I'm pleased to announce the release of Live Globe 1.0 on the app store. This app really pushes WhirlyGlobe to its limits in some interesting ways.
Live Globe is actually the original WhirlyGlobe app and the publisher, Hyperwords, is my first WhirlyGlobe client. There's some interesting history there, but first a video.
History
In early 2011 I was contemplating writing a toolkit. I was thinking of doing either a 3D interactive globe or a 2D interactive map, but I needed a client. I've learned that I don't get anything done without deadlines or outside observers. Quantum effects may be at play.
So there I was trolling the job boards, looking for someone who needed one or the other. Hyperwords turned up first with a list of requirements for a 3D globe. I sorted those into toolkit vs. app piles, made an initial schedule and off we went.
The WhirlyGlobe toolkit is all mine, distributed under an open source license. So most of that development was just me doing my thing. As soon as the toolkit was working, we negotiated for development of Live Globe specific features. I'm a consultant, that's what I do.
After another interlude, I ended up writing the non-globe features as well. And here we are.
Features
If you're at all interested in this stuff, you should just go buy the thing and check it out. No whining about the $3.99 price tag. Nice things cost a little bit of money.
There are a few unique things in Live Globe.
- The imagery data set is tweaked a bit and higher resolution than normal.
- Two data sets are provided for different hardware.
- Some of the vector data is new and a good bit of the rest is modified.
- The interaction model is a bit smoother and better integrated.
- Overall, the app more gracefully handles memory usage.
Those first three are the most interesting. A lot of app developers don't want to deal with manipulating the data sets. For good reason too, it's a weird set of skills and it can be time consuming and expensive.
The rest of the development was details, details, details.
Full Disclosure
I'm not an independent app developer. I only do apps for other people. I'm not a partner in Live Globe or any other app. I'm just a consultant with a toolkit.
Live Globe is cool and I wish Hyperwords the best, but I don't have a stake in its financial success.
So Buy it Already
Hyperwords has a long list of features planned for future versions. But someone has to, you know, buy the thing. This was the app I used to develop WhirlyGlobe and it was invaluable to me for that. If you're using WhirlyGlobe or even think it's cool, you should go buy this app.