
The sparkling water surface looks very nice, though.Ĭhange is afoot with the computing technology required to deliver this experience, so don't expect a permanent requirement for the plug-in requirement-a requirement that will keep most people from using it, most likely. The Golden Gate Bridge, exists both with a nice 3D model above the Bay and as a spooky satellite-photo version that creeps across the underwater contour. For another, in areas with approximate contour data, Earth view can look like somebody stretched a rubber sheet with a satellite photo over a swoopy, curvaceous version of the world.


For one thing, Earth view at present lacks the rich interaction of traditional Google Maps service, including street names and travel directions. How complete and up-to-date this virtual world will be remains to be seen, but the company is even photographing store interiors. Here's my forecast for where this is headed: Eventually Google will have constructed an immersive 3D reproduction of the entire world that you can explore. First of all, Earth view offers a true three-dimensional perspective, which lets you experience mountains in full detail, 3D buildings, and first-person dives beneath the ocean." Here's how Google Product Manager Peter Birch described Earth View on the Lat-Long blog: "Those of you who aren't as familiar with Google Earth might be wondering how Earth view differs from the satellite view that's currently available in Maps. The Grand Canyon, as viewed with Earth view in Google Maps. Google announced the Earth view on its corporate blog.

You can try flicking the mouse to pan around, scrolling the mouse wheel to zoom in and out, and using Cntrl-drag to tilt the view from perpendicular to a more oblique angle. Places with 3D building models look more interesting from ground level, but if your suburb hasn't received that treatment, the perspective mismatch can be a bit awkward when viewing the scene from an oblique angle farther from perpendicular. With it, people can see the contours of world-canyons and mountains, most dramatically-using the Google Earth fly-through interface. Google on Monday augmented Google Maps with a feature called Earth view that brings the Google Earth software's 3D perspective to the Web browser.Įarth view is available through the installation of a browser plug-in Google originally issued in 2008.
