A useful new feature in Google Earth is the ability to place yourself in a geographic position and get a representative view. Introduced in KML 2.2 <Camera> is similar to the <LookAt> element but seems to work better. There was a lot of interest in a “<LookFrom>” element and this seems to solve the problem. In the past it would take a workaround (and a fair amount of trust) using a clever tool to calculate your viewing position.
Google Street View is quickly expanding around the world raising privacy concerns wherever it goes. We noticed that Street View is available in Gridley but not Chico. Maybe there will be caught in the act moment from Butte County coming soon.
These are beautiful maps. I miss the days of making maps that more than anything look good.
With the introduction of Google Earth 4.3 it is apparent how woefully behind we are in the 3D modelling of Chico. The Model Your Campus contest came and went with apparently no interest from the U. The splendid architecture and public art in town hasn’t drawn much interest either. With GE4.3 most cities have an inventory of shapes that fill in creating mass models which are pretty useful from an urban design perspective. I think these shapes come from a large vendor of environmental data like Sanborn. In the meantime we’ve started to play our small part by adding our block. You can find the model in the 3D Warehouse and hopefully it meets the requirements/quality to qualify for a regular 3D feed. We’ll post more images of our models soon.