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‘Google Maps’ Stories

French courts slaps Google with $660,000 fine for offering free map services

Shane McGlaun, Feb 2nd 2012 Discuss [36]

A French court has fined Google in one has to be has to be one of the most idiotic court cases I've ever heard of. The complaint was brought against Google by French company called Bottin Cartographes, who offers mapping services to businesses at a price. Google operates its Google Maps service in France offering similar mapping services at no cost. Read The Full Story

Google Earth 6.2 goes seamless

Shane McGlaun, Jan 27th 2012 Discuss [0]

Google has launched a major update for the cool Google Earth program. The update brings with it higher quality images that look much, much better than they used to. Google Earth now offers users a seamless experience. Rather than a patchwork of images like those that it used to offer, Google Earth now has one giant seamless image for you to peruse. Read The Full Story

Google Maps now displays emergency alerts

SlashGear Team, Jan 25th 2012 Discuss [8]

Emergency alerts have now been subtly added to Google Maps, and are now live across the United States. Never again will you have to navigate from page to page looking for specific information on flood warnings, earthquakes, or even snowstorms. Maps will now show all the specifics: from the warning duration, to even how severe it may be. Read The Full Story

Google Maps app adds more floorplans; Google+ geo-game previewed

Chris Davies, Jan 11th 2012 Discuss [1]

Google has pushed out its second update for Google Maps for Android in a week, with more new indoor floorplans along with various battery and location fix improvements, while previewing a new map-based Google+ game. The update follows the earlier addition of CES floorplan mapping to the app, and sees data collected using Google's Floor Plans tool pushed out into the Android software. Read The Full Story

Google pulls plug on Google Shoot View mashup

Chris Davies, Dec 14th 2011 Discuss [6]

Google has taken down a first-person shooter that turned its Google Maps Street View into killing fields, using those people inadvertently captured in the 360-degree road-level photography as motionless targets. The game, "Google Shoot View", was the handiwork of creative agency Pool, and added an M4A1 assault rifle to the familiar Street View UI that could be used to fire wildly with sound effects and bullet holes. Read The Full Story

Google Maps create 2011 Japan earthquake and tsunami archive

Chris Burns, Dec 13th 2011 Discuss [1]

For those of you wishing to get up close and personal with the destruction and collapse of massive parts of Northeastern Japan as crushed up by the earthquakes and tsunami from March 2011, you can certainly do so thanks to Google Maps new initiative to archive images of the area in the weeks after the disasters unfurled. In addition to being able to see these areas inside Google Maps (until they're updated as repairs are made and new images are collected), you can see before and after shots at a special site Memories for the Future, fully optimized for a browser-centric experience. What do you think, citizens of earth, is this a suitable memorial for the terror that occurred earlier this year? Read The Full Story

Google Maps goes indoors

Chris Burns, Nov 29th 2011 Discuss [4]

Though the final frontier may be space, and according to some the ocean of water that surrounds us here on Earth, Google has decided that it’s inside buildings – and that’s exactly where it’s going with it all-encompassing Google Maps environment. You’ll be able to work indoors with Google Maps 6.0 for Android, for example, using “My Location”, which will soon show you as a blue dot on a map of the location you’re at, including both outdoor AND indoors. No longer will you have to act as a car to get to where you need to be should you simply have a pair of shoes. Nothing but fun ahead!

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Apple acquires C3 Technologies for next-generation 3D mapping

Chris Burns, Oct 29th 2011 Discuss [13]

This week its been revealed that Apple's newest investment into its in-house-built Google Maps application is 3D mapping firm C3 Technologies. This is the second business Apple has purchased in the same vein, the first being Poly9 - C3 having been purchased and shut down by its buyer this summer, that buyer now confirmed by 9to5mac to be Apple. C3 is in the business of creating photo-realistic models of our modern city environments using declassified missile targeting methods previously part of aerospace and defense company Saab AB. Thusly this situation is about to get hardcore. Read The Full Story

Google Maps lets Street View users view some business interiors

Shane McGlaun, Oct 27th 2011 Discuss [0]

Google's Street View section of Google Maps has landed the search giant in hot water on more than one occasion. Not only have some taken offense to what they deem privacy issues with putting the photos online, the Street View fleet was also grabbing unsecured WiFi data in some areas. Google has added a new service to Street View in some areas. Read The Full Story

Google Maps gets 3D on the web with WebGL

Chris Burns, Oct 13th 2011 Discuss [0]

Have you see the view of Google Maps with the buildings that pop out at your face as you're driving through the city with your mouse clicker? It's time to take a look. Google this week has enabled MapsGL, an option that will allow you to see 3D buildings rendered to replicate the buildings that are actually standing on site throughout their massive mapping of the earth. Through the power of WebGL, those of you using Firefox beta, Chrome, Safari (if you enable it), and starting today Opera 12 Alpha, can all see the buildings, the lovely, lovely buildings. Read The Full Story

Google Earth Goes Global with 1 Billion Downloads

Cory Gunther, Oct 10th 2011 Discuss [2]

Released to the public free-of-charge in 2005, Google Earth has had more impact on how we view our earth than any cartographer could have imagined. It seems fitting that the software would reach 1 billion downloads on America's Columbus Day, as discovering America then may represent our in-depth analysis of the world now. Read The Full Story