping that my invite to the new Google Maps arrives soon!

Google Earth Flight Simulator

They say that everyday you learn something new, today I discovered the Google Earth Flight Simulator created by Xavier Tassin. The simulator uses the Google Earth Plugin (sorry Linux and Chromebook users) which means that it's all done online....awesome! There are 10 aircraft to choose from, real time local weather conditions, chat, and many great animations. Check out the video below to see it in action:

Explore The Moon With Google Earth

Marking the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Moon can now be explored in Google Earth. To see this, plus much more, check out the video below, it looks amazing (especially the tours). You can also explore the moon in maps (screenshot below video, this may have been released before today's announcement). This is going to be such an excellent teaching tool, my brain is currently on overload thinking about teaching/assessment strategies.

Google Earth API Works in Chrome

Finally, the Google Earth API works in Chrome. This was  a major pain for Chrome users, because to see some of the cool stuff being done with the Google Earth API, we would have to use another browser such as FireFox. The API seems to be a bit faster in Chrome, but the difference with other browsers is not as great as webpage load times. The next thing needed in Chrome, is image resize handles, I hate having to go into the HTML and adjusting image size. 

Google Earth 5.0 and Gmail Tasks for the iPhone/android

     Well, today has been a big day for Google, it began with the announcement of Google Earth 5.0 and continued with Gmail tasks available for iPhone and Android users. With Google Earth 5.0, you can now explore the ocean. I downloaded 5.0 and gave it a shot, it is truly amazing when you hold down on the PageUp key to zoom in and you go beneath the ocean and can travel the seafloor in 3D. I won't say much more about this, but definitely check out any continental shelf, the relief here is amazing. It should be noted that you have to check off the new ocean layer to do this exploring, also there are tonnes of data points for your ocean exploring. Other features of this update are historical imagery, which allows you to see several images over the years for many different locations (given as a timeline), make sure to check out the melting of the polar ice caps, truly scary. This new version of Google Earth also has 3D Mars, I haven't had time to check it out, but you can explore the 3D terrain of Mars (in the same menu location as Sky) and there are a lot of high resolution images. The final feature is Touring, which allows users to easily add narrated, flythroughs of tour locations. 

    The other announcement, not quite as big though, is Gmail tasks are now available for iPhone and Android users, and can be accessed from any xhtml phone. Like the Gmail computer version, tasks can be added/deleted with ease. Make sure to check out the official Gmail blog for a very funny way of promoting their new tasks addition. 

Explore the ocean (above) and new Gmail Tasks for Mobile (below).

Google Earth has Vancouver in 3D

I've never been to Vancouver, but after looking at the recent updated imagery to Google Earth, which has 1400 3D buildings for Vancouver, I  definitely want to visit. I showed this to my students today, and they were totally amazed. Google Earth is definitely bringing the world to people, and has become an excellent teaching tool. Also, it's nice that Canada is showing up on Google's radar. 

Visit the Romans with Google Earth

Google is about to add an ancient Rome as a layer in Google Earth. This layer contains 6700 3D buildings (wowzers!!) and 250 placemarks, all created by the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities!! Along with this, Google has created an Ancient Rome 3D Curriculum Competition. Check out the video below to see this in action.

New Google Earth Imagery

Hi everyone, I just got this info from the Google Earth blog. In the next few months Google Earth is going to get a bunch of new satellite imagery. The resolution is amazing (0.5 m/pixel), check out the pic below. I think it looks much sharper than the current images. Also, if your a Google Earth fanatic, you should definitely check out the Google Earth blog. 

Google Roundup for September 21-28

Hello everyone, welcome back for another weekly summary of Google news, lets get started:

• Google Earth is amazing for checking out the solar system. For example, check out the Google Earth add-on for Mars. More great solar system addons can be found at the Google Earth Blog.
• Download this KML file to get a geo-biography of Sen. John McCain. Also, check out this Google Earth blog post for the top 10 games in Google Earth.
• If your into the US presidential election, and want to search quotes by Obama and McCain, check out In Quote.
• If your a chemist like myself, get the periodic table for google desktop gadget.
• The latest version of Google Toolbar for Firefox is now released and available in 29 languages. I probably won't be downloading it because all is use is Chrome these days.
• Adobe and Google have teamed up in Adobe Creative Suite 4. Google Site Search allows users to search for product help, tutorials, notes etc.
• Happy Birthday Google!!
  
  

Coolest Feature of the Week: Well, this won't actually be released until next week, but it should be so good. I am a huge Google Docs fan (using it now to type this blog), and this week the Spreadsheets interface is going to get a big makeover, check out the screenshot below. This was badly needed, no matter how many times I used it, I could not get used to the interface. Way to go Google Docs team!!!

Google Roundup for September 16th-21st

Hello folks, welcome back for some more news in the world of Google, and I may sound like a broken record or mp3 player, it has been another busy week in the house of Google:

• For iPhone users, there is a new application called Earthscape and is available for free at the Apps Store and is very Google Earth-like.
• For all you people who don't want to upgrade from the free Google Earth version but want GPS tracking with Google Earth, check out this application called Navigator. This is able to automatically log tracks to a KML file and also has USB interface support.
• There is an updated version of the Arctic ice animations, check out the 30-day animation , 60-day and 90-day animations. These new animations have better coverage and higher resolution.
• Check out before and after photos of Hurricane Ike by clicking on this file for an overlay overlay image .
• Something that I didn't know was released on the Adsense blog. It is not a violation of program policies to perform searches on one's own Adsense for search boxes. But, it is highly recommended that you do not do this because it will increase the chance of invalid clicks and provide an false view of activity on your site.
• Google Desktop 5.8 has been released and is much faster than previous versions and search covers more Outlook folders and gadgets now have support for flash.
• Gmail labs has some new features; (1) ability to put labels and chat friends on the right and left side of the window instead of being stacked and (2) "Mark as Read" button can be added to top of inbox (this was created by a guy named Mark).
• Gears has been released for Safari on OS X, it can be downloaded at http://gears.google.com.
• Google Maps for mobile has been released and now included Street View. Check out the video below (the guy should invest in a new bicycle!!!). Note that this is available for Blackberry and most Java-enabled phones.
  

• Google Audio Indexing has been added which as allows searching of audio within videos, super awesome!! This can be found at Google labs.
• Those environmentally-sound Google people have joined forces with GE to allow consumers better energy choices. They basically want all aspects of power to be improved and the smart grid implemented.
  
• Google search is now available in Pirate, yep that's right, pirate.
  

Coolest Feature of the Week: For all of those people out there who forget to attach the attachment in a email, Gmail labs has a Forgotten Attachment Detector. When this is activated, an alert will occur when you forget to attach a file. Neat hey?

Google Maps for Mobile

Google Roundup for September 7th - 15th

Well folks, its been a busy weekend up here in Newfoundland, with events ranging from installing HE washers to afternoon bicycle rides. In the past week, Google has been just as busy, here another round of news:

• All English users of Blogger can now use the Blogger Following feature.
• Check out these cool Google Earth links: PC World Top 10 Amazing Add-ons, 51 Places You Can't See in Google Maps, and this link about a giant tribute to Lenin.
  
• Picasa Web Albums can be used to directly upload photos from one's email and phone, check out this post for more details.
  
• New features have been added to Gmail labs: reply with only selected text; default reply to all, ability to set start and end dates for vacation auto response, create own custom color combinations, and drag and drop items in the Navbar.
• In the mobile world, Google has introduced Search with My location, which will provide localized search results. Note that this is available in the US and UK only (for now) and only works on certain phones.
• For Blackberry users, Google has released Mobile App for Blackberry. This acts as a central point for Google services and can be found at m.google.com on the Blackberry device.
• Once again, old is new. Google is making old newspapers new by allowing them to be available online. These can be accessed by searching the Google News Archive or by using the timeline feature after searching Google News.More and more newspapers will be added and the oldest newspaper, the Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph, is also available for search.

  

We're on the Moon!!!

Google Roundup for August 26th - September 1st

This summer has gone by so fast, I cannot believe that it is Labour Day, and back to work tomorrow followed by teaching. It has been a busy summer on the Google front, now its time for some more news:

• If your a blogger like myself, you'll notice a new feature over the next few weeks. The new feature is called Following and it allows you to know who is following your blog. When the followers icon is clicked on, followers can be browsed, along with the blogs they write and you can read any other blogs they are following. Also, a new tab has been added to the Blogger dashboard called Blogs I'm Following, this will show automatically the latest posts from blogs that you follow. I love social networking.

Blogger + Social Networking

• Related to the above bullet, for any Google Reader users, you will now see a special folder called Blogs I'm Following, which allows you to see all of the blogs that your following. In the future, Google Reader will become more social by adding the Google Friend Connect.
• Hurricane Gustav is all over the news, and if you want to check out its current track, click off the weather layer to see satellite photos, radar, storm tracks etc. Check out many of the weather tools available in Google Earth by clicking on this file created by the Google Earth people.
• For all of you GPS people (I think I may be one soon),WikiLoc is a site that allows users to upload and share GPS tracks. This is now available in Google Earth as its own layer.
• Here is some more good news for Google Earth and Maps users, a new satellite which will be launched on Sept. 4th, will provide imagery for both of these programs, and it does this super fast, an area the size of New Mexico can be done in 1 day!! The name of the satellite is the GeoEye-1 adn has the highest ground resolution color imagery commercially available.
• Google Sites had just received a nice improvement. In the past, if you wanted to add a Google Spreadsheet to your site, it would have to be published to the world (shared with everyone), but no more, the requirement has been dropped.
• Some new features have been introduced to Google Calendar, adding a friend's calendar, creating new events for those busy schedules, and reminder times have been improved, check out this blog for more details.
• IES (Integrated Environmental Solutions) has released a free plugin for Google Sketchup that calculates a building's energy use and carbon dioxide emissions. It looks like the environmental movement is here to stay!!
• YouTube has introduced a new caption feature to videos. Check out this page for more information.

Enjoy the rest of Labour Day, and remember to fill up with an extra dose of coffee in the morning. See you all next week.

Google Roundup for August 17th-24th

The Olympics are almost over....two weeks of sports I barely watch is enough for me. Here is some news/updates in the world of Google:

• Check out this Google Earth visualization of geothermal energy available in the US. This allows viewing of geothermal energies at various depths along with time animation to view the different depths.
• Google News has released a feature called cross-language search, not much else to say here, pretty self explanatory except that you will only see results in a different language if they are as good as those in your own language.
• If your interested in the US political campaign, check out google.com/powerreaders. Here you can see news shared by the Obama and McCain political campaigns, this is viewed in Google Reader.
• If your a Google Checkout user, you can save money ($5 or more) at many stores, note that this is for a limited time.
• If your you are using YouTube on your phone, you may have seen some display ads on pages of the YouTube mobile site in US and Japan.

That's it for news in the house of Google, check back again next week.

Google Earth+Geothermal Energy

Google Roundup for Aug. 10th-17th

I hope you all are enjoyin' the Olympics. My country, Canada, finally got some medals, yesterday they picked up 7, and what about Phelps for the US, crazy hey? Here goes another round of roundup:

• As you all know, we are undergoing climate change. One of the most affected areas is and will be the Arctic. If you have time, check out the animations in Google Earth provided by the National Snow and Ice Data Center for 30-day ,60-day and 90-day showing the change in Arctic ice.
• If your an ESRI software user, your GIS information can be viewed in Google Maps with the ArcGIS JavaScript Extension.
• To increase it's appeal to the international market, Google News is available in 9 more countries, check out this post for more details.
• If you have a RSS feed, and you are using Adsense, ads can now be placed in your feed, and the list of languages and countries for video units has increased. Languages supported are: English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish; countries included: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, India, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States.
• Google Calendar is now available in 38 languages, recent ones added are: Latvian, Romanian, Filipino/Tagalog, Serbian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Hindi and Indonesian.
• If your a user of Google Docs forms, then a few welcomed changes has occurred. These are now accessible in the Docs List page and from within other editors (i.e., Presentations). Also, the forms interface has become more user friendly.

• I love Google Reader, and an excellent feature has been added. Instead of only being able to share with all of your friends, now a custom friends list can be created to selectively choose who you want to share with.

Climate Change via Google Earth.

I've Been on Vacation but Google Hasn't

For the past 2 weeks I have been on vacation, enjoying life on the west coast of Newfoundland, it has been excellent. Now it is time to get back to work, and briefly summarize what has been happening in the world of Google, here it goes:

• Walking directions are now available in Google Earth and Maps, both are in beta.
• Check out the 100 panoramas for Havana Cuba available at the 360 Cities website or they can be viewed in Google Earth.
• There is a new version of Google Earth 4.3 (beta) available here.
• 10 years ago the very first Google index had 26 million pages, last week it hit 1 trillion.
• Google Knol was released to the public last week. Knols are defined as "authoritative articles about specific topics, written by people who know about those subjects." This service is similar to wikipedia except the author identity is given, and authors can receive money via advertising for their entries. I gave it a quick look and read an article on Psoriasis, the author's name, picture, and job was provided and when his name was clicked on, more info was given.
• Google Docs announced that templates are present for documents, spreadsheets, and presentations. As of today, the total number available is 309. I think this is an excellent advance for the google docs package. I have to work on a resume for my brother, and I will be using one of the many templates for resumes available with Google Docs. As more great features like this are added, Google Docs will be an Office killer.

I think the biggest news is Google Knol, this is getting excellent reviews and provides accountability to a huge section of information available on the web. Time to go work on one of those knols.

Google Roudup for June 29th - July 6th

This week in the world of Google has been somewhat active, but not as much as others. It amazes me that Google is involved with so many projects, and the number is continually growing. Here is a summary of the world of Google for June 29th - July 6th:

• UbiqWindow has a cool video of a computer screen projected in mid-air a person interacting with Google Earth by touching the hologram. Super cool.
  

• Mike Pegg is one lucky and hardworking blogger. He is the writer of the Google MapsMania blog and now product marketing manager of Google Maps API. Pegg was hired on because his blog was so good.
  

• If your a Nine Inch Nails, they have released a Google Earth file showing distribution, geographically, for 1.4 million downloads of The Slip, which is their latest album. I'm not a fan of their music, but this is a great idea.
  

• The iGoogle gadget of the week is the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Countdown. It should be interesting to see how the poor air quality is going to affect the athletes in Beijing.

• Google Apps is popular and the number of users is growing very fast. It is just 17 months old, and 500 000 organizations use it as part of their business, and 3 000 sign up daily. Hopefully my workplace will be signing up soon.

• If your a FireFox 3 fan like myself, there is a new feature that lets Gmail be the default for all email links (containing mail to:). Check out this post at the Gmail blog for the setup procedure. Also, if you want to be a Gmail expect, look at these 10 tips.

• If your a iPhone or iPod touch user, there is a version of Google Talk designed specifically for both.

• For those of you interested in seeing top films from around the world, check out the The YouTube Screening Room, where there is a fresh lot of movies.

Tour de France via Google Earth

I'm a recreational cyclist and I love it!! The terrain in my neck of the woods, St. John's, Newfoundland is hilly and we have some strong winds, but besides that there are no real traffic problems and the roads are in OK shape. Like most cyclists I am a Tour de France fan, and I would love to be in good enough shape (without steroids) to complete (not compete) the course, maybe it will happen, maybe.....Anyways, to the point of this posting, Google Earth has Street View imagery (you are given a view from the street) for the whole Tour, it is simply amazing. All you have to do is make sure that the Street View layer is checked off, take a trip via Google Earth to France, look for the camera icon, double click on it, and voila, you can see what the cyclists see, plus you have time to look around. The resolution of the photos is good, I spent 10 minutes looking at a fruit stand along the way, and examining the hill inclines/lengths is exhausting. Go for a ride via Google Earth!!!

Tour de France Street View

Google Roundup for June 21st - 28th

Since there is so much happening in the world of Google, I decided to start a summary called Google Roundup which mentions important Google news/products not mentioned in my blog. I'll usually post it sometime during the weekend.

• If your a NFL or MLB fan or just a fan of Google Earth, you should check out the website called EarthSwoop, which has 3D models of their respective stadiums. So far it is only for Windows, but by August other operating systems and browsers will be supported any anyone can contribute their own collection, the Argentine bridges is very cool.
• AdSense is hot in terms of online advertising, this week the 50,000 th person signed up to the English version of the AdSense help group. I'm one of them.
• Google loves mobile technology (check out the Android project), so much that they created the Google Mobile Community. This is a general discussion group where basically anything about mobile phones is discussed.
• Google also launched a site dedicated to the world of mobility; google.com/mobile. Once you find your phone type (I have a Motorola), free products can be easily accessed.
• If your a logged in user of Youtube, the personalized homepage that was only accessible to a small number of users is now accessible to all logged in users. I tried it out, the layout is OK, but the customizability is excellent.

Thats it for this week, check out the rest of my blog for more news/reviews.

My Five Favorite Things to do With Google Earth

Like a lot of people, I love using Google Earth , my five favorite things to do with Google Earth (free edition) are:

1. Calculate distances for potential bicycle rides using the ruler (Tools Menu) function, also examine elevation changes.
   
2. Looking at animations such as those released at Popular Science.
3. Using the flight simulator (Ctrl+Alt+A)
   
4. Exploring space with Sky (planet shape icon underneath menu), my favorite feature is planet animations.
   
5. Random exploring of the high resolution areas of the planet, especially those with streetview and with lots of topographic relief. I spend a lot of time circling the globe and looking at GigaPan images.
   

Google Earth is an excellent product, I can literally spend hours exploring my city or solar system and I am constantly discovering new features of this program. Go Explore!!!

GigaPan Image of the Golden Gate Bridge

Total Eclipse in Google Earth

If your wondering where the total solar eclipse will be on August 1st, just check this out to view it in Google Earth. For more info, check out this page, it is very well put together and like me, you'll learn much about eclipses.