E-Scribe News : a programmer’s blog

About Me

PBX My name is Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using as much open source software as possible. From September to June I teach web design and other important non-photographic professional skills to photographers. In the '90s I wrote technology commentary and reviews for magazines, newspapers, and web publications, including Wired, Salon.com, FamilyPC, the late lamented Web Review, and the Chicago Tribune. Feel free to email me.

Colophon

This runs on Django, served by Apache and mod_python. The database is SQLite. The operating system is FreeBSD, on a VPS hosted at Johncompanies.com. Comment-spam protection by Akismet. Vintage topo imagery from the Maptech archive. The markup engine is Markdown.

The Book

Book cover I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Published by Addison-Wesley in October 2008, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well. Click on the book title above to learn more.

Pile o'Tags

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Stuff I Use

Akismet, del.icio.us, Django, dpaste.com, Emacs, FreeBSD, Freenode, jQuery, LaunchBar, MacPorts, Markdown, Mercurial, OS X, Postfix, Python, SQLite, Subversion, TextMate, Trac, Ubuntu Linux, wmii

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At least 45536 pieces of comment spam killed since January 12th, mostly via Akismet.

Google Earth for OS X

earth So, it's out. The real, authorized version of Google Earth for OS X.

Very cool. I'd never seen the Windows version, so it's all new to me (except the imagery, of course, which is the same used by Google Maps). A couple features I had no idea existed: tilt-the-earth (with optional topographic modeling, i.e. making hills hill-shaped), and 3D modeled buildings (check out the Manhattan skyline). It also has massive amounts of overlay data -- roads, borders, place names, schools, stores, ATMs, churches, crime statistics...

Requires 10.4.x for the moment. Their recommended configuration:

Despite the auspicious day of its release, it is a PowerPC build -- not a universal binary. Presumably that's coming, though it's not on the list of features "to be implemented soon":

I'm a map geek, so I'm into it. It's wonderful for seamless exploration. I do still wonder when/if we'll see topographic data integrated. Google Earth just makes the interface for National Geographic's TOPO software (which I own) seem even weaker than it did before.

Tuesday, January 10th, 2006
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3 comments

Some related posts: DjangoProjectLauncher? • DjangoKit • Useless script: View180 • Google wants Mac developers • Happy indeed
• Comment from Dave Pentecost , 1 day later

Hi Paul

Great overview for OS X map geeks! I've posted some links to more OS X and GE information, as well as a tour of the Usumacinta River, in the Maya region between Mexico and Guatemala (my spring stomping ground).

http://www.gomaya.com/glyph/archives/001591.html

I got a little head start with the "leaked" beta version. I agree - Mac folks are going to love this.

Your readers will enjoy the community aspects of Google Earth - sharing placemarks and tours.

• Comment from Paul , 1 day later

Great stuff, thanks for posting. I enjoyed the tour!

• Comment from victor , 4 weeks later

It's funny, but it only works for me when I run it from the mounted image. If I drag it to my Applications folder and run it from there, it crashes while it's loading. Contact me if you need further info to debug this.

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