got geoint?

Google is creating gaming concept that brings us back to our childhood. Do you remember those games where you had to guide a marble through a maze by tilting and adjusting the game board? Google is creating virtual version of this where you guide a “digitized” marble through the streets and avenues on Google Maps. The as-yet-to-be-named game will launch next month and, of course, will be on Android-powered devices. Be sure to check out the video about this new game in this post.

Full Article

Welcome to the Friday’s Food for Thought post from got geoint? Our fans of the infamous FFT posts may recall that we did a FFT post about Google ruling the world back in October 2009. Well, we have decided to do a part two of this post with the news of Google Street View going into Israel. And, with all the upheaval happening in the world — from protests in Libya to all of the contentious budget dealings in Wisconsin — we thought today’s theme could be a double theme. We are facing some crazy times, and Google keeps breaking big time boundaries. And, finally, we wanted to remind you all that that the USGIF Young Professionals Group (YPG) is hosting its first event of 2011 all about apps! Be sure to check it out and learn more here.

Full Article

When we spend 40 (plus) hours a week doing something — yep, talking about work here, people — we certainly want to be doing something that is fulfilling, as well as puts food on the table and dough in our pockets. Though is it possible to find jobs that help you prosper economically, as well as emotionally? The answer is “yes.” And, we are not talking about being a professional baseball player or a rock star, we are talking about working in the GEOINT sector. This year, eight USGIF member companies were featured Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list. These companies include Google, NetApp, Cisco, Deloitte, Microsoft, Booz Allen Hamilton, MITRE and Accenture. This is not the first time some of these companies has been recognized as being excellent employers. Glassdoor.com named MITRE, NetApp and Google “top places to work” three years in a row. Congratulations to all of these companies for making working in the GEOINT sector, well frankly cool. View the full Fortune list here.

Full Article

We all know that working in the GEOINT sector is professionally and personally fulfilling. However, it is exciting when members of industry receive the workplace stamp of approval from the influential online sites. Glassdoor.com, the confidential workplace rating site where employees report salaries and spill interview secrets, recently posted its “Best Places to Work in 2010″ ranking and three USGIF member companies made the top 50 list. These companies are MITRE, NetApp and Google. And, here’s the kicker: these companies made the list three years in a row. Congratulations to NetApp, MITRE and Google for making the list once again! You can view the full listing here.

Full Article

Today, Google is announcing version 6 of Google Earth, the highly popular geographical-exploration software for Windows, OS X, and Linux. According to PC World, one of the niftier upgrades is that Google Street View’s street-level photographic imagery is now integrated with Earth’s maps, satellite photos, and computer-generated renderings in a much more seamless fashion-if you just keep zooming or drag the Pegman icon to a spot. Very cool. Though have you noticed lately that there’s never a shortage of the strange and bizarre captured on Google Street View — especially in Germay? Perhaps it is a response to the the potential privacy breaches by Google Street View that happened in Germany? Whatever it is…the Germans are doing some very strange spoofs when it comes to Street View.

Full Article

Leave it to Google Earth to create a 3-D tour of pretty much anything that is current or happening in sports or popular culture. So, with the World Cup around the corner, guess what they are up to? If you said, developing a 3-D tour of all 10 World Cup stadiums and the nine host cities on Google Earth or Earth View in Google Maps, you are correct. Google is also providing Street View images of seven of the 10 stadiums. So, for all of you rabid soccer fans out there who can’t make it to South Africa for the World Cup, you can at least see all the stadiums in 3-D. And, be sure to check out the video from Google we have embedded into this post. Oh, and go USA!

Full Article

The National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum and Google Earth have partnered to allow online visitors to the World Trade Center site will be able to explore the actual site via 3-D. Museum officials announced today that the 3-D model will help the public visualize the memorial and its lower Manhattan setting. With the new tool, visitors will be able to zoom in and look at each tree and cobblestone or zoom out and look at the entire project. “The ability to visualize the memorial in its geographic context even before it is constructed is key to understanding its place in New York City’s landscape,” Bruce Polderman, product manager for Google, said in a news release. Check out the Google Earth tool here. And, read more from the NY Times here.

Full Article

Did you know that May is Bike to Work month? Neither did we. But the smart folks over at Google decided to celebrate this momentum occasion by announce their Google Maps for Android biking directions capability. Previously launched on the desktop, the new Android application is way cooler (and useful) because you can physically mount the device to your bike. Now Android users will see a bicycling layer on the map that shows bike-only trails in dark green, roads with bike lanes in light green, or roads that are good for biking but lack a dedicated lane in a dashed green representation. On top of that, users who want to meet up with friends can also now click the “Share this place” icon to send an address and phone number of a meeting place. Very cool. Now if only the Beltway had a biking lane….

Full Article

Here’s a word to the wise when it comes to ditching an old boat, or car for that matter. Think twice. Google Earth is now being used by law enforcement for collecting evidence when it comes to dumping old “assets.” Last month, it was reported that a Florida deputy sheriff used a satellite image from Google Earth to track down the owner of a 1-ton boat who had illegally dumped it in a vacant lot. The suspect was arrested on a felony charge of littering more than 500 pounds of waste and faces a maximum penalty of $5,000 and five years in prison. So, if you are thinking about offloading that old broken down barnacle barge, rather than ditching it in a vacant lot, perhaps just give it to your brother-in-law?

Full Article

Once again, Google Earth is breaking boundaries, and it ties in well with our recent FFT post about the history of GEOINT. Google Earth has now made available historical aerial images taken during the Second World War depicting the extent of the devastation in several European Cities caused by bombing raids during World War II. The Google Earth mapping software has been uploaded with the wartime images from 35 European cities and towns such as Berlin, Bordeaux, Hamburg, Cologne and Dresden, showing the effect of the extensive bombing campaigns on the old continent. These images clearly display the destruction of allied bombing raids, then offers current satellite photos for comparison. Check out the Google blog here for more information, and also be sure to check out the actual images here.

Full Article