Hasta La Gadget!

In the same way that you can’t really call The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy a trilogy any more, Google’s once again stretching the definition of a street. The company has loaned out one of its backpack-worn trekker units to the UK’s Canal and River trust, which will document 100 miles of the country’s waterways for Street View. Users will be able to tour London’s Regent’s Canal, the Bingley Five Rise and the Stoke Brueme blacksmiths on the Grand Union Canal. Just remember folks, even if you’re touring from the comfort of your laptop, it’s not a proper rambling holiday unless you bring a packed lunch and a flask of weak lemon drink.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: Pocket-lint, TechRadar

Source: UK Canal & River Trust

While the Google Maps update for iOS is barely out of the cellophane, Mountain View’s keeping up the momentum with a matching SDK revision. Version 1.4 of the developer kit for iOS maps allows app makers to hook into some of the new features, and bring them right into their own creations. Now, you’ll be able to add Street View imagery — with optional markers — from over 50 countries (including recently added landmarks), introduce floor plans, and benefit from the more neutral maps design. There’s a slew of bug fixes too, which can be found at the source. Want the info from developer relations at Google Maps directly? Then, head past the break for the video walkthrough.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Google

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Via: Google Developer blog

Source: Google Developers

Google has alohomora’d a way for everyone (even muggles) to visit Diagon Alley without the need for magic wands. You can now explore the famous Harry Potter set at Warner Bros. London studio via Street View, and virtually visit its shops like Ollivander’s or the garishly colored Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. It’s not the first Street View location within a building — in fact, Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello residence is now open for digital visitors — but movie sets are a rare treat. This is probably the next best thing for those who want to see Diagon Alley in person but can’t fly to London, even though the studio lights and the green screen behind Gringotts could ruin childhoods. Unless, of course, Schmidt, Page and Brin are actually wizards who added those final touches to make a real magical marketplace look fake.

Filed under: Internet, Google

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Via: Mashable

Source: Google Maps

It goes by the name of Hashima, or Gunkanjima (“Battleship Island”), or even “The Dead Island”, since it inspired the water-locked cyberterrorist HQ in Skyfall. As you can see for yourself, courtesy of the new Google Street View (and official “making of” video) embedded after the break, it’s a very a real place off the coast of Japan’s Nagasaki Peninsula, and it’s even lonelier than its fictional counterpart in the Bond film (which wasn’t actually filmed there). There are no tourist offices or giant Oedipus Complexes, as far as we can see, just long stretches of overgrown roads and collapsing apartment blocks that once housed 5,000 people, before they abandoned the island in 1974 following the demise of its coal industry. It took a Google employee two hours to map the place and preserve its crumbling visage for posterity using a special backpack, but don’t be surprised if you want to leave it after just a few minutes.

Filed under: GPS, Internet, Google

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Source: Google’s Japanese Blog

Google’s taking the iOS version of its Earth mapping app up to 7.1. The update brings a few new features, including, most notably, the addition of its Street View imagery — following a similar update to the Android version. Also on the docket are improved transit, walking and biking directions, which can be viewed in 3D. The interface has been streamlined too, with a number of informational layers like Wikipedia located under a handy Earth logo in the top left off the app. The release of 7.1 also marks the app’s availability in more than 100 countries. More info on the update can be had in the source link below.

Filed under: GPS, Mobile, Google

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Source: Google Lat Long Blog