• Google Earth Plus discontinued: Le Technoblog du LAC flags Google’s announcement that the $20 Plus version of Google Earth, which let you visualize a GPS track in real time, is no longer available. The good news:
  

  One of the main reasons why people chose Google Earth Plus is GPS tracking. We realize that some users may be disappointed in the loss of this feature, so we assure you that we’re working on making this a feature of the free version in the near future.

  Plus users can try Pro for free for two months, or buy a one-year Pro license for $99 (instead of $400).

• GeoUpdater: Nico Tranquilli writes:
  

  Just wrote a service based on FireEagle, Facebook, GoogleMaps and

  Geonames. It may be of interest to your readers.

  GeoUpdater reads location data from your Fire Eagle account as you move and automatically push status updates to Facebook. Users can opt in for location history and get a personal GeoRSS feed (for FriendFeed or blog integration)

  Recent locations can also be displayed on a map and linked from status updates; nearby wikipedia entries are shown near the map.

• GeoServer 1.7.1 released: “The biggest improvement in this release is better Google Earth support. Using revamped KML output (known as the KML “reflector”) GeoServer can now output vector super-overlays.”
• Thematic Mapping Engine goes Creative Commons: Bjørn Sandvik’s web-driven KML visualizer for country statistics data has just been released under a Creative Commons license, including the cool rendering directly to the web browser via the Google Earth web plugin.
• HoudahGPS 3.0 released: This GPS-to-Mac utility gets an update, letting you connect to more GPS devices and also convert between GPS, NMEA and KML.
• Google Earth API release notes: I forgot to link to them. In addition to the new Mac version, the Windows version of the plugin also got a revamp.
• ARMAP: Very thorough: Arctic Research Mapping Application (ARMAP) “is a suite of online, interactive maps and services that support Arctic science. With 2D Maps and 3D Globes, users can navigate to areas of interest and explore or query information about field-based scientific research in the Arctic.” Free, and comes with KML files.
• ViwoGeo: This interesting mashup takes into account that many of the places in Second Life mirror or re-imagine real-life locations — including those from the past or future. ViwoGeo lets you georeference Second Life locations, so you can browse Second Life geographically.
• Wireless broadband hits 21 Mbps: Slightly off-topic, but still: Soon my perpatietic life will get even easier, thanks to HSPA Evolution, an improved wireless broadband technology developed by Ericsson. (Via GigaOm)

And finally… If you use a Mac, you’ll have noticed that the map in the upper right corner of Ogle Earth has now become Google Earth, courtesy of Cristian Streng’s Mobile GMaps.

In the coming days it should be pointed at Southern Egypt, as I’m headed there for a long weekend. Unfortunately, this means Ogle Earth will once again go quiet, until early next week.