Best of google maps and google earth 2011

Best of Google Maps and Google Earth 2011

Copyright©2010 CompanynameFree template by Investintech PDF Solutions

• Using these Google tools, you can now see the insides of large stores, views of the world's magnificent mountains, and a record of the devastation of Japan, among many other advancements.

http://www.investintech.com/


• Best of Google Maps and Google Earth• Most people today use Google Maps to find local schools, malls,

and the closest Starbucks, according to this year's Google Zeitgeist, which catalogs the top searches of 2011. But there was more to Google Maps--and its desktop sidekick, Google Earth--over the past 12 months than finding the fastest way to get your Caramel Macchiato fix.

• In 2011, Maps and Earth cataloged the massive earthquake in Japan, local businesses and museums joined Street View, and Maps went inside buildings to help you get your bearings in airports, shopping malls, and big box stores across the United States.

• Here's a look at the best of Google Maps and Google Earth from each month of 2011.



January: Fresh 45-Degree ImageryGoogle Maps kicked off 2011 with some new 45-degree imagery for

10 U.S. cities, including Albuquerque, New Orleans, San

Antonio, and Tucson. The 45-degree images in Maps are aerial

photographs taken from a 45-degree angle that offer better

views of a location than the grainy satellite imagery. The search giant first introduced 45-degree imagery to Google Maps in 2010, following

Microsoft's 2009 rollout of the Bird's Eye View feature in Bing

Maps.

Google also introduced the Follow Your World web app for email

notifications alerting when new imagery is added to Google Earth

and Google Maps.



February: Off-Roading in Street View

In February, Google added more "off road" images to Google

Earth, including images of the National Botanic Gardens in

Dublin, Ireland; Balboa Park in San Diego, California; and the Château de Chenonceaux in Civray-de-Touraine, France.

The search giant also got romantic on Valentine's Day with a blog post featuring

locations from gushy, romantic movies, such as Notting Hill and

Love Actually.



March: Japan Satellite ImageryAfter the devastating and

subsequent tsunami that struck Japan, Google sprung into

action to provide fresh satellite imagery of areas that had been

heavily impacted. Google's other relief efforts included a "Person Finder" to help locate

displaced persons, as well as a collection of Google Maps with information about electricity

black-outs, road conditions, and emergency shelter locations.



April: Mountain TourApril was mountain month for

Google Earth: Google added new tours of some of the world's most famous peaks such as Mt. Everest and the Matterhorn. Google also added panoramic shots of post

earthquake Japan by photographer Akila Ninomiya in April.

After tornadoes ripped through the southern United States, Google added new satellite imagery to

Google Earth and created a collection of tornado touchdown

reports in Google Maps. This disaster relief work highlighted how Google Maps and Google

Earth can deliver a unique way for you to see the impact disasters have on affected communities.



May: 360-Degree BusinessesIn May, Google announced the rollout of a new Place Pages

feature that lets you take a 360-degree photographic tour of

store interiors such as Nashville's Gruhn Guitars and Comics Toons N Toys in Tustin, California. Indoor mapping was a big theme for Google Maps in 2011; it started with Street View

tours of some of the world's most famous museums in

February.



June: Live Transit UpdatesPartnering with transit agencies in Boston, Portland, San Diego,

and San Francisco, Google Maps in June launched a feature that let you find out if your bus or train was running on time in

real time. Live transit updates let you see live departure times for your bus or train, as well as service alerts. Transit updates

are accessible on your PC or on a mobile phone running Android

1.6 or higher.



July: Japan Disaster Zone Street View

During the summer, Google's Street View cars were hard at work in Japan chronicling the country's

earthquake disaster zones. Google said it wanted to do this to show the level of devastation that hit

Japan, and also to digitally archive Japan's disaster landscapes for future generations. The fruits of Google's labors came online in

December through Memories for the Future, a site showing pre- and

post-disaster imagery.

That month, Google also added an extremely handy feature to Google

Maps that let you download a specific map area to your Android

mobile phone for times when coverage is spotty and you can't

get online to access Maps.



August: Land ArtGoogle Earth got a new virtual tour in August highlighting the

Rhythms of Life project by Australian sculptor Andrew Rogers. Rhythms of Life is a

collection of 47 massive stone sculptures in 13 different

countries that involved the help of 6,700 people around the world to create. Google also

added desktop voice search to Google Maps for users in the

U.S. running the latest version of Chrome in August.



September: Helicopter ViewThe fall season started with a

new feature that lets you preview your driving route in 3D. All you do is input your driving directions query into Google Maps as usual using

your departure and destination points. To see the 3D effect, you just have to click on the 3D play button in the driving directions side panel. Google said the new

feature was like viewing your driving route from a helicopter.

Carlton Books in September also published a global treasure

hunt using Google Earth that included a $65 thousand prize for the top armchair explorer.



October: One Billion DownloadsGoogle Earth software program

hit the one billion download mark in October since Google first launched the desktop app in 2005. The search giant also

added photos of the scenic Swiss Alps railways to Street

View.



November: Google Goes InsideGoogle announced a new Google Maps feature in

November that lets you view maps of large indoor locations

on your Android device, including shopping malls,

airports, and retail stores such as Ikea.

November also saw the addition of images of ski slopes courtesy of the Street View snowmobile.

These include Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia,

Canada, and Colorado's Breckenridge Ski Resort. If the

slopes aren't your thing, Google also added an online tour of New York's High Line Park, a fantastic example of urban

reclamation.



December: Google Earth on 48 Screens

Le Pavillon de l'Arsenal in Paris used Google's immersive Liquid Galaxy project, which lets you

experience Google Earth on large displays, to put the desktop app on 48 screens. The project highlights what the Paris metropolitan area will look like in 2020 and includes 3D renderings of buildings under construction or in development.

The display can be controlled from four different multi-touch screens, and the 48 screens use almost 100

million pixels to render Google Earth.

Last Wednesday, Google also rolled out a new version of Google Map Maker to encourage users to add

more detail about their neighborhoods to Google Maps.


Best of google maps and google earth 2011

Documents

Transcript of Best of google maps and google earth 2011