History
The history of Google Earth begins with an American software company named Keyhole that was acquired by Google in 2004. Originally, this software company had been focused on gaming, but the board of directors decided to develop Google Earth as a map-based service. The company had been working with satellite imagery for a decade, but recently expanded its service to offline environments and private data. Google now has 36 million square miles of high-definition imagery of Earth.
In 1998, the company developed the technology that became Google Earth. Keyhole started as a spin-off company from Intrinsic Graphics and raised its first round of venture capital from NVIDIA and Sony Digital Media Ventures. The company's first product, called EarthViewer 1.0, made use of public data from NASA's Landsat constellation and aerial photographs of major U.S. cities. In 2003, it was used extensively by the U.S. military, CNN, and other media outlets.
Thermopylae Sciences and Technology (TST) and NT Concepts supported the transition to open-source GEE software. Each company sent a developer to Google Mountain View to maintain the GEE software baseline. Thermopylae's Earth Engineering team was reassigned to Google's Open Source Development Office and the company set up the GEE GitHub site. Google Earth now has a number of collaborations with non-profit organizations, including the UN Environmental Program, the Jane Goodall Institute, and the National Park Service.
Features
There are many features of Google Earth. The first is its flight simulator. If you want to go somewhere, you can fly over the area and see how far it is from you. There are also many different ways to interact with the flight simulator. You can use the mouse, keystrokes, or joystick to control the plane. These are just a few of the features that make this application so useful. If you want to try out flying with Google Earth, read on for more information.
Once you've logged in to the program, you'll want to select a theme. Google Earth offers various themes created by its collaborators. You can select from travel, sports, nature, history, or editor's picks themes. Depending on what kind of theme you want, you can view images of different locations in an instant. You can also turn on layers that give you more information, such as shopping malls, grocery stores, gas stations, schools, and other important locations.
Another feature of Google Earth is its high-resolution image coverage. Several countries have streets that have street names, as well as businesses and other information. In many cases, you can even view the Egyptian pyramids in Google Earth, though street names are not displayed. This is due to the fact that Google continues to expand its databases. Every update adds more information to its maps. This feature will continue to be useful for years to come.
Alternatives
If you're tired of using Google Earth, you can find some alternative world maps on the internet. Many of these apps allow you to zoom and pan around the globe and also offer navigation features. Other alternatives include MapQuest, a website that displays maps from many different perspectives. Some allow you to navigate in street level detail while others provide bird's eye views of the entire world. While there are many shortcomings to this free website, you can easily find one that will meet your needs.
One of the biggest advantages of Google Earth is its ability to let you view satellite images of any location on Earth. Its satellite imagery allows you to see everything from mountains and seashores to cities and even 3D buildings. Though it's still the top Map service for travel, there are 25 free, open-source alternatives available for you to consider. Of these, OpenStreetMap is the best, and it's free. Other excellent alternatives include Organic Maps, Marble, and OsmAnd.
A no-frills alternative to Google Earth is the ZoomEarth tool, which offers high-quality satellite images of the world. It's especially useful if you're traveling to new places or simply want to understand a region in a different way. However, it's a limited alternative to Google Earth, so be prepared to download a different application. It's a good choice if you're looking for a free alternative.