Last week The Discovery Channel launched a very cool rich Internet application (whiz-bang Web site) called Earth Live that lets you play around with a 3D model of the Earth and unleash all sorts of havoc to see what happens when you do. One article gave these details:Drawing on data from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the new site and widget allow users to see nearly real-time satellite data of the globe's cloud cover, water vapor, and sea surface temperatures. Discovery and developer partner EffectiveUI have combined these elements to create "stories" around events like Katrina, La Nina, and a year in the life of the earth's biosphere. Users can also remix the elements of the biosphere into custom world views. All views can be added to web pages and Facebook as widgets.
Sadly, you can't unleash an attack by aliens. It's all weather-related. But it's very cool and may give you all something to do for a few minutes instead of actual WORK.
For more background, see this Computerworld story.
Check out the Earth Live site here.
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