And the SketchUp Crowd goes Wild!

If you haven't used Google SketchUp in a long time (like, forever), then you most certainly have to get it. SketchUp is an extremely easy-to-use 3D modeling software. SketchUppers from all over the world are modeling buildings with SketchUp and putting them into Google Earth; these are the buildings you see in the Google Earth 3D Buildings Layer. Both SketchUp and Earth are free, so give Google a hand and start modeling!

The 3D Warehouse is where every single 3D model sent to Google is kept and stored.

Just recently, the 3D Warehouse added Street View to model description pages, if the address provided is covered.

Why was this done? Well, SketchUp models are great, but they have to be "painted" with photographs of the building so the model looks realistic enough for Google Earth, but these photos have to be low-resolution enough so the model won't crash the program when the whole city is put together. Street View photos cover many angles, and are of low resolution, and this makes them perfect for SketchUp. This model of the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia uses Street View photographs.

The 3D Warehouse is full of cool stuff, so get SketchUp and tour the site!

Interesting Weather in Alaska

In the Street View coverage of Anchorage, Alaska, you can see that a few roads in two nearby towns, Girdwood and Alyeska, are covered. Well, there's some weird stuff going on down there. Check this out:


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The Google driver possibly had to pull over in Alyeska to wash the cameras off before entering Anchorage; you can see it came into the town via the Seward Highway. The van had probably come through or was going through a rainstorm or snowstorm.

Alyeska is most famous for its ski resorts, so the "bubbles" you see are most likely melted snow.

Trulia using Google

Ever heard of Trulia Real Estate search? They have just added Google Maps features to their property searches in all 43 Street View areas (yes, even Yosemite National Park). Here's how it works:

• You search for a property.
• You click on one of the properties that come up on the search, and you will be taken to that home's description page.
• If the home is covered by Street View, you can find it below the property's description.

There are also other tabs on this gadget which allow you to see the property on all other features of Google Maps except Terrain.
Trulia's integration of Street View is a great example of Google's success in indexing the world so far. And although the images may not be perfect, they are very accurate, which is why so many are turning to Google now for information.
If you're looking to buy a home, check out Trulia.com!

Google Van on Rocky Mountain Trail?

Looking in the Street View coverage of Denver, Colorado, you can see this strange sight in Google Maps; a trail in Rocky Mountain National Park covered by Street View!

This is quite strange, since no Street View-covered streets take you there. What could this mean? Well, at the end of the covered area of the trail, you can see a parking lot, so this could possibly mean that Google is working on Street Views of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Take a drive down the Gem Lake Trail below. It's quite nice, even though there are only a few panoramas.


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Street View on Google Earth!

According to Webware, the already amazing Google Earth application will have a new addition. You guessed it: Street View!

It seems like it can't get any more exciting, but according to Webware, it will be released within a matter of weeks! Street View will probably come as its own layer in Google Earth, or added to the current Roads layer. You might see the roads highlighted in blue like in Google aps, or there could be little placemarks every 10 meters or so, which you can click to open the Street View for that location.

The possibilities are endless. If you don't have Google Earth already, now would be a mighty good time to get it. All you need to do is go to earth.google.com, and click "Download Google Earh (Free)". It's extremely useful, and very addictive. Check it out!

Another Boring lawsuit

[May 25, 2013 update: Previous post text replaced, due to its negative language against the Boring family. I, the author, apologize for these inappropriate remarks.]

News link here.

Why Street View is the Best

Of course you've heard of Street View. Well, there are two other street-level imagery free websites available, and they are MapJack and Microsoft street-side. Many people consider these to be Google Street View's "competition", but those people are wrong, are here's why:

MapJack is an entire website dedicated to street-level imagery, and uses Google Maps to show the location of Jack, the MapJack mascot, who represents the viewer of the imagery. Most of the MapJack imagery is regular resolution, while about 1/3 of the locations in MapJack are quite HD. The images in MapJack are very bright, and appear to all have been edited by a photo editor.

Microsoft street-side is still in development, and a preview is all that's available. The entire website, like MapJack, is devoted to street-level imgery. It uses Live Local maps to show a car which represents your location. The way Microsoft displays the imagery is unique because the images are placed in three frames; one view straight ahead, one to the left, and one to the right, which makes the left and right frames look like side view mirrors. The three frames come in three styles, as if you are inside a car driving through town, illegally in a racecar speeding through town, or illegally walking in the middle of the street.

Google Maps Street View is far ahead of MapJack and street-side for many reasons. The most obvious reason is that MapJack only comes in three areas; San Francisco, Sausalito, and Chiang Mai. Microsoft street-side comes in only two areas; Seattle and San Francisco. By the way, these cities are only available in their downtown areas.
Google Street View has forty-three locations, and that is the main reason why Street View is the best of them all. Although most of Street View's imagery is not in high-resolution, the Street View imagery is good enough to see things such as buildings, houses, and stop signs. Also, with normal resolution, no one can make out license plates or people's faces, and that saves Google loads of time, where in high resolution, the companies would have to spend hours on Photoshop blurring faces and license plates.
Along with the already numerous benefits of normal resolution comes much quicker loading time than high-resolution sites.

Another reason why Street View is better is because Street View is not its own website like MapJack or street-side. Street View is a part of Google Maps, which adds information to Google Maps, instead of directing users to other websites for the imagery. Imagine looking at real estate on Google Maps, and you want to see pictures of the neighborhood. Instead of going to another website for the pictures, all you need to do is use the option that's already on the map you're viewing, and you have the images right there in Google Maps. And when you want to go back to the map, just exit Street View. Simple and quick = convienient.

If you'd like another reason why Street View is best, then you've come to the right place:

Google is cranking out new Street View locations at a rate of about 5 new locations a month.
MapJack is releasing new locations at a rate of about 3 new locations a year.
Microsoft street-side comes up with new locations at a rate of about 1 new location a year.

Who's fastest? Who's most efficient? If this was a Millionaire question, street-side would be the D answer in the $100 question that everyone laughs at.

Google Maps Street View is the best street-level imagery software in the world, becuse of its fast loading time, ease of use, convenience, and overall awesome Google genius put into it. Clearly, Street View has no competition, and as long as Street View is as great as it is today, it will continue to be the best street-view imagery service in the world.

Oh, and Street View shows the clouds! :-D

I Can't Believe it's not in Street View!

• Seattle, Washington - Yes, it's Microsoft City, but with Seattle's unique culture and architecture, who wouldn't want to tour it?
• Atlanta, Georgia - This capital of Georgia is one of the largest cities in the South, and home to numerous stadiums and arenas.
• St Louis, Missouri - A possible reason for the delay in St Louis's Street View is the high crime rate there, where people would possibly find amusing images. However, downtown is definitely a sight to see, with its hotels, courthouses, and the famous Gateway Arch.
• Cincinnati, Ohio - Rich history and rich neighborhoods. We've also been dying to drive over all those amazing bridges!
• Sacramento, California - It's the capital of California, and would complete the Street View collection of California large cities, along with Fresno.
• Oklahoma City & Tulsa, Oklahoma - When Oklahoma City is shown on Street View, Tulsa will most likely be included, since the same thing was done with other central-state cities like Indianapolis and Albuquerque. Oklahoma City and Tulsa have nice quaint downtown centers, and the real estate would be nice to see online.

Street View aids Miami Real Estate

Kevin Tomlinson in Miami, Florida, is a condo realtor whose website is now using Google Maps Street View to help people looks around the neighborhood of their future condos.


kevintomlinson.com uses the Street View API. In this example map from the site, you can see a blue condo which marks the location of the real estate you are searching for. This shows a Street View of 1500 Ocean Drive.

Poor Google Driver.

Try checking out a street view of the area near the geographical center of New Mexico. Driving a few miles southeast of Mountainair on NM-55, you should see nothing but desert until you reach B029, where you'll find this:


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The poor Google driver had to drive the Google van out to the middle of the desert, and three miles of this was lost. This was probably an error with the camera, but how it got fixed so soon is a mystery. However, if you were hoping to see the geographical center of New Mexico, you'll probably be disappointed.