10 Places You’re Not Allowed to See on Google Maps

If you think you have seen it all then you are wrong, Google Earth and Google Map does not allow you to see everything. There are some places or secrets which are kept under darkness by Google Maps. Below is the list of 10 places which are not allowed to see on Google Maps.

The Royal Residence, The Netherlands

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam in the Netherlands — called Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam — joins a long list of places blurred on Google Maps related to the Dutch royal family, including the Royal Stables and another residence called Huis ten Bosch

Buffalo Niagara International Airport

The Buffalo Niagara International Airport is largely whited out on Google Maps and details can’t be seen when the area is zoomed in.

Tantauco National Park, Chile

The Tantauco National Park in Chile can only be seen from a marker via Google Maps. The private natural reserve is home to many endangered animals.

Keowee Dam, South Carolina

Man-made reservoir Keowee Dam on Lake Keowee in South Carolina is also blurred on Google Maps. Shaped like a Christmas tree, the dam helps run a power utility called the Duke Energy company.

Mysterious Russian Site

It's not sure why this location in Russia has been blurred out, especially since it’s in the Siberian tundra. The closest city is Egvekinot, Russia, which is a neighbor to Alaska across the Bering Strait.

Minami Torishima Airport, Japan

The Minami Torishima Airport — a one-runway airport serving the island of Minami Torishima, located off the east coast of Japan — is oversaturated with white. It is currently used by the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force.

The Michael Aaf Building, Utah

The Dugway Proving Ground in Dugway, Utah is a region occupied by the U.S. Army where the military can test biological and chemical weapon systems. The Michael Aaf building on the proving ground is whited out, most likely for security reasons.

Cornell University Combined Heat and Power Plant, New York

The Cornell University Combined Heat and Power Plant in Ithaca, NY — which opened in 2010 — is blurred on Google Maps. The high-tech, eco-friendly facility generates electricity from natural gas as a part of the university’s effort to lower its carbon dioxide emissions.

Babylon, Iraq

The city of Babylon, Iraq looks more like endless farmland than a bustling city.

Vlissingen, The Netherlands

Properties owned by the Dutch royal family aren’t the only places blurred in the Netherlands. Joining the list are the oil tanks in Vlissingen (pictured), as well as several army bases and air force bases. The land area to the left also appears to be pixelated and adjusted.

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Windows 8 Release Preview Build 8400 Reportedly Leaks Online

Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview flavor is expected to become available for download as soon as next week, yet it seems that the build might have already leaked online.

A post on the WinUnleaked forums suggests that the Windows 8 Release Preview build 8400 is already available for download on various peer to peer websites, in the form of an ISO image.

Previously, Softpedia had the chance to have a look at some leaked info on Microsoft’s official Release Preview builds, and it appears that the leaked software matches one of them.

Apparently, this is indeed a legit build of Release Preview for China, and those who would like to give it a try can verify that through having a look at its HASH.

It should be:

MD5： F3AC28467258EC9F0ECEAF9690A0F06E

SHA1： C21B69413E08FCFB756EEDB2B99D0C0472486D1C

CRC32： 67F85067

Of course, the official release is only several days away, but there are already a lot of people growing anxious to learn more on what Microsoft has packed inside the latest Windows 8 flavor.

Some of the latest reports on the matter suggested that there would be updated and new Metro applications from the Redmond-based software giant, in addition to a series of visual changes.

Unlike in the Windows 8 Developer Preview and Consumer Preview versions, the future flavors of the platform should lose the Aero Glass and suffer modifications to the common controls on desktop mode.

Overall, the Windows 8 Desktop should show increased influence from the new Metro UI that dominates the platform. However, these modifications will be visible only in the final flavor of the OS.

The usability and performance of the platform will also be enhanced in upcoming releases, and the first taste of these improvements will arrive next week in Windows 8 Release Preview.

Most probably, the aforementioned leaked build will enable enthusiasts to learn some more on what these changes are all about.

Given that this is not an official Windows 8 release from Microsoft, however, we would advise users to refrain from downloading and installing it on their computers.

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Chrome Will Be the First to Support HTML5 Seamless Iframes

Google Chrome is always evolving and new features trickle down the development chain until they reach the over 200 million users threshold. The six weeks release schedule means that new features are always landing, but if you really want to be on the bleeding edge, you need to be using the Chromium builds.

That's where the latest and greatest additions are made and it's where you'll see them first. In the past week, Chrome/Chromium has gotten quite a few improvements.

One interesting addition is support for the seamless iframes, which is mostly complete now that the layout code has been merged. Seamless iframes are an HTML5 addition, not currently supported by any browser, which enable web developers to integrate iframes, well, seamlessly into pages, without any borders, scroll bars and so on.

While iframes were heavily frowned upon only a few years back, and for good reason, they're making a comeback now that the web is more intertwined than ever.

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