Google Maps Gets Updated Street View Access to Everest, Kilimanjaro, Mount Elbrus And Much More

Google has been doing a lot to make Google Maps more about exploring the world, including places few will ever be able to see with their own eyes. Today, the company announced that it has added more locations to Maps, including Street View-style access to some of the highest peaks in the world.

Via the official Google Blog, the company revealed the introduction of new Street View features for some of Earth’s most celebrated mountains, including Everest, Mount Elbrus, Aconcagua and Kilimanjaro. They belong to the famous Seven Summits, an elite collection of the highest mountains on each continent. You don’t even have to acclimatize to high altitudes to check out these locations on Google Maps.

There’s a lot of detail in the virtual tours you can take of these peaks, including images of base camps set up by actual explorers. Google set out with a fisheye lens and lightweight tripod to capture the images, and will be detailing the whole expedition in a Google+Hangout which is set to kick off at 10 AM PT today.

Google has been doing a lot to build out some amazing views of the more remote corners of the world, including its recent introduction of Street View tours of the Grand Canyon, Antarctica and other far-flung locations. Google’s remote tourism is actually an incredibly cool way to attract eyeballs to the Maps product, while helping the company build out an even more comprehensive database than it already has. [Source]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology

Google Investigates 'Drive' Connectivity That Has Been Affecting Users

If you've been experiencing issues with Google Drive this morning, you're not alone: Google's status page for its various services indicates the company is investigating an issue with its storage locker and documents solution. A number of Verge staff members across the US and in the UK are experiencing issues connecting to Drive over the web, and we've heard from other users and seen reports across Twitter that we're not alone. While access on your computer might be spotty, the iOS and Android apps seem a bit more stable at the moment. Right now, it appears to be isolated to Drive, as Google doesn't list issues with any other services, but that's little comfort for those who use Drive and Docs to get work done. We've reached out to Google and will update this post with any new information we receive.

Update: Google has confirmed Drive's issues, saying that it is working on issues that are "affecting a significant subest of users." The company says it plans to provide another update shortly after noon ET — we'll be keeping our eyes peeled for any changes or updates between now and then.

Update 2: As of 11:55 AM ET, Google says service should be fully restored within the next hour.

Update 3: As of 12:35 PM ET, Google says that the problems with Drive "should be restored." [Source]

You can follow me on Twitter, add me to your circles on Google+ or Subscribe to me on facebook or YouTube. You can also check my website and blog to keep yourself updated with what is happening in the ever changing world of technology