Poly9 FreeEarth is a cross-browser, cross-platform 3D globe using Adobe Flash to provide a WOW-ing experience. Check out the site as they’ve got plenty of impressive demos of what they’ve done.

One such tool still in development there is Reading Tracks/Waypoints using Garmin Communicator. Here’s what it looks like so far:

Notice the Communicator interface located above the globe. Yep, that’s right, you can view tracks and waypoints from your Garmin GPS device on this cool 3D globe!

Simply click on “Get Data” after the plugin finds your device and all tracks and waypoints will be read from your device:

Then select the track or waypoint you want to see. Here are the results after some automated and some manual zooming:

Perhaps the coolest part about this is being able to view and navigate the globe in full screen. To enable Full Screen mode, click the icon in the top right corner of the navigation area.

Also in the navigation area is a vertical scrollbar for zooming, and a horizontal bar for tilting.

At this point I’m sure you’re eager to play with it so I’ll say no more.

GPSies helps you find tracks for all kinds of fitness activities around the world. You can also contribute to the community by uploading your own tracks.

With the Communicator Plugin, Garmin fitness users can download their tracks of interest directly to the device from the site. Here’s how:

First, find a track you’re interested in. You can find a track by region and also by type of fitness activity. Each track is represented by a bubble icon representing the kind of activity it is (bike, shoes, car, and others). Click the bubble icon once, and then click “View” to see the track laid out on the map:

Once you’ve found and displayed the track, select “Garmin Course TCX” from the drop-down menu, and then click “Export to Garmin GPS”, displayed below:

A transfer window will popup. Click the “Send GPSies file to Garmin GPS device…” button shown below:

Now you’re good to go! The track will appear in the Courses menu of your fitness device.

Mapicurious.com allows you to share your favorite points-of-interest (POIs) with friends. You can create your own map, search for existing ones, and display your map on your blog or site.

Mapicurious supports Communicator so you can easily transfer map points to your Garmin device by clicking the “Go to Garmin” link on the right side next to “Download to your Garmin GPS”. Here’s the Communicator in action:

Your Garmin device can do more than help you find places–it can help you find treasure! For those of you not already in the know, I’m referring to Geocaching.com by Groundspeak.

Geocaching is an adventure game in which GPS users hide and seek hidden treasures, or caches. One of the first caches was hidden in Oregon during 2005, and since then, the sport has grown considerably and is now a popular world-wide activity.

Geocachers can easily send cache locations to their Garmin devices using the “Send to GPS” feature that was recently added to the Geocaching site:

The “Send to GPS” icon, circled above, transfers cache destinations to the device with a single click of the mouse.

Transferring cache locations to Garmin devices is now much easier for both veteran and beginner geocachers. So whether you’re new to geocaching or list it as one of your favorite hobbies, use the the Send to GPS feature with your Garmin device and cache your heart away.

Here are some examples of the Communicator Plug-in used by sites we’ve found:

MotionBased

MotionBased is a web application that translates GPS data into functional analysis and online mapping for endurance and outdoor athletes. Some changes have been made recently to the interface to make activity transfer simpler for users, by turning off the Google Map feature as well as the Cancel Find Devices option. CSS customization allows the plug-in to fit into any site’s color and font scheme. Checkbox options allow visitors to turn specific options on or off themselves, such as allowing duplicates and selecting activities individually.

AllSportGPS

Like MotionBased, AllSportGPS provides fitness training enthusiasts with the ability to track their workouts and performance. It implements a simple, one-click interface for uploading data to Garmin devices. Again, CSS styling is used here to match existing color themes.

GeoTours

GeoTours is a web application that allows you to easily create media-rich GPS tours now supports importing tour locations with Garmin GPS devices. Visitors can import multiple locations from their Garmin devices for their own personalized tours.

More sites using Communicator (descriptions coming soon!):

• GeoCaching
• Mapicurious

If you know of a site that uses the Communicator Plug-in, go ahead and share it with us by commenting and we’ll post an entry on it.