 On
the Net
with Chris Goh
A new way to see the world
There is a benchmark in the almanac of innovation and once you notice it, you
can identify the real pioneers of innovation that have made the most impact to
our society.
That benchmark is simplicity - simplicity to use, simplicity to learn, simplicity
to apply. Companies that have pioneered this innovation may not have been the
inventors of the technology but have given it an application that makes it accessible
to the masses. Apple will be identified as the innovators of computer interface
even though Xerox invented it; Nokia made mobile phones accessible with portable
handsets with simple interfaces and Google can arguably be called the people who
made the internet and the information highway more accessible.
 Nothing
demonstrates this accessibility more than Google Earth, and if you haven't seen
it be ready to be impressed. After reading many reviews on it, it wasn't until
one of my staff members downloaded it that I realised the significance of this
application. When you first open it you see the American continent but as you
type destinations or manually use your mouse to move the globe and zoom in, the
world becomes a smaller place and I could really relate to comments from astronauts
who said viewing the earth from space gave them a different view of life. Google
Earth applies captured 2D images from satellites and applies them on a globe that
allows you to view cars and even people from space. Now GIS's (Geographic Information
System) are not new but what Google has done will revolutionise this space.
Before long I looked down on an image of Baghdad, moments later I checked out
Rome, spotted my favourite Basilica, and went to the Himalayas and saw Everest,
base camp and the glaciers. Go to any number of major American capital cities
and you see 3D vector representations of the building from the Empire State Building
to the White House and you could spin your whole perspective around. Press any
of the legend options and you can get railway lines, roads, borders and restaurants,
and suddenly, the concept of the spatial earth explodes into life. You can add
place marks, URL's to other websites and new, innovative ways of developing a
new online web using the real spatial earth should become more clear. Take for
instance the Sydney Opera House virtual tour. Imagine if you could find the building,
click on it and take a virtual tour of the Opera House. It can happen today because
Google has opened up this application to allow you to apply layers on top of their
map, and there is a growing community of Google Earth followers who take things
like satellite pictures of the Earth at night from NASA and overlay them to earth
quake trenches and tectonic plates. It is truly spectacular.
Imagine you're a real estate agent: with Google Earth you can put the properties
you have for sale on the map and supply real-time video footage or 3D plan representation
of the house with real photos inside.
A map drawn on a vase in Maikop's Tomb dated 3000BC in the area we now know
as the Ukraine was the earliest known map and the first spatial instructions we
have on record. It shows a river, mountains and what sort of animals gather around
those areas. Spatial information is often taken for granted and has pervaded our
every day life without us appreciating what it provides us in information. From
diagrams that tell us how to build things, to pie charts we use to display statistics.
Google Earth brings a new generation of potential spatial information.
Hotsites
- Earth.google.com
- Well this is the website where you can learn more about Google Earth, and
if you're not entirely convinced, look at the 2D map collection and it will give
you an idea of the detail you will see on the map. However, having a broadband
connection is a real must.
- bbs.keyhole.com
- If you then want more out of Google, visit the keyhole community, which is
an open Bulletin Board Group in the tradition of BBS's where people share their
experiences, their maps and other things about Google Earth.
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