TECH THAT...

A ROUND-UP OF THE LATEST NEWS IN THE DIGITAL WORLD

IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS FOR MAPS

INCREDIBLY, Google Maps is now 15 years old. A lot of us now won’t be able to imagine the world without it and wonder how we managed to get anywhere before it was introduced.

It’s improved a lot over that period, and Google has just unveiled its latest upgrade.

The maps will now show greater detail, using colour-coding to give more info about the kind of terrain you are looking at.

Using their comprehensive satellite imagery (which they say covers 98% of the population), Google has run the info through some AI trickery to come up with more detailed shading and colours – so you can easily distinguish between desert and lush vegetation, for example.

This update is available now in all 220 contrived and territories Google Maps covers – all 100m square miles of them…

Coming soon is a further upgrade, which Google says will see Maps more accurately reflect road and path widths to make navigation easier.

Portal now supports a host of video apps

A PORTAL INTO MORE MEETINGS

WITH most business meetings still taking place over the internet via video chat, it’s good news that Facebook is finally supporting some of the most popular video conferencing apps on its Portal devices… not just its own Facebook Workplace platform.

Facebook says it’s now partnering with Bluejeans, Gotomeeting, Webex and Zoom to offer more options.

Those services will go live on Portal next month (September) and will come to the Portal Mini, Portal and Portal+. Portal TV support is in the works, too.