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Google Earth Redesigned

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Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#151

Post by sorenjan »

silversmith wrote: post #61
LeonM wrote: post #54

I'm really impressed by the amount of detail in the 3D views (hold middle mouse button to look around). Even the fair at the field near my house [0] can be viewed in 3D!. Coincidentally they are currently building that same fair today, so for a moment I thought the images were live... [0] https://earth.google.com/web/@52.08511654,4.31805086,0.37952...

How are they building the 3D views? Mapping cars driving around with sensors? I was under the impression that the shapes were inferred from satellite images, but the moment I step outside the major cities, it's back to flat maps. Even the couple hand-modelled buildings previously present in maps seem to be missing here.

It is possible to use satellite imagery for photogrammetry [1], but Google is using imagery from airplanes, possibly combining it with ground level data from their street view cars.

[1] http://www.vricon.com/

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#152

Post by cptskippy »

bla2 wrote: post #51

I don't​ know why Google Earth exists. The satellite mode in maps is very good, doesn't depend on PNaCl, and is part of Google Maps, where it makes sense.

There is no satellite view anymore, it's called "Earth". Not to be confused with Google Earth. And to disable the crappy 3D you have to go into the menu.

What's funny is that if you disable WebGL then you get a much more usable version of Maps IMO.

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#153

Post by tps5 »

I never see anyone talking about google's elevation data for buildings and the process they've used to drape imagery over that elevation data. I wonder why that is? Maybe this isn't a hard problem and it's just a question of getting high quality data. Still, I've never seen any other company come close to this.

I do wonder what exactly is new here in terms of a casual user browsing the landscape. Google maps 3D offers, more or less, the same experience. And that's been around for a while.

Still, it's hard to be negative about this. The result is quite clearly better than every other comparable technology I've seen.

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#154

Post by Dylan16807 »

Aaargh20318 wrote: post #53
espes wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you think that? There's been way more bugs in V8 over the years than the NaCl core sandbox.

I'm not sure why you're trying to say ? Two wrongs make a right ? For the record: I think that JS is a horrible idea too. What happened to the old rule of thumb that once you let someone else run their own code on your machine you should consider it compromised ?

Depending on your requirements, it can be really easy to sandbox code. I could write a simple virtual machine in an hour or two that's more secure than your typical jpeg decoder. So it's really worth looking at exactly what kind of sandboxing and complexity is involved.

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#155

Post by sorenjan »

jordache wrote: post #31

still an annoying aspect of Google Earth - I can see a long range of mountains from my 2nd floor windows. I want to drop down to approximately the same position and elevation (from my 2nd floor window) and take in the same view on Google Earth. The intent is to identify mountain peaks that I can not determine in real life. Google earth limits the angle one can tilt while the POV is close to the ground.

Sounds like you want the viewshed functionality in Google Earth Pro [1]. The desktop client is basically abandonware at this point, but thankfully, and generously, Google has made the Pro version free [2], and it's still available.

[1] https://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2015/02/google-eart...

[2] https://www.google.com/earth/explore/products/desktop.html

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#156

Post by untangle »

duiker101 wrote: post #86
sgift wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Embrace and Extend the web with Chrome only apps like this. Depends on the reason for "Chrome only" - if they use (upcoming) standards not supported so far by other browsers I see no harm in it. Other browsers will catch up in time.

Doesn't seem to work in Vivaldi either :(

Nor Opera

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#157

Post by lwlml »

cannam wrote: post #112
kmfrk wrote: post #77

I think it's a little funny and symptomatic of HN that we can't take a minute to fucking marvel at the fact that we've got something like this in the first place without going over the font or the whatever. Technology is amazing and moving rapidly, and if we can't take out five minutes to revel in an achievement like this, I don't know what the point is.

I'd like to agree, but this does nothing in Chromium on desktop, does nothing in Firefox, and won't run in Chrome on my Android phone. It's not much more than hearsay to me that it exists at all. I think a certain amount of HN-grade irritation about that is understandable. (I'll try it under Windows when I get home, and then maybe feel more celebratory.)

It is pretty on Windows, but disappointing in Chromium on Linux. No error messages, just a loading screen.

The interface is better than the desktop app, but that is just cursory from material design. I cannot tell if functionality has been lost quite yet---which is a common problem with redesigns. According to settings, KML support in this redesign is experimental.

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#158

Post by HappyTypist »

LeonM wrote: post #54

I'm really impressed by the amount of detail in the 3D views (hold middle mouse button to look around). Even the fair at the field near my house [0] can be viewed in 3D!. Coincidentally they are currently building that same fair today, so for a moment I thought the images were live... [0] https://earth.google.com/web/@52.08511654,4.31805086,0.37952...

How can you look around on a Mac trackpad?

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#159

Post by jonathanpoulter »

therealmarv wrote: post #17
watbe wrote: post #5

Looks like the Google Earth Flight Simulator[0] didn't make the cut. Many features are missing from the original desktop app and it's not immediately clear what this offers over using "Earth" within Google Maps. The "auto-rotate around the landmark" feature is also a pain for people who are used to maps being north-facing by default. [0] https://googlesystem.blogspot.co.uk/2007/08/google-earth-eas...

It seems this is the Google way. They kill one product (especially a desktop product) and it takes years till the new one is on every feature on the same level as the old one... look at Picasa vs. Google Photos. Even today Picasa can do many more things that Google Photos cannot do today. I'm sure the native/old Google Earth has a ton of stuff which is not ported to the web version. Good they cannot convert Chrome it…

Could they presumably write it as a non-native app? Would there be any issues with that? Presumably the "chrome" around a webpage isn't particularly intensive?

Re: Google Earth Redesigned

#160

Post by zeptomu »

danmaz74 wrote: post #36
psyc wrote: post #18

Off-topic from the update, but sometime in the past 2 years the quality of their universal photogrammetry became jaw-dropping.

Yes, I was blown away when I first noticed this. And I was thinking how much this data, which is free for everybody, would be worth in case of a war...

It's not really free.

It's free in the sense, that you can browse around, but if you wanted to do some analysis on it, you would need access to the raw bulk data, and this is very expensive.

There is free aerial imagery data available (e.g. ESA's Sentinel-2), but it has lower resolution (10m/Pixel). If you want to do the 3D building thing, I estimate you need data with something like 1m/Pixel and from different perspectives. This data volume is rather big (Exabyte-scale) and it is non-trivial to host and access it, so currently only the big players have it.

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