Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

I’m having a hard time controlling my excitement about the newest enhancements to Google Earth.  Try to restrain yourselves, this news is shocking.  Google has added oceans to Google Earth.  And you can time travel.  Oh, and they added Mars.  As in the planet.  Sounds more like Google SciFi to me.  Whatever you want to call it, Google is making a big deal about the new Google Earth.  While the new oceans and Mars explorations are neat, I don’t see the major functionality changes that will make Google Earth the powerhouse it could be.

First, the new features.  Google Earth oceans were basically fillers before this update.  They were big blue patches with shading to give an idea of depth, but that was about it.  Now, you can see the depth and even traverse the ocean floor in full 3D.  Google had help from National Geographic, the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the US Navy, Scripps Oceanography, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, and the California Academy of Sciences to accomplish this feat, which means it’s probably pretty accurate. 

For Mars, Google partnered with NASA and used the latest hi-res photos to map the surface.  The coolest new feature may be the time travel feature. Just step into the Way Back Machine and…  OK, it’s not that type of time travel.  In certain areas where data is available, Google allows you to slide time backwards and watch areas develop into what they are now.

All this is great, and I would love to tell you how it looks, but none of my PCs will work with Google Earth.  I am not the only one who has the problems.  There are several pages devoted to server errors, connection errors, search errors, and the most prevalent, graphics errors.  Google should invest in making the app work for everyone before adding features.  If it works for you, I hope you enjoy your visit to 20,000 leagues under the sea.  Now if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Peabody and Sherman are waiting.

From [Google’s Blog]