When Google Earth launched back in 2005, it was an undeniably impressive resource — a vivid online atlas unlike anything most users had seen before. We’ve perhaps become desensitized to just how amazing the software is, but recently Google has been hard at work on new features that should restore its wow factor.
An update that was released in April 2017 introduced the Voyager tab to Google Earth, a curated section of the program that whisks users away to see a particular sight. Now, this part of the software has been updated to support live video feeds, according to a report from The Next Web.
The first addition to this strand of Voyager content takes viewers to Katmai National Park and Preserve in King Salmon, Alaska. In association with Explore.org’s Pearls of the Planet program, Google Earth is offering up live video feeds of brown bears catching salmon in the wild.
There are five different video feeds to choose from, with three focusing on different spots around the river where brown bears go to hunt. There’s even an underwater camera that shows off the creatures’ propensity for swimming, and a camera perched high atop Dumpling Mountain that gives a broader view of the surrounding area.
It’s not difficult to catch a glimpse of some brown bears doing what they do best, but there is alternative content in place to ensure that the stream doesn’t get boring when the animals are at rest. Feeds switch to highlights when there’s nothing interesting going on at that particular moment.
Last month, Google Earth partnered with National Geographic to launch new content as part of the Voyager program. Google also supplied schools with Cardboard viewers and other hardware to allow students to take part in Expeditions, tailored VR “field trips” that take learners away to exotic locations.
Google Earth is a really amazing project, and it’s great to see Google putting so much effort in recent months into using it to its full potential. Whether it’s exposing Americans to the important role of the country’s national parks, or giving students a taste of the wider world, this piece of software has the capacity to do a great deal of good.
Mozilla is giving Firefox’s Smart Window two new tricks. If you haven’t tried it yet, Smart Window is an optional AI mode in Firefox with a built-in chat that helps you get things done while you browse. With this update, it can fill out online forms using details from your tabs and keep an eye on websites for you.
Tired of typing the same details into every form?
The absolutely absurd idea of putting a touchscreen display on a mouse isn't exactly new. Turtle Beach already did it with its Command Series MC7, which features a 2.25-inch control screen. But apparently, even that wasn't ridiculous enough for Arctic Fox Technologies. Its new Super Mouse looks like someone took the chunky old Atari ST mouse, slapped a touchscreen and scroll wheel on it, and called it an upgrade.
The result is a rather unusual-looking mouse that is now on Kickstarter, starting at $199. And as ridiculous as it looks, some of its features are genuinely intriguing.
Apple is less than a day away from launching its highly anticipated OLED MacBook Pro with a touch-sensitive screen. But it appears that the upgrade is going to cost a pretty penny. According to a report by Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly eyeing a starting price of $2,899 for the 14-inch MacBook Pro, while the 16-inch version could start at $3,399 in the US.
"At $2,899, the 14-inch model would mark the highest starting price for a new MacBook Pro model, surpassing the $2,799 Apple charged for a 17-inch version introduced in 2006," says the report. The report claims that Apple is targeting a minimum price hike of $400 for its upcoming redesigned 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro models.