Google claims to have mapped Qatar
Here's a story about Google I was quite excited about:
17 September 2007 9:09 GMT - Google has added 54 new countries to Google Maps. The new coverage doubles previous Latin America mapping and gives you info on three times as many countries in Asia.
Google has promised to work "tirelessly" to both add new countries in the coming months, and improve the level of detail for existing countries.
For anyone who wants to get virtually exploring, the full list of new countries, in alphabetical order, is: blah, blah, blah, Qatar, blah, blah blah.
Anyway, I zipped over to google maps to see what level of detail they'd added, and was pretty disappointed. Nothing but four or five roads, which don't match up with the satellite images. Have a look at this - how can they say it's a map of Qatar? I looks like my son's scribbles with a highlighter. Pah!
I have found that Google Earth has been great for finding my way around Doha. The resolution is very good for Doha. Google Earth allows the user to mark and save locations to .kmz or .kml files. You can share these files with other people. Then they can open them in Google Earth.
QL users, for example, could give the exact location of a place using this method by sharing the file, OR by noting it's latitude and longitude while viewing the place.
For example, Rainbow Roundabout on Google Earth is saved in a .kml file like this:
KmlFile
1.3
normal
#sn_ylw-pushpin_copy1210
highlight
#sh_ylw-pushpin_copy10010
1.1
Rainbow Roundabout
51.51795684317193
25.33500837143789
0
340.3304586260654
2.813086576940123e-010
0.004997942818852294
#msn_ylw-pushpin_copy1210
51.51795684317193,25.33500837143789,0
Or you can locate it like this:
25 degrees 20' 5.96" North Latitude
51 degrees 31' 4.67 East Longitude
It is an accurate way of telling someone a location in a way that they can easily find it.
Maybe some programmer like Mr Gourlay can think about a way that we can share Doha locations easily?
But Beta Version 4.2:
12MB download file
http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html
How to view Sky:
http://earth.google.com/sky/skyedu.html
Sorry, for being a bit off the topic. Is Google Sky available yet. It was supposed to be downloaded from Google Earth site but I keep checking, still not available. Any clue??? Thanks.
Google Earth is better ....
Google Maps is very disconcerting to use.
In G..Earth if you have a good processor some buildings are rendered in 3d.
The streets & R/abouts & places are usually marked by users. So its much more convenient.
But you have to download the software (now its version 4.02..)
I think you are right!!! My husband is probably just going to be there another 18 months then off to another project. It will be interesting to see if the trenches are filled in by then.
Think it is a 50 years plan.
When I moved to the house, thought the sewerage network is done completely. Later discovered that they have the main pipes running along the street only. Now they are connecting the main line with the septic tank inside the garden. However they are doing it in 2 stages. First they connect the main line to the house boundaries. This they did not finish. It is taking them more than 2 months so far. Next step is to connect to the septic tank inside the garden. In other words, they have to make trench inside the garden to continue the job. Hopefully by 2016 they will be finished
You must live near or by husband. They started digging trenches in early May when I was there and they still haven't covered them up. However, they do have some type of cables lines laid in them now. Maybe by the next time I come, in late fall, they will be covered up. Have a good evening.
Lisa
I've emailed google TWO years ago asking them to FIX alot.
At one point they had Qatar as an Emirate of UAE! They also had Doha as a city in Bahrain!
I've constantly emailed them to fix errors but I'm ignored.
__________________________
does not include the trenches made infront of my place and been kept like that for about a month. Guess the contractor is waiting for a Variation Order to cover the trenches:))))
Not very impressive, is it!
This incident remind me of a funny story. Once we had a senior consultant visiting us in Doha (won't mention the nationality). It was his first visit and the guy was keen about understand the area. It so happened that we had a big map in the office for the Gulf region. We took good time explaining to him the geography of the area.
Following his few days visit, he left and we were expecting some material from him to be sent by mail (not email). We gavehim our business cards and all the ordinated.
So the guy - thankfully - sent the required material by post. The address was:
xxx company
P.O.Box xxx
Doha - Qatar
Kindgom of Saudi Arabia.
The funny thing, it arrived on time :)))))