# "Google Earth"- wow. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 28, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240 "2005-06-28T18:16:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/61 "2005-07-02T22:16:45Z")
Using the coordinates of 12oN 140oE I did go to the bottom of the Marianas Trench. For 20 minutes… (d&r) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/62 "2005-07-03T00:11:34Z")
Go to the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and check out the radar dish. Does it remind you of something? I’m a little disapponted that the Great Pyramid isn’t in 3D like the surrounding terrain. It just looks _wrong!_ You can’t see the South Pole, either. Most of Antarctica is only available from a distance. I finally got an answer to a question I posted here some time ago- now I have an image of Tambora’s caldera. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/63 "2005-07-03T00:23:48Z")
Apart from checking out Google Maps a few months back and seeing my city wasn’t there, I’ve only been into all this stuff since I found out Sydney got listed a couple of weeks back. Only a few days later, and I upgraded to Google Earth, but now I’m wondering about their bandwidth. On both Google Maps and Google Earth, the satellite photos load like molasses now (I’m on broadband), yet in the first couple of days they were like greased lightning. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/64 "2005-07-03T04:25:42Z")
> [@The Mad Hermit](#): > > Go to the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico and check out the radar dish. Does it remind you of something? > > I’m a little disapponted that the Great Pyramid isn’t in 3D like the surrounding terrain. It just looks _wrong!_ > > You can’t see the South Pole, either. Most of Antarctica is only available from a distance. Yes, Antarctica is rather odd, especially at the Pole. IWBN if they had 3D models of certain large structures worldwide like the Millau Viaduct, the Golden Gate Bridge, Hoover Dam, etc, as well. And is that a _golf course_ at the base of the Pyramids? That’s just… wrong. And did anyone else notice that the overlaid lines for the roads are fairly accurate, but those of the railways are often totally wack? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2005, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/65 "2005-07-03T05:58:40Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > Not anymore. ☹ It does still work. Maybe the link change. Go to Google. Search on “Google Earth.” Click on “cached” instead of the link. It should send you to a page where you can click on “Get Google Earth.” Click on that and you should get another page that lets you “Download Now.” It will then prompt you to save. I just tried it. It worked, even though the link I supplied didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![HubZilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ccd318/32.png) [@HubZilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HubZilla)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/66 "2005-07-06T11:28:26Z")
I downloaded this thing at 9pm. It’s 2am and I have work tomorrow. One of the coolest programs ever! ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/67 "2005-07-06T16:31:33Z")
I’ve been using Keyhole for a while, and it really is a fabulous program. I do have a couple of gripes with Google taking it over though. First of all, they’re doing this whole new high res database (called the Primary) which has incredible resolutions for some places (including the entire states of NJ and Mass!) but the sections that they haven’t updated are still very low res, and you could get higher res by using the legacy database (including most of Connecticut and Coney Island, Brooklyn!). They should have just incorporated the legacy database into the primary until they got the new high res in place. Secondly, I paid $29 for a one year subscription two months ago…and now it’s FREE. They said that they extended my account for another year, but what’s the point of having one anymore? ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/68 "2005-07-06T16:33:40Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > I’ve been using Keyhole for a while, and it really is a fabulous program. I do have a couple of gripes with Google taking it over though. First of all, they’re doing this whole new high res database (called the Primary) which has incredible resolutions for some places (including the entire states of NJ and Mass!) but the sections that they haven’t updated are still very low res, and you could get higher res by using the legacy database (including most of Connecticut and Coney Island, Brooklyn!). They should have just incorporated the legacy database into the primary until they got the new high res in place. > > Secondly, I paid $29 for a one year subscription two months ago…and now it’s FREE. They said that they extended my account for another year, but what’s the point of having one anymore? If they’re giving you “Google Earth Plus” for an extra year, you get GPS integration as well as extra annotation stuff. [A few other things too](http://earth.google.com/earth_plus.html). ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/69 "2005-07-06T16:45:02Z")
I’d rather have my $29 back, especially since #1 I don’t even OWN a GPS receiver and #2 even if I did, it would just keep pointing the program towards my house, which I already know the address of. ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/70 "2005-07-06T16:52:44Z")
I’m getting a message that says, “Google Earth downloads temporarily delayed.” Is anybody else getting this message? Can yu look at small towns or just big cities? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/71 "2005-07-06T16:56:20Z")
> [@fusoya](#): > > I’d rather have my $29 back, especially since #1 I don’t even OWN a GPS receiver and #2 even if I did, it would just keep pointing the program towards my house, which I already know the address of. They have a process in place where recent subscribers can get a refund or partial refund for unused services. There’s a page on the Keyhole BBS where someone talked about how they had just susbscribed when Google Earth went free – they got a full refund. I wish I had a URL for it, but telling you the problem has already been solved should at least be a little help. BTW, for those of you who haven’t seen it, the [Keyhole BBS Forums](http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?Cat=) is a great page to get **.kml** and **.kmz** files. I’ve been cataloguing all of the military aircraft on display at US Air Force Bases. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/72 "2005-07-06T17:15:57Z")
> [@marymargaret](#): > > I’m getting a message that says, “Google Earth downloads temporarily delayed.” Is anybody else getting this message? Yes, see the posts above to get around this. > [@](#): > > Can yu look at small towns or just big cities? You can look at any surface of the planet Earth. That said, downtown San Francisco has better resolution and 3D building models, while the towns in the middle of the Sierra Nevada mountains have poor resolution. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/73 "2005-07-06T17:32:42Z")
You can see Mrs. Plant’s car in our driveway, but I can’t see individual buildings in Nashua, NH. One wonders if they have high res pics of the woods of Arkansas looking for marijuana growers. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/74 "2005-07-06T18:44:39Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Yes, see the posts above to get around this. I’m a total idiot when it comes to this kind of thing. How do I get around it? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/75 "2005-07-06T19:01:16Z")
Memphis, Egypt goes to Memphis, TN. The heck are the pyramids, Giza? Memphis? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/76 "2005-07-06T19:03:53Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > The heck are the pyramids, Giza? Memphis? Next to the Sphinx, which has a label. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![JimSox5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5a626/32.png) [@JimSox5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimSox5)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/77 "2005-07-06T20:39:40Z")
When typing in just about any foreign city, I’ve found I have to add what country it’s in. When I was looking for the Taj Mahal, I couldn’t just type in “Agra,” even if I was already looking in India. It would come back to with no results. When I typed in “Agra, India” it found it. Careful, though, because “Hiroshima, Japan” put me on the complete other side of the country. ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/78 "2005-07-06T21:10:27Z")
Not surprisingly, the map of Tehran isn’t too detailed. My wife was able to narrow down the spot of her house-growing-up to within a few blocks though. Thanks for posting - this program’s fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![marymargaret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@marymargaret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marymargaret)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/79 "2005-07-06T21:50:28Z")
I still can’t figure out a way to donload it. :smack: :wally :mad: ---
**Author:** ![rowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@rowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowe)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240/80 "2005-07-06T21:55:13Z")
marymargaret, check out post #43 above, which gives the alternate site you need to visit in order to download it. Click on one of the mirror sites, then install it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/google-earth-wow/310240.md?page=5)