Google Earth Pro is Now Free for All

gep-post-pdx-resizedGoogle Earth was one of those services that really showed off what a company could do with mapping data, and I’m sure many man hours have been spent doing virtual flyovers of spots around the world.

While there was a free consumer version of Earth, for professionals needing high resolution imaging, a subscription for Earth Pro used to cost $399 a year. Now everyone can join in the fun by requesting a free license, which will also allow for high res printing and the ability to create animated videos.

Will you be signing up? Because it’s free… So why wouldn’t you?

Google’s full PR is below.

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Amplifon project allows you to hear “The Sounds of Street View” on Google Maps

Google Maps Street View is the go to application for getting a look at an area from a pedestrian perspective. While that kind of mapping and visual location data is handy, Amplifon thinks they can improve the experience by adding sound.

The Sounds of Street View is a project designed to provide a 3D soundscape of an area to correspond with popular search locations on Google Maps. Wearing headphones gives one the sense of being surrounded by the area’s audio, and panning around the scene will change the “focus” of the audio as well.

Playing around with some of the sample locations, the loops used were fairly short. Kids giggling in one area started to sound REALLY creepy with the short mechanical repetition for example, but it was an interesting way to augment the “feel” of looking at a Street View scene.

Amplifon is making a developer framework available, which will allow others to create their own 3D audio samples. You can read more on the project at the Amplifon website, or see their teaser video below.

Google Adds Lane Guidance and Uber Support to Maps!

Google Maps Navigation with Lane GuidanceThis has always been one of my biggest complaints about turn by turn apps in general, and Google Maps specifically. Unless a turn is intermediately following another direction, Maps will only give you one instruction at a time, with little guidance as to which lane you’ll need to be in.

To address that issue, Google is now building Lane Guidance into their turn by turn directions. When you approach a turn or intersection with multiple lanes, the app will try to highlight which lane you should be in, and what direction each lane will travel. A terrifically welcome update to Google’s mapping app.

Google is also improving the offline caching for maps. Going on vacation? You can search a locale, save it offline, and name it for quick reference.

Also added to the navigation options, Google has included support for Uber. After searching for directions, you’ll now have the option to tailor results to Uber, and selecting that will automatically open the Uber app on your phone.

It’s a pretty substantial update for one of the best mobile mapping experiences available, and should be rolling out to all phones over the next couple days.

More info on the Google Maps blog.