An easier way to use Google Latitude on your computer

We’re happy to introduce an easier way to use Google Latitude from your computer atgoogle.com/latitude. You can now see where your friends are, start using Latitude apps, and share your location all from one place when you’re at your computer.

Find your friendsWe launched Latitude with a desktop iGoogle gadget to help you stay in touch with friends and family that may not have a smartphone. We’ve since learned that a desktop experience is important to you even if you’re already using Latitude on your phone. Today, you can now visit a dedicated site that makes it easier than ever to use Latitude when you’re already on your computer. From the Friends tab, you can:

• See where your friends are on Google Maps
• Add friends and accept sharing requests
• Control your privacy settings

Do more with LatitudeYou’ll also now find Latitude and Latitude apps together in one place. After browsing your friends list, go to the History or Apps tabs to turn on optional Latitude apps such as:

• Google Location History (Beta) to see your personal history dashboard
• Google Location Alerts to get nearby friend alerts
• Google Talk Location Status to post your location in your chat status
• Google Public Location Badge to publish your location on your blog or site

Share your locationJust like on your phone, you can choose to share your location with friends and family from your WiFi-enabled computer. Before you can share your location, you’ll need to first give Latitude permission to access your location when prompted by your supported browser. You can always change your browser or Latitude privacy settings later. Learn more in the Help Center.

To get started, go to google.com/latitude on your computer. If you’re new to Latitude, you can then start on your phone by sending yourself a text message or choose to start on your computer.

8 things to do with Historical Imagery in Google Earth

Last week we again showed you how the "Historical Imagery" feature in Google Earth works. It's quite an amazing feature, with a lot of possible uses. With that in mind, here are 8 things you can do using Google Earth's Historical Imagery:

• Find clearer images of a place you want to examine closely. Sometimes areas (even in the base imagery) are obscured by clouds, haze, or poor lighting. You can sometimes find a clearer photo for a specific spot using historical imagery. For example, boaters or scuba divers can use historical imagery to find photos which better reveal underwater landscape, or shipwrecks. The lighting and water clarity varies depending on when photos were taken.

• Find a unique shot of an area on a specific date of historical significance. For example, American Samoa was hit by a Tsunami on September 29, 2009. There's a satellite image of parts of the country (including Pago Pago) where you can see signs of the damage done. Other examples include the massive earthquake in Haiti and the Four Mile Canyon fire in Colorado. Google often acquires its data from satellite companies (like GeoEye or DigitalGlobe) who take images after disasters to help rescue efforts.

• Archaeologists can use historical imagery to find better angles or lighting to reveal subterranean archaeological sites (as was done in France by the armchair archeologist.

• Reveal the devastation of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, as shown in various examples: disappearing forests | hidden logging | climate change tour

• See places further offshore. Google cut the imagery further offshore when they released the new undersea 3D ocean data in GE 5. But, if you turn on historical imagery you can see images that went further out to sea and reveal things like aircraft in flight, boats, ships,whales, and undersea features.

• Use historical imagery to sometimes find different seasonal imagery (winter, fall, etc.)

• See the growing urban sprawl in your area. It can be neat to simply look at your house/neighborhood from years ago to see how it has changed.

• Watch the expansion of a major building. Schools and churches are often good examples of this, as they tend to build new wings and various new buildings over time. For example, flip through the historical imagery of this church to see various buildings added on in the past 17 years.

Virtual Tours with Google Maps

VistaZoo

VistaZoo is a new Google Map to showcase the 3D panoramic photographs created with 3DVista products. 3DVista have created a suite of products to help photographers create 360 degree panoramic images. VistaZoo showcases some of the panoramas created on one Google Map.

It is possible to browse the uploaded 3D panoramas by category or by location. The panoramas are displayed on the map with thumbnail images. If you click on an image you can click through to view the uploaded virtual tour. 

VistaZoo has a nice '3D' feature that allows you to view the Google Map tiles from an oblique custom view. The oblique view can be applied to the map, satellite, hybrid or terrain views of Google Maps.

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The Greek Experience on Google Maps

My Greece

This Google Map from the official Greek tourism agency hopes to encourage tourists to the country to share their holiday photographs and videos. 

Users of the map can upload their favourite photos and videos of their visits to Greece. If you don't have any photos or videos from Greece you can just browse the map and explore the beauty of the country.

It is possible to browse the map by location, by category or by time of year. Each photo and video is displayed on the map with a small thumbnail image and can be viewed directly on the map by clicking the thumbnail map markers. 

As an added bonus if you love this map you can access the data via an API and create your own Google Maps mashup from the content