Imagery acquisition date in Google Earth: Now that’s a useful feature
By William M. Hartnett on Apr 17, 2008 in geekery, whinging
There’s some pretty cool stuff in the just-released version 4.3 of Google Earth, just as there were lots of interesting treats rolled out last week in the latest version of Microsoft’s Live Maps and Virtual Earth 3D. Without a doubt, though, my favorite addition to Google Earth is the inclusion of imagery acquisition date. Just roll over an area on the map and the date the image was taken shows up in the status bar.
Careful readers will know that I moan pretty much constantly about the age of Google’s coverage of my little corner of the world, to say nothing of the quality of their geocoder. Not only does it frustrate me personally because, among other things, my neighborhood is just a vast expanse of sand in Google Maps, it also is professionally frustrating over at Backyard Post.
Here, for example, is a neighborhood in which the developer started closing on condo units in November 2006. It, too, is just a bunch of sandy nothingness in Google Maps. Same deal here, here, here, here, here and so on. Thanks to the new imagery date feature in Google Earth, I can finally attach a date to my moan: Jan. 20, 2005. That’s when coastal Palm Beach County was shot. April 2006 for Martin County, and April 18, 2004 for much of St. Lucie County.
I fully intend to continue moaning about it, but at least now I’ll be better informed.
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