About Me

PBX I'm Paul Bissex, and e-scribe.com is my consulting business. I build web applications using open source software, especially Django. In the '90s I did graphic design for newspapers and magazines. Then I wrote technology commentary and reviews for Wired, Salon.com, Chicago Tribune, and lots of little places you've never heard of. Feel free to email me.

Book

I'm co-author of "Python Web Development with Django", an excellent guide to my favorite web framework. Published by Addison-Wesley, it is available from Amazon and your favorite technical bookstore as well.

Colophon

Built using Django, served by Apache and mod_wsgi. 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.

Pile o'Tags

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

Spam Report

At least 70645 pieces of comment spam killed since January 2008, 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:

G4 1.2Ghz+
512M RAM
2 GB of free disk space
Network speed: 768 Kbits/sec or better (DSL/Cable)
3D-capable video card with 32 MB of VRAM or greater
1280x1024, "32-bit True Color" screen

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":

OS X version 10.3.9 support
Plus and Pro versions [$20/year and $400/year, respectively]
Gmail as e-mail client
Embedded browser
Fullscreen mode

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
fun + google + maps + os x
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.