Business Archives

November 11, 2009

Links: Full list of StreetView updates, TeachMideast.org, CyberCity 3D partners with HomeGain

Full list of StreetView updates We told you a few days ago about some large amounts of new data for StreetView. As time passed, Google slowly revealed more and more coverage. Along with the already covered Mexico, Netherlands and Hawaii, Google has released details about the new imagery in Spain, and it's been confirmed that new imagery has been added to various locations in the United States and has finally come to the Canary Islands.

Google Maps Mania showcases some of the best views in each area: Spain | Hawaii | Netherlands | Mexico

TeachMideast.org Launches Teach Mideast has just launched, and it provides a ton of free K-12 resources that cover the Middle East, Islam and Muslim societies. It uses an embedded map on the site to showcase their data, and gives a quick "View in Google Earth" link to allow you to go deeper. For teachers that cover that part of the world (history, geography, etc), this could be an excellent resource.

CyberCity 3D parters with HomeGain While I still think that ultimately we'll all be able to easily model our own homes using something like Building Maker, it'll be quite a while before that's available in a wide enough area. Until then, it's neat to see the growing competition between various "home modeling" companies as they fight for real estate business. The big winner in all of this is us, in the form of a more informative (and fun!) house-hunting search.

CC3D launched their "Virtual Viewing" product a few months ago, and now they've teamed up with HomeGain.com to showcase some of those renderings on their site. I'm disappointed it's not an embedded model, but it's still nice to see at least some level of integration. Here's a sample page where you can click on some of the "View in 3D" buttons.

Concept3D does some similar work (as we discussed last month), but they don't have any direct ties to real estate companies that we're aware of.

Here's a screenshot of how the CyberCity3D/HomeGain integration works.

Posted by mickmel at 9:02 AM | Comments (6)

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October 22, 2009

KML file that shows the October imagery, now updated in Google Maps

A few readers have pointed out that Google has posted the monthly KML file showing the updated imagery from a few days ago. Google has also posted an entry that gives the full details of the update.

In addition, Google Maps has now been updated with the imagery from this latest update. Along with the new imagery, Google has added a nifty "Real Estate" layer to Google Maps. Click the "More" button at the top of the screen and choose "Real Estate". You'll see hundreds of markers appear in the USA and Australia, with options to filter on the left side of the screen. This data is not yet available in Google Earth, but I'd expect we'll likely see a layer for it in the future.

Having this information in Google Earth would be wonderful. By toggling various layers, you could view a particular home in relationship to nearby schools, churches, businesses, etc. It could be very useful. We'll keep an eye on it and let you know if we hear anything.

Posted by mickmel at 1:55 PM | Comments (1)

October 19, 2009

Get your home or business modeled in 3D for Google Earth

There are many businesses out there that would like to see their office rendered in 3D in Google Earth, but can't make it happen. Perhaps they don't have the time or talent to play with Google SketchUp, and Google's new Building Maker doesn't cover their area. What to do? There are a number of enterprising companies that are offering their services, and we thought we'd point a few of them out to you. These companies have all had their work featured on this blog in the past, and seem like good places to start.

The first is concept3D, which just opened their new Self Service site to the public. They allow you to choose what kind of work you need done and they create a custom quote for you automatically. We've written about their models before (such as the recent Boston University rendering), and they appear to do excellent work. Their prices seem to be very reasonable, though there isn't a lot to compare them to.

Another big alternative is CyberCity3D, who offer separate Residential and Commercial services. Like concept3D, we've written about CC3D a few times in the past (such as the models they added last month). They also appear to do excellent work, though they don't list any prices on their site.

Finally we have Gerardo Paz, who runs GeoDataMaps (and also translates the GEB in Spanish). He built the incredible 3D version of Frank's Tahina catamaran, which can be seen here. You can visit his site for more information or to get started.

Posted by mickmel at 9:14 AM | Comments (1)

September 14, 2009

More 3D Cities Appearing in Google Earth

Over the past two weeks, I've had a series of reports of new 3D cities added in Google Earth. Not all the new cities have photo-realistic textures. Some of them are have the 3D architecture, but have plain gray surfaces. But, even so, its always impressive to see shape of a city take form in Google Earth. To see the cities, makes sure you turn on the 3D Buildings layer. You can choose whether to view just "Photorealistic" or "Gray buildings" (sub-layers).

In the photo-realistic side, we just recently saw Dublin and Cardiff added. Now, according to DigitalUrban, Birmingham, England has been released. And it looks really well done. Here's a short video showing the new 3D city there:

In the gray-building category, I've heard rumors there are several new cities. Here's a list of cities I've heard have been added. (If you know of other new cities, please report them as a comment to this post):

• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Mexico City, Mexico
• São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
• Caracas, Venezuela
• Santiago, Chile

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:03 AM | Comments (4)

July 15, 2009

360 Degrees Longitude Book Using Google Earth

A book called "360 Degrees Longitude" is about a family of four who decided to spend a year traveling around the world. The book documents their journey - but, I'm especially intrigued by their use of the Internet, maps, and Google Earth to help people follow the places they went, and view the pictures they took.

The book was released last month, and is available from Amazon. But, the maps and Google Earth file are available from their web site. The Google Earth file shows their somewhat convoluted route, and contains lots of placemarks with snippets of information about each location and photos. It's actually quite entertaining to read about the trip with Google Earth, but the book adds a lot of detail to their experiences. The book's web site has a lot of other supporting content including Google Maps mashups.

I actually wrote about this file when they first promoted it back in March - but, they had a different name for the book then (the old name probably had some marketing problems).

Posted by FrankTaylor at 8:26 AM | Comments (0)

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More entries for this category:

6. North Shore City, New Zealand in Google Earth - July 2, 2009
7. Using Google Earth to Review Urban Development Project - June 15, 2009
8. New "Businesses" layer for Google Earth and iPhone Google Earth - May 27, 2009
9. 3D Disneyland Resort Paris in Google Earth - May 24, 2009
10. Where 2.0 - Day 2 - Short Summary - May 21, 2009
11. Google Ads in Some Google Earth Panoramio Placemarks - May 6, 2009
12. Links: Ocean Now, Michigan Earth Day, Goldman Prize, Convention Center, Queen Mary - April 21, 2009
13. Nine Inch Nails Uses Google Earth Again and iPhone - April 7, 2009
14. Google Wants to Hear Your Google Earth Story - April 3, 2009
15. Links: Where 2.0, Map Lens, Historical Placemarks, Condé Nast - March 30, 2009
16. Google Announces Two New 3D Cities - March 7, 2009
17. Huge Update to Berlin's 3D Building Collection for Google Earth - March 4, 2009
18. Links: New 3D Town Project, Model Underwater, World's Largest Ship Graveyard - March 3, 2009
19. New York City in Photo-Realistic 3D Now in Google Earth - December 17, 2008
20. Links: Going Sailing, Mumbai Attacks, Street View, South Africa Award - December 11, 2008
21. Tomb Raider Challenge with Google Earth - December 3, 2008
22. Links: Where 2.0, Weather Buoys, Argentina, Earthscape, MapMyPage, and more - November 19, 2008
23. Peachtree City Public Information Interactive Map - September 30, 2008
24. McCain Geo-Biography in Google Earth - September 23, 2008
25. 600 Starbucks Closures in Google Earth - July 22, 2008
26. GIS Data for Canary Islands in Google Earth - July 15, 2008
27. Roses First 3D City in Spain for Google Earth - July 10, 2008
28. Google Releases More Map Crowdsourcing Tools - June 24, 2008
29. Where 2.0 - Day 1 - May 13, 2008
30. Impressive Upgrade to Virtual Earth 3D - April 11, 2008
31. New York Times in Google Earth - April 7, 2008
32. Links: Digital Urban Booklet, GE OSX UI Tweak, Peru Meteor Strike - March 31, 2008
33. Armageddon Pills in Google Earth - March 14, 2008
34. See Guys Putting Up Sign on Luxor Hotel & Casino - February 18, 2008
35. Links: Zillow News, Virtual Volcanology, Design in GE, GearthHacks News, Ski Time, VE Geocoding - January 18, 2008
36. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
37. Governor of Alabama Unveils Google Earth Application - December 4, 2007
38. Links: Tracking Santa, Netherland Statistics, Boat Parades, OpenAerialMap - December 3, 2007
39. KFC Logo Stunt Now in Google Earth - November 19, 2007
40. Armor All Promotion in Google Earth - November 16, 2007
41. Defense Earmarks in Google Earth - November 7, 2007
42. Google Earth Christmas Gift: 15% Discount on SpaceNavigator - November 2, 2007
43. Links: Glider Towing, 3D Bonanza, John Hanke Presentation, Google Maps Profiles, Virtual Earth 3D Modeling - October 19, 2007
44. Business Layers Have Reviews and Pictures in Google Earth - October 16, 2007
45. Microsoft Virtual Earth Supports Basic KML and KML Searching - October 15, 2007
46. Links: Google Maps Zoom, GE Pro Classes, 10 Features of GE, Arc2Earth V2, Spot Image Layer - October 14, 2007
47. DigitalGlobe New Satellite WorldView I is Black and White? - September 18, 2007
48. The Gmail Video Collection in Google Earth - August 30, 2007
49. New Real-Time Traffic Layer in Google Earth - August 21, 2007
50. Virtual London Project Dead in the Water - August 8, 2007
51. Using Google Earth and Web 2.0 Mapping Tools for GIS Visualizations - August 7, 2007
52. News Roundup - Microsoft and KML, Minnesota Bridge, New Competition, and more - August 5, 2007
53. Energy Production Information for Western US - July 17, 2007
54. Largest Coca Cola Logo - Made from Bottles - July 12, 2007
55. Pool Guy Taps Google Earth - July 10, 2007
56. News Roundup - New GeoSearch, GeoWeb 2007, Traffic Gadget, Earthplot, Environmental Data - July 9, 2007
57. OgleEarth Roundup: Illegal Fishing Caught, Picasa Web Albums Review, Geo-Ads Patent, HeyWhatsThat - June 28, 2007
58. News Roundup: GE 4.1 Stuff, Plotting a Trail, Business Reviews, More Second Earth - June 20, 2007
59. Pict'Earth - UAV Aerial Photography Solutions - June 19, 2007
60. Road Maps and Local Search for Sweden in Google Earth and Maps - June 13, 2007
61. News RoundUp: Football Game, VesselTracker, Antarctic Bases, Egyptian Digs, 3D Cities Help, Chimps, Gallery - June 12, 2007
62. Google Transit in Google Earth - June 5, 2007
63. ChartGeek - Sectional Maps for Pilots in Google Earth - May 28, 2007
64. News Roundup - GeoCommons, AC3D, LaudonTech Maps, MacFamilyTree - May 23, 2007
65. More Roads, POI, 3D Buildings in Google Earth - April 12, 2007
66. News Roundup: Amsterdam Google GeoDay, Google LitTrips, US Capitol - March 30, 2007
67. Traditional Advertising Gets Boost in 3D Google Earth - March 27, 2007
68. Google Earth Classified Ads by Safarri - March 26, 2007
69. Movie Making Information for 300 in Google Earth - March 20, 2007
70. gCensus - US Census Data for Google Earth - March 14, 2007
71. Lloyd's Using Google Earth for Insurance Visualizations - March 12, 2007
72. Major Layer Update for Google Earth - March 10th - March 10, 2007
73. News Roundup: Google Earth Resume/CV, Google Maps Interface to BMW cars - March 7, 2007
74. News Roundup - Tax Collector, Google Federal, Virtual Worlds Conference - February 28, 2007
75. World Oil Consumption - 3D Charts in Google Earth - February 27, 2007
76. FedEx Pilots "Smart" Tracking with Google Earth - February 23, 2007
77. Google Earth Advertising Gets More Credibility - February 21, 2007
78. News Roundup - India Censorship, SightSeer, Plazes, Education - February 5, 2007
79. Update to Ads in Google Earth/Maps - February 2, 2007
80. Shape2Earth - GIS Data to Google Earth - January 29, 2007
81. Dutch KLM Releases Air Fare Finder in Google Earth - January 24, 2007
82. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
83. Google Announces Aerial Photo Shoot for Australia Day - January 26 - January 22, 2007
84. Google Earth Layers - January 11, 2007
85. SpaceNavigator Works on Mac OS X - January 9, 2007
86. News Roundup: GlobeXplorer Acquired by DigitalGlobe, Conferences, Google Telescope - January 8, 2007
87. Mars Sucks - A Game for Google Earth - December 29, 2006
88. Amazing Implementation of Marine Charts for Google Earth - December 21, 2006
89. NASA and Google Sign "Space Act Agreement" - December 18, 2006
90. Trulia Adds Google Earth for Real Estate Searches - December 5, 2006
91. Exciting New "3D Mouse" for Google Earth - The SpaceNavigator - November 27, 2006
92. Exclusive Economic Zones in Google Earth - November 24, 2006
93. Satellite Photo of KFC Logo and Viral Marketing Scheme - November 17, 2006
94. CBS News Does Google Earth - November 9, 2006
95. Baseball, 3D Stadiums, Videos, and Google Earth - November 2, 2006
96. Cape Town Travel Guide for Google Earth - October 31, 2006
97. Spanish Architecture Project in 3D by Tagzania - October 27, 2006
98. Live Flight Sales and Driving Tips with Google Earth - October 26, 2006
99. James Bond DVD Promotion Using Google Earth - October 20, 2006
100. News Roundup - October 9, 2006
101. Google Earth Enterprise in Oil and Gas Industry - October 3, 2006
102. Ad Campaign for Saturn Aura Uses Google Earth - September 26, 2006
103. Google Earth Las Vegas - September 22, 2006
104. Roundup - Pillows, redtrails, earthpoint, Robogeo 5, libferris, virtual land rush - September 20, 2006
105. Anousheh Ansari Blasts off to Space - September 18, 2006
106. Interview With Michael Jones - Google Earth Chief Technology Officer - September 14, 2006
107. Huge New Layers Update in Google Earth - September 13 - September 13, 2006
108. "Prison Break" on Google Earth - September 11, 2006
109. CBS News Does Google Earth - Missing Last Step - September 8, 2006
110. British Airways Uses Google Earth to Improve Online Sales - September 1, 2006
111. Turnhere.com - Videos About Places - August 15, 2006
112. Campus Maps with 3D Buildings in Google Earth - August 14, 2006
113. Music Group Audioslave Uses Google Earth for Promotion - August 4, 2006
114. Vancouver in 3D for Google Earth - July 21, 2006
115. Weather Symbols in Google Earth - July 18, 2006
116. News Roundup - July 15, 2006
117. Magnalox Provides Live Tracking Interface for Google Earth - July 7, 2006
118. 1000 Pizzas Publicity Stunt Using Google Earth - June 28, 2006
119. Win a Free Trip from Surfing Magazine by Using Google Earth - June 21, 2006
120. RoboGEO - Simplifying Georeferencing of Photos - June 10, 2006
121. Digital Camera Illustrates Camera Shot with Google Earth - June 4, 2006
122. Forbes Magazine Article - Maps Mania - June 3, 2006
123. Pin in the Map - Keep it Simple - May 30, 2006
124. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Points of Interest in Google Earth - May 26, 2006
125. See More Recent Aerial Photos in Google Earth - May 22, 2006
126. Google Earth Business - May 21, 2006
127. Da Vinci Code Tour in Google Earth - May 17, 2006
128. Ads in Google Earth - May 10, 2006
129. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 9, 2006
130. Win a Mazda CX-7 in a Sweepstakes Contest in Google Earth - May 1, 2006
131. Mission Impossible III Promotion with Google Earth - April 28, 2006
132. TheCity Local - Google Earth Dating Service - April 26, 2006
133. City of Bergen Norway Makes Smart Business Move in Google Earth - April 10, 2006
134. Honda Releases Traffic System in Japan for Google Earth - April 4, 2006
135. Apple iPod Ad in Google Earth? - March 27, 2006
136. Business and Google Earth in Information Week - March 22, 2006
137. Track "Amazing Race" TV Show in Google Earth - March 20, 2006
138. Google Earth E-mail Signature - March 14, 2006
139. Bed and Breakfast Locations in Google Earth - March 6, 2006
140. Here Comes the Oscars - March 5, 2006
141. Eye in the Sky Advertising - March 4, 2006
142. EarthPoint - Real Estate Listings with some GIS - March 3, 2006
143. Arc2Earth Released - March 1, 2006
144. Giant Frog Attacks Chicago - February 17, 2006
145. Visualizing Controversial New Buildings in New York in Google Earth - February 6, 2006
146. CNET Superbowl Guessing Game in Google Earth - February 2, 2006
147. Win a Fiat Sedici in Google Earth - February 1, 2006
148. South American Trade in Google Earth - January 27, 2006
149. Sundance Film Festival "Event Map" in Google Earth - January 24, 2006
150. KMLer for Converting ArcGIS for Google Earth - January 19, 2006
151. Real Estate for Google Earth by Re/Max - Again! - January 14, 2006
152. Top 500 Hotels in Google Earth - Travel + Leisure Magazine - December 28, 2005
153. Adidas Promotion Uses Google Earth - December 27, 2005
154. Company Specializes in Google Earth/Maps Services - November 28, 2005
155. Ski Resorts and Snow Reports in Google Earth - November 21, 2005
156. Everything You Wanted to Know About Singapore - November 12, 2005
157. Example of Google Earth Ad - November 8, 2005
158. EarthBooker - 80,000 Hotels in Google Earth - November 7, 2005
159. Real Estate Interest in Google Earth Grows - November 1, 2005
160. NewsGlobe a Geographic Locator for News - October 6, 2005
161. Cruise Ship Positions and Web Cams - October 5, 2005
162. Garmin Buys MotionBased - October 4, 2005
163. ~12 Million Google Earth downloads? Where's Mac/Linux Versions? - September 30, 2005
164. Google Helps NASA - September 29, 2005
165. Making Money with Google Earth - September 28, 2005
166. Security and Privacy Concerns and Google Earth - September 13, 2005
167. City of Portland GIS Adds 3D Buildings - September 3, 2005
168. Business Opportunities and Google Earth - August 30, 2005
169. Real Estate Done Google Earth Style - August 29, 2005
170. ABC Primetime Uses Google Earth - August 26, 2005
171. City of Portland GIS - August 25, 2005
172. EarthPlot - Commercial Software - August 23, 2005

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