Software Information

Google Brings the Earth to Your Desktop


Google Inc. has launched a new software package that allows you to see satellite images on your desktop.

Google Earth lets you search for locations anywhere on earth and display 3D aerial images of major cities and tourist attractions. Google Earth is in development, but a free beta version is available for home users. Locations can be searched by address, intersections, cities, zip codes or countries and the images can be zoomed in close enough to see streets and buildings.

The images generated are 3D - you can rotate the view to see different sides of an object. You can navigate using a mouse or the keyboard, and view selectable layers to display information about local features such as roads, terrain, schools or golf courses.

Images of 38 US cities can be viewed from "the ground up" allowing you to see 3D representations of buildings and terrain. Measurement functions include distances between two locations, perimeters, radius and area.

Search results can be saved, printed and emailed. Driving directions can be automatically generated and you can trace the route using the "Play" button located underneath the directions tab.

Google Earth is based on technology from Keyhole Corp., a digital mapping company acquired by Google in 2004. The database that drives Google Earth is based on images from satellite and airplane photographs. The database is said to be "multi-terabytes" in size.

Google Earth is available in several versions. The free version is for personal use. Google Earth Plus costs $20 and integrates data from your GPS device. Google Earth Pro costs $400 and is designed for businesses who need a research and collaboration tool. Finally, there is Google Earth Enterprise Solutions for on-site deployment of Google Earth.

The technology behind Google Earth is not new, and smaller companies such as GlobeXplorer LLC have been offering 3D aerial views for several years. Google has the marketing clout, however, to bring the technology to the consumer level and integrate it into its advertising programs.

Users can search for local businesses and receive a viewpoint of 10 search results within a specified area. Clicking on a business listing brings up its address, phone number and driving directions.

Copyright 2005 by Ross MacIver

This article may be redistributed freely on the Internet or in ezines as long as the resource box and hyperlinks remain intact.

Ross MacIver is the director of Best Online Content. We provide quality content for your web site and offer a full range of design and SEO services.


MORE RESOURCES:

Electronic House

RealNetworks Stops DVD Copying Software
Red Herring, CA - 5 hours ago
by mark selfe The Seattle based company has responded to the US District courts' request to suspend the distribution and sale of the RealDVD software due to ...
Judge orders RealNetworks to pull copying software The Associated Press
Judge's Top Secret Decision Blocks Sale of DVD-Copying Software Wired News
Sales of RealDVD movie copying software halted by judge Dallas Morning News
Los Angeles Times - Home Media Magazine
all 134 news articles


CNBC

UPDATE 4-SAP saw sudden drop-off in software sales
Reuters - 3 hours ago
SAP, the world's biggest maker of software that large and mid-sized companies use to manage their businesses, blamed the financial industry crisis and ...
SAP Announces 2008 Third Quarter Preliminary Software and Software ... MarketWatch
Europe's largest software company SAP warns on profits guardian.co.uk
SAP Blames Credit Crunch for Drop in Orders Wall Street Journal
Bloomberg - MarketWatch
all 241 news articles


NEWS.com.au

Facebook Co-Founder To Leave For Own Software Startup
InformationWeek, NY - 11 hours ago
Now, he plans to launch a software startup, according to reports on the Valleywag.com Web site. The Silicon Valley publication said that CEO Mark Zuckerberg ...
Facebook Cofounder Leaving To Start New Company NewsFactor Network
Facebook co-founder quits Siliconrepublic.com
Facebook co-founder calls it quits ITWeb
LinuxInsider.com - VentureBeat
all 109 news articles


Patterson Cos. acquires supplier, software maker
CNNMoney.com - 10 hours ago
based Patterson said it was acquiring software company Odyssey Veterinary Software LLC. Patterson shares fell $1.20, or 4.1 percent, to $27.67 in afternoon ...
Patterson Companies Acquires Leading, Value-Added Distributor of ... MarketWatch
Patterson Cos. acquires Columbus Serum Bizjournals.com
Patterson buys Ohio veterinary company Bizjournals.com
all 30 news articles


Big Blue shares cloudy thinking with developers+dog
Register, UK - 7 hours ago
Today, as part of its ongoing effort to explain what cloud computing is and why we need it, Big Blue launched a set of services to help application software ...
IBM Releases Bluehouse for Collaboration New York Times
IBM Opens 'Bluehouse' For Cloud-Based Social Networking InformationWeek
IBM Puts More Tools in the InternetNews.com
CNNMoney.com - TheStreet.com
all 88 news articles


Snap-on Announces New Diagnostic Software for Navistar(R) Engines
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
NAVPAK replaces the current Navistar MD32 Master Diagnostics Fleet software. Technicians using NAVPAK will benefit from a PC-based application that supports ...


Satori Software Releases New Edition of Its Desktop Mailing ...
MarketWatch - 9 hours ago
SEATTLE, WA, Oct 06, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Satori Software, Inc. today announced the immediate availability of the newest edition of its desktop ...


Software Developer
Seattle Post Intelligencer - 5 hours ago
Overview: The Software Developer is responsible for designing, developing, and maintaining custom software applications. *Software Development on the ...


TopCoder Joins Lineups for SD Best Practices and Software Business ...
MarketWatch - 13 hours ago
TopCoder, Inc. today announced its participation in two premier software industry conferences scheduled for the end of October. In Boston, TopCoder will ...


Healy Hudson Teams With IBM for Software as a Service Solution
MarketWatch - 14 hours ago
have signed a five-year, five million euro Software as a Service contract. As part of the agreement, IBM will support Healy Hudson's e-placing solution ...
Healy Hudson Teams With IBM for Software as a Service Solution International Business Times
IBM opens Scottish data centre CRN - UK
IBM Invests £2 Million in Scotland for New UK Services Business ... International Business Times
all 23 news articles

Software - Google News

home | site map
© 2006