YouTube lands on Google Earth
Posted on 11 Oct 2007 at 10:45
A new feature in Google Earth allows YouTube videos to be embedded at geographical locations. Users can now see videos of Niagara Falls or a view from the Eiffel Tower, for example.
"This layer offers a new way to explore the world and understand the power of place," says a statement from Google. "Previously, virtual visitors to Rome, for example, could view the Colosseum from above through satellite imagery, as a 3D building created with SketchUp, and in user-contributed photos uploaded to Panoramio.
Now they can watch YouTube videos filmed on and near the Colosseum and experience it through the eyes of the YouTube users who have been there."
This new layer appears in the Featured Content folder of Google Earth. When selected, small YouTube logos lay scattered across the map. Hovering over them provides a title, and clicking the icon brings up the video in a small window.
Some videos are relevant to the location - hovering over the British Museum showed videos of the current Terracota Army Exhibition, for instance. However, we found that you're just as likely to see short mobile phone clips of people staggering out of pubs, giggling.
There are already thousands of videos available, because geotagging has long been possible during the YouTube upload process.
"Our vision here is all about the sense of place. Photos show the local view, but videos add the sense of life. The combination of Earth's 'where' with YouTube's 'what' makes the combined experience that much more complete and compelling," explains Michael Jones, chief technologist for Google Earth.
See issue 159 of PC Pro, on sale 15 November, to find out how to explore the advanced features of Google Earth.
Author: Matthew Sparkes
advertisement
- ATI Radeon HD 5970: 42% more expensive in the UK
- Office 2010 Beta – 32-bit or 64-bit – The Choice is Clear
- Why Britain's watchdogs have fewer teeth than goldfish
- Tabbed documents: how to make Office 2010 great
- Outlook 2010 People Pane – does it spell death to Xobni
- Microsoft Outlook 2010 screenshots
- Co-Authoring in Word 2010 and SharePoint Foundation 2010
- Microsoft Outlook 2010 screenshots: Backstage view
- Flash 10.1: Developing for Desktop and Device
- Microsoft Office 2010 screenshots: Recover unsaved items
- Getting to grips with Microsoft's IT Health Environment Scanner
- Virtualise your servers
- The changing face of travel gadgets
- Build your own distributed file system
- The bulletproof Dell that costs an arm and a leg
- Microsoft Office 2010 Technical Preview: Q&A
- Lawnmowers, the TyTN II and one odd insurance request
- There'll never be a bulletproof OS
- How far can we trust apps?
- Five nice touches in Outlook 2010
advertisement
Printed from www.pcpro.co.uk


