Google starting a video upload site
 

https://upload.video.google.com/

Haven't tested this one yet, but hopefully it'll be good.
Anyone that knows more about it?

I signed up in a blink. Man, I love Google. The only issue they did not clarify is how the content providers get paid.

Me too! This will be wicked if gmail and the neat things google put into webmail are anything to go by.

If you like google stuff, try their maps. awesome!. Just goto maps.google.com where you will promptly love what you see. Be sure to read about all the features and controls.

-gb-

The maps are truly unbelievable. I was going to post something about them here a few days ago but it seemed a little far off-topic. However - guess this is web/content related - I don't understand how they have made the satellite photos so responsive. They pan and zoom almost instantly on my 3mb cable connection. On 768kb DSL they were also incredibly fast. The interface is still beta and needs a few more features, but I think they really have a winner there!

Awesome! Awesome! Awesome!

<<<-- Originally posted by Boyd Ostroff : The maps are truly unbelievable. -->>>

I'm underwhelmed by Google's maps. NASA's free product WorldWind has much better maps. And its just fun to play with...now I start the earth spinning...now I stop it.

Looks cool... too bad it only runs on the PC, so I won't be using it.

But you must have very different expectations from most people I know. The dozen or so people that I've shown the Google maps to have been really impressed. It's like terraserver on steroids :-)

Patrick,

Thanks very much for pointing out WorldWind...I work at NASA and had never heard of it! Looks VERY cool. Will download and "give it a spin."

http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/index.html

No doubt it'll do things Google Maps won't, but Google is universally known, doesn't require a download to use, and their maps and Sat images are really fast and toggle back and forth with just mouse clicks.

Getting back on topic, I'm also very interested to see how the video upload service develops. On the one hand, Google is aggressively positioning itself as a "big fish" in the internet sea, giving me concern as to how heavy-handed they might become in the future (a la M$); on the other hand, everyone knows Google, so if they don't become obnoxious with their advertising, or the fine print doesn't get too ugly, this might be worth a try.

I only skimmed the Google Video user agreement, but it seemed a little inconsistent. You can cancel the contract with 30 day's notice. Yet in another area you're granting them rights in perpetuity to use your clip for advertising in addition to advertising in association with the showing of your videos.

So I'm interested and watching, but not quite ready to give them any footage that I highly value.

here's another option to consider: www.ourmedia.org

still in the early stages of its launch, seems a bit more grassroots than google.

Although I love the Google maps, they are still using the flawed map data that plagues other mapping services. IOW, they too show my parent's house at a completely different part of the street than it actually is. But they definitely look cool!

-gb-

...and then there is http://www.streamload.com/

I for one am disappointed that it's not supported for Mac, the Google Video Upload software. I was really excited about this.

heath

What they did is divide the image up in much smaller images so it can just
load the needed (small) pieces for the chosen magnification.

The "tiles" that stay in frame when moving around are just moved around by
DHTML on the client, and new tiles get loaded in. I would not be suprised if
some surrounding tiles are pre-loaded after the main tiles (the ones you see)
have loaded.

Plus Google gets the cream of the crop because everyone wants to work there.

For more about Google Maps: Google Pioneers Use Old Microsoft Tools In New Web Programs