The latest version of Google’s 3D map application, Google Earth, now has the ability to display real-time rain and snow in certain parts of the world.To see it, you must first enable the clouds layer, and then zoom in to a location where it’s raining or snowing. Google Earth displays rain and snow only in certain parts of North America and Europe; to see where exactly the new feature is available, enable the radar layer.The weather simulation adds another layer of coolness to the already mesmerizing Google Earth application. Since it displays rain and snow in real time, the feature can actually be useful as a precise visualization of what weather is like in a certain place. It may, however, render all of those weather-related chats you have with friends and relatives over the phone even more meaningless.Unfortunately, there’s no word on when this feature might be enabled in other parts of the world.
This series is brought to you by HTC EVO 4G, America’s first 4G phone. Only from Sprint. The “First to Know” series keeps you in the know on what’s happening now in the world of social media and technology.
Welcome to this morning’s edition of “First To Know,” a series in which we keep you in the know on what’s happening in the digital world today. We’re keeping our eyes on four particular stories of interest today. Google Is Going into GamingGoogle is going into social gaming in attempt to win over some of the ad dollars that have gone to social networking sites, sources familiar with the matter have told The Wall Street Journal. The company has reportedly been in talks with top developers like Playdom Inc., which was acquired by Disney this week, as well as Electronic Arts’s Playfish and FarmVille creator Zynga. Checkins Coming to Google In further Google news, the company has indicated that it is working with developers to bring checkins to location-based applications via its Places API. Google Places is the new version of the company’s Local Business Center, designed to help local business owners gain an edge in search engine marketing. Facebook May Put Off IPO Until 2012 Three sources have informed Bloomberg that Facebook may postpone its initial public offering until 2012. “At some point along the path, I think it’ll make sense to have an IPO. But we’re not running the company to do that. We’re running the company to serve more people,” CEO Mark Zuckerberg told ABC’s Diane Sawyer recently. Spotify’s U.S. Launch Faces Further Delays Negotiations between free music streaming service Spotify and U.S. record labels are faring none-too-well; the company is reportedly “back to square one.” The startup is still aiming for a late 2010/early 2011 launch in the U.S. Further News Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer says the company is hard at work making Windows 7 a great OS for tablets; Redbox is adding Blu-ray rentals to its kiosks [via Variety]; Samsung confirms it will the Galaxy S smartphone will get Froyo in September [via Engadget]; and Google dispelled rumors that it was fully blocked in China. Disclosure: Microsoft is a Mashable sponsor.
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This series is brought to you by HTC EVO 4G, America’s first 4G phone. Only from Sprint. The “First to Know” series keeps you in the know on what’s happening now in the world of social media and technology.
When Google Maps‘ walking directions instructed Lauren Rosenberg to walk along a very busy highway with no pedestrian walkway, she followed the directions exactly. Unfortunately, she was hit by a car in the process. Now she’s suing Google for damages, Search Engine Land reports.
The walking directions from 96 Daly Ave to 1710 Prospector Ave in Park City, Utah told Rosenberg to walk just over one half of a mile along Deer Valley Dr, also known as highway 224. The highway did not have sidewalks or any other pedestrian-friendly amenities, and Rosenberg was struck by a car driven by a man named Patrick Harwood.
Rosenberg filed suit against both Harwood and Google, claiming both carried responsibility in her injury. Her lawyers claim that Google is liable because it did not warn her that the route would not offer a safe place for a pedestrian to walk. Note that the Google Maps website actually does do that, as pictured here.
However, Rosenberg says she used Google Maps on her BlackBerry, which did not show that warning, so she’s suing for more than $100,000. She should have probably realized upon arrival that it was an unsafe place to walk, though — but isn’t that how these lawsuits always go?
Anyway, we’ve embedded the dangerous Google Maps route below in case you want to check it out. View Larger Map
The war between Google and Apple has jumped from mobile to television, but which tech giant is going to win the hearts and minds of the web TV world?
Last week, Google launched Google TV in an attempt to seamlessly integrate the web into our living rooms. It looks like Apple is responding, though: there are rumors that Apple will launch an iPhone OS-based version of Apple TV, a product that has never taken off like the iPhone or iPad.
With Google TV and Apple TV in the spotlight, we asked you, the readers, to choose between the two services in our weekly Web Faceoff. Did you want Google TV or Apple TV more? After over 2,500 votes…
…Google TV won in a landslide! With 58.2% of the vote (1,674 votes), Google TV trumped Apple TV’s 21.5% (617 votes). 11.9% of you (341 votes) said you wanted neither, while a full 8.4% of you (242 votes) actually want both devices. Things are looking good for Google TV, although we’ll have to wait until the fall to know who really comes out on top.
Tune in next week for the next edition of the Web Faceoff!
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