Today Google announced several important upgrades to its line of mapping and spatial viewing products. Google also said that more than 100 million copies of Google Earth have been downloaded, less than one year after its initial release. Each new feature is important by itself, but together they affirm Google’s commitment to develop robust geographic information environments that can become a pervasive part of the global Internet experience—and thereby help fulfill Google’s corporate mission “to organize the world’s information and make it universally acceptable and useful.”
To underscore the importance Google places on its geographics line, the announcement took place at the first Google Geo Developer's Day at the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Present to greet the developers and selected members of the press were Google co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, and Google CEO Eric Schmidt. "Geographic information is something we are excited about," said Page, adding that GIS fills a "fundamental need" in the human psyche to try to extend one's sense of presence in the world. "People care about the earth," added Schmidt. "The platform we are developing with you [the programmers in attendance] will help these efforts" to improve the environment.
Highlights from today’s announcements include: [click to read full article]
--RSN