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Google's Satellite Map Gets a 700-Trillion-Pixel Makeover (theatlantic.com)
An anonymous reader writes: On Monday, Google Maps has received a makeover with 700 trillion pixels of new data added to the service. The Atlantic reports: "The new map, which activates this week for all users of Google Maps and Google Earth, consists of orbital imagery that is newer, more detailed, and of higher contrast than the previous version. Most importantly, this new map contains fewer clouds than before -- only the second time Google has unveiled a "cloudless" map. Google had not updated its low- and medium- resolution satellite map in three years. The new version of the map includes data from Landsat 8, the newer version of the same satellite (Landsat 7, the U.S. government satellite which supplied the older map's imagery data), letting Google clear the ugly artifacts. Google's new update doesn't include imagery at the highest zoom levels, like the kind needed to closely inspect an individual house, pool, or baseball field. Those pictures do not come from Landsat at all, but from a mix of other public and private aerial and space-based cameras, including DigitalGlobe's high-resolution satellites. The image processing for this most recent map was completed entirely in Google Earth Engine, the company's geospatial-focused cloud infrastructure. In fact, the entire algorithm to create the cloudless map was written in Javascript in the Earth Engine development interface."
Google Make-Over
US government releases new 700 trillion pixel images with fewer clouds. Groups using old US government data (including Google Maps) upgrade to new data.
Your ad here. Ask me how!
Seriously? This was done in Java Script? No wonder it took so long. Just sayin'.
I have a nagging feeling that where parts of this where written in Java Script (as in the user interface stuff that displays this shiny new data) the actual image processing to find and edit out the clouds was written in something else.... I don't work for Google so it's just a hunch...
"File to fit, pound to insert, paint to match" - Aircraft Maintenance 101
While your post was somewhat humorous, it was way off topic. They probably modded you down for that.
:p
BTW, we (USA) could probably BUY Canada, but what would we do with all that empty space?
In fact, the entire algorithm to create the cloudless map was written in Javascript in the Earth Engine development interface."
Good to know Javascript is still relevant. The other day, I read some post here on Slashdot, about a fella who said TypeScript is better because it's "Java that scales." True or not, I have no clue!
but what would we do with all that empty space?
I have the CEO of Starbucks on line 3 for you, sir.
Linux, you magnificent bastard, I read the fucking manual!
The assholes at my city hall have been using Google Earth for years to hunt down domestic terrorists who put up temporary sheds and carports, so that they can be taxed into safety.
The photos over my house are fresh and new, I see my car and my horses instead of the previous owner's sheep.
-=This sig has nothing to do with my comment. Move along now=-
>will quickly hide it at -1
They're doing Canada a favor. A guy running around yelling "CANADA RULES, US/EU DROOLS" on the internet sounds like a national embarrassment.
Thanks for that info. I honestly thought they were the same people.
In my neighborhood, it looks like Google Earth was processed through some kind of bad Instagram filter designed to make things look blurry. I can tell the images are new because of the solar panels on our house. And I noticed that all of the trees have had geometric shaped boundaries applied, all sharp edges and precise angles, curiously not applied to the shadows cast on the ground! Nearly everyone's lawn looks like a patch of dirt. It honestly looks like something out of a 10-15 year old video game.
I'm just hoping this update gets rid of the ugly sprite trees. At some point the earth view of Google Maps stopped serving actual images where it thinks trees are, and started rendering sprites instead. So you try to zoom in and get these big ugly jagged vectors instead of image data.
"If there was a gay Afro-Puertorican Linux distribution, I'd give it a try" ~lucm
How many Libraries of Congress is that?
So they can afford to buy new satellite imagery to replace three-year-old images, but they can't afford to consult a human interface expert to get the UI back to a usable state?
The close-up images are, the rest is usually not.
BTW, we (USA) could probably BUY Canada
"Hey, China, how good is the US credit line?"
Oh, I'm sorry sir, I thought you were referring to me, Mr. Wensleydale.
Soon enough, you will all bow down to your Canadian overlords as we become the dominant economy and dominant culture throughout the world.
You guys have a head of state that doesn't even live in your own country, and you think you're going to become the dominant culture?
Well, I'll tell you what - you guys work on building a world-leading space program, and when you get there make sure to let the rest of the world know so that we can figure out if your culture is the dominant one.
"Our two-party system is like a bowl of shit looking at itself in a mirror." - Lewis Black
I don't know, they did bring us this guy:
http://chrishadfield.ca/
If the Canadian space program actually existed, maybe he could be a director?
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?
My house has my Truck I bought 2012 out front, which is new as the previous imagery was at the latest from 08. I can only assume that the image was taken on a weekend, as I don't spend much time at my house during the week since I am usually at work.
APK likes to ask for responses to the same things over and over. Maybe he just likes the responses?