New Google Earth Beta
September 14, 2006
Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and the power of Google Search to put the world’s geographic information at your fingertips. They released a New Beta 4 version which is available for download.
New features:
- Japanese language support (Japanese version is available here - earth.google.co.jp )
- Layer data for Japan, including countrywide 3D buildings
- Featured content layer (now available in all versions)
- A new interface for viewing time-stamped /time-range image overlays
- Improved printing option for turn-by-turn driving directions with satellite imagery
- New KML folders options with radio button style placemarks (under my places)
- Support for Hi-definition (HDTV) movie output (Pro version only)
- Support for Web Mapping Service(WMS) image/data overlays (now in free version too)
- Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) coordinate system grid overlay
Google Introduces Featured Content for Google Earth: a new showcase of multimedia overlays in Google Earth that connect users to information about the world around them from a variety of premium content providers. Featured content can be activated from a new drop-down menu in the Layers sidebar; Users can access these overlays by clicking on them.
Featured Content for Google Earth include:
- United Nations Environmental Program; includes successive time-stamped images illustrating 100 areas of extreme environmental degradation around the world.
- Discovery Networks World Tour; enables you to take a virtual tour of major world landmarks, cities, and natural wonders through Google Earth.
- National Park Service; includes detailed park descriptions, information on visitor facilities, and trails with distance calculations for 57 US National Parks.
- Jane Goodall Institute; you can visit Fifi and the other Gombe preserve chimpanzees and follow their daily exploits with the Institute’s “geo-blog” in Google Earth.
- Turn Here; This overlay features free city video guides for travel, restaurants, hotels, local events and music around the globe.
- National Geographic; this features articles and pictures by National Geographic from around the world.
The featured content is very nice but you have to go through the usual commercials first. Sometimes the content could be better ofcourse. If you look at the featured content for Amsterdam it looks like they only have coffee houses (where people don’t sell coffee, very funny indeed), tulips and a red light district.
