Google Earth
234 words… and while we’re on new software releases, yesterday Google released its Google Earth software for Windows. This is a new release of what was known as “Keyhole” before Google acquired it.
Essentially this is an onscreen globe, skinned with satellite imagery of Earth, which you can zoom into and explore. Detail is streamed from the Internet as you explore. The detail of the satellite imagery varies, but in some places you can see individual cars. These are the same images used in Google Maps, so if you’ve used that you’ll know what to expect.
In addition to the satellite images, though, you get various layers of extra detail, such as roads, placenames, businesses, geographical features, etc. Best of all, there is 3D terrain mapping. I’m not great at interpreting satellite photography for depth, but using Google Earth I can zoom in on somewhere mountainous, then tilt the viewing angle and see the whole scene swing into relief. Doing this at the Grand Canyon is quite an eye opener (and I’ve been there for real!)
Not having seen Keyhole, I’m not certain what Google has added, but if you do a local search in some parts of the world, you get local businesses, who are presumably paying to advertise on Google.
Fantastic. If you’ve got a reasonably fast PC with a 3D graphics card, and a broadband Internet connection, definitely download it. It’s free.