Skip to Content

What do you buy the Apple fanboy? Visit the TUAW Holiday Gift Guide to find out
AOL Tech

Posts with tag poly9

Filed under: Internet, web 2.0

Poly9 FreeEarth: It's like Google Earth, but Flash-based, and slower

Poly9 Free EarthWe can't count the number of times we've wished we could embed an interactive globe on our web sites. That's probably because it's hard to figure out how to count to zero. But if you really want a Google Earth-like globe on your page, Poly9's got you covered. The company's FreeEarth bears a superficial resemblance to Google Earth or Microsoft's Virtual Earth. But unlike those applications, FreeEarth is Flash based and can be customized and added to pretty much any web site.

A handful of popular web visualizations are already built on FreeEarth, including Flickervision 3D an Twittervision 3D. Because the software is built in Flash, most web surfers will be able to interact with the globe by spinning it around or zooming in for city-level details without downloading any additional software.

But FreeEarth doesn't have the level of detail that you'll find in desktop applications like Google Earth or Virtual Earth. You can zoom in far enough to make out buildings, but only if you squint. And it takes much longer for FreeEarth to load new satellite imagery when you zoom in.

[via WebWare]

Featured Time Waster

Forumwarz - a potentially offensive time waster

I pwn UAfter spending the better part of an hour on Forumwarz I still can't decide if it's just sick or if it's kind of fun. It's a bit like a car wreck on the highway. I know I shouldn't be looking but I can't quite turn away.

It's sick, it's twisted, it's the internet on it's worst level and darn it, it's kind of fun. At least for a little while.

Forumwarz is a parody role-playing game that takes place on the internet - or at least the Forumwarz version of it. Your goal is to complete missions that are given to you through a mock up of GoogleTalk called Sentrillion.

Your first "friend" is ShallowEsophagus who begins giving you missions to pwn various forums by being a troll. Depending on the character type you are assigned at start up, you have tools like drooling on the keyboard or bashing your head on the keyboard that you can use to destroy forum threads and eventually, pwn a forum.

Future missions involve buying illegal software from the Russians, pwning more difficult forums and other internet oddness.

Completing missions gives you cash, called Flezz in game, and items that you can pawn or use in other missions. The game is NOT for those easily offended. It's crass, coarse and there are frequent f-bombs in the fake chat sessions.

This is also a game for a more mature audience as it requires you to shop at the Drugs R Fun store to get various concoctions to improve your playing, engage in certain cyber activities to get more Flezz and just generally use a more adult perspective.

If you can get past that, here are the more enjoyable and time-wasting aspects.

View more Time Wasters

Featured Galleries

Defective by Design, London: Protest Pictures
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals
Android First-look: Amazon.com MP3 Store
Android First-look: Twitroid
Google Reader Android
Android Hands-On
Twine 1.0
Photoshop Express Beta
SXSWi 2008 Schwag Unboxing
SXSWi 2008 Day 1
Mozilla Birthday Cake
Palm stuff
Adobe Lightroom 1.1

 


Follow us on Twitter!

Flickr Pool

www.flickr.com

BloggingStocks Tech Coverage

More Tech Coverage

Joystiq

TUAW

BloggingStocks

Autoblog

Xbox 360 Fanboy

Engadget

WOW Insider

Switched.com

FanHouse