NASA World Wind 1.4 Released With Trailer

Bull_UK writes "As many of you probably already know NASA had to shift it's priorities to the upcoming Java version of World Wind, leaving 1.4 effectively orphaned, but the Open Source community came together and with a lot of hard work we were able to finish what Chris Maxwell started. Some of the new things which differentiate the new World Wind from the competition are the amazing new visual effects, including HDR, check out the video for some examples. Remember this virtual globe has never had the same goals as Google Earth, if you just want to see your house stick with GE, although many areas have high resolution as good and sometimes better than GE. World Wind is aimed at education and science, all the default imagery is copyright free, you don't need to purchase a license to redistribute the imagery and there are no pro or expert versions to buy, you can happily use World Wind at work or school without fear of any lawyers confiscating your research."

Comments

Hmm, time to rewrite the applet as a flash plugin.

[Space cowboy]

The data I had for hostip.info was 1-pixel-per-kilometre. This new data is twice that resolution, and if I combine this new data with the soon-to-be-open-source 3d engine in Flash, I think it'd be really cool. Geolocate yourself or anyone else by their IP, then zoom around that location in 3d :-)

Sounds like a fun thing to put together - maybe this weekend for the 2D stuff, and as soon as the 3D engine is open-source, I'll include that :-)

As always with this sort of thing, it's getting hold of the data that's the hard part - kudos to those giving it away free to research, education, and me :-)

Simon

So....

[Lithdren]

How long before we get a real time world generated for a game like GTA, that uses maps like this to allow you to literaly travel all around the world?

This sort of stuff is so amazing to me, never before has mankind had the ability to get maps of areas with this much detail in such vast areas. I really wonder what past generations would think.

But, I still want to play GTA and rampage my own neiborhood. :P

Re:So....

[Solder Fumes]

"But, I still want to play GTA and rampage my own neiborhood[sic]. :P"

I'd like to rampage around your neighborhood too...definitely stop by your mom's place for some hot coffee.

PC only?

[azav]

It's a serious bummer when the download page only has a windows executable.

Is there a Mac of Linux version available or are we left out in the cold?

Re:PC only?

[the linux geek]

No. World Wind is based on the .NET framework, so you might have some success with Mono, but no native Mac or Linux version is available at this time.

Re:PC only?

[MaggieL]

Is there a Mac of Linux version available or are we left out in the cold?

That would appear to be one reason that (as the OP said) NASA is moving to World Wind Java.

Re:PC only?

[miscz]

Windows only. It's using .Net and DirectX so I wouldn't expect port anytime soon.

offtopic:
Jesus fuck, PC stands for personal computer, not Windows (hint: Apple commercials lie)

Signed: Concerned PC with GNU/Linux operating system user

Re:PC only?

[skoaldipper]

I too wanted this juicy bit for my linux machine. I found something related but haven't tried it yet. It says it supports NASA WW data sets.

Re:PC only?

[withak]

Supposedly the only thing that in WW won't compile in Mono is the DirectX stuff. There has been talk of an OpenGL port for ages; no one has ever actually started though.

Re:PC only?

[HansWurst]

As somebody already said, there is a java client which uses the same NASA imagery as WW. Also very interesting imho is that the developer of gaia, the once open-sourced client for GE, switched his code to use the NASA data after being shut down by google. Gaia uses the sdl library and therefore should compile on any system sdl supports (from www.libsdl.org: "SDL supports Linux, Windows, Windows CE, BeOS, MacOS, Mac OS X, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, BSD/OS, Solaris, IRIX, and QNX. The code contains support for AmigaOS, Dreamcast, Atari, AIX, OSF/Tru64, RISC OS, SymbianOS, and OS/2, but these are not officially supported.").

Re:PC only?

[BiggerIsBetter]

Maybe it would be easier to develop an OpenGL display to replace the DirectX one than port the whole damn thing to Java / Java3D.

Re:PC only?

[joto]

Jesus fuck, PC stands for personal computer, not Windows (hint: Apple commercials lie)

Yes, it's possible Jesus fucked. Maybe he was gay and fucked his disciples, maybe he fucked Maria Magdalena, who knows...

Apart from that, while it's true that PC is short for personal computer, that doesn't mean that e.g. an office computer owned by the company can't be called a PC. According to this wikipedia article, IBM applied for a trademark for the term "Personal Computer" in 1981 (three years after Apple had used it in advertizing), and got it. Then, a few years later, a judge declared that "Personal Computer" meant any "Personal Computer" not made by Apple (ironically not just the IBM PC compatibles). Either way, I think it is fair to use the term PC both as designating any IBM PC Compatible computer, a computer capable of running DOS/Windows, or as any computer typically used by only one person at a time, depending on context. Just as we are also able to distinguish between PC as politically correct, or PC as computer.

Whoa -- useful for design ...

[mr_luc]

I noticed that the kinds of infographic abilities shown here: http://www.dynagis.net/gallery_screenshots/ are now free, as the plugin that provides them is now CC licensed. (more info here: http://www.worldwindcentral.com/wiki/Add-on:DYNAGI S_Golden_Pearl)

THAT is pretty cool, actually. As someone often called on to do design tasks that straddle the line between infographic and visualization, I think I need to give WW another look. I never really considered it once Google Earth came out, because Google Earth was easier for whatever globehopping question I had. But being able to quickly do this kind of visualization ("uh, hey -- we need a picture of the population density of South Dakota, matching our company's color scheme, by tomorrow") should make my life a little easier.

Re:Um...

[__aaclcg7560]

It competes with World of Warcraft, except you have space shuttles, global warming and jealous astronauts.

World Wind Java

[AnswerIs42]

World Wind Java (1.5) will come out for public beta before the JavaOne conference in May. Closed alpha testing and bug fixing will be starting in the next few weeks.

The windows version (.net 2.0) is primarily being supported by the open source community since the funding and direction for the NASA World Wind team is towards the Java version.

the community does welcome anyone that wants to come in and help at working the code, DX developers would help a lot to get some of the features hammered out more smoothly.

Too true

[DerekLyons]

Remember this virtual globe has never had the same goals as Google Earth

That's obvious - because GE's goals include things like stability and performance - two things WorldWind noticeably lacks. (Not to mention the horror that is WorldWind's UI.)
 
I just tried V1.4 - and it has the same braindead UI problems that previous versions have suffered. When you grab a point on the globe - you start the globe spinning, rather than as in GE grabbing a 'handle' to position the map. (And as the rotation speed speed of the globe varies with lag - it's frustrating to position precisely.) When you zoom in - WW loads each and every layer of zoom between the one you start with and where you end up. (This slows rendering (which is glacial to start with) and makes it difficult to reach a precise zoom point and take a goodly amount of time if you change zoom by any significant amount.) Etc... Etc...
 
This isn't something for the F/OSS community to be proud of. It was a piece of crap when they took it over - and it's still a piece of crap.

Re:Too true

[withak]

When you grab a point on the globe - you start the globe spinning, rather than as in GE grabbing a 'handle' to position the map.

Wrong. Clicking on a point will move to that location, but dragging works just like it does in GE. Incidentally, you can turn off the clicking behavior and the planet inertia/momentum in the View menu.

When you zoom in - WW loads each and every layer of zoom between the one you start with and where you end up.

Which is also exactly what GE does. Google can just afford faster servers. It's much more responsive after those coarser layers are downloaded, and (unlike GE) if you set your disk cache size large enough then those tiles will be there forever.

Re:Too true

[5of0]

The previous poster mentioned this as well, but I'll note it clearly: You can change the default behavior of setting the earth moving by turning off Motion Momentum and/or Planet Inertia in the View menu.
You can also try turning of Point Go-To to see if that's more to your liking.
In World Wind, like a lot of F/OSS apps, you have options. Take the blinders off, and realize that there are other ways of doing things, and some ways might even be, dare I say it, better. But, if you really like the GE control scheme, you can switch the options to make it work more towards that end. I personally find GE very stiff - I like to feel like I'm actually moving a globe. But I can't change that.
It's called choice. Get used to it.
And I notice you throw flashy words like "stability" and "performance" out there, but then just whine about the UI. Perhaps you should actually complain about what you set out to complain about.

Re:Too true

[DerekLyons]

When you grab a point on the globe - you start the globe spinning, rather than as in GE grabbing a 'handle' to position the map.

Wrong. Clicking on a point will move to that location, but dragging works just like it does in GE.

To put it simply - bullshit. When I click and drag in GE, it stops when I release the mouse. When I click and drag in WW it continues to drift.
 

When you zoom in - WW loads each and every layer of zoom between the one you start with and where you end up.

Which is also exactly what GE does. Google can just afford faster servers.

Wrong. GE does not render each and every layer - let alone load them. WW does.

Re:Too true

[5of0]

When a program, out of the box, behaves in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other map program out there - it's broken. It doesn't matter that you can change it. I don't object to options - I object to ill designed UI's.

Now that is a ridiculous argument.
Because out of the box, the iPhone behaves in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other cell phone out there - it's broken.
Because out of the box, the electric light behaves in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other light source out there - it's broken.
Because out of the box, the iPod behaved in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other mp3 player out there at the time - it's broken.
Because out of the box, the GUI behaved in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other user interface out there at the time - it's broken.
Becuase out of the box, [insert any number of innovative and 'different' features here] behaves in a different (and unexpected) way from virtually every other [insert category] out there - it's broken.
Just because something is different, doesn't mean it's wrong or broken. Just because you don't like it, or aren't used to it, doesn't mean it's broken. I don't like how the MacOS works, becuase I used windows for most of my life. That must mean the MacOS interface is broken. There are names for this reasoning, it's called a logical fallacy.
Now, if you were locked into this interface, I *might* understand your right to complain. But it takes approximately...let me time it...5.99 seconds to change it. And that includes time to operate my stopwatch. Try doing that with the iPod. It'll take a little longer than 6 seconds to swap out the click wheel for some buttons, so that it can be like virtually every other mp3 player out there.
What you think is 'right' often just depends on what you are used to. For example, I am used to World Wind. And I got accustomed to actually feeling like I'm moving a globe around (real globes have inertia, and keep going), so when I went to use Google Earth, it felt very artifical and tacky. I personally think Google Earth is wrong, but that doesn't mean it is wrong. It just means that I am used to something else. It's called preference. I would also argue that a virtual globe isn't something that needs to be able to be positioned precisely, but that is beside my point.

Maybe you should actually read what I wrote - and note that under the discussion of UI I also note performance issues.

Okay, you did mention that World Wind was slowed by the tile rendering, and glacial to start with. I'll give you that. I personally find that World Wind has worked just fine on everything I've tried it on (far from glacial), but I'm sure that depending on the setup it can be slow. I'll admit, the rendering isn't extrememly efficient. It's being worked on, but the developers have day jobs. I'm not offering that as an excuse, because I think that World Wind is something to be very proud of as it stands. It has come from a Blue Marble viewer written as a side project by a single programmer at NASA to what it is today, with a large community base.
If you had raised any stability issues, or described performance issues other than the fact that it seemed to move slower than a large chunk of ice and rock, I may very well have agreed with you. I admit, World Wind isn't perfect. You may want to give Google Earth instead of World Wind to your grandmother.
But World Wind is not crap. It's not the best piece of code ever concieved, either. But it is worth its salt. It is not only a pretty decent virtual globe, but it is really good at what it was meant to be good at - flexibility, extensibility, and most importantly, freedom to use it wherever you want. Since the comparison has already been made, compare

Re:Hmm...

[withak]

I don't know about cool new features, but it opens up the field of developers quite a bit. Switching to .NET 2.0 means it compiles in the free Visual Studio Express now, and between VSexpress and C#, development (on the WW core, or just on plugins) is idiotproof that someone with little or no coding experience (me) could poke around and figure out enough about how stuff worked to be able to contribute.

NASA World Wind vs Google Earth

[Lord Satri]

I'm a NWW enthusiast, even if I never really used it on a regular basis... (I'm waiting for the Java version... I hope I won't be deceived).

NASA World Wind sadly never had the media coverage GE had. This is kind of sad. People seems to forget, or ignore, that you can't use Google Earth in a work environment. Well, more precisely, you can't legally install the free version Google Earth in any work environment, not even the Plus version (20$US), you need the Pro (400$US) or the Enterprise version. Why am I underlining this? Because I believe this should have helped NASA World Wind to capture mind share. Should, because not a lot of people care about that fact and Google will not enforce this, since they benefit from the number of people using it, a little like Microsoft did not care about Windows being copied some centuries ago. Oh, this change in the license came with version 4 of the GE beta, launched last summer.

Here's the interesting Google Earth vs NASA World Wind comparison, on the WW Central website.

Virtual Earth high resolution imagery in NASA WW

[Lord Satri]

Can't see high resolution imagery in NASA World Wind? Well, you can with this great plugin. It allows you to use Microsoft Virtual Earth high rez imagery directly in NASA World Wind. If you wonder, yes, Microsoft agreed to this.

Re:So -- what GIS frameworks?

[withak]

It has WMS and some simple WFS support. There have been a few plugins made using proj.4, and the imagery you see in WW was reporjected and processed into tile using FWTools. We welcome contributions from those willing to work on expanding such things. :)

Re:Grammar priorities!

[Gramie2]

It seems that you aren't familiar with the Dave Barry school of grammar, in which the purpose of an apostrophe is to alert the reader that an "s" is coming.

Hardware Rendered Thin Client Idea

[rohar]

In 2002 or so I wrote a aolserver extension that pulled DEM data from a database and hardware rendered with opengl with a texture, coverterted the output to png and returned it to the browser as an image.

At the time (with what would be very low-end hardware now) it actually performed pretty well and could serve up 100 fps or so from a Nvidia Geforce II card. Aolserver is multithreaded and the tricky part was getting the hardware rendering queueing code stable.
I did a simple html interface for navigation and the response time from the server at 10ms to generate the image was enough that it felt like a static image off a filesystem. This worked really well when there were large amounts of source data in the image and returning the output images was a lot quicker than returning all the source data and rendering on the client.

I would think that with today's video hardware it would be possible to have a client that lets the user trace a path across the earth, have the server render all of the sequencial images and create a mpeg-4 video and return it to the client real time.
I have all of the C/OpenGL/TCL source from what I did before in a dusty box of CD's marked "Things I got bored with once I got them to work" if anyone is interested in it.

Re:What is Java version using in place of DX-9

[5of0]

It's using Java+JOGL, so the answer to your question would be JOGL. And no, it's not translated to DX9 on windows, but the .NET version is a better bet in the immediate future on Windows.