Daily Bits

Internet

Getting More Realistic With Google Earth 6

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I don’t know if you this, but Google Earth wasn’t always called as such. It was actually first called EarthViewer 3D and was created by a company called Keyhole, Inc. That first release was in 2001, and it was only in 2004 that Google acquired the smaller company. In 2005, Google Earth 3.0 was released, triggering a huge interest in the digital atlas.

Yesterday, Google announced the sixth version of the program, highlighting the fact that the Google Earth 6 is more realistic than ever. In the entry posted on the Official Google Blog yesterday, three new things were featured.

Integrated Street View

Basically, with the enhanced Street View, you can “journey from outer space right to your doorstep in one seamless flight.” You can also explore the streets as if you were merely taking a stroll in real life (with your fingers doing the walking, of course).

3D Trees

Trees make everything better, don’t they? The guys at Google seem to think the same thing, and they incorporated 3D models of various kinds of trees. Of course, to add to the realism, they paid close attention to details, enhancing the whole Google Earth experience. (I have to admit that as I was reading the post and looking at the images, I couldn’t help but think of SimCity.)

Historical Imagery Made Easier

Historical Imagery allowed users of Google Earth 5 to take a stroll down memory lane when viewing particular location. For example, one can see what Port-au-Prince in Haiti looked like before it got hit by the devastating earthquake. In the latest version of Google Earth, it is even easier for users to go back in time.

Whether or not you have plans of trying out Google Earth 6, take a look at the video below to see it in action.

To experience this for yourself, visit the Google Earth 6 download page.

The Evolution of Email

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Ever wondered how long email has been around and how old the @ sign is? Our friends over at the Blog Herald sat down together with the crew of Infographiclabs and analysed the evolution of email. The result was another awesome infographic and looks at the history of email, how email functions, the spread of spam and some daily numbers for email.

I bet you all knew that Brazil the main spam provider is, followed by the USA, and not China?

In the teaser image below, a short timeline of the history of email. View the complete infographic over at The Blog Herald.

Obama Administration Targets Online Privacy

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Protecting one’s privacy is perhaps one of the biggest issues that “online dwellers” face today. With everyone and their mom spending a considerable amount of time online on a daily basis, it is inevitable for privacy issues to crop up left and right. We don’t even have to talk about Facebook, and privacy is already a big issue.

Naturally, a problem that exists on such a large scale is bound to catch the attention of the big wigs. So now, the Obama administration is embarking on a project to regulate Internet privacy. There are no concrete details as of yet, but The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Commerce Department is due to release a report soon. More than spewing out a report, though, the government has already created a task force that will ensure that the recommendations from the report will be converted into policy.

The United States is rather a late comer in this regard. Other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada have had systems in place to protect the online privacy of their citizens. Surprisingly, there is a serious lack of a comprehensive system in the U.S. – well, until now.

Naturally, there are opposing views on this move. On the one hand, we have people like Rep. Joe Barton who says: “Better late than never. I am glad more and more folks, in the government and otherwise, are beginning to realize that there is a war against privacy.”

On the other hand, entities such as the Interactive Advertising Bureau are not too happy with the idea of having new laws as they believe that they already employ sufficient measures to ensure the privacy of consumers.

Let me ask you – do you think new laws are necessary to address privacy issues in America?

Internet Week Europe 2010

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We have all sorts of celebrations every month throughout the year – why not Internet Week? This is not a novel concept, but this year, the people in Europe are celebrating it for the first time in London. From the 8th of November till the 12th, the creme de la creme of Europe’s digital industry come together to celebrate the wonder that is the Internet.

There are over a hundred events lined up, with big names such as The BBC, Yahoo!, Creative Review, Google, Lonely Planet, and Channel 4 joining in on the fun. While the event is already halfway through, there are still plenty of events that you can participate in. Here are some of them:

  • The Science of Search
  • Virtual Goods Summit
  • No-nonsense Social Media
  • Social Gaming Summit
  • Yelp London’s Curry Night
  • Introduction to Google Enterprise
  • Tokyo Innovation
  • Interactive Street Game

And, that is literally just a few of the numerous events left for the week.  Lest you think that only couch potatoes are going to participate in the huge event, there is actually a Bike Ride going to be held tomorrow for cycling enthusiasts.  Who said that geeks do not like physical activity at all?

The cool thing about the whole event is that you do not need to register for the Internet Week.  You just need to visit the Internet Week web site and pick out the events that you want to participate in.  There are different instructions for each event, and some are paid, while some are free, depending on who is hosting it.  It’s not too late – if you have a bit of free time this week, go check it out!

Adios, Limewire!

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Remember that green round slice of lime? There was once a time when I saw it every day when I turned my computer on, but if I remember correctly, those days were short-lived. For some users, Limewire probably played a larger part in their lives.

Yesterday, the longstanding battle between Limewire and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) came to a halt. After four long years of battling it out in the courts, the two parties now face the end to their squabbling – to the detriment of the file sharing site. A judge from the US district court in New York has issued an injunction that forces Limewire’s features to be shut down. These are searching, downloading, uploading, and file sharing. For sure, those who still use Limewire are going to feel a sense of sadness and loss if they go to the site right now.  Try visiting the site (Limewire),  and you will be greeted by this image.

The RIAA has been the object of many a file sharer’s ire in the recent years as the group has been actively seeking out copyright violators.  This injunction is indeed a victory for them.

Limewire is not going to totally disappear from the scene, though.  While the “free stuff” cannot be accessed anymore, the people behind Limewire do have plans to come up with a system that will adhere to the law while they continue with their operations.  The question is this: will this new system make it as attractive as it was when file sharing (as we used to know it) was the main selling point?

You guys who already miss the old Limewire, I feel for you.

Domain Sells for $13M: Guess the Name?

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We all know how some people go around buying up domain names like crazy in the hopes of selling them one day for big bucks.  Of course, not every domain that you buy will make you money, but every now and then someone gets lucky.  And, when that happens, we definitely hear about it.

So going on to this domain name that recently sold for big big bucks…It was originally owned by Gary Kremen, founder of well known site Match.com.  He registered it way back in 1994, but then “lost” the domain to Stephen Cohen, a conman, two years later.  The domain eventually changed hands and ended up belonging to a group called Escom LLC, which, in turn, went bankrupt.  The bankruptcy is the reason the domain was put up for auction mid-way through this year in July.

The highest bid has been revealed at $13 million, and the entity that put in that bid is known as Clover Holdings.  Unsurprisingly, not much is known about the company except that it is registered in the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent.  The sale isn’t final as of yet – the bankruptcy court will have to give its nod of approval first (October 27 is the date for the decision).

As astronomical as $13 million may seem, this is NOT the highest amount someone has paid for a domain name.  The highest recorded price for a domain name sale is $16 million – though you have to admit, at this range, $3 million is not much.  This domain is insure.com.

Saving the best for last…what is this domain that just got sold?

sex.com

What can we say? Sex indeed sells.