Google Earth Updates Give History Lesson

Google is usually on the cutting edge, or at least near it. The company's latest "innovations" are intentionally out of date, though. Google Earth will now feature historical maps dating back as far as the 17th century.

National Geographic, this "Featured Content" can connect "users to information about the history of the world through one of the largest private map collections in the US." And according to the company, those maps "have been brought to life for the first time using advanced digitization techniques and innovative software tools in Google Earth." David Rumsey provided the historical maps for the search engine company's use. "I am thrilled to be able to share maps from my collection with users worldwide in Google Earth," he said in a statement. "The cartographers who made these historical maps hundreds of years ago would be amazed and pleased to see their treasures in Google Earth." There were other Del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit | Furl Bookmark Murdok: Doug is a staff writer for Murdok for the latest eBusiness news.