Google Earth Hacks blog

As reported by the Digital Earth Blog and Google Earth Blog, the Google Earth plug-in now works in Firefox 3!  This was a silent update, as you don’t even need to update your plug-in — it simply works.  Presumably some code on the backend has been updated.

Updating browser plug-ins can be a pain, and I was worried that we’d be seeing a lot of them from Google as they get the plug-in fixed up.  However, this will be quite nice if they can do most of the updating remotely and not require users to update the plugin themselves.

It’s still a Windows-only program, but they’re making progress.  Now you Firefox 3 users can play with ShareIt, or embed our other files, or play games such as Monster Milktruck.

Google has just released a TON of new imagery for StreetView — 37 new areas, 10 new parks and recreation areas, and expanded coverage in 15 cities.  It’s quite staggering.

If you find something cool in all of that new imagery, don’t forget to submit it to our ever-growing StreetView gallery.

More information about this release can be found on the Digital Earth Blog or the Google LatLong Blog.

Earlier today, Google released a plug-in that allows you to view Google Earth content right in your browser!  It’s quite slick, though it has a few drawbacks — Windows-only, and no support for Firefox 3 yet.  Still, it’s pretty neat.  More info about the plug-in can be found on the LatLong Blog, Ogle Earth, GEB or DEB.

I’ve spent most of the day writing code to support it on our site.  I’m pleased to say that’s done!  For some reason, the plug-in won’t handle about 10% of our files, but I’m working on those.  To go along with that, I’ve made it easier for you to view our content in different applications (including the plug-in).

Look at the right side of this screenshot.  You’ll notice five icons next to each item.  Those allow you to view each item in Google Earth, Google Maps, Virtual Earth, Yahoo Maps, or the Google Earth Plug-in.  The first four options have been available for a while, but you used to have to drill down to the file detail page to get to it.  Now it’s much easier to view the content across a variety of services.

If you have any questions or suggestions on how we can streamline further, please let me know.  Thanks!

As you certainly know by now, Google Earth version 4.3 has been released.  It has a bunch of great new features and already has generated a lot of reviews, screenshots and videos.  Here are some of the best we’ve seen so far:

Download it! — First up, you need to download this latest version.  Get it straight from Google, or use our download page.

Google LatLong: Introducing Google Earth 4.3 — The official announcement from Google, with a list of new features.

Google Earth Blog: Video Demo of Google Earth 4.3 — A great tour of the new features, created by Frank Taylor.

Google Earth Tour — Another video tour, this time directly from Google.

Digital Earth Blog: Google Earth 4.3 thoughts, screenshots and a video — A brief review of the new features found in 4.3

Mashable: Google Earth 4.3 Released — An overview from Mashable.

Google Earth Blog: New Navigation Gadgets in Google Earth 4.3 — A video from Google about the new nav gadgets, along with a list of keyboard and mouse shortcuts.

Digital Earth Blog: Google Earth vs. Virtual Earth in Denver — A quick look at how the two products match up visually.

That should give you all the information you need for Google Earth 4.3.  If you know of any unique item that I’ve missed, feel free to tell us in the comments.  Have fun!

A new version of Google Earth is due out sometime later today.  It will include a revamped navigation system, new 3D building engine, a layer for StreetView and much more.  In addition, the Mac version will finally get Flash support, meaning Mac users can now play GEMMO and use GEboards.  It sounds like it will be a great release!

Full details can be found on the Digital Earth Blog.

Google has updated Google Earth with a bunch of new imagery. According to the Google LatLong blog, it covers more than 86 countries!

Google Earth Blog reveals some of the locations as Havana, Cuba and Mount Fuji Japan, and the Digital Earth Blog is trying to work through the entire list. Go check it out for yourself, and contribute to the answers at DEB.

Google has released Google Earth 4.2 today, which includes Google Sky, a system that lets you look up at the nights sky, Allowing you to view some of the most famous Space Sights.

 You can get the new version of Google Earth with Google Sky here: Download Google Earth 4.2 with Google Sky

 From the Google Earth Blog

Google has pushed out a major image/terrain update today, but they’re being somewhat secretive about it — in a fun way.  Details on the Digital Earth Blog.

Some more areas have been filled with better resolution images:

• Alabama (USA)
• Antarctica
• Egypt
• Great Britain
• Greenland
• Iran
• Namibia
• New Zealand
• Puerto Rico
• Saudi Arabia
• Spain
• St. Paul, MN
• Sudan
• Toronto (CAN)

Full details can be found on Google Earth Blog here.

As announced by Google Earth Blog, Google has released the beta version of Google Earth 4.1 today.  Among the enhancements:

- SpaceNavigator support for the Mac.  The very cool 3D SpaceNavigator device now works in GE on the Mac.

- Tips. When you first open GE, you’ll get a “tips” window.  Very helpful for beginners.

- Starting Location. A new “starting location” is added to your My Places folder, based on what country version of GE you’re using.

- View in Google Maps. A simple button has been added to show your current view in Google Maps.  Very slick!

- New installation process and new languages. The installer is a bit different and GE 4.1 now supports Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Korean, Arabic and Czech.

You can download this new version on the official Google Earth download page.

Have fun!

Mickey