It’s very cool and perfect to while away an hour or two every now and again, but it doesn’t look likely the program will keep you coming back unless you’re using it for a very specific purpose. We’re sure you’d become more familiar with the commands over time, but for a first go, it was a little frustrating.įinally, it’s hard to make a call as to how long Google Earth will keep you entertained. You then have to squint at all the little icons to decide what’s the next move. Sometimes you’ll find yourself at a screen that looks like Street View and attempt to move as you would using Maps, only to find that it’s a 360º picture that you can only look around from. Now, bearing in mind the massive job the software has to do to get the satellite imagery online, this isn’t exactly a surprise, but these days we’re used to speed online and waiting for longer load times can really test our patience.Īnother con is that the controls aren’t always intuitive. We feel almost bad for picking holes in Google Earth but there are a few niggles that occurred to us while we used it. You’ll also be able to see how Google is using Earth to contribute to research and education, as well as accessing a number of secondary Earth tools (More from Earth…) that allow people to use it in a more practical way in their community or workplace. Like almost every other Google tool out there, there is extensive support documentation, help centers, and forums, and a Medium blog, to keep you updated with changes to the program. If you’re logged in, you’ll be able to save locations and searches, upload your own coordinates, and better keep track of your interactions with the software. This being a Google tool, you’ll be able to get more out of it if you sign in with a Google account. The arch-content creator that Google is, some of these interactive suggestions are truly charming and will definitely encourage you to stick around a while. Obviously, all the power of the internet adds a few features, so when you tire of navigating yourself, you can click through to the Voyager section (indicated by the little ship’s wheel icon) to let Google give you some suggestions, games, and hints that will allow you to get more out of the tool. The premise is simple - Google Earth is an online, 3D globe and you can use it for the exact purpose you might use a traditional globe - marveling at our planet, finding geographical locations, and getting a sense of the scale of the planet on which we live. It’s been around since 2001 and has seen many, many updates and a lot of new tech that make it the amazing tool it is today. Google Earth is a classic Google program that renders the Earth in 3D based on extensive satellite imagery. Despite a few problems, Google Earth is still totally amazing

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