The Weekly Download: Google Earth

If you haven't downloaded Google Earth, you have to check it out. It's like having the world at your fingertips - literally.

You begin in space and there you can spin, tilt, zoom in and out of the Earth with your mouse.

You can zoom into landmarks (craters, CN Tower, Empire State Building, etc.) or right down to your address with stunning precision and graphical accuracy.

Now this would still be pretty cool, but it would get old fast. Thankfully Google Earth can be used for so much more.

Google Earth allows you to find all of the following information:

Dining
Lodging
Banks and ATM machines
Bars and Clubs
Coffee shops
Shopping Centers
Stores
Gas Stations
Golf Courses
Sports and Recreational Facilities
Schools
Crime Statistics
Census Results
Street Names
. . and a whole (I mean it) lot more

Better yet, it allows you to search for anyone of those things and can even locate any type of address.

Google Earth can even be used as to get driving directions (so say good-bye to Mapquest).

It's like a 3D map of the earth right in your hands. It'll amuse for hours. It's just so neat to zoom in and out of the earth, find interesting terrain or landmarks.


Google Earth is such a versatile tool that makes it a must have for just about everyone. The good thing is that you can even add your own annotations on the map.

For example I found a possible foundation of a villa in Italy that someone annotated.


Here are the recommended requirements to run Google Earth:

Operating System: Windows XP
CPU Speed: Pentium 4 - 2.4 Ghz or AMD 2400xp+
RAM: 512MB
Hard Disk Space: 2GB
3D Graphics Card: Compatible 3D Card with 32MB or more VRAM
Internet Connection: Broadband/Cable (128kb/s)

If you have those you will find the program to be visually stunning and highly detailed.

To download Google Earth or to find more information visit earth.google.com.

Give Google Earth a whirl and explore the world today.

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