Customizing the Planet with Virtual Earth

By Nick Mokey Published October 19, 2007

Following in footsteps laid down by Google with Google Earth and Google SketchUp, Microsoft announced on Thursday that users of its Virtual Earth application now have the ability to add custom 3D objects to the landscape. The new Microsoft Earth -3DVIA is the result of a collaboration between Microsoft and Dassault Systems, a company that’s specializes in 3D designs and life-cycle management.

The application allows users to build their own structures in 3D, such as a house, familiar building or other structure, then plant it on the Earth. Different colors and textures allow them to tweak and customize to make their creations to be more life-like. When completed, models can be uploaded to Virtual Earth to share with others, so users will be able to explore the work that others have done in the world.

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Microsoft Earth -3DVIA is available for free as a technology preview from Microsoft. The company will be collecting feedback on the product before issuing a final release.

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Smart Home

Everything you need to know about Amazon Virtual Security Guard

An agent watching a security video stream on a computer.

With the flurry of new devices unveiled at Amazon’s fall 2021 event, it’s not surprising that some new Amazon services made it under the radar -- and we want to take time to talk about a particularly interesting smart security service the company’s brand Ring is now offering homeowners. Virtual Security Guard is a unique type of business and home monitoring service for those who want the very best protection possible when they aren’t available to monitor it themselves. Here’s how it works and everything else you should know when choosing the right security plan.
How it works

Traditional security monitoring plans can send alerts to a monitoring center, which can then take action to help protect your home. That could mean contacting the fire department if a fire alarm goes off, or calling the police if there appears to be a break-in. But the workers at these monitoring systems only have access to basic alert information and may have to deal with many alerts from a ton of homes in their region, so it’s not exactly a one-on-one service, and problems like false alarms can still be an issue.

Deals

Why 34,000 Amazon customers love this $150 robot vacuum

Eufy BoostIQ RoboVac 11S on a carpet next to a sleeping child.

Robot vacuums are hit or miss. Some work well and others, well, don't. Believe it or not, there's a lot at play inside, like how accurate the various sensors are and how good the core system is at detecting nearby obstacles, and avoiding them. The best way to recognize a good product from a bad one, robot vacuums included, is to look at user reviews, but not just the star rating. If you take some time to read the reviews you'll soon figure out if an item is worth buying or not. That's the case with the Eufy by Anker BoostIQ RoboVac 11S Slim robot vacuum, which has over 49,000 reviews on Amazon, and of those, over 35,000 are positive with a perfect 5-star score.

People love this thing, but most importantly, it's on sale at a great price. Amazon kicked off the 2021 holiday shopping season by unveiling some Black Friday-worthy deals earlier than ever. It allows customers to shop before things get crazy and have the items delivered on time. There are some great Amazon Black Friday deals available now, by the way, along with some general Black Friday deals, and Robot Vacuum deals, if you want to see what else is out there.

Smart Home

The new Wyze Cam Pan v2 lets you set up a custom patrol route

Wyze Cam Pan v2

It can be tough to position a security camera in just the right spot, but the Wyze Cam Pan v2 doesn't have this issue. Thanks to its 360-degree horizontal tilt and its 93-degree vertical tilt, it can keep an eye on the action throughout the entire room. In fact, you can place it near the center of the room and have it constantly on the lookout for trouble.

The Wyze Cam Pan v2 also includes full-color night vision at 1080p resolution. Knowing details like the color of a shirt can make a lot of difference, and the full-color night vision gives this camera a leg up over competitors that lack this feature.