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google earth
global imaging
GeoEye-1 Commercial Satellite Packs Military Power
Next month, a commercial satellite named the GeoEye-1 will go into the Earth's orbit. Its highest resolution photos—shots that will spot a 16-inch beachball—will be reserved for military use. However, slightly lower resolution imagery will be made available in the commercial sector, like Google Earth. More »
dipping
Pool Crashing in the UK Becomes Latest Google Earth Prank
The latest craze for teenagers with no place to go except Facebook is "dipping," or gatecrashing someone else's swimming pool. According to the Daily Mail (commenter djheath's favorite publication, if I recall correctly) putative trespassers select their swimming pool using Google Earth, and then notify their mates using social networking sites. The would-be revellers often turn up in fancy dress, and are advised to bring a bike (for a swift getaway). Owners only discover their pool has been dipped when they find a bunch of beer cans floating on the surface the next morning. [Daily Mail]
stands
Earth Trek Phone Stand is USB Hub, Card Reader Too
Sure, this all-in-one from Earth Trek is no good-looking gadget stand like the iClooly, but it'd be hard to beat it for convenience. You can use it to prop up your cellphone (though how does it stick on? ... magic? love? glue?) and also charge it through a range of swappable connectors. It's also a three-way USB hub, and you can even jam in a range of memory cards from microSD to MemoryStick Pro Duo. Looks like the perfect thing to fling in your laptop bag when you're off on a trip. It's available in black or white, but there's no info on price. [Akihabaranews]
environment
Google Adds Climate-Change-Predicting Layers to Google Earth
Google has teamed up with the British Government to create a couple of really interesting new environmental layers to Google Earth based on climate change estimates for the next century or so. More »
flying bike
Google Earth Flying Bicycle Doesn't Include Basket, E.T.
Elliott-wannabe Mike Kay has wired his mountain bike to Google Earth's flight simulator mode to travel all around the world while he exercises. He used a Sun Microsystem SunSPOT, a Java-programmable wireless sensor equipped with an accelerometer and a bank of pins to connect it to the other controls. The system is simple, and it works perfectly, as you can see in the video. More »
google
Google Goes Back to 1500, Plans to Map the Oceans
As a natural progression from Google Earth and Google Sky, the Mountain View monolith now plans to create 3D maps of the Earth's oceans and seas and make it available via Google Ocean. The software will allow users to navigate the aquatic bottom and see the topography that exists down there. Google also plans to include interactive data about various subjects such as weather patterns, coral reefs, shipwrecks and currents. The goal for Google Ocean is to use as much high resolution photography of the underwater terrain as possible, offering more than just a map. But researchers say such a process could take upwards of 100 years. And Google, if you're going to include an Easter egg similar to Google Earth's flight sim, could we get a guided tour with a virtual Team Zissou? [CNet News]
earth day
Crafty Vendor Sells Solar-Roasted Chickens
Happy Earth Day everyone! Instead of urging you to recycle all those gadgets that will otherwise leak poison into our planet, we'd rather offer you a more positive, less obvious story to whet your Earth Day appetite. Sila Sutharat runs a Thai chicken stand outside of Bangkok. He roasts 50 chickens a day. And he does it completely through the sun. More »
10:00 AM on Tue Apr 22 2008
By Mark Wilson
14,033 views,
48 comments
major tom to ground control
NASA to Broadcast Earth Views in High Definition
Fans of space, high definition television, and watching-your-washing-machine-while-stoned rejoice! Honoring planet Earth and hoping to bring us closer to the awe that astronauts feel while watching or home planet, NASA is going to start transmitting crystal-clear HD video of Gaia taken from orbit—both totally silent and also with commentary. More »
where's waldo
Where's Waldo? Available to Play on Google Earth
Fans of Waldo, the geek in the striped beanie and glasses who'd pop up where you least expected, can now hunt him down on Google Earth. Canadian student Melanie Coles has installed a 55-foot painting of Waldo on a Vancouver rooftop, and expects other people to follow suit with their own Waldos. More below the gallery.More »
ecomodo
Earth Hour Wants All The Lights Off, But We Want Them On
Those tofu-loving nutjobs over at the WWF (no, not that one) are planning another Earth Hour on Saturday night, where the world shuts off all their lights and electronics from 8-9 pm. We're supposed to think about ways to live more sustainably and fight global warming. Sounds great, right? WRONG. More »
5:00 PM on Fri Mar 28 2008
By Adrian Covert
20,880 views,
191 comments
endor on earth
Bellavista's Biodigesting Treehouses Are Endor on Earth
Finca Bellavista is an Endor-like treehouse village in the making, with paths and platforms perched on 150-foot trees. Located six miles from Golfo Dulce, Costa Rica, this sustainable rainforest community doesn't have stupid Ewoks or shield generators, but cute monkeys, site-wide Wi-Fi with internet sat link and biodigestors running on solar power. We interviewed Erica Hogan, the co-founder, and got all the details about this amazing Star Wars-meets-Myst place, right next to the paradise of Piedras Blancas rainforest sanctuary, and some of the most stunning beaches on the planet.
More »
9:30 AM on Mon Mar 17 2008
By Jesus Diaz
33,691 views,
38 comments
Latest by smeee: Holy crap, i grew up in that area. Pavones is one of the best places to surf in the world. If you want to get away from life, go to any beach in that area. Life is slow in Costa more »
ces 2008
Father of Plasma Saves Middle Earth, Predicts Plasma-Screen Laptops
We bumped into Larry Weber, the shaggy professor mainly responsible for the invention of the plasma TV in the 1960s. He's got a lot to say about his latest project, mostly too technical for our hurting little brains. Here's the skinny: More »
solar power
Using traditional photovoltaics and a very non-traditional inflatable concentrator and tensegrity truss rigging structure, the folks at Cool Earth Solar have developed a system that could be far cheaper than polished aluminum mirrors. In fact, the inflatable versions are up to 400 times cheaper than regular mirrors and they are so lightweight that they can be suspended on cable lines as opposed to individual base systems —thereby using far less steel in construction. That means faster installation and minimal land use disruption.
More »
Inflatable Solar Arrays: Up To 25X Cheaper, Feature Cool 'Puffy' Look
Using traditional photovoltaics and a very non-traditional inflatable concentrator and tensegrity truss rigging structure, the folks at Cool Earth Solar have developed a system that could be far cheaper than polished aluminum mirrors. In fact, the inflatable versions are up to 400 times cheaper than regular mirrors and they are so lightweight that they can be suspended on cable lines as opposed to individual base systems —thereby using far less steel in construction. That means faster installation and minimal land use disruption.
More »
gps
I'm not a big skier personally —but I can see why the Satski GPS system could easily become a hit amongst true skiing enthusiasts. Using the Satski, you can create an interactive piste map that can be used to guide, track , and record your movements on the slopes. You can even upload your routes to Google Earth and share them with others. The Satski can also help you find the best slopes for your skill level and help you improve by recording your average and max speeds, distance traveled, and altitude information.
More »
Satski: First Real Time Interactive GPS Piste Map For Skiers
I'm not a big skier personally —but I can see why the Satski GPS system could easily become a hit amongst true skiing enthusiasts. Using the Satski, you can create an interactive piste map that can be used to guide, track , and record your movements on the slopes. You can even upload your routes to Google Earth and share them with others. The Satski can also help you find the best slopes for your skill level and help you improve by recording your average and max speeds, distance traveled, and altitude information.
More »
digital cameras
Sony Developing Gigapixel Satellite Camera, Google Earth to Benefit
Taking pictures from space takes a lot of tech power. Basically, you need to take many, many pictures and then stitch them together to get anything worthwhile, such as the photos taken for Google Earth. In order to battle the issues that come up with this method (vehicles showing up in multiple shots as they move, etc), Sony is developing a monster Gigapixel resolution camera for satellites that'll be able to take gigantic pictures in one shot. More »
12:07 PM on Fri Sep 28 2007
By Adam Frucci
7,640 views,
24 comments
google earth
Google Earth is once again changing the world —or, more specifically, they're changing the way swastika-shaped buildings are built. The Navy is spending upwards of $600,000 to modify a 40-year-old barracks that, when viewed by satellite imaging programs like Windows Live and Google Earth, looks like a giant swastika. It's nice that the world has the ever-vigilant Google Earth watchers to monitor the shape of our buildings, otherwise we'd end up spending $600,000 dollars on something worthwhile, like making California's TransAmerica building look less like a giant penis. [MSNBC]
Google Earth Helps Spot Swastika-Shaped Building
Google Earth is once again changing the world —or, more specifically, they're changing the way swastika-shaped buildings are built. The Navy is spending upwards of $600,000 to modify a 40-year-old barracks that, when viewed by satellite imaging programs like Windows Live and Google Earth, looks like a giant swastika. It's nice that the world has the ever-vigilant Google Earth watchers to monitor the shape of our buildings, otherwise we'd end up spending $600,000 dollars on something worthwhile, like making California's TransAmerica building look less like a giant penis. [MSNBC]
google
