YouTube: More Ways to Find What You’re Looking For

We’ve got some exciting additions to the list of supported search parameters for YouTube feeds that should make it easier to narrow down your search results to exactly the videos you’re looking for. Each of these search parameters has an accompanying element in a video entry’s metadata, which we’ll cover as well. Here’s a quick rundown:

  • license – This parameter lets you filter search results based on whether they’re Creative Commons licensed (license=cc) or use the standard YouTube license (license=youtube). The default behavior is to return videos regardless of their license in search results. The license for a given video entry is reflected in its element.
  • hd – This one lets you request videos that have high-resolution versions available. If you specify hd (no value is needed), all the videos in your search results will be available for playback in at least 720p, and higher resolutions, like 1080p, might be available, too. If you leave the parameter out, then search results won’t be filtered at all based on resolution. The element corresponds to this search parameter.
  • duration – If you cater to an audience with a short attention span, then this parameter is for you. This parameter lets you filter search results based on video length. To find videos less than 4 minutes long, use duration=short. To find videos that are between 4 and 20 minutes long (inclusive), use duration=medium. Only videos that are longer than 20 minutes will be returning when requesting duration=long. The element in a video entry provides a video’s exact runtime.
  • 3d – Finally, for those of you living in the future who want to find 3D content on YouTube, this aptly-named parameter is for you. Adding 3d (no value is needed) to your searches will ensure that all videos you get back are available for viewing in 3D. Videos that are available in 3D will have a element in them, and that element will contain more detail about the nature of the 3D content in the given video.

Putting it all together, let’s say you want to use the API to find Creative Commons-licensed 3D YouTube videos that are available in resolutions of 720p and above and are longer than 20 minutes.The following request URL will return a feed of such videos:

https://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos?prettyprint=true&v=2&license=cc&hd&duration=long&3d

The Google Earth Flight Simulator

 

It’s been more than four years since Google first added the flight simulator to Google Earth, and it remains one of the most popular features in Google Earth. As the quality of Google Earth’s imagery, terrain and 3D buildings have improved over the years, it’s helped make the flight simulator experience even better.

 

flight-sim.jpg 

However, that wasn’t enough for user ‘that1anonymousdude’. He’s created a file that will modify your flight sim and let you turn the speed up really high. Using his mod, you can fly up to around 100,000 knots, while keeping solid control, and even fly up into space. It’s quite cool. Here’s a video of it in action:

 

 

His program modifies the flight sim config files to allow you to reach these crazy speeds (it doesn’t actually modify the actual Google Earth software). He’s released the source code so you can see how it works, and I’ve scanned it to verify there are no viruses or anything in it. However, always use caution when loading a third-party executable file on your computer.

Google Maps with WebGL

 

Google has just introduced a test mode on Google Maps that enables WebGL to help draw the maps, and the results have moved it a step closer to Google Earth. If you’re using a WebGL-enabled browser, such as a recent version of Google Chrome or the new Firefox beta, you’ll see a note in the lower left corner of Google Maps inviting you to try it out.

 

webgl.jpg 

The result is a much smoother experience; lots of animations to ease the transitions when zooming in, rotating 45 degree imagery, or switching into Street View. It also enables the transparent 3D buildings like you’ll see in the Android version of Google Maps.

All in all, it feels very similar to the Android version of Maps, with a few exceptions:

1 — You can’t angle your view or rotate the map, with the exception of the 45 degree imagery. On Android, you can angle and rotate freely on the street maps.

2 — The new transparent 3D buildings in Google Maps now cast shadows, which is a nice effect not seen in the Android version. Even better, as +Nick Altmann pointed out, the shadows are time-of-day (and likely day-of-year) accurate! Very cool. Here’s a screenshot of Los Angeles, taken around 3:45pm local time:

shadows.jpg 

It’s certainly no where near the depth of Google Earth (or the Google Earth Plug-in, also available inside of Google Maps), but it’s another step in that direction. It’s possible that the products could one day merge, but it seems that we’re still quite a distance from that.