Want to know what the weather is like right now somewhere else? Today, you can just click around on a radar-enabled Google map to quickly get the lowdown on temperature, humidity, wind conditions, and a lot more.

When you're heading out of town, you're interested in what kind of weather to expect when you get there, right? Well, starting today, answering questions like that is as easy as clicking on a Google map, due to a new "mapplet" rolled out by The Weather Channel Interactive, Inc. (TWCI).

Essentially, Google's map site now has a new weather data layer which is powered by The Weather Channel's HiRAD, a patented technology combining information from Doppler radar, satellite transmissions, computer models, climate profiles, and lightning strike detection systems.

Full article: betanews.com 

Labels: mapping, Mapplets, Maps, radar, weather

It was bound to happen eventually - terrorists are allegedly using Google Earth and Google Maps to plan attacks.

Abdul Kadir, one of the men accused of plotting to blow up fuel pipelines, fuel tanks, and buildings at John F. Kennedy International Airport, instructed his cohorts to use Google's online mapping software to obtain more detailed images of the airport, court documents say.

Read more: The Sydney Morning Herald 

Labels: Earth, Mapplets, Maps

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- With the passing of each fiscal quarter, it's increasingly clear Google's got a good thing going connecting the world to the fruits of Web developer labor. And it's not about to let up.

Today at its Google Developer Day event here, Google vice president Jeff Huber emphasized the search giant's plans to help developers "integrate, reach and build." In his keynote address, Huber brought out a series of company engineers to talk about the latest tools, Google Mashup Editor, Mapplets and Gears.

Full article: internetnews.com 

Labels: developers, Gears, Mapplets, Mashup