Google Adds Keyhole to Map Service

[Strygun]

http://www.google.com/googleblog/200...-eye-view.html
http://www.betanews.com/article/Goog...aps/1112671379

Google quietly updated its Maps service late Monday to include satellite imagery, a first in the industry. With images provided by DigitalGlobe and EarthSat, users can now zoom in on homes and businesses across the United States and Canada, even charting out directions over actual streets.

The latest update to Google Maps comes only two months after Google launched the service, in a similarly silent fashion.


Much of Google Maps remains the same - just with detailed pictures from high-tech satellites instead of standard map graphics. Maps can be dragged to view adjacent areas, which means users do not have click and wait for graphics to reload. Zooming is also instantaneous with the help of a slider placed atop the map.

A check of certain areas by BetaNews found that the images appear to be mostly accurate. For example, lower Manhattan was updated fairly recently, noted by color differences in the images.

Step-by-step driving directions can also be displayed over the satellite imagery. Clicking on one of the steps pops up a floating bubble containing a magnified view of the area.

The satellite technology comes from Keyhole, which Google purchased last October. With its integration into Google Maps, the company is opening the door to its high-tech images free of cost. Keyhole previously charged $29.95 for its basic software package.

Google just keeps outdoing its competition. Google Maps is by far now better than the other map services out there.

I love google too much.

[Kyonye]

just checked it out and it's really nice...I like.

[Hamma]

Soon google will be self aware.

[firecrackerNC]

Pimp, I can see my house and stuff.

[Mag-Mower]

how can you see your house? im still a nub with map stuff

[firecrackerNC]

Click satalite button when you goto map part for directions.

[Corrosion]

Keyhole is ***.

[Derfud]

keyhole never had canada before, especially not my local region. Thats so hardcore, I can see my house too ^___^

[Ivan]

Originally Posted by Corrosion

Keyhole is ***.

Keyhole is, but Google Maps with Keyhole is new.

/me fingers Corr's keyhole.

[Electrofreak]

Holy fuck. My house is kinda in the suburbs so it doesn't have a high-detail shot (its actually located about a 1/2 mile off of a high-detail area), but the town where I went to high school just a few miles away is. Its fucking nuts zooming all the way in and being like "Wow, theres the McDonalds, theres the high-school, theres my bank... theres Katies house with the pool behind it..."

I swear if I could zoom in a tiny bit more I would see the two losers who are always skating in the Big M parking lot.

Now I'm gonna see if I can find the College (shouldn't be too hard) and the plaza where I go to work. Its friggin amazing.

Edit- found the college. They musta taken these shots really early in the morning judging by the number of cars in the parking lot. Or maybe it was intersession...

Call me crazy, but I can see the exact spot my car was parked about 3 hours ago when I was in class, and it boggles my mind.

Edit2- just for fun, here are thumbnails of my town, school, and work. (Stalkers need not look).


Town: High School where I graduated from is upper right


College: Its a Community college but still pretty nice.


Work: Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse, gas station on the corner at top (mostly cut off) is where I usually buy my drinks after a days work

[Hamma]

Nice

[SecondRaven]

Main street with that really good pizza joint on the left side



Ya sorta scary...

[Infernus]

Map

Go there, it'll probably scroll up to a little bubble, just close that and scroll back to where it was (I had to search for a different landmark, the one I was looking for wasn't listed). 5 epoints to whoever knows what that facility is. 5 epoints to whoever can find the second hanger facility. 5 epoints to whoever can find the test sites. They're all in the general area of where that map starts.

[firecrackerNC]

Someone should try and find area 51 with this thing. Or even goto the whitehouse and stuff lol.

[Infernus]

Oh jesus.

Did you even read my post?

THAT IS AREA 51 NUMBNUTS!

Thats Groom Lake, you can see the airbase sitting ont he southern shore.