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All the entries posted on June 11, 2008.
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Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Google Streetview debuts in Palm Beach County and northern Martin County
Google Streetview launched today in Palm Beach County and northern Martin County.
You probably already have spent countless idle hours staring at Google Earth, looking at the roof of your family’s house and Aunt Sophie’s condo and the top of the Empire State Building.
Now you can spend more idle hours looking at the front door and facade of your family’s house or any other structure that’s been added to Google Streetview, where the photo was taken at street level.
Streetview isn’t everywhere in the U.S. so it’s great that we’ve got it for our family and friends around the country — the ones that don’t visit — to check out the old homestead.
The shot of my house must have been taken on a weekend because both my Element and my wife’s Civic are in the driveway.
Here’s how you do it: Go to Google Maps and click on “Streetview.” Then, plug in an address and click on the arrows in the photo to get the best angle.
Another local happening takes place tonight. Pearl Jam kicks off its deal with Verizon Wireless at the first concert of its Pearl Jam 2008 tour at the Cruzan Amphitheatre in West Palm Beach. Start time: 7:30 p.m.
Every night after a concert, Pearl Jam’s studio engineers will mix three songs that will be released on the V Cast Music service. One track will be free. You’ll have to pay for the other two. Each free mobile bootleg will be available until the following show so don’t get used to it.
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Garriott upbeat on Tabula Rasa, plans gaming from space
Putting the “space” into space games, Austin video game designer Richard Garriott said today he will use his upcoming October flight to the International Space Station to connect with gamers back on Earth.
Several announcements bridging his flight with his online game Tabula Rasa are expected in coming weeks, said Garriott, who spoke in an interview after at a Space Adventures Ltd. news conference in New York.
“It’s a great opportunity that can’t be missed,” he said. “Tabula Rasa is a science fiction game associated with interplanetary travel, and here I am traveling in outer space.”
Noting that Tabula Rasa’s initial launch “wasn’t as strong as we might have hoped,” Garriott said “we still have high confidence it will earn its place.”
“We also came out right against a bunch of top-selling, Christmas-season titles, so we had somewhat of a soft beginning, but we have a very enthusiastic core fan base,” he said. “Online games are 10-year plays.”
(Photo: Richard Garriott at a Space Adventures event in NY. - David Ho)
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Computer forecast rises, semiconductor forecast falls
Notebook computers are erasing any sign that PC sales will cool off this year.
IDC raised its forecast for 2008 worldwide PC shipments to 15.2 percent above 2007, now saying computer makers will ship around 310 million units. In March, the research firm estimated growth of 12.8 percent.
Notebook sales have been strong enough to buoy computer makers, despite the slowing U.S. economy, tepid sales of desktops and weak corporate spending, IDC said.
The companies also are getting a big boost from sales in emerging regions. Asia passed the U.S. as the world’s largest market for PCs late last year, IDC said.
IDC upped its forecast in part because it has started counting shipments of small, highly portable notebook PCs. Those increasingly popular models, often called “netbooks,” have developed enough to reach the firm’s criteria for PC classification.
Despite the continued strong PC growth, the Semiconductor Industry Association lowered its industry revenue estimate for the year. It said strong competition pushed down prices of memory chips, holding the sector’s revenue lower despite a strong increase in shipments.
The group now expects this year’s revenue to increase 4.3 percent, to $266.6 billion. It had forecast 7.7 percent growth in November.
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Google founder signs up for space flight
Google Inc. co-founder Sergey Brin has reserved a seat to blast off to orbit with a $5 million deposit, private space travel firm Space Adventures Ltd. said today in New York.
Brin’s deposit gives him priority access to available spots with Space Adventures, which has sent wealthy clients to the International Space Station aboard Russian rockets. No launch date has been scheduled.
The next scheduled launch on Oct. 12 is to take Austin video game designer Richard Garriott (pictured left in training gear) to the station. Garriott, who has been training in Russia, would become the first second-generation astronaut, following his father NASA astronaut Owen Garriott (pictured right).
Brin said he’s “a big believer in the exploration and commercial development of space, and am looking forward to the possibility of going into space.”
Brin’s payment is just a deposit. If he flies to space, he will still need to pay a substantial balance.
Past private spaceflights to the station have cost $20 million. The price tag has been rising because of labor and materials costs and the weaker U.S. dollar, the company said.
Garriott’s flight costs $30 million and future flights may cost $35 million or more.
Brin also has the option of selling his seat.