Anyone else use Google Earth? You can see satellite photos of anywhere on the globe. I only have the free version and just started messing around with it. It's pretty cool. Just a toy for me, though some could use it for business, I'm sure. I've been looking for nude sunbathers.

 

Hi Lugnut,

I use it too. Have you checked out http://maps.google.com/maps . There is a link there which has Katrina's devastation and will probably get Rita's updated too. I looked for ages for nude sunbathers too but the images must get taken in winter!! Look in Egypt. There are some great maps with Pyramids, and see if you can find the sphinks.

 

HERE
Real Estate is using Keyhole in their listings for years.
I also have 3D mapping software for my GPS. Less clear for driving, than 2D, but you can see what's behind next mountain.

 

I have a link in my Favorites for Google Maps, but haven't used it much. I'll check out Egypt. Sound interesting.

 

I don't know enough about either one to make decent comparisons.

GoogleEarth, at least intially, appears to be higher resolution than Keyhole. I'm not certain, though. Hard to say right now.

For $20, Google Earth provides software to use with GPS devices. I just read that on their site and haven't tried it.

Google Earth has an option where you can "fly" around the pics. There's a Grand Canyon demo on their site. It's like a Flight Simulator. You zoom down to the canyon and fly around. Pretty cool. check it out. Keyhole may have this, too.

 

I use it also it is the epitome of coolatude!

 

I just checked out the house where I grew up. My sisters and I sold it to a nephew (except for one sister, who sold it to her son). My dad had an elaborate vegetable garden in the backyard. All fenced off and about 1/4 acre. He was the goto guy for vegetables. My nephew apparently isn't into vegetables because the garden is now all grass. I can see the mower lines. I'm gonna kick his *** next time I see him.

Google Earth isn't perfect at the 3-D effect, but it's cool how you can tilt the map anywhere from a bird's eye view to a horizontal view, then "fly" around it. For example, I did go to Egypt as suggested and tilted the pyramids to horizontal, but they don't look like pyramids at that angle.

One thing I found out. The pics vary in resolution. My current house, which is in the middle of Nowhere, GA just shows as a fuzzy blob below a few thousand feet. Largely populated areas are clear down to a few hundred feet. Clear enough to tell whether someone is naked.

 

So has google become our big brother?

 

Put it this way. Google will own Microsoft in the near future.

 

I guess privacy is dead. A thing of the past.