Geography 2.0 points to an ESRI FAQ about the upcoming ArcGIS Explorer, a geobrowser that will compete with Google Earth.
The FAQ confirms that Google Earth’s native KML and KMZ file formats will be supported by ArcGIS Explorer, but there is one question I have yet to see answered:
Will ArcGIS Explorer do network links?
This matters, because while deploying KML files, it is often easier to hand people a network link which then fetches the actual updatable file. If ArcGIS Explorer were to only support the rendering of KML, and not the network link functionality, then we’d have a problem: Would we then be more likely to shun the use of network links when we author KML? Or would we produce different versions for different geobrowsers? Today’s HTML and CSS producers face similar dilemmas.
(This is a purely speculative post, but perhaps somebody who’s actually used a recent version of ArcGIS Explorer could answer this question definitively? My hunch is that only the geometry component of KML will be supported by ESRI.)
> A weird PR press release: An internet photo printing service announces that it can print screenshots of views that you’ve taken with Google Earth and sent to them. But why not just use the built in Save Image command? And send them to any photo printing service? We’ll never know.
> ArchAtlas uses satellite imagery to illustrate ancient history. They’ve now started putting some of their locations onto Google Earth and NASA World Wind. Worth watching, as they have some other animations (the spread of farming, trade routes) that would work great as time-delimited layers for Google Earth. (Via Archeoastronomy)
> Over at Toolness, Atul has a post with a slew of detailed historical overlays covering Chicago. My favorite is the 1893 Rand McNally map of the World’s Columbian Exposition.
Google Earth files become part of the performance in Surreal Scania, a multimedia art installation that explores how we come to imagine spaces, and how place branding can influence our perceptions of places we’ve never been to. The artists, Swedes Anders Weberg and Robert Willim, explain:
By using Google Earth it is possible to view aerial photos of the points represented in the different films. Using a GPS-unit it is also possible to visit the locations where the visual raw material was shot. And as the films are provided in various file formats optimized for most mobile video players, it is possible to enjoy the filmic representations on the very spots where the material was filmed.
Why?
In this way the imaginary can be compared to the real. But what is real or imaginary? With Surreal Scania we want to explore different visual representation techniques, and we also want to recognise the fact that our imagination has an important role in forming the experiences of these locations.
The New York Institute of Technology‘s Library is adding Google Earth as an officially supported piece of software on its public computers. I wonder if that’s the start of a trend or merely the first case of self-reporting I’ve seen.
Meanwhile, Ogle Earth is GIS website of the week at Stanford University’s libraries. I only mention this (of course:-) because Ogle Earth sits atop a long list of extremely interesting resources.
Andrew Turner at High Earth Orbit has a nice overview of the state of spatial programming with Ruby on Rails. He compares database systems (PostgreSQL good, MySQL bad, susprisingly) and examines in which direction the development of geospatial plugins would be most useful. It’s a great little linkfest.
He also links to a number of geocoding resources. Unfortunately, they are all US only. Fortunately, the US military has available to the public a global geocoding database (excluding just the US and, shockingly, Antarctica) and it’s downloadable in one fell swoop, for free, at 190MB compressed. Wouldn’t it be nice to suck that into on your server’s database? (You can also download individual countries for smaller projects.) (Via Liquidx.net)
What a day over on ZNO blog. They’ve just posted some of the most impressive architectural models yet for Google Earth, including the current world’s tallest building, future tallest buildings, the Millau viaduct in France, and some lovingly detailed models of Christchurch NZ landmarks. No point in writing about about it — just go take a look and stay longer than you intended.
Me, I’ll be away from the internet for a few days. If you need me, you can find me here (KMZ).
Drug company Amgen is sponsoring a new big-budget bike race, the Tour of California, bravely taking place during the Olympics, Feb 19-26. Today’s press release plays up the use of Google’s mapping technologies to bring the race to viewers:
The nightly television broadcast [on ESPN2] will feature 3D satellite views of the stages using Google Earth. Those following the race on their personal computer will be able to watch live streaming Google Video and follow the race using Google Maps. Google Local for mobile will be available for spectators at the race who want to easily find the closest coffee shop…
Because it’s 2006, it’s fair to ask, “What, no live network links of the race in Google Earth?”
Notes on the political, social and scientific impact of networked digital maps and geospatial imagery, with a special focus on Google Earth.
