Google Earth posts

Every time I walk through Warehouse Stationery (New Zealand's equivalent to Office Depot) or Dick Smith's Electronics (pretty much Best Buy), I'm struck by how probably half the products in each store are pretty much useless to me since I've got an iPhone.

Thanks to the apps that come pre-packaged with the iPhone and the more than 100,000 third-party offerings now available in the iTunes Store, the iPhone has gained functionality that might have seemed hard to fathom under three years ago when Steve Jobs first announced the device.

"A widescreen iPod with touch controls... a revolutionary mobile phone... a breakthrough internet communications device... these are not three separate devices. This is one device." So Steve Jobs told us all back at Macworld Expo 2007. But since then, the iPhone has grown to be much more than just those three concepts.

What follows is a sort of anti-buyer's guide, a list of products and devices that you may never need or even want to buy again (or receive as a gift) if you have an iPhone. Some of these are certainly open for debate, but more than a few of them are products that, for all intents and purposes, are completely unnecessary if you have an iPhone. (Items in bold also apply to the iPod touch).

There are two arrivals in the App Store of note. First, after a three month wait, the multiservice IM client Trillian is now available in the App Store [iTunes link] for iPhone and iPod touch.

We previously discussed the fact that Trillian was sitting in approval limbo with no word from Apple as to why the app was being delayed. As of today it is available for US$4.99. Cerulean Studios website has more information on features, and we will be reviewing the app soon, but we wanted to let you know that it was available (for iPhone/iPod touch devices running OS 3.0 or later).

Second, the 2.0 update to Google Earth for iPhone [iTunes link] is rolled out now. The major new feature in the app is the ability to overlay your own custom Google maps onto the geographic display in GE; the app also improves POI selection and adds a slew of new languages. Google Earth requires iPhone/iPod touch OS 2.0 or later, and it's free.

[Google Earth hat tip to Ars Technica]

Hard on the heels of my review of Geotags, some of our readers suggested we take a look at Waypoints, [App Store link] which has some similar functions and a smoother interface. Waypoints, which is US $2.99, can save any GPS location you choose, and allow you to access them with your desktop web browser, or it can download GPX or Google Earth (KML) files for the waypoints you've visited. It runs on the iPhone and requires iPhone software version 2.1 and above.

You can view any waypoint in Google Maps on your iPhone, and you can email locations including latitude, longitude, elevation, and any notes you add to the description. The software also embeds a hyperlink to open Google Maps at the spot you bookmarked. There is also a feature to share saved locations with people on the same wireless network. The usefulness of that feature will depend on how a person wants to use the software.

Waypoints will work on an iPod Touch, but with limited usefulness because there is no on-board GPS in those devices and the WiFi/Skyhook location services aren't really precise enough to take up the slack (nor are hotspots prevalent out in the backcountry).

Read on for more impressions, or check out the screenshot gallery:

After a while you just stop doubting the power of Google. Now for your planetary voyeuristic pleasure the big G has released version 5 of the eponymous Google Earth, bringing with it the power to turn back time and plumb the ocean depths. Or something like that.

Anyway, the new beta adds some cool imagery of the ocean floor along with 3D shipwrecks and educational maritime videos. Also newly included is the fourth axis, allowing you access to historical imagery for certain locales so you can turn back the clock and see how things have changed over the years. The final big new feature is the capacity to make "free-form tours" with soundtracks and narrations.

As before, Google Earth is a free download with the more feature-laden pro version available for $400.

[via electronista]

Are you tired of being distracted by the internet? Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, and Google Earth could all be considered "distractions" or "time wasters." So, if you're looking to get some work done without physically un-pluging from the internet then Freedom might be what you need.

Freedom allows you to set a time limit for internet access. For instance, if I need to set aside 30 minutes for a project that doesn't require internet access, I could tell Freedom to block internet access for those 30 minutes, Freedom will then disable WiFi and ethernet access for 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes are over your WiFi and ethernet access will be restored.

You can download Freedom for free (donations accepted) from the developers website or from MacUpdate.

While there's still no Google Earth app for the iPhone (*cough cough*), Google Earth developer Frank Taylor recently got a chance at the Where 2.0 conference to check out a 3D Earth app from Colorado company Earthscape. He posted a YouTube video of the app, and man, it looks pretty fly. I'm particularly digging on the ability to use the iPhone's tilt sensors to navigate around in 3D space.

No word on a timetable for availability for the iPhone; the software is in private beta for Windows right now, with Mac and Linux versions coming soon.

[via TechCrunch]

If you've ever felt oddly compelled to take a virtual tour of every existing Apple Store via Google Earth, relax. Your dream has come true. ifoAppleStore has released a .kml file containing a "tour" of existing stores, including contact information and addresses for each. Some even contain a shot of the store's exterior. Zoom from Ginza to Palo Alto to Rome in an instant!

So there you go. Enjoy your virtual tour of Apple retail.

When we last mentioned TrailRunner it was pitched primarily as a tool for making your iPod into a workout tool. The newly released version 1.3 expands its functionality considerably with support for importing routes from the recently released Garmin Training Center as well as workout information from the Nike + iPod kit. Now with TrailRunner you can plan and mark out your route in color on USGS (or other) topographical maps, download those maps to your iPod (as photos), record your actual run/bike ride/hike on your Garmin GPS (like the Forerunner, right), and re-upload that tracking information to TrailRunner for analysis and comparison with others. TrailRunner can also import and export KML files for use with Google Earth.

As before, TrailRunner is a free download, but donations are requested.

[Via MacMinute]

Earlier this week we posted on PhotoInfoEditor a small application for geocoding (adding location information to the metadata of digital photos). Well that seemed to shake some geocoding fans out of the woodwork, and so now we have a couple more ways to do it (both also donationware). First, Brian wrote in to let us know about GPSPhotoLinker from Jeffrey Early, a small application that will automatically insert geocoding info into pictures by linking the photo to a GPX format log file from a stand-along GPS receiver. In other words, you need to have a GPS receiver with you and on while you're out and about taking pictures. When you get home you upload the log file and the pictures to your Mac and GPSPhotoLinker will compare the time stamps of your pictures to the GPX log file locations and insert the appropriate latitude and longitude into the photos' metadata. Needless to say, for this to work properly requires that the camera and the GPS receiver's internal clocks be synchronized.

In the comments on the PhotoInfoEditor post, Craig Stanton brought our attention to his two related applications for geocoding using Google Earth. First Geotagger allows you to mark photo locations using Google Earth 4. You just "position Google Earth (version 4 only) over the location you wish to insert into your images, then drag your images (jpegs only) onto the Geotagger icon" and the photos will be tagged. For iPhoto users, Craig also has an iPhoto 6 plugin, iPhotoToGoogleEarth, that "will export photos for viewing in Google Earth" (obviously this only works if the photos already have the location metadata in them).

Thanks Brian and Craig!

I suppose the camp of Googlians waiting in line for the Stevenote can be forgiven for fleeing the code mines; they recently put the final touches on Google Earth 4, now out of beta.

Shiny new features in the Google Earth revision include:

• Higher quality terrain and building textures
• Expanded KML file support, including timestamps and image overlays
• The sleek new UI, designed to stay out of your way as you flit hither and virtually yon
• Polygon annotation, shareable with other users

You can download the free GE4 application here. Upgrades to Plus ($20/year, higher-res prints, GPS track import, faster performance) and Professional ($400/yr, full-res image export and printing, movie export, GIS and spreadsheet import) are available. The paid versions also let you disable local business advertising, which I'll admit I've never seen in GE; perhaps I'm not visiting the right neighborhoods.

Nyhthawk at Automator.us has put together two Automator actions for Google Earth. The first is a 'Go To Location' action, while the second is a 'Save Screenshot' action. Since I can't find any version requirements for gEarth, I can only assume for now that they work with any version of the app (does anyone know any better?). Stefan Geens at Ogle Earth - a blog about Google Earth - points out that the obvious thing to do with these actions is to use them to created automated audio tours of locations, and he even created his own tour of Stockholm, while Nyhthawk provides tours of Silicon Valley and Paris on the Automator action's download page.

Geeze, with Mac OS X 10.4, Automator and Google Earth - who needs a tour guide anymore?

SketchUp has teamed up with Google to create a beta plugin for SketchUp (a very cool drafting program). Why is this cool? You can create a building in SketchUp and place that drawing in its context in Google Earth. This is a very powerful concept and I'm sure lots of small Mac shops are rejoicing about this plugin.

With all the cool new goodies from Apple distracting us today, we almost missed the fact that Google has officially made Google Earth for Mac OS X available. After the rumor and then the leaked beta, it sure is cool to see an official version. I played with it only briefly this afternoon (I could only pull myself away from the day's Apple news for so long) and found it very smooth and responsive on my G5 iMac. Check it out.

Thanks for the tip, Ben!