IT’S RARE TO ENCOUNTER free software as well-designed and powerful as Google Earth, but the folks at Google have done it again. This informative application uses satellite imagery, maps,and Google Search to let you rocket around the world and zoom in on a location, right down to street level.
When you first fire up Google Earth, you’ll immediately notice that most of the interface’s real estate displays a rendering of the globe, complete with topographical markings.You simply enter information for the location you’d like to visit—such as country, city, or specific street address—and Google Earth will begin slowly zooming in on your destination.
After a moment, you’ll see a satellite image of the place you entered. Controls below
the location window let you zoom in or out further; move north, south, east, and west; and
save specific locations on the map.
The program’s Layers pane allows you to determine the type of information that appears on the map. For instance, you can choose to display roads, hospitals, grocery stores, restaurants, golf courses, bars—even crime statistics. The app can provide precise pointto-point driving directions, as well.
The only potential downside of Google Earth is its sizable RAM consumption when running in the background. As the developer notes, users with older machines might experience performance issues. But everyone else is bound to love Google Earth, either as an informational tool or an entertaining novelty.
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(From Computer Shopper mag)
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