Google Headquarters expecting the Street View Van?
How's my hair?
Google Van in S.F.
This doesn't mark the first time people were included in mapping. One of the more popular things on Google Earth is trying to catch people, vehicles, or odd happenings. However, the detail is nothing compared to reading license plates on Street View I even found Yahoo! ads in Google Maps which is cool because it means they are not censoring.
Yahoo Ad in Times Square
However, I'm wondering what legal rights they have for posting people, license plates, and personal information online. While I'm sure someone will raise a stink I don't know what can be done about it. The Street View maps were made by mounting camera equipment on top of a van and driving through the city.
Hey, baby!
Google Maps has taken a page from MSN's Virtual Earth and added a "Street View" layer. This time, however, they have added the Golden Google touch with a virtual view of the street. Amazon tried something like this about a year ago and I haven't heard about it since. MSN tried car views in select cities and has bird-eye views that allow for closer views. Neither has a virtual picture that allows the view to tilt and zoom.
The Flags of the World are seen in a different way with these color breakdowns of nation's flags. Here's an example of Canada's flag (left). For anyone that has ever had to do pie chart data on their maps then you'll definitely appreciate the effort that went into analyzing all the flags and charting their colors out. [ ...more ]
Every idea has a beginning and no doubt the designers at Apple Computer went through a design or two on their way to the finalized iPhone product. Here's a sampling of what was hopping around on the net by Apple fans who had a little too much time on their hands.
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Pollution is turning the Taj Mahal yellow, despite efforts by the Indian government to control air contamination around the poignant 17th century monument and keep it shimmering white, a parliamentary committee has said.
In a report to parliament this week, the standing committee on transport, tourism and culture said airborne particles were being deposited on the monument's white marble, giving it a yellow tinge.
But the committee said that while air pollutants such as sulphur dioxide and nitrous oxide gases were generally within permissible limits, "suspended particulate matter" had been recorded at high levels except during the rainy season. [ ...more ]
Corinne Le Quéré, of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Jena, Germany, and her team "examined atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements taken from points around the world during the past 24 years," and expected to find that the Southern oceans would absorb CO2 at a rate consistent with the growth in emissions.
They discovered, however, that climate change and the Antarctic ozone hole were actually hampering these waters natural ability to mop up rising carbon levels.
The problem appears to be an increase in winds over these oceans, and Le Quéré and her colleagues believe this is a result of "an increase in greenhouse gases and less ozone, which have both changed how heat is distributed in the atmosphere." [ ...more ]
Loud pipes may save lives, but quiet, all-electric motorcycles may save the planet. Well, sort of. But, hey, at least they'll save some coin when you silently whiz past the gas station. Here's a chance to see a lithium-ion powered chopper with Hybrid Technologies (the same guys with the electric roadster and the electric mini cooper).
The Stealth motorcycle has a horsepower equivalent to a 500-cc bike, and it tops out at around 50 mph. That's not much on the highway, but it's plenty of speed to zoom around town. And at least your neighbors won't complain about the noise: This is one good looking, yet nearly silent hog. [ ... more ]
Plans to build the world's largest offshore wind farm off the coast of North Devon are being unveiled.
If it goes ahead the £3bn Atlantic Array scheme will have 350 turbines and generate enough clean energy to power more than 1,000,000 homes. The power from the wind farm would be transmitted to shore via submarine cables and then via underground cables into the existing National Grid substation at Alverdiscott.
The Atlantic Array scheme could supply 53% of the South West's domestic energy, offsetting 2.3m tonnes of carbon emissions every year. There will be all kinds of environmental, and planning and engineering issues to consider before the windfarm can be built but it could be powering more than 1,000,000 homes by 2018. [ ...more ]
A new rule by the EPA could shift the use of HOV lanes or other Carpool lanes to allow Hybrid Cars with only passenger.
Most states require at least 2 passengers to use the Car-pool lane but the new rule would try to encourage more people to look at Hybrids. Hybrids also could qualify as energy-efficient by achieving 50 percent or better in-city fuel economy. Dedicated alternative fuel vehicles could qualify, too, to use the lanes. 37 states have the hybrid HOV provisions or are studying the concept. [ ...more ]
Scientists, sociologists and even politicians have done exhaustive studies of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, all looking for ways to mitigate the potential damage of natural disasters in the future.
But a group of researchers at Princeton University is taking yet another look at the damage done by Katrina--this time with an engineer's eye--and their findings could change the way some cities construct buildings, bridges and docks.
Burj al-Arab
The Diamond Ring Hotel
