If some of these product/feature names weren't fully documented, I'd never believe they were for real. But then, I never would have believed this was for real either if I hadn't seen things equally lame going back to the 80s. How does a company like Microsoft last this long without getting even marginally less tone-deaf? I mean, seriously?
The photo headlining this story—of the steering wheel and airbag still working, even though they're nowhere near the car—is one of the all-time great bits of photographic storytelling.
Hell yeah: Google Earth 4.3 is out, and it looks like it rocks the house.
Progressive-loading 3D buildings are just the beginning; now it has lighting effects (like topography that's affected by sun position, so you can view sunrise shadows and sunset clouds), new navigation widgets for those poor saps without a SpaceNavigator), and—gasp—StreetView integration.
From the look of it, I'll need a new machine sooner rather than later. The best things in life may be free, but they require a faster CPU.
UPDATE: The level of detail and completeness now that they've added so much more 3D building data is mind-blowing:
I love when things just keep getting better and better, ever surpassing the highest hopes I ever had since I was a kid for video games and the Internet all at once...
Brian Tiemann
