Google Maps gets improved live view and eco-friendly routing in the latest update

While live and aerial view have already been rolled out, eco-friendly routing will be available to developers later this year

Google last week shared that it will be bringing four new features to Google maps. These updates, according to the company’s blog, will include features like the addition of aerial views of 250 plus landmarks across the work, improvements to live view and nearby search and addition of eco-friendly routing for delivery and ride sharing companies.

Updates to nearby search or “neighborhood vibe feature” will give users the chance to select a neighbourhood and see the most popular spots. These will be represented with images right within the Google Maps app. This will also include 250 photorealistic aerial views of global landmarks across the globe. The addition of an aerial view is part of the immersive view that Google announced at its I/O event held earlier this year.

The immersive view will use predictive modelling to learn the historical trends of a place to provide users with the information they might need to plan their visit around these landmarks. In live view, the updates will add a search with a live view which will be used to find more information for areas around users. This information will include ATMs, coffee shops, grocery stores, and transit stations. It will also include information like business hours and how busy a place is during different times of the day.

Search with a live view will initially be rolled out starting with cities like London, New York, San Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo in the coming months on Android and iOS.

Google also shared that its eco-friendly routing was recently launched in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Eco-friendly routing, according to the company’s blog, helps users choose the most fuel-efficient routes using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the European Environment Agency.

The company also shared that this feature will allow delivery and read-sharing service providers to measure fuel consumption and savings in single trips for a vehicle as well as measure these metrics for their entire fields.

Additionally, the feature rolling out for developers later this year will allow them to select engine types to get more accurate energy efficiency estimates.

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #google #map

Charles & Keith has teamed up with Paris-based independent footwear brand 'Both'

Charles & Keith has teamed up with Paris-based independent footwear brand 'Both' on an exclusive capsule collection.

Swati Bhat

Both, known for its unique use of rubber in its designs, have collaborated with Charles & Keith on a coordinated footwear and handbag collection inspired by 90’s punk and urban-chic streetwear aesthetics.

The collection takes a contemporary spin on the art of imperfection, drawing inspiration from the ancient Japanese art form of Kintsugi, a traditional method of utilising gold to mend cracks in ceramics or to bind broken pieces together.

For the footwear, the traditional Chelsea boot and chunky loafer silhouettes, known as iconic styles for Charles & Keith, have been reimagined in a new form with Both’s experimental curved rubber soles. Grunge streetstyle-inspired platforms have been added, while the seams on the footwear have been broken up and underlaid in gold or silver, with hammered metal toe-caps.

'Both' collaborates with Charles & Keith

While the bags take on 90s-inspired silhouettes “with a futuristic twist,” explains Charles & Keith. The baguette shoulder bags have been given chunky straps for a maximalist effect, while structured bucket bags feature a magnetic closure that folds over to create a sleek elliptical form. Inspired by punk subculture, the styles include removable charms and chains in a burnished finish, while a statement buckle, also seen on the loafers, wraps around the body of the bucket bag.

Commenting on the collaboration, Fredie Stevens, design director at Charles & Keith, said in a statement: “The blending of our brands’ sensibilities was very natural. Innovation and experimentation form the backbone of our design ethos, and we have a strong collaborative spirit in our roots, as active players in the global creative circuit.

“With Both’s expertise and one-of-a-kind rubber technique, we tapped on each other’s strengths to push the boundaries on design and translate this material into a contemporary collection we hope our wearers will love.”

Both added: “We are always looking to capture the culture, mood and people of a certain period, and this collection is an ode to the transgressive spirit of punk, reflected in the youthful zeal of the new generation, who have challenged and redefined the boundaries of so many norms.”

The Both x Charles & Keith capsule collection launches on October 7.

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #both #charlesandkeith

New book claims Prince Harry turned down Prince William's effort to reconcile

London [UK], October 4: A new book reveals the shocking reason Prince Harry ignored his brother Prince William in his reconciliation efforts.

According to New York Post, in the midst of the brothers' feud, author Valentine Low claimed that one stressful moment occurred when William and his wife Kate Middleton believed a now-infamous media appearance was a "deliberate attempt to knock the Cambridges out of the headlines." William began to have concerns about the Sussexes' happiness in the royal family when Harry and Meghan Markle gave an interview to ITV during their 2019 tour of South Africa, realizing the family might be "in crisis." One of the earliest public examples of Harry and Meghan's challenges as royals was their interview with ITV for their documentary "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey." In the royal limelight, Meghan spoke candidly about her hardships as a mother and newlywed. ITV's Tom Bradby even confronted Harry about his feud with his brother, which he did not deny. "We are certainly on different paths at the moment, but I will always be there for him, as I know he will always be there for me," Prince Harry said in the documentary.

When Prince William and Kate were touring Pakistan, the interview dominated press coverage, and it unavoidably overshadowed their visit. In the book, according to The Post, William allegedly arranged a meeting with Harry, who initially agreed in the hopes of making atonement after he and Markle levelled multiple allegations against the royal family. According to the book, the Duke of Sussex changed his mind shortly after agreeing and refused the offer. When Harry asked William who he would inform about the meeting, William responded that the Prince's private secretary would need to be informed in order to put it on his calendar. The book claims that Harry preferred they not go rather than run the risk of the visit being reported in the media because he was worried William's team would tell the press about it.

According to New York Post, five months before Harry and Meghan left the royal family and moved to Canada, Prince William made the effort to mend fences with his brother.

#thecommunique #tc #tcn #royals