How Google Maps made Iceland look magical, and extra tech information immediately

Your tech information digest, by means of the DGiT Day by day tech publication, for Wednesday, 19 August 2020.

1. Google Maps will get higher

I believe Google Maps is likely one of the greatest Google merchandise for a lot of causes. It’s pioneering, it retains including enhancements, and it’s helpful on daily basis whereas being free. It’s additionally nice to see opponents within the house, like Apple Maps, and the collaborative OpenStreetMap.

Now, Google Maps has extra detailed imagery to assist see forests, mountains, crosswalks, sidewalks, correct avenue sizes, and extra.

It’s down to 2 units of enhancements:

• The primary is new color-mapping. Google says it takes satellite tv for pc imagery and, with pc imaginative and prescient, interprets it right into a extra complete view of an space at scale. The replace focuses on arid, icy, forested, and mountainous areas.
• Right here’s Mt Rainier, for instance:

• Whereas topography was evident earlier than, now Google Maps reveals a dramatically clearer view of the snow-capped mountainous area and vegetation surrounds. Iceland seems to be fully completely different, in one other instance.
• Google says it’s made this replace for 100M sq. kilometers of land on Earth, or 18 billion soccer fields. Not dangerous.
• The opposite replace is extra detailed avenue data. That is much less complete, solely protecting San Francisco, London and New York for now. However assuming it does roll out to extra locations, it’s helpful for traversing the city panorama on foot or by bike. The brand new replace right here reveals extra correct form and width of a highway to scale.
• Now there’s extra actual sidewalks, crosswalks, and pedestrian islands, giving a greater thought if it’s essential to cope with a aspect avenue or a serious thoroughfare.
• That is rolling out throughout “the approaching months” implying a data-gathering strategy, whereas the color-mapping method is rolling out this week to “all 220 nations and territories at the moment supported by Google Maps”.

2. Samsung Galaxy Be aware 20 Extremely evaluations are out, and the view is: the brand new Be aware 20 Extremely stands aside, however that’s solely as a result of it doesn’t have too many direct opponents. And at $1,300, there’s a purpose not many telephones are this stacked. However it’s onerous to seek out worth at this worth (Android Authority).

3. Right here’s how LG and Samsung may make foldable telephones extra sturdy: New patents intention to cut back stress on the bend factors.

4. Vivo X50 Professional evaluate: One small step for efficiency, one big leap in stability: mid-ranger with critical digital camera chops, due to the gimbal, however removed from excellent.

5. Instagram’s extraordinarily acquainted new QR codes are a shortcut on to your profile, identical to Snapchat (Engadget).

6. Netflix is testing a “Shuffle Play” button: play reveals and flicks primarily based in your record and historical past, no have to exhaust your self attempting to select one thing (Engadget).

7. Apple renames Apple Beats 1 Apple Music 1, to not be confused with Apple Music (app) or Apple Music (subscription) (Gizmodo).

8. Apple insider tells a captivating story: The case of the top-secret iPod, constructed for the US Division of Power (TidBITS).

9. You’ll want a Fb account to make use of future Oculus headsets. This has made lots of people who simply need to recreation with no social account, sad (The Verge).

10. A transfer for driverless mass transit hits velocity bumps (Wired).

11. BlackSky’s newest satellites return photographs simply 58 hours after launch (TechCrunch).

12. NASA is monitoring a rising anomaly in Earth’s magnetic subject (ScienceAlert).

13. Researchers can duplicate keys from the sounds they make in locks (kottke.org).

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