Tokyo in 3D

Tokyo 3D Tour

Last week the Google Earth Blog reported on a huge update to the 3D buildings layer in Google Earth. This update is also available via the Google Earth Browser.



One of the cities that has received a huge boost in the number of 3D buildings is Tokyo (check out the Google Earth Blog for a full list of cities that have been updated). This Tokyo 3D Tour takes you on a fly-through tour of many of the shrines, museums and other interesting buildings of the Japanese capital.

To view the tour you will need the Google Earth Browser plug-in (you will be prompted to install it if you haven't already) and is Windows only.

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Friday Fun With Google Maps

Sarah Palin Runs for Miss South Carolina



Video link

Via: Mibazaar

Street View of the Week



Quick - she's not looking - set the trap!



Via: Google Street View Gallery

Tour the Pyramids

I was feeling bored yesterday so I created this tour of the world's great pyramids (ancient and modern). To view the tour you will need to have the Google Earth browser plug-in and be using Windows.

Guess the Flags Game

Guess the Flags is a new interactive game using the Google Maps API. The rules are very simple. You are shown a flag and you have to guess which country it is from. The answer appears above the correct country, your score is updated and and you move onto the next flag.

A Virtual Globe for PS3
What the world needs is another virtual globe. Luckily Playstation have come up with 'Life with PlayStation' a virtual globe that displays real-time news and information from over 60 cities around the world.


Video Link
Via: Digital Urban

Palin's View

After submitting the Sarah Palin video above Virender Ajmani also decided to recreate Sarah Palin's view of Russsia from Alaska on Google Earth.

From the Alaskan island of Little Diomede you can see the Russian Island of Big Diomede which sits about 25 miles from the Russian Siberian mainland.

Virender has created a KML file so you can pretend to be Sarah Palin and look at Russia from the United States on Google Earth.

Virender is a mild mannered software developer by day but by night he is a map making superhero. You can read more about his nightly exploits in the Globe and Mail.

Register to Vote And Google Maps

Leonardo DiCaprio, will i. am, Tobey Maguire, Forest Whitaker and many other celebrities have created this public service announcement to encourage American youth to register to vote.



Towards the end of the video there is a link to Google's Voter Info Map. This Google Map puts registration, absentee and early voting information in one place. To use the map you simply enter your address and the map will tell you how many days left you have to register by mail.

(If you're on a phone, you can check out the mobile version at m.google.com/elections.) Google have even provided a link to the map on the Google homepage.

Oh, and tell five friends.

Via: Google LatLong

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Local Information on Google Maps

TownRenowned

TownRenowned's goal is to allow individuals and communities to collect, upkeep, rank and review local information. In order to achieve this goal TownRenowned makes heavy use of both dynamic and static maps.

Users can add locations to the site using the categories 'Food', 'Fun', 'Nightlife', 'Retail' and 'Service'. Other users can then vote on the submitted location and add comments.

Google Maps are used on the home page of each town and city. Alongside the map the most viewed and the highest rated locations are listed. Google Maps are also used on the individual listing pages. If your town or city is not already on TownRenowned it is possible to add it to the directory by completing a very short form.

Wikipedia and Panoramio Now in API

Google Maps developers can now add Wikipedia and Panoramio layers to their Google Maps mash-ups. Both of the layers display icons on top of a Google Map which when opened either open a Wikipedia article or a photo from Panoramio. If you have used Google Maps recently you will have seen this in action under the 'more' button.

You can add either layer to a map with Layer object which you can read more about in the documentation.

As an example of both layers in action I have added the Wikipedia and Panoramio layers to this Video Map of the World.

Via: Google Geo Developers Blog

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Make Google Maps Mash-ups with Maker

Maker!

Maker!, a new map making tool, launched today as part of the relaunch of FortiusOne's GeoCommons. Maps can be created in Maker! using your own data and/or GeoCommons’ open data.

Maker! allows users to customise the look of maps. The colours, line styles, types of marker and number of data classes can all be set by the user. It is possible to create Choropleth Maps (coloured heat maps), Proportional and Graduated Symbol Maps (different sized markers to reflect proportions) and Reference Maps, which show the location of geographic features, such as plotting the paths of the major waterways of North America or the location of oil wells in a country.

Maker! even lets you choose what 'Basemap' data you would like to use, it is possible to choose from Google Maps, Yahoo Maps, Live Maps or Open Street Maps. Although it is beyond me why anyone would want to use anything but Google Maps :) .

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Bail Out Twitter Chatter on Google Maps

Bail Out Chatter on Twitter

With the US Senate set to vote once again on Bush's economic rescue plan it seems that there is only one hot topic of the day.

This Google Maps mash up shows you the latest Twitter comments about the bail out on a Google Map. The map animates between the latest messages 'Twittervision' style and also shows them in a handy side-bar. It seems that this is one subject that everyone has an opinion on.

And in answer to Chico72's question (screen shot above), next up is a $700 billion bail out for starving bloggers. At least that's what I've heard.

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The Great Barrier Reef Updated Imagery

Google Maps in collaboration with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority now has map data and updated satellite imagery of the islands, reefs, cays, and rocks of the Great Barrier Reef off the Australian coast.

The new satellite imagery of the reef is spectacular.



And the new map view isn't bad either.




Via: Google LatLong: Diving into the Great Barrier Reef

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November Election Map

In November there will be a general election between Helen Clark and John Key in New Zealand. New Zealand's public broadcaster, TVNZ and YouTube have come together to organise the ONE News YouTube Election Debate between the two nominees. This will be the first time that the head of a national government and a challenger will face YouTube video questions in an official live TV debate.



Google have created an Elections '08 Map Gallery to highlight Google Maps mash-ups covering the 2008 US race for the Presidency. As yet I've seen little evidence of an elections gallery for New Zealand but I have found this excellent New Zealand electorates boundary map.

New Zealand Electorates Boundary Map

This Google Map mash-up allows users to select any of the New Zealand electorates. When an electorate is chosen from the map sidebar a shaded polygon displays the electorate boundary on the map. If you click on any of the displayed electorates an information window opens indicating which electorate has been clicked.

Hopefully this is the first of many New Zealand election Google Maps mash-ups. For example, it would be very easy to colour the electorate boundaries on this map to indicate which political party currently holds the seat.

Via: iWang

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Mapping Potholes

A long time ago I had a summer job as a road surveyor with a local authority in the UK. The job involved walking around the county entering the details of road damage into a hand held computer. Twenty years later, as I drive around the county, I would swear that some of the potholes wrecking my suspension are the same ones I recorded all those years ago.

What local government needs is some method for citizens to directly report the location of local problems. Perhaps something like Google Maps.

Better Pune
Better Pune have a mission to help improve the condition of roads in Pune, India. They believe that the the quality of roads in the city is pretty poor and reflects a failure of the municipal and political institutions in Pune.

Better Pune uses Google Maps to allow local citizens to report on the location of poor road conditions. All the reported problems are then shown on one large Google Map. It is possible to select the type of road hazard you wish to view by selecting from 'potholes', 'drain cleaning', 'water logging' and 'others'. Clicking on an individual complaint reveals the date the complaint was filed and its current status.

Via: Google Earth Blog

FillThatHole

This UK based website allows anyone to report a road hazard by entering the location on a Google Map. The site also has a Google Map showing the location of all the reported hazards on UK roads. When you click on a tagged hazard you can retrieve information about the progress of the hazard, for example whether the council has actually fixed the problem or not.


There is no reason why local government couldn't introduce reporting systems for all types of local problems using interactive maps in this way. Yesterday the Google Earth Blog reported on a Google Earth file from the DC Water and Sewer Authority which reports on both working and non-working fire hydrants throughout the city. It is even possible to report broken hydrants directly from Google Earth to the authority.