Article Categories
» Arts & Entertainment
» Automotive
» Business
» Careers & Jobs
» Education & Reference
» Finance
» Food & Drink
» Health & Fitness
» Home & Family
» Internet & Online Businesses
» Miscellaneous
» Self Improvement
» Shopping
» Society & News
» Sports & Recreation
» Technology
» Travel & Leisure
» Writing & Speaking

  Listed Article

  Category: Articles » Technology » Computers » Article
 

Explore the Earth from Home




By Jesse S. Somer

What the!!?? Google Earth? Has a company taken over our world? No, just mapped it out for you to look at.

I was over at a friend’s house the other day and on his computer he showed me his own house as viewed by a satellite in Earth’s orbit. It was awesome. The screen started out looking at our great blue planet, then he typed in his house’s address (he had programmed it in, as only the USA, UK, and Canada have the ability to find an address automatically so far) and the planet turned to our country. Then it zoomed in further and further until we could see the roof of his house! My genetic father (mother has been married thrice) lives in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, so I typed in his address, the world shifted around, zoomed in, and all of a sudden I could see the roof of his house, the swimming pool in the backyard, driveway and street, trees etc. It was a real mind-blower. One of the best things about www.google.earth.com is that we can now look at real photographs of any part of the world: pyramids in Egypt, Shanghai city, beaches in Jamaica, you can go and look at any place on the globe. All you need to do is point and click your computer’s mouse on any spot (address unnecessary), and it’s free.

I eventually found my own house (it will be much easier when the whole world has been mapped by street names on the free downloadable version) and I think that the 20$ version has a GPS (Global positioning system) which must make finding things a lot easier. You can also get directions to local areas such as restaurants, parks, hospitals, schools and hotels. The idea is to combine Google’s search abilities with imagery and mapping and I think it has great ramifications for the future of location information. You can then save and share your location searches with your friends and colleagues as well as adding your own data, as in my friend’s case. Google Earth’s users have already saved thousands of personal data points for you to look at and add to: EG: Show people where your business is located.

Another neat aspect of the technology is that you can tilt and rotate the satellite’s view to give you a more 3-D perspective on buildings, mountains and landmarks on the terrain. Many people have asked me if the photos are real time and if you run out front of your house will you see yourself? We would need a lot of satellites out in orbit if we hoped to have this kind of ‘Big Brother’ capability and I‘m sure ethical questions would also be raised.

If you are looking for directions the program will actually drive or fly you on the best route to get where you are going. The website has photos of ten of the most popular ‘destinations’ so you can check out the quality of the high-resolution photos. With the ‘Measure’ tool you can see how far it is to the local airport or from Paris to London. With the ‘Pro’ version at $200 (there are three versions) you can also measure area, radius, and perimeter, which can have many applications in professional situations. There are also different layers of mapping information you can click on so all the volcanoes or golf courses will come up automatically if they are what you choose to see in a specific area. If you are searching for places to dine, when a restaurant comes up on the screen you can click on ‘more’ and information such as hours of operation, menus, reviews, and links to the business website become available.

Pretty cool huh! The only problem you may have is that your computer may not be powerful enough to handle the software or 3-D graphics capability. You also miss out if you own a Macintosh, as a compatible version hasn’t been built for them yet. Don’t take my word for it, go to the site and check it out. You may find that it has applications that could change the face of your business as well as the way you look at traversing our world, not to mention the ease to which you will be able to locate pizzas anywhere on Earth.
 
 
About the Author
Jesse S. Somer
M6.Net
http://www.m6.net
Jesse S. Somer doesn’t have the whole, wide world in his hands…but he does have it on his computer.

Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/5561.html
 
If you wish to add the above article to your website or newsletters then please include the "Article Source: http://www.simplysearch4it.com/article/5561.html" as shown above and make it hyperlinked.



  Some other articles by Jesse S. Somer
Two Dads: One computer-maniac, the other computer-phobic.
I have two Dads. That sounds strange doesn't it? One is my genetic father, and the other is my geneticist father. The ...

There's no reason to fear when making a website.
I've been writing about the Internet for a couple of years now so you'd probably assume that I am proficient with all aspects of the Web, from using search engines to building a website. Well, you're wrong. ...

Make your own TV show
If you're anything like me, you've spent many, many hours of your life watching television. From sit-coms and game shows to cartoons and reality TV, we've sat in front ...

What's stopping me from getting a website?
I've been having a bit of a problem lately. As I've been working for an Internet company for a couple ...

Humanity is striving for perfection. Are we judging ourselves too harshly?
What does it mean to be perfect? Many people strive for 'perfection' in their life, through their work, their family, and their love lives. All the time we hear about, or are ...

Realizing we are each other, we can learn to give of ourselves.
You might think I am some sort of idealist or believer in a utopian society, but there are some questions that I like to ask and wonder about in relation to the future of our species. ...

  
  Recent Articles
Microsoft Word. The power is under the hood
by Robert Duval

How To Select The Best Gaming Laptops
by Tim Childree

How To Select The Best Business Laptops
by Tim Childree

High-Tech Computer Rental for Business Promotion
by Michael Braganza

Managing a Worldwide Print Infrastructure from a Single Workstation in a Central Location
by Rick Ferguson

A Sneak Peek Into The World Of Refurbished Laptops
by Javier Fuller

Battery information
by goodbattery

Tell Me About Computers
by Khal Nuwar

Setting Up Your Own Internet Radio Station
by Jason Cole

Understanding Solar Energy
by Anna Stone

Mac FAXstf X Pro Faxing Program for Mac OS X Users
by Nivea David

How to Retrofit a Picture or an Image into Desktop Wallpaper for Your Computer
by Steve Dimeck

Can't connect to database