Lat Long Blog describes Google Sky update

The Google team has unveiled an update to Google sky with loads of goodies... notably (to me any way) the sky as seen by astronomers in the 17th century including overlays of Constellation maps from the David Rumsey collection and the U.S. Naval Library. And the big news in this update has got to be the availability of Sky, Moon and Mars imagery in the Google Maps API. This allows any developer to build interesting applications and websites using Sky imagery, and extend the Sky experience to any place on the web. Some early examples of these applications include the Cosmic Visibility page and even an iPod touch hack. WOW!

Search for Ron Boychuck using Google earth - SAR Observers Always Needed

You may have heard about InternetSAR when Steve Fossett disappeared... the resource helps to organize volunteers in an effort to sift through imagery using Google Earth in hopes of locating some clues that will help locate missing aircraft. In addition to still searching for Fossett InternetSAR has helped coordinate search efforts for missing Vancouver Island-based pilot Ron Boychuck. Here's how it works:

You must have Google Earth installed on your computer. After registering for free with InternetSAR.org, you'll be provided with an overlay -- basically a satellite picture of the area that was taken shortly after the suspected crash. Using your pan and zoom tools on Google Earth, you scan the terrain for anything that might be a plane, debris, or even severed treetops. If you spot something, with a click of a button you can compare what you've seen with a nearly identical picture of the area taken BEFORE the crash. If the post-crash picture is clearly different, you can report it to InternetSAR.org immediately. See http://internetsar.org

FrontDoor real estate Mashup from HGTV powered by Google Maps

Another fine real estate mashup is now available from the people at HGTV - enter Frontdoor.com (great name!) The site is well designed and provides a great mashup of real estate listings which is easy to navigate and has a great foundation created thanks to the use of the Google maps API to power the site's interactive mapping... once again a nice simple, functional resource that's easy to navigate and appears to do what you would expect... nice job! See http://www.frontdoor.com/