Google Earth’s Got a New Web Site

Google noted last week that it had launched a new Web site for Google Earth. The new site is currently English-only (more languages to come) at http://earth.google.com/.


The new site has a link to download Google Earth, of course, but has other content as well. There’s a featured content section that goes beyond Google Earth to show highlights from several properties, including Mars and Earth’s moon as well as the ocean. There are over a dozen video tutorials that range from the very basic (Searching for Places) to the more advanced (Importing KML, KMZ and GPS Data) to Google software that’s related to Google Earth (several SketchUp topics.) There’s also a huge gallery that holds all kinds of content: 360 city panoramas, ancient maps, outdoor trails, castle models… you could be exploring just the galley for hours.

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1.03.01

Czechs stop Google's Street View data collection

Once again Google is drawing ire over its Street View mapping feature, this time from the Czech Republic, which has gone and banned the sultan of search from snapping pictures in the eastern European country. Officially, the Czech Office for Personal Data Protection claims Google hasn’t been granted the requisite registration to do what it’s doing, and the office plans to speak with Google about it next week. However, this is the second time Czech officials have denied Google the registration to expand its Street View service since opening the registration case in April. Spokesman Hana Sepankova told the German Press Agency that Google’s application “failed to meet all required conditions that would secure that personal data could not be abused.”

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1.03.01