Cork from 13,879ft courtesy of Google Earth. I was somewhat pleased to see it is freeware (typical of Google now I suppose) and it works along the same lines/on the same engine as Keyhole Pro; another piece of satellite imaging software I tried out recently. As you’d expect, the resolution is quite good. I can zoom down to between 700 and 1000ft without any huge loss of image quality. Just the tool for at long last seeing what your neighbour has been building in his back garden for all these years.
A feature which will no doubt be the eye-candy for this creation is the 3D buildings option. Although only available in select major US cities at present, it’s a nice touch that works well with the tilt option. As with much of the mapping/navigation software out there, you can opt to display roads, borders, available accomodation and a whole host of other features. I found that when I installed Google Earth it retained the saved locations I had in Keyhole Pro. Handy then that I don’t have to search the earth yet again to find my own house.
The images seem fairly recent, my newly built house appears almost finished from what I can see. The coverage has increased somewhat over the last day or so. Well, it was either the lack of coverage or the fault of my own stupidity that all of Ireland looked like a puddle of bright green snot no matter what the zoom was set to. Today I find I can get crystal clear images of any one of a dozen worldwide cities I pointed the cursor at. Venture outside the major cities and you’ll probably find yourself lost in brightly coloured nonsense. The citizens of Waterford might have something to say about that one.
Overall a nice plaything. Something to mess around with and get those alternative holiday snaps!