Google Earth: Get a Bird's-Eye View of your Home

by Emily Price | More from this Blogger

22 Oct 2006 04:19 AM

Do you ever wonder what the world looks like, from up above? Now you can see it all using Google Earth.

I actually took a look at this program by Google while it was still in Beta form. The Beta version of the program was something you could watch on a web page, now you have to download a program onto your computer, but the resolution of the video looks to be much better.

The program is free, and using a cable internet connection takes less than a minute to download and install onto your computer.

Once you open the program you are presented with a screen with the earth at its center. You can double click on the each in different areas to zoom in from space slowly on a particular area you're interested in. If you know exactly what you want to look at, then you can type in an address into a search bar on the left hand side of the screen. When you type in an address you are immediately take to a close up look at the address from the sky.

When this first came out I spent literally hours looking up houses I have lived in previously, my current house, my friends house, my work, the town I studied abroad in while I was in college...everywhere. It can be neat to see literally anywhere you could possibly want to go, from above. I'm also a visual learner, so it does wonders for determining where I am going when I travel.

Directions are another great feature. Forget mapquest, Google Earth gives you directions, but takes them a step further by also showing you from above how you are going to get there. Your route is highlighted in purple, and each turn is turned into a link you can click on and see exactly what that corner will look like when you get there. I'm typically bad with directions, but Google Earth makes them a no-brainer.

If you've never seen Google Earth I highly recommend checking it out, be careful...it's addictive!

Learn more about Emily Price

Emily is a freelance writer and video editor in Raleigh NC.

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