A World of Data

Google has just released a new version of its desktop application Google Earth. As with the more
popular online Google Maps service users are able to search the world by location
and services. Unlike the Maps service Google Earth displays locations on
a 3D representation of the earth. The resulting image is primarily comprised
of pictures taken from space meaning users can see exactly what the area they
are searching for looks like. Google achieves this media rich service through
use of a technology known as AJAX. This technology means that most
of the data is held on Google’s servers. Only the specific maps that the user
needs are downloaded onto their computer. This means the computer doesn’t have
to store the terabytes of information that make up the world map and the overall
service can be delivered at an acceptable speed.

An interesting addition to Google Earth is that users can create add on services
that can be layered on top of the application. This means that, for example,
Holiday companies could offer a virtual tour of the places their customers are
going to visit. In fact the potential of add on services is vast – essentially
Google Earth offers the chance of mapping online information onto a real world
construct offering feature rich location-based-services. This has implications
for almost everyone who has an online presence from individuals to multinationals.

As well as being able to manipulate the basic functionality of the service
Google are also encouraging users to create 3D models of buildings and features
so that others can see exact representations of urban spaces (though the world
is 3D the mapping images are, essentially, flat). This is achieved through the
use of an application called Sketchup.

With all this in mind, Tim
O’Reilly has suggested an interesting parallel between Google Earth and
the virtual world Second Life, stating that the two could soon converge
(the mind boggles!). Indeed, the development languages required are not dissimilar
and could easily be configured to be interoperable.

At this stage a service like Google Earth is unlikely to capture the imagination
of a wide audience. However, as computers, servers and data connections become
faster, the ability to display ever richer data feeds increases. Google, who
have had the foresight to embrace the developer community are in a favourable
position to develop this service to a point where it will become appealing to
the vast majority of online users. What is interesting now is seeing who uses
the application to develop new services and what those services will be.