Google Earth lands for iPhone, Netflix testing Mac streaming

[AppleInsider]

Google on Monday launched a version of Google Earth as a native application for iPhone and iPod touch owners. Meanwhile, Netflix said it has begun testing its second-gen Generation Media Player, which will stream movies to Intel Macs.

Google Earth

Google Earth for the iPhone and iPod touch is a native application (Free, App Store), that lets "you to fly to the far reaches of the world from the palm of your hand."

The software is based on the same 3D immersive world of Google Earth for Macs and Windows PCs that has seen over 400 million unique downloads since its launch back in 2005.

"Not only is having Google Earth on your iPhone convenient, but the touch interface is a very natural way to interact with the Earth," Peter Birch, product manager for Google Earth, wrote on the company's mobile blog. "Just swipe your finger across the screen and you fly to the other side of the globe; tilt your phone and your view tilts as well."

The app also includes a built-in search and supports pinch to zoom in or out, and double tap with one finger to zoom in and two fingers to zoom out. It also integrates a "My Location" feature, which "can fly to where you are in the real world on your phone." In addition, Google says it's included over eight million Panoramio photos, which are geo-located photos of places that you can view from your iPhone.

A video demonstrating the software can be seen below:



Netflix

Meanwhile, MacNN reports that Netflix is launching Mac support for internet streaming movies utilizing Microsoft's Silverlight, a web-browser plug-in that features animation and audio-video capabilities similar to Adobe's Flash software.

Availability will reportedly start with a small number of subscribers, expanding to all subscribers by year's end. Silverlight features cross-platform and cross-browser support, as well as Play Ready DRM, a pivotal factor in Netflix being able to stream copy-write-protected content to subscribers on both Macs and PCs.

Mac-based customers and Firefox users on both platforms were key to Netflix adopting Silverlight. Netflix Chief Product Officer Neil Hunt said, "Members who enjoy watching movies and TV episodes... that can be instantly streamed at Netflix will be thrilled with this next generation improvement of access and quality, on a broader range of platforms, including Intel Macs and Firefox."

The supporting Silverlight player will work only on Intel-based Macs, which currently account for roughly three-fourths of Mac units operated by Netflix subscribers. Streaming will work in either Safari or Firefox.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Mr.Scott]

Cool and about freaking time!!! Sweet streaming movies!!!

[DimMok]

Google Earth on my iPhone...wow I just scorched my shorts.

[Virgil-TB2]

Google Earth doesn't seem to work very well for me. It crashes, but also seems to be unable to do a proper search, it keeps trying to find locations on the other side of the planet... "near me" and failing (duh).

Probably opening day jitters though, I'm sure it will be a welcome addition and as well done as all the other Google apps.

[ZagMac]

Originally Posted by AppleInsider

Netflix

Meanwhile, MacNN reports that Netflix is launching Mac support for internet streaming movies utilizing Microsoft's Silverlight, a web-browser plug-in that features animation and audio-video capabilities similar to Adobe's Flash software.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

Oh my. And if a new MacMini hits the scene maybe my home theater gets a massive upgrade in 2009. Goodbye fledgling AppleTV......

[sflocal]

Hmm... Google Earth + 3g + bye-bye-bandwidth and you'll have a whole new breed of whiners.

I'm sure AT&T is a little nervous about a few million of their subscribers hitting GoogleEarth all at once.

Let the finger-pointing begin!

[dagamer34]

It looks great, but it's too choppy right now to really be of any use. I'll stick to Google Maps until they clean this version up.

[SpamSandwich]

"Googlearth" works great on the touch so far...

And I'm pretty happy Netflix is making some progress, but... Silverlight? I'll wait and see.

[MacTel]

It's about time on the Netflix downloads! I was beginning to feel left behind by them.

Not that they have much to download anyway.

[BlackSummerNight]

I'm using Google Earth now...what's the purpose of this app?

[Obi-Wan Kubrick]

I don't have an Intel Mac so I still can't view Netflix movies through my Mac which is absurd! How hard is it to develop for the G5!?

[mcarling]

Originally Posted by Obi-Wan Kubrick

I don't have an Intel Mac so I still can't view Netflix movies through my Mac which is absurd! How hard is it to develop for the G5!?

Generally, no one develops new software for platforms that are no longer in production.

[ByronVanArsdale]

It is interesting to see how companies are using the tilt sensors in applications - that video segment on seeing the geo-tagged photos was stunning.

[Sybersport]

Did anyone else notice that the guy in the video demonstrating the google earth app didn't blink once in the first 20 seconds of the clip?

Creepy

[MatNeh]

Unless this requires Leopard, AppleTV Netflix support should not be too far behind (albeit from "hackers")

[JeffDM]

Not terribly happy to have to install Silverlight to get it going, I guess it's better than running Parallels to do it. That said, my current HTPC is a PMG5, so neither is an option for that machine.

[TokyoJimu]

Originally Posted by ZagMac

Oh my. And if a new MacMini hits the scene maybe my home theater gets a massive upgrade in 2009. Goodbye fledgling AppleTV......

Apple TV plus ATVFlash (which I expect will support this) looks pretty sweet.
http://atvflash.com/

[timgriff84]

Originally Posted by SpamSandwich

And I'm pretty happy Netflix is making some progress, but... Silverlight? I'll wait and see.

Originally Posted by JeffDM

Not terribly happy to have to install Silverlight to get it going, I guess it's better than running Parallels to do it.

What have people got against Silverlight? From a development perspective I curse every time I have make changes to the part of our product written in flash, as the development environment is so poor. But with Silverlight its the complete opposite, being able to just link buttons to normal .NET functions is a dream and saves so much time.

So I would say its brilliant news there using Silverlight, the more sites that force users to download it the better. That way people can choose what they want to develop in rather than just having to go with flash as its whats installed on most peoples machines.

[wildag]

Originally Posted by timgriff84

From a development perspective I curse every time I have make changes to the part of our product written in flash, as the development environment is so poor.

That's because you should be using Flex, not Flash. Flex is for software developers as Flash is for designers. Flex is a much more robust and widely used equivalent to silverlight. For a comparison of Flex vs. Silverlight capable clients visit:

http://riastats.com

[completetrader]

Originally Posted by wildag

That's because you should be using Flex, not Flash. Flex is for software developers as Flash is for designers. Flex is a much more robust and widely used equivalent to silverlight. For a comparison of Flex vs. Silverlight capable clients visit:

http://riastats.com

All that says is the installed base is bigger. Has nothing to do with the development environment. Adobe has a huge head start. That does not mean there is no room for another solution. This will only make them both stronger. This is a good thing and give developers options. I have been developing in Silverlight for almost a year now. I find it very easy to create many different types of apps. Netflix has made a wise decision.

[bavlondon2]

Google earth keeps crashing for me.

[elmaestro]

Google Earth looks great on my 3G. The accuracy of the find function is very good in my area with either 3G or Wi-Fi. It does crash more often than I expected though. Keeping it on map-only function seems to help this and I'm hoping the next build will be improved. I'd rather them work out the kinks than introduce even more intensive graphics like Street View.

The Netflix thing really bums me out. For a long time (>1yr) their website said that they were working on a PPC instant viewer while, for the moment, Intel users could just run Windows. I have waited patiently for any news regarding their DRM solution and I just came across this. I realize that they are not obligated in any way to cater to us legacy PPC users and it says in the article that Intel users now comprise 3/4 of their total Mac subscribers but the fact that they left a hopeful message for PPC users for so long makes it a hard pill to swallow. I am eventually going to upgrade to an Intel Mac but for now, my trusty ol' 17-inch PB is all I've got. I feel a bit forgotten here. I guess I am somewhat accustomed to the level of thoughtfulness and support offered by many of the A/V hardware and software manufacturers for legacy products and figuring out an identical solution for PPC doesn't seem like such a high jump to hurdle.

I guess I'm forced to wait until I buy a new Mac. That's what they want me to do anyway isn't it?
Way to further alienate your loyal legacy users, Apple!

[wildag]

Originally Posted by completetrader

All that says is the installed base is bigger. Has nothing to do with the development environment. Adobe has a huge head start. That does not mean there is no room for another solution. This will only make them both stronger. This is a good thing and give developers options. I have been developing in Silverlight for almost a year now. I find it very easy to create many different types of apps. Netflix has made a wise decision.

I agree that Silverlight is a good alternative to specific applications, like DRM video streaming. I also agree that having competition is a good thing; keeps Adobe honest. However, if I'm looking build to any general interactive web interface, I look at the installed user base before choosing a technology. If you tell me that over 70% of my potential customers are going to have to install new software they don't have, just to view my website, I'm probably not going to choose that technology.

When silverlight has a 90% install base, and all of the features of Flash Player version 10 (hardware accelerated 3d, embedable fonts, etc) then I'll declare it a competition