Archive for March, 2009

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Trip Planning Using Google Earth

2009-03-27

Planning a trip in Google Earth is really fun. You can gather so much information in advance that you certainly get the most out of your vacations. I really want to explore Bryant Park and the New York Public Library next time I visit. I always stop by and look around when I’m in New York but I feel like I’m often missing as much as I’m seeing.

So I launch Google Earth, fly to Bryant Park and start looking around with the Panoramio pictures.

panoramio

There is a lot of pictures. Looking at them, I get what most tourist look at and also some more special features that I certainly have missed in the past. There is not only pictures, I also watch YouTube videos of what is happening around.

youtube

The videos show events that happen in a surrounding like Fashion Week. I can see what kind of street performer are in the surrounding of the library too.

wikipedia

Now I can go deeper in the details, wikipedia offers a lot of information on the landmarks in a city. Knowing I want to specifically visit Bryant Park in my next stay, it could be a good idea to stay nearby. Having access to a site early in the morning or later at night, is often the best way to appreciate it fully with smaller crowds. SeeYourHotel has a solution to browse for hotels directly in Google Earth.

SeeYourHotel

Also while I am browsing the hotels I have access to other pictures, this time from flickr. The blue stars are the landmarks from SeeYourHotel and they show those pictures.

flickr

Last but not least I want to know where i will be getting some of my snacks while staying in New York and I’m overdue to scout for new Pizza places.

pizza

Here it is, a half hour scouting of Bryant Park surrounding’s in Google Earth and I’m ready. Also I really enjoy looking at a destination that way. Its really a virtual visit that make me dream about my vacations and how it will be like when I’ll go.

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Street View an Honest Walk Around. Always?

2009-03-17
Street View in Rome

Street View in Rome

I just love Google Street View. It’s such a nice way of exploring the streets around a Hotel where you wish to stay. Is there a vacant lot just around the corner or a beautiful park? those are the kind of questions you can answer with Google Street View. You can see street view for hotels located in the Cities where Google has deployed it. Like Paris, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Sidney and many more, you can check on wikipedia for a more exhaustive list.

If you have not seen Street View on the site, it is one of the tab in the hotel information window. Here is a direct link  to Street View in New York if you want to see it right now. What is there not to love about Street View then? It lets you see independent scenery surrounding hotels you wish to visit. That is true, but when was the picture taken? I think this is a problem that will only grow, you are capable to virtually visit many place on earth right now and you can see very reliably how those places looked 3 years ago… This will become more and more frustrating, what if Google film your street while a building was erected next to your hotel. As if those months of dealing with construction noise where not bad enough. You will have to handle 3+ years of customer getting cold feet seeing this scene in Street View. Those information are really time dependant and currently they are not presented as such, and until we get them near real-time, you should always take them with a grain of salt.

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