News and Tidbits about Google Earth

Filed under: Reviews

I found a few really interesting posts about Google Earth today and I thought I’d share them with you.  As awesome as Google Earth is, I’m pretty certain our Earth from Orbit software will give it a run for its money.

1. Google Earth has a new feature that allows you to view the world as it looked in days gone by.  By incorporating imagery from historical maps, Google has made this possible.  It’s like a geography lesson right from your computer.  Good times… Read the entire zdnet article here.

2. This isn’t a particularly new feature of Google Earth anymore, if you keep up with this ever-changing technology.  But if you’re new to Google Earth, it’s something interesting you might like to know.  They have incorporated 3D buildings into their mapping software.  And while it will take years for ALL buildings in Google Earth to appear in 3D, there are quite a few at this point.  And they’re impressive to look at for sure.  Check it out…

3. A few months ago, Google Earth released version 4.3.  This version included some really interesting features and upgrades, including a sunlight feature which simulates the change in light throughout the day over terrain and buildings on earth.  I LOVE that one.  There are other new features you can find out about in this tmcnet article.

4. I found this article about the Google Earth Library browser.  With it you can view all the files of the Google Earth Library, rather than having to download them one at a time the old way to incorporate it into your Google Earth.  In looking at the comments, it looks like someone was having some trouble using it with the newest version of Google Earth (4.3).  But only one person complained of this, so it should be just fine.  Might be worth a look, especially if you spend a lot of time downloading KML files.  Check out the Google Earth Library info here.

5. Apparently Disney World has been working on making their little universe available in 3D on Google Earth.  According to the article I referenced, this was supposed to launch on 20 May.  But when I went to the Disneyworld in 3D site just now, I see that it’s not, in fact, launched.  Ah well…such is the life of the interwebs.  Should be soon though.  Read the original article to see all the features that will be available.

We are gearing up for our Beta launch of Earth from Orbit.  With Earth from Orbit you’ll be able to do all the things you can do with Google Earth and more.  You’ll be able to see hi-res satellite imagery of other planets and the moon as well as the Earth.  You’ll be able to see more technical things as well, like atmospheric conditions, weather conditions like hurricane dynamics and seasonal climate changes.  Earth From Orbit uses special Imaging metrics which get updated daily and which keep track of things like current fires, storms and floods so you can see these elements on the globe as well.  These elements are not available in Google Earth.  And of course it’s totally free!  Stay tuned for our limited Beta testing release.

Technorati Tags: google earth, 3d satellite, 3d, satellite imagery, globe, hi-res earth, 3d globe software, satellite photos, satellite images

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