Google Earth

BigV · 07-14-2005, 04:45 PM

Do you remember that flying dream? It was sooo cool, but you couldn't always fly where you wanted to. Well now, thanks to the wonderful minds at Google, I happily announce Google Earth. Take a heaping helping of the brainiacs at Google, mix in generous portions of too much time on their hands, (no, wait, that's me, sorry), plentiful satellite imagery and map data, top it all off with a double fistfull of computer horsepower, especially video hardware, and serve on a big fat broadband connection, and, Voila! Fly anywhere your heart desires.

Scopulus Argentarius · 07-14-2005, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigV

Do you remember that flying dream? It was sooo cool, but you couldn't always fly where you wanted to. Well now, thanks to the wonderful minds at Google, I happily announce Google Earth. Take a heaping helping of the brainiacs at Google, mix in generous portions of too much time on their hands, (no, wait, that's me, sorry), plentiful satellite imagery and map data, top it all off with a double fistfull of computer horsepower, especially video hardware, and serve on a big fat broadband connection, and, Voila! Fly anywhere your heart desires.

<faulknerisms>

Mega cool....better than a video game....been flying to places ...seeing things from afar..(like me parked at work 3 years ago... and shit like that)..

Been plotting my running routes around then neighborhood. New running route is a quarter mile longer than the old one (thought I was cheating myself last 6 months...) Did a few sanity checks .. measured my sidewalk width...it was right give or take 1/2 a foot..can see my sago palm from 300 ft up....

Wondering why Indiana ( and mass...) is all high res... nothing too spectacular there afaict...might just have to zoom in

</faulknerisms>

BigV · 07-18-2005, 06:22 PM

Another favorable review. Just in case you didn't believe me.

Happy Monkey · 07-18-2005, 08:33 PM

I've been playing around with it. It really is incredible. Check out 35o38'14.07"N, 139o45'22.96"E

Elspode · 07-18-2005, 09:10 PM

It works on my machine, but I don't get all of the gee-whiz flying...it just backs off from a spot, blurs, and goes to another spot.

Not enough horsepower.

glatt · 07-19-2005, 08:26 AM

I've been playing around with it the last couple evenings too. Very cool.

It's so frustrating that so little of the earth is at high res. At least my town is.

It's fun going to all the exotic vaction locations I've been to in my life, and flying around.

glatt · 07-20-2005, 08:10 AM

Here's a little comparison I made of the mountains north of Innsbruck. The version on the left is generated by Google Earth. The version on the right was taken by me from my parents' apartment in the hills south of Innsbruck.

Google did a pretty good job.

BigV · 07-20-2005, 09:54 AM

Wow, glatt. That's really cool. So, did you enter the address into the Google Earth gadget, then adjust the heading and altitude to correspond to the snapshot to get this comparison?

glatt · 07-20-2005, 10:28 AM

I actually found the place manually, and then did the adjustments you mention. It was hard to match the existing photograph's perspective perfectly, because my monitor isn't big enough. I couldn't see both images at once. I only spent a few minutes on it. If I spent longer, I probably could have made a better match. The hill in the foreground doesn't match up perfectly with the mountains in the back to be identical to the real photo.

Mostly, I did this to see if Google Earth exaggerates the elevation. So many times it seems like they do. Various mountians I've seen have been so dramatic. Like the hill leading down to the George Washington Bridge in NY. But this picture comparison shows that they don't exaggerate the elevation at all.

BigV · 07-20-2005, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glatt

Mostly, I did this to see if Google Earth exaggerates the elevation. So many times it seems like they do. Various mountians I've seen have been so dramatic. Like the hill leading down to the George Washington Bridge in NY. But this picture comparison shows that they don't exaggerate the elevation at all.

Under tools-preferences-view you can set the elevation exageration ratio manually. The default is 1:1. Cool.

glatt · 07-20-2005, 07:20 PM

What, did you read the instructions?

eiffelenator · 08-16-2005, 08:22 PM

GoogleEarth rocks for checking out my old childhood haunts in the woods. There is nothing like growing up in the middle of nowhere...and then being able to see em again.

Griff · 11-27-2005, 04:54 PM

Just did something neat, put in your ancestors town and fly to your town. It gives some perspective on their travel back in the day by blowboat or whatever. Killaloe, Ireland to Grifftopia, PA quite a trip.

seakdivers · 11-27-2005, 11:45 PM

I don't get to see my city at all. It looks like some scary pixelated thingy.

Type in Sitka Alaska and see what I mean.

wolf · 11-27-2005, 11:46 PM

Some parts of the world don't have as good coverage as others (New York City, for example).

I would actually prefer to live in one of those parts of the world with poor coverage.

07-14-2005, 04:45 PM	#1
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Google Earth Do you remember that flying dream? It was sooo cool, but you couldn't always fly where you wanted to. Well now, thanks to the wonderful minds at Google, I happily announce Google Earth. Take a heaping helping of the brainiacs at Google, mix in generous portions of too much time on their hands, (no, wait, that's me, sorry), plentiful satellite imagery and map data, top it all off with a double fistfull of computer horsepower, especially video hardware, and serve on a big fat broadband connection, and, Voila! Fly anywhere your heart desires. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

07-18-2005, 06:22 PM	#3
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Another favorable review. Just in case you didn't believe me. __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

07-18-2005, 08:33 PM	#4
Happy Monkey I think this line's mostly filler. Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: DC Posts: 13,575	I've been playing around with it. It really is incredible. Check out 35o38'14.07"N, 139o45'22.96"E __________________ _________________ \|...............\| We live in the nick of times. \| Len 17, Wid 3 \| \|_______________\| [pics]

07-18-2005, 09:10 PM	#5
Elspode When Do I Get Virtual Unreality? Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Raytown, Missouri Posts: 12,719	It works on my machine, but I don't get all of the gee-whiz flying...it just backs off from a spot, blurs, and goes to another spot. Not enough horsepower. __________________ "To those of you who are wearing ties, I think my dad would appreciate it if you took them off." - Robert Moog

07-20-2005, 09:54 AM	#8
BigV Goon Squad Leader Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Seattle Posts: 27,063	Wow, glatt. That's really cool. So, did you enter the address into the Google Earth gadget, then adjust the heading and altitude to correspond to the snapshot to get this comparison? __________________ Be Just and Fear Not.

07-19-2005, 08:26 AM	#6
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I've been playing around with it the last couple evenings too. Very cool. It's so frustrating that so little of the earth is at high res. At least my town is. It's fun going to all the exotic vaction locations I've been to in my life, and flying around.

07-20-2005, 08:10 AM	#7
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	Here's a little comparison I made of the mountains north of Innsbruck. The version on the left is generated by Google Earth. The version on the right was taken by me from my parents' apartment in the hills south of Innsbruck. Google did a pretty good job.

07-20-2005, 10:28 AM	#9
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	I actually found the place manually, and then did the adjustments you mention. It was hard to match the existing photograph's perspective perfectly, because my monitor isn't big enough. I couldn't see both images at once. I only spent a few minutes on it. If I spent longer, I probably could have made a better match. The hill in the foreground doesn't match up perfectly with the mountains in the back to be identical to the real photo. Mostly, I did this to see if Google Earth exaggerates the elevation. So many times it seems like they do. Various mountians I've seen have been so dramatic. Like the hill leading down to the George Washington Bridge in NY. But this picture comparison shows that they don't exaggerate the elevation at all.

07-20-2005, 07:20 PM	#11
glatt ™ Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arlington, VA Posts: 27,717	What, did you read the instructions?

08-16-2005, 08:22 PM	#12
eiffelenator Irrelevant Adulterant Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 43	GoogleEarth rocks for checking out my old childhood haunts in the woods. There is nothing like growing up in the middle of nowhere...and then being able to see em again.

11-27-2005, 04:54 PM	#13
Griff still says videotape Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 26,813	Just did something neat, put in your ancestors town and fly to your town. It gives some perspective on their travel back in the day by blowboat or whatever. Killaloe, Ireland to Grifftopia, PA quite a trip. __________________ If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you. - Louis D. Brandeis

11-27-2005, 11:45 PM	#14
seakdivers Icy Queen Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Southeast Alaska Posts: 700	I don't get to see my city at all. It looks like some scary pixelated thingy. Type in Sitka Alaska and see what I mean.

11-27-2005, 11:46 PM	#15
wolf lobber of scimitars Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Phila Burbs Posts: 20,774	Some parts of the world don't have as good coverage as others (New York City, for example). I would actually prefer to live in one of those parts of the world with poor coverage. __________________ wolf eht htiw og "Conspiracies are the norm, not the exception." --G. Edward Griffin The Creature from Jekyll Island High Priestess of the Church of the Whale Penis

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