Google Earth

Google has always been known for its innovations. It was only a short time after it came on the scene that it took over as the number one Internet search engine. Several months ago Google brought out software that allowed you to view satellite photos of the earth. It was pretty neat, but clumsy and not very user friendly.

Last week they released a new version of this software calling it Google Earth. What a difference! There are still a few bugs in it but for the most part, it works just fine. The hardest thing right now is getting onto the download site. I’ve found that late at night or early in the mornings are the best times to get on. You can download Google Earth here: http://earth.google.com/. The setup file is over 10 megabytes so it will take a few minutes to download it.

Google Earth, like a lot of the newer software takes a fairly high-powered computer to make it work. (The current release will not work with Macintosh systems.) It will run on a lesser configuration, but these are the recommended system requirements.

Operating system: Windows XP

CPU speed: 2.4+ GHz

System memory: 512 MB

Hard drive space: 2 Gigs

3D-capable video card

1280 x 1024 32-bit screen resolution

Internet connection: 128 kbps (Cable or DSL)

If you have the computing horsepower to run Google Earth, and a broadband Internet connection, here are some of the things you can do. The program starts out with a view of the earth from outer space. On the left of the monitor there’s a place to type in a destination. If you want, use my hometown of Vincennes, IN and then hit “search.”

The view will immediately change as you zoom from space to my hometown. First, the outline of the state of Indiana will appear. As you zoom in closer, actual details of the city will appear. This includes lakes, roads, fields, and finally, houses. The default view of Vincennes just happens to center almost directly over my house. You’ll see the lake I live on in the lower left. My house is hidden by some trees. Use the control panel to zoom in even more. You can get a 3-D view of the area by tilting the view. There’s another control that allows you to rotate the view as well.

It’s amazing to watch the scenery as you fly over various parts of the country. Try using an actual address instead of just the city and state for your destination. I looked up several friends living in California and Texas and flew right over their homes. Once you find something of interest, you can save it or even email it as a jpg picture to someone. The resolution is not nearly as good as that from a low flying airplane, but it’s good enough to easily make out houses, trees, cars, etc.

This program isn’t called Google Earth by accident. Anywhere on earth can be viewed, not just the United States. Type “Rome Italy” into the search box. The view will pull back and you’ll soon be flying over the ocean on your way to Rome. When you get there, zoom in on the coliseum. It’s awesome. I also visited the Grand Canyon, North Pole, the Amazon River, and Disney Land in Florida.

There are several options you can include when you search for a destination…things such as motels, restaurants, parks, and even driving directions. As powerful as this free program is…it makes me wonder what government based satellites can see. Reach me at randy@randybenjamin.com.