Google announced version 6 of Google Earth today, for Windows, OS X, and Linux. The 6.0 update follows version 5.2, which was released last June. The revisions aren’t enormous, but they look neat, says Tecnologizer.
There are three major changes:
- Google Street View photographic imagery is now integrated with Earth’s maps, satellite photos, and computer-generated renderings in a much more seamless fashion — just keep zooming or drag the Pegman icon to a spot, you’ll land in Street View mode if it’s available.
- 3D Trees are now incorporated. They add to the realism of forests, parks, and other habitats rich with greenery, and Earth is smart enough to render detailed replicas of appropriate local species in Athens, Berlin, Chicago, New York City, San Francisco and Tokyo, with more to come.
- Historical Images. Google Earth already had recent and historic imagery, but it was tough to find. Now it’s easier to spot, thanks to a notification that appears in the status bar when old imagery is available.
The new version is available now.
Microsoft’s Bing Maps Newsletter says their enhanced map style is the default in Bing Maps consumer-facing AJAX and Silverlight sites, and you can enable it in your own applications.
Bing maps incorporate Photosynth that mashes photos together and recreates a 3D scene out of them.
