Obtaining the Google Earth Software


Unlike many of Google’s applications, this one requires you to download and install a client application. The Google Earth client, when launched, communicates with the Google Earth servers to retrieve satellite imagery. To get started, download the free version. Point your browser to http://earth.google.com.

Before you head to the Web site you should read through the next section to find out about the different versions that are available.

Choosing a Version

Google Earth has several different versions, from the free version to the enterprise version. This chapter helps you with some information to make the best choice on a version. Each has different features, but all use the same satellite imagery.

Click the Get Google Earth link in the upper-right portion of the Google Earth Web page. After you install it on your computer you are ready to begin seeing the Earth from a new perspective - from outer space.

The most important thing to remember when selecting a version of Google Earth, particularly one that costs money, is that the satellite images in all the versions are identical. Only the capabilities of the software vary.

Google Earth Free

The free version of Google Earth has almost all the power you’ll ever need to entertain and amuse yourself and others for hours. This version is for personal use only but still has very few limitations on its functionality. When you need Google Earth for business purposes, check out Google Earth Pro.

The free version of Google Earth lets you search, locate fly-through, save, and print locations all around the globe.

Google Earth Plus

The Plus license can be had for a very nominal fee. The added features include the ability to print at higher resolution. You can also create and add paths and polygons, as discussed earlier in this chapter. You can import up to 100 different address points from Comma Separated Value (CSV) files. I used this to map the Starbucks Coffee locations in a ten-square-block-area in my hometown (wink). Of greater importance is the ability to import GPS data. If you own a GPS device, you can import the data from your GPS and map locations, paths, trips you’ve taken, property lines, and any other place you can think to use your GPS. You can now integrate the power of GPS with the terabytes of satellite imagery at Google.

Google Earth Pro

Upgrading to Google Earth Pro is more expensive than Google Earth Plus but as a business tool, it falls in the category of not very expensive. The Plus version gives you faster image load times, but the Pro version gives you the fastest load time. While it has lots of extra features, the main reason to upgrade to the Pro version is that you can use it for business purposes, while the free and Plus versions are for personal use only.

One of the cool features offered by the Pro version is the ability to export movies of your tours and fly-throughs. They are exported in compressed format, which is easy to send along to others. You can make great sales and training tools with this feature.

Of particular interest to many businesses is the ability of Google Earth Pro to import data from Geographic Information Systems (GIS). For example, you can import demographic data that has been coded for GIS applications.

The location import feature handles up to 2,500 locations compared to the 100 locations supported by the Plus version.

Google Earth Enterprise

Google Earth Enterprise is the ultimate business client server software and hardware solutions for mapping and satellite imaging solutions. Google Earth Fusion program is part of Google Earth Enterprise and allows you to integrate your business data, GIS data, terrain, and data point information into a single application.

There are two levels of Enterprise functionality. The Pro version consists of a massively scalable Google Earth Enterprise server that streams data to Google Earth Enterprise Client software. Use this hardware and software combination to host and integrate all your own data with terabytes of geodata and the power of Google Earth. The LT version allows you to host your own data layers locally while fusing it with the basemap data hosted by Google.



Google Power Tools Bible
Google Power Tools Bible
ISBN: 0470097124
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 353

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