I use GEarth at work. The GIS provided by my employer does not do the things I need it to do, so I often use GEarth to augment the GIS and help me visualize both timelines and location data.

Cordelya

Normal users might not use it on a regular basis, but news stations rely on google earth as if their lives depended on it.

cayton

I installed it, but it wasn't very easy to organize and share, so I never use it.

Ultimately, Google Maps and Google Earth will converge as one, I imagine, anyway.

Cwicseolfor

I use it fairly often actually but that's mostly because I know a lot of people in foreign places and travel a lot, i prefer it to goggle maps simply for the easy navigation. Google earth helps me get a nice lay of the land so to speak before I travel anywhere

AnthoMacP

I really like Google Earth, but I have a new computer with a dual processor (not Core2, actually 2 chips) and 2 GB of RAM. Earth sucks it all up in very short order. After about 10 or 15 minutes my computer is as slow as it can get.

Google Maps for me.

dualsub2006

Nope. I have tried to run it on my home machine and it simply won't work. I use an amazingly awesome 15" rotating monitor that I bought from Best Buy for about $200 in 2002. I'm almost always in portrait mode and the thing ROCKS! Unfortunately, when I'm in portrait mode the screen resolution is just 768x1024, plenty fine for most application, but not enough for Google Earth. I have played with G-Earth on other machines and just don't miss having access. Google Maps is more than sufficient.

tombuch

Sometimes I pretend to fly to my family... then I weep.

lodebrecht

I too never saw the usability in it.

xjohnx

There's no option for "I installed it, looked around, and then uninstalled it".

=)

The How-To Geek

Isn't Google Earth just for flying through Manhattan and bloating up your hard-drive?

GMaps is a great resource, but until they add an option to save mobile map data on my N95, rather than constantly needing a data connection, I'm sticking with TomTom Nokia Maps & R66.

Johnjoe0110

The big problem I have with Google Earth is, I don't know what the point is. Basically, it's a souped-up Google Maps with a good deal of eye candy.

A nice software? For sure. Useful? Less so.

Stéphane Gallay

I tried using it for awhile. I even purchased the pro version. I need to make maps for my job, but I have found Delorme's Street Atlas software (although you have to pay for aerial downloads)is better suited for my needs ie. counting acres and setting a 1:660 scale.

For getting a quick map or directions, I use google maps. Much quicker than firing up Google Earth.

Letsgohokies

I've used Google Earth to do some trip planning. The biggest project was in summer 2006 when my wife drove with the kids and a van full of camping gear from home (Virginia) to her aunt near Winnipeg. I was at home working on a construction project that made the house unlivable for three weeks. She would drive to somewhere, stay there two nights (or more if she liked it) and move on. I used Google Earth to find her places to stay. It was great to fly slowly along the route and watch out for interesting places.
Also it was very useful for spotting large scale trends like areas with a low density of campsites. When she made the turn north towards Canada there were almost no campsites (and it was tornado season in tornado alley) so she switched to motels. Google Earth clearly showed that one route north had more motels than another.

Summary, if I have a destination in mind I use Google Maps. If I want to travel free-form I use Google Earth. It's easier to visualize where you are going.

(The Winnipeg trip was six weeks in the end. I flew out to meet her half way, we came back via Glacier Park, Yellowstone, Custer state park and the badlands of South Dakota. We had a laptop and fired up Google Earth when we were in motels to look for the next motel/camp.)

daqman

It's not really USEFUL. Ok, maybe for my science teacher trying to explain global warming, but the only time I've actually USED Google Earth was... for a science project. And when I was trying to find out my latitude and longitude for my geography.

Help, it's an educational program!

Toptiger5

I've used Google Earth to track most of our Geocaching expeditions. It's a lot of fun to come home after 3 to 5 finds and see our loops and backtracks as we search away for the current cache.

mnslinky

I loved that I could use Google Earth on my ubuntu laptop, and more than anything, I appreciated how well the folks at Google used Wine to make that happen. But as anything more than a proof of concept...I don't really find myself using it. My husband loves it, though.

virtualcourtney

I was doing a yard project where I needed a good estimate of the square footage of my yard.

Rather than take a tape out and actually measure, I found Google's measuring tool to be very helpful.

markwms

No I never installed it. I found NASA's WorldWind much more fascinating.

JiltedCitizen

I use google earth all the time, but that is to use the street view, and show people online pictures of their houses, and scare them.

skilled1

Sounds like most haven't tapped its potential. I sell farms and commercial property for a living. GE is great for looking closely at land. I used to actually rent a plane. Now I can set a client down and actually view a farm from all angles, tilt it and when moving actually see all the topography of the terrain. (You can enhance the vertical scale to make it really pop). The measurement tools are outstanding. I can measure road frontage, or how far to a landmark, or estimate how many acres in a field. i often tilt and get just the right view with location emphised(sp?) and save and print the perfect picture to create a brochure.
As a pilot, I kind of enjoy the built-in flight simulator. Especially nice before going to a new area or airport. The space views are fun also. Also have used GE to preview areas I am going to for vacation or business. GE runs fine on my old run-of-the-mill Dell home and office computers.
Also for a variety of high quality maps go to [mapper.acme.com]

deanes

I used it recently to spot check addresses that I geocoded for a POI database for my GPS unit. It allowed me to make corrections to the locations graphically. Prior to doing this I thought "what would I ever use THAT for?!?".

Is it cool? Yes. Is it more than a toy for the average user? No.

MyTQuinn

I average about 4 hours a month on Google Earth. It supplements GIS for some areas very well, it has allowed us to track development and land use, occasionally find new clear cuts, and review terrain and trails in wilderness areas that it would be easy to get lost in while hiking. There are some surprisingly remote places with hi-def terrain pictures.

Also, it provides a global picture of what is happening to the earth; pollution, desertification, war, and floods. Sad, but very informative.

Msfixit

I use Google Earth with my cheap Earthmate GPS LT-20. [www.amazon.com] This is a very small USB GPS device that has no external interface, but works well with opensource GPS applications such as GPSd, Roadnav, and GPS2GE. GPS2GEx is the Mac version of GPS2GE. [www.grandhighwizard.net] It sits on your desktop and spits out a stream of KML that Google Earth reads and displays, continuously tilting and zooming as your location changes. I take this on road trips, and, assuming I have enough imagery cached, I follow along in Google Earth.

jasmarc

Basically I like the idea of Google Earth, and sometimes it's fun to use, but I don't use it on anything near a regular basis. I have no need for it!

grant0

i use to, but msn maps has much better quality

Bladefist

One of my main jobs is to basically make objects from a flight procedure design tool export to Google Earth. This is really useful for airspace, the procedures themselves, obstacles, and to show how the procedures will fly (or flyability). Flyability specifically is really useful for presentations to show that the new procedure someone is designing will not go near a certain neighborhood or golf course or something.

In conclusion, yes, all the frickin' time :-P.

Str4wb3ryf13ld5

I am a geographer, so I use it often in my job. Satellite imagery is really expensive to buy, as are air photos. It is nice to have a quick easy source to go to. I use it as a preliminary check before buying data, or if I am not to concerned about accuracy. Most of the time it is good enough. Not as accurate as professional sources, but for 90% of what I need it for, it is a lifesaver.

Fuzz

Problem with Google Earth is that it's way to heavy for most computers. I still have to find a computer that can run the Google Earth trip around the world smoothly. And I work in a place where we have plenty of bandwidth, and CPU speed.

My 5 year old laptop has never been able to run it smoothly.

Google maps give you the info you want, and guess what, that runs on my PDA.

Nepkarel

I use google maps for finding parking lots and tennis courts. It's more clear than G-maps for things like this.

ToddS

I'm about to install it for my 8-year-old son who is fascinated by the Maps app on my iPod Touch.

Jason

Before Maps let you save locations Earth was the best way for me to set up a little 'this is my world' sort of view with locations pinpointed all over. I'd plug in old addresses I'd lived in when I was a kid, places I'd visited, mapped out places I wanted to go, lots of things like that. I also didn't have my new car with GPS yet, so it was good for some trip planning. I'd say 20-30% usefulness factor.

It was also good for scaring the crap out of me when Hurricane Rita looked like it was barreling toward Houston and I had a hurricane path prediction overlay set over the Gulf Coast. I'd send periodic screenshots (complete with 'here is my house' markers)to friends I was chatting with that night, since I couldn't sleep. ;)

I also work in the Land department at a small Oil and Gas company, and my two coworkers use it quite a bit for looking at where certain rural locations are.

Earth has an easier to handle interface than Maps sometimes, so I can see why some people would prefer it.

skadus

Teaching intro archaeology this term, there's no better way to show my students cheap and easy aerial shots of archaeological sites. There's also been a great discussion in my subfield of the ways in which armchair scientists can use Google Earth to help identify potential sites with aerial surveys. I love it.

Nemtynakht

I dont use google earth at all. I teach and my students LOVE it and I see at least 2 a day using it/ But, then again they are looking at their house or neighborhood:)

megrockstar

Google Earth is the best for directions. You can play the virtual road trip, which is really great if you haven't got a GPS Navigator.

Natnie

I've tried it a few times, each time they add a cool new feature. I love that it exists.. but i don't use it on a regular basis.

However many of the features, and the user data added in google earth, makes it's way into google maps... which I do find to be very useful.

For a vacation, I'd imagine making a google map with photos and sharing that with friends might be both easier and more accessible.

(ps/ live earth also has some cool features, and is way ahead of google maps in terms of usability. Though it also lacks several core GM functions. )

soul_grind

if you have children, you absolutely need to have Google Earth installed. Best atlas/globe there is.

Al Iguana

I have used it a few times in legal trials to show locations where events occurred and to show paths taken.

jarhead

I use Google Earth to supplement the GIS applications I use here at school. I love it.

Sometimes, I will "fly" to my mom's house when I feel homesick. Makes me feel a little better.

Ellie

Sure it's useful. I used it to plan my trip to Barcelona and Italy, noting where my hotels and the airports are. It's nice (and fun) to see the routes you're planning on taking before you actually get there.

OX4

@Deprong Mori: Yeah my moms boyfriend wanted a flight simulator, and I told him to just download Google earth. The only thing is that there are only 2 planes :(.

Joseph

I often use it to take road trips around the globe. If you position yourself on any road you can take a drive around the area use the arrows keys on the computer. My son loves using the flight simulator, mainly to crash of course. I don't use as often as I would like to explore the places that I don't have time to visit. I have also used to revisit some of the areas of the world I have traveled to.

etmister

I am moving, and when I look at potential houses, I use the restaurant and store layers to find new places around me.

I also really like the constellation addition.

But mostly I use google maps.

dshendler

I play around with the flight simulator, just to reminisce about the halcyon days when planes kept to their schedules and air travel didn't totally suck. (sniff)

Plus, I wouldn't feed airline food to a dog. My home cooking really rocks!

Deprong Mori

I honestly like [maps.live.com] better...

Intelman

As a (amateur) photographer, it's a pretty indispensable tool to me. I can't count the number of interesting places that I've spied via satellite that I never would have been aware of otherwise.

The new sun shading feature is just icing on the cake for me - giving me info about the lighting conditions I can expect at a time of day and where the sunrise and sunset will be on the horizon.

Plus, I often get lost for hours just exploring the planet and the insane amount of data visualizations available.

ejp1082

@mnslinky: Can you give more details on how you do this?

DavidC

i used it for a recent trip to Peru. im the sort of traveller who likes to get his bearings before going. although ultimately perhaps not useful in the proper sense of the word, it did provide me with a faux-sense of comfort that i wouldn't be dumped entirely in the unknown. you know, stuff like distance the hotel is from the airport.

just re-read that to myself. there really does comes a time when you realise you're over 30 and an adventure has become something that needs to be kept on the rails.

LuKeNuKuM

@Stéphane Gallay: Google Earth allows for an alternate interaction with you map data. For example I have a site that i'm working on that keeps track of where speed traps are (www.vroomtrap.com). What I did was created a real time KML list of all the information that you could pipe into Google earth.

You can use Google earth's built in flight simulator (or just pan around) to view your data in an easier to use medium. Here is an example of some speed traps in Google earth from testing that I was doing.

All you have to do is include this url: http://www.vroomtrap.com/traps/ as a network link in Google earth and they'll pop up.

Google Earth is cool, but outside of just looking around for stuff, I haven't found a really good use.

Joseph

Yeah Google Earth rules. I used it a few times for GPS navigation. I used the free version and this KML that had taken the data from my GPS receiver and put me on the map, it was freaking awsome. Who ever said you needed the actual Pro version for that. Anyway, Google earth is neat and I recommend it to anyone. Google Maps is great, but Google Earth offers far more stuff than Google Maps ever could.

ma5t3rw1tt

Yes, I've used it. I had a friend make a map with lines to show the projected declination of the moonrise over Mono Lake so that I could choose a spot to photograph the lunar eclipse last February. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do so because the sky was too cloudy!

I've also used it to point out specific locations for photographing Horsetail Falls for fellow photographers.

I may use it to plot out the moon's descending declination with relation to Bridalveil Falls so that I can find a place to photograph a moonbow there instead of Yosemite Falls.

Very useful program!

Edie-Howe

I use it most often like I would use GoogleMaps, but that what I find frustrating.

But the performance and flexibility are better than GoogleMaps.

I even added a blank earth KML to remove the imagery.

The roads disappear at different heights and that is really annoying so in a lot of ways it is not as good.

I'd prefer a google maps mode where it would just display what Google Maps does (or something close).

tz

I love Google Earth, and can spend hours exploring the globe. The latest build includes cool shading effects from the setting sun, as well as better "look around" controls. It's much faster to get directions w/ Google Maps, but nothing beats the cool-factor of seeing texture-mapped downtown Chicago!

Yifkong

I use Google Earth when I need to make a map based on county boundaries. Google Maps doesn't provide that information, so I had to use Google Earth to make my KML file that I then imported for my map.

Silly to have to do that, though.

dagwud

I keep saying I'm going to make a Google Earth KML for mountain biking spots. Never get around to it.

davebarboza

You're missing another option: "I find it useful, but only use it once in a while."

I use google earth for the easy-to-use places and layers overlays. In particular, I like:

* The Wikimapia overlay. While it's read-only and uneditable (unlike the web version), I find it much more responsive than the web version, and, by using the google earth version, firefox (FF2) doesn't self-destruct due to memory issues.

* The USGS earthquakes overlay. Very easy to scroll around, and it's auto-updated every 5 minutes or so.

* The clouds animation overlay. I sometimes like to second-guess the weather forecasters, who don't seem to be terribly reliable for my area.

Also, why does something have to be "sharable" in order to be useful?

aj_robins

I once received a neighborhood news letter to inform us that a bald eagle nest had been found in a nearby nature sanctuary. The newsletter included a map of the park and the location of the nest, so I scanned the map into my computer with a flatbed scanner and created a new layer in Google Earth. I laid the image of the park over the satellite image in Google Earth to see if I could view a satellite image of the nest. After I tweaked the image a little I was able to line it up with the satellite imagery and zoom in to see if I could find the nest. I couldn't, but the idea was still pretty cool and with some more recent images from Google I may have been able to spot the nest from my computer.

dabbly

I've used it since the keyhole days, and it is just so easy to mark a bunch of places and send a kml file to show others. My friends and I use it to show each other where we live/work/ play as we are spread throughout the globe. My only complaint would be the lack of good integration with streetview.

adam51172

I'll second the comment about trip planning. Google Earth is very useful for checking out an unknown area and quickly seeing where the hotels are relative to each other and to interesting sites. Add in the photos that people have posted and you get a nice overview of an area.

jallison

Geographer, work in GIS. Google Earth is a total lifesaver. KML is a powerful language, and the varying scales, info points and whatnot of Google Earth make it a better medium than paper maps for many types of data.

Love it, awesome tool and easy enough for compuphobes to navigate. It needs a way to encrypt or protect KML files. Also open source would be nice.

l337_7r4d3r

Don't knock SketchUp. Lots of architecture students use it for quick virtual models in the same way they used to use VectorWorks. Works is great, but since you're ultimately going to have to use AutoCAD/Revit or some 2D rendering for production work, SketchUp is a great quick-and-dirty way to prototype a project in 3D.

Andre Kibbe

I haven't had Google Earth installed anywhere in quite some time, maybe a year or more. I can see its value as a learning tool for my daughter, so maybe I'll load it up this weekend and we'll play with it.

jtimberman

I rarely use it, and when I do, it's just for fun on a boring day.

guernicaaa

I use Google Earth nearly everyday for work. I'm and environmental engineer and it helps to get an idea of the site we are working on in terms of layout, nearby water bodies, adjacent structures/properties, etc. The scale is accurate enough that I can measure and spec out areas that need remediation for estimates. If I didn't have access to this free tool I would be using ArcViewGIS all the time, which is several orders of magnitude more complicated and in most cases complete overkill.

robmcbell

The only thing is that there are only 2 planes :(.

That's why the flights are always on time. The runways aren't over capacity!

Deprong Mori

Did anyone else fire up the program after being reminded of it by this article?

SpriteMV

Yes: [www.virtual.alabama.gov]

EliWho

I'm a pilot for fun and use Google Earth to locate nearby airports. Using the ruler tool I can measure distance in nautical miles to decide how long it would take to get there.

Other then that I use Google maps for everything.

J

ramman345

My mom works for an industrial real estate firm. They paid for a similar service. I told her about this, but I'm not sure if they decided to use it or not...but personally I voted no since I don't use it, and it wasn't even that fun for me

goodywitch

I find Google Earth overly bloated for simple map use, and google maps and other online services a little slow. Plus Google doesn't even have good aerial shots of where I live.

For most of my mapping use I have Microsoft Streets & Trips which is good for navigating around North America. Unfortunately they don't have streets outside of North America, but they do have countries and cities, so it can be good to locate people.

johnsmith1234

I do a lot of hiking this time of year, and I found that Google Earth is a real useful tool to find out where I've been or figure out where I want to go.

rathersane

I tend to spend most of my time in Google Maps nowadays... simply because it loads more quickly than the desktop app.

I do a bit of cycling and ski-ing (for which I use a Suunto GPS watch). It's great to export the kml file, and show other people where you have been (the best routes etc).

So maps on a day to day basis, and Earth on an ocsssional basis.

FizzyPopMan

I don't really fire up Earth all that often, because I generally can just use Google Maps to get whatever information I'm looking for straight from Firefox.

That being said, I used it once to map out the GPS waypoints after an AT hike with a few friends. It was great to be able to see the distance we covered and where we'd gone (boulder fields and overlooks we had been at could now be seen from space)

Shmoo

I love GE. I use it all the time. Today I created a .kml layer with important waypoints around town for my work. I also use it to view my gps logs.

Currently, I also use a free program called trackme (google it) to provide real time gps tracking via Windows Mobile phones.

vw195

I tinkered around with it a lot, but I can only really say I *USED* it once- A friend of mine was driving cross-country and had stopped for gas, and needed someone with internet access to fire up a map and tell him, based on where he was, figure out how to get back on the freeway.

I flipped on the flag for showing all fast food restaurants while I was at it, and was able to give him directions like "Okay, now turn left at the McDonalds..." Landmarks are handy like that, and fast food places tend to be recognizable from a distance, so it worked out well.

callingshotgun

I use it very regularly, but mostly for pure entertainment. I love crawling around to exotic locales and checking them out.

When they added the Panoramio photographs, my google earth addiction skyrocketed.

Otherwise, I use it when I'm preparing sessions for my Call of Cthulhu game. Geeky, I know - but it keeps everything more believable.

dwarf74

I like google earth for planning trips where I'm going to be playing tourist and want to get an idea of walking distances and surroundings... but that's less than once per year... I've come to the point where I download and reinstall it when I want to use it but it's off my computer for 11 months out of the year

thewillum

I use it.

About once every 6 months.

Wiliam Hook

Google Earth is handy if you are looking at real estate. You can check out if a house is next door to a factory or on a busy road. Mind you, Maps works almost as well.

I'm just dismayed by how old the images are. Anything non-urban is several years old, much of it very low rez to boot. You'd think they would at least renew the crappy bits.

BigFoot

Use to think it was cool and used it when it was first launched during beta. But now, I actually prefer using Microsoft's online maps...they have a very nice "bird's eye" feature.

gottwhat

    Anytime I or my wife needs to follow directions to an unfamiliar location, I pull out Google Earth, and make a virtual trip, first. If I get lost, it's a lot better to do it on the computer, than actually on the road!

    Plus, I get a bit sentimental when I look at my own house in Google Earth, and see my old 1985 V-8 Thunderbird still parked in the driveway! I miss that car... I stupidly sold it, years ago.

AcidReign

@Stéphane Gallay: There more to Google Earth than looking at roads, but unless you are a scientist, oceanographer or a geologist, or even a runner you really are going to think its just for showcase your pc.

VakeroRokero

Google Earth has been a fantastic vacation planner. I use it to pin everything -- hotels, stops, etc. -- and have a complete reference, and directions as needed. Very helpful on my trip last month: I had my laptop with me, fired it up, opened the .kml of the trip, and did a quick restaurant search. Stuff pops up complete with reviews!

Ruthven

Well, at my new job I don't. But at my last job, which was at an RF engineering company, I did quite a bit. Some was for planning the testing of wireless devices, and some was for preparing technical marketing presentations.

And as a part-time filmmaker, I use it to help with location scouting.

MyPetFly

I use Earth whenever I need directions to a place, which isn't that often...

Reilaos~

@aj_robins: You do realize that those same overlays will work right in Google maps. If you just go to [maps.google.com] and type the overlay link in the search input field, your overlays will show up.

Joseph

I use it to geotag old photos using Picasa

rkhwaja

I use Google Earth to check out cool things in Peru that I then visit and write about. Seeing the ruins of ancient cities or colonial mansions from the air helps the get a better feel for exploring them.

ceviche

During the San Diego Wildfires of 2007, I used Google Earth along with satellite thermal imaging data feeds to provide near-realtime views of the fire to emergency operations personnel who didn't have access to the ArcGIS systems used by the county's Emergency Operations Center. It was a tremendous supplement to the radio reports from aircraft and fire crews on the ground.

It's amazing to me that a tool with the capabilities of Google Earth is available for only $400. Just a few years ago before Google acquired Keyhole, this kind of functionality was magnitudes greater in cost.

tedlindsey

I love Google Earth. I mostly use it for geocaching. It's a very convenient tool.

thoerner

I use it for work to find site locations and save coordinates I usually always have it open on screen 3 in full screen mode

superbryant88

Since Google Maps is so nice now, I find Google Earth just eye-candy. I've since then reinstalled by Windows machine, and never thought about reinstalling Google Earth.

ww2db.com

@The How-To Geek: Same... Like right when it was publically released then I uninstalled it after the vintage left. Plus, it kinda felt like a waste of space.

ph15h needs a nu job

I kept the first option, but would be more accurate if it didn't have the "google maps" extra details

Leafy

I use it more for teaching my five yr old about the earth than anything else but I think it's starting to backfire on me now. When a friend of his went to China recently I showed him where that was and then began a 'trip' to show him where his Grandma lives, etc. But yesterday when he asked about Africa, he wasn't too anxious to look at Google Earth and take another 'trip'. LOL

In the future, I think shorter 'trips' might be necessary. :D

lunaticprophet

I use Google Earth to map and measure my training runs (half marathon on Sunday...wish me luck and no cramp!).

righteye

My wife is a civil engineer and she uses it almost daily. When coming up with site concepts, it really eases the process of what would normally require high altitude photography.

Of course a site survey is needed for construction documents, but the GE info is still useful for preliminary work.

I'm a piping designer who has used it on occasion to see existing site layouts at plants that we do work at. This utility is highly dependent on how recent the area was photographed though...

Sbudda

It's a toy for me, but there's nothing wrong with having a few good toys installed. Mostly, I use it when I want to explore an area and want a more intuitive feel than is possible than Google Maps.

DWHarrison

Wow--I'm really surprised at all the "it's not useful" comments. I find GE incredibly useful for planning local road trips, finding restaurants, and much more. You can purchase an annual subscription, and with GPS and an aircard, you're golden!

Alan Thomas

I use it regularly, and have since before Google bought Keyhole. In general, it's easier to use for tracking multiple locations than Google Maps is (though GM is getting better, e.g., adding "My Maps"), where Google Maps is lighter-weight and better for basic direction-finding (though GE is getting better, e.g., adding Street View). Plus it's just fun to poke around in.

LazloNibble

I can see it used in the travel industry. For instance, hotels could distribute .kml files with their locations. I work in my city's council, and it's a good tool for simple investigations. Still, it's not intuitive enough, and I'd appreciate more international support (Buenos Aires is among the largest cities in the world, it'd be cool if it were searchable by street address...)

Alejandro

I love the subway overlay. I used it when I first moved east and tagged certain places I enjoyed and so on. Not a day to day app, but great if used for personal resources.

East_Coast_Midwesterner

I'd use it more if I could send emails, do spreadshets or track my schedule with it. Besides that there's not much use in it.

And I work in the GIS industry.

raindogmx

this is going to sound silly, but I use Microsoft Virtual Earth AND Google Earth. Fun exercise: I get the same view up in both, and since Microsofts maps are about 10 years out-of-date, you get a great before/after. Infact, I screengrab the Microsoft version and overlay it in Google Earth.

Seriously, Microsoft needs to update their imagery. In Google Earth, my house. In Microsofts one, just a field. lol

Al Iguana

I last used Google Earth during last year's Southern California wildfires.

It was interesting to use, but unfortunately, it took up a lot of space and RAM and crashed several times, so I don't use it very often any more.

If I had known that I could have used the same overlays with Google Maps, I would have used that instead.

ejoy

I've used it in agricultural cases to view fields. I love the legal description overlays.

ckathens

@drini: "The single most important feature lacking in google earth: Maps"

Huh? While Google maps is better for that, you can just turn on the streets layer in Google earth to get maps. It looks just like the satellite/map hybrid in Google maps. You can even search for addresses using the "Fly to" search box.

Seriously, it looks like people just fired up vanilla Google Earth, and just said, "meh".

Well, yes, plain vanilla Google Earth is mainly eye-candy, and isn't terribly useful for most people. However, if you use the places feature and 3rd-party overlays, or add your own placemarks, it becomes a lot more useful.

aj_robins

@Joseph: Sure, but, as I said, the overlays kill FF2 in short order (performance drops through the floor, and the memory usage goes waaaay up). I haven't tried it with FF3, as too many of my addons still don't work with FF3. Yes, I do use google maps for many things, but the wikimapia overlay, etc., isn't one of them.

Yes, I could use IE, but I don't like doing that.

aj_robins

The single most important feature lacking in google earth: Maps

It would be a killer atlas app, but satellite without cartographic data makes it almost useless.

Now, google maps has an awful interface with lots of screen state wasted.. *sigh* but it does have better content

drini

Ugh! I couldn't vote. Where's the
"I know what google Earth is. I choose not to have it as I find no use for it."

pobox90210

If Google unmasks New Swabia, and stops blacking out that part of Antarctica, I'll use it.

BlackFlag55

It's interesting, like some YouTube videos. But not enough to keep me from tending to my real work. However, if Google ever unmasks the blackout they've put on Neuschwabenland, I'd probably be a more consistent user.

BlackFlag55

I'm an Environmental Design/Urban & Regional Planning major and I use Google Earth relatively frequently. For our last group project for a highway interchange design, it was great, but I can definitely see how the casual user wouldn't bother.

arctic.friday

Shameless plug: earthbrowser.com

3D flash plugin on desktop now, coming soon to a website near you.

matt_giger

I use Google Earth on my carPC connected to my gps. Mostly for eye candy but it is also useful to view traffic conditions up ahead. I wish the navigation and direction searching was easier to input without having to pull up the sidebar.

kelmk

The NOAA has an animated kml file of the composite radar image for all of Texas that can be set to autoupdate. I use it all the time to keep track of weather.

MrThursty

There are countless applications of Google Earth. It's used by teachers, geologists, archaeologists, astronomers, pilots, artists, hikers, humanitarian organizations, environmentalists, governments, the military, and even GIS professionals. If you want to see the many ways people are using it, just read Google Earth Blog [gearthblog.com] (disclosure: it's the blog I write about Google Earth).

Gearthblog.com

I use GE for looking around the globe for interesting things or places I've lived. It can end up being pretty time-consuming when you start to visit sites with scavenger hunts or just coordinates for exciting stuff.. always been amused with geography :)

On the more productive site, I use it in addition to maps whenever I have to go somewhere new. At work I also use it for finding stuff where it other ways, can be hard to track down (I work with postal automation).

jakobmunster

Addendum: In 1990, I paid $150 for a NY Times Atlas Of The World. Great big sucker ... 2.5 feet by 2.0 feet. Within a couple of years some of the dotted lines for national boundaries were obsolete. In this regard a cyber atlas instantly up-dated and which saves dead trees is a good thing.

BlackFlag55

I actually tried to use it instead of google maps a few times, but the directions just looked weird in Google Earth.

I'm personally not a fan of either Google maps or Earth for directions. Both have mis led me at about 5 occasions. I stick to my Blackberry's GPS and telenav.

I like to just look around stuff on google maps like to plan a weekend or something.

amolkolhe

Comment on Do You Actually Use Google Earth? I use frequently Google Earth when I'm writing, to locate obscure English villages or other locations (I mark the spots with pushpens), to measure distances and estimate travel times, and to get a feel for a location by looking at the surrounding terrain. Naturally, I also use maps, both paper and Google, but I find Earth to be tremendously useful. Lisa Hendrix IMMORTAL WARRIOR -- Coming November 2008 http://lisahendrix.com

BerthaSura

Google Earth is the hub of my work; I make trail maps for a conservation organization. GE allows me to communicate to the three Trail Coordinators that are building and maintaining our network of trails. New trail GPS reading are edited in GE, emailed to the coordinators and when approved are converted and loaded into ArcGIS to make the trail maps.

We also do conservation easements and GE is used to display baseline Geo-Referenced photos. Our trail photos are displayed this way so hikers can fly the trail and see the sites. We have a deal with the local newspaper that allows us to use their articles about each trail section; just copy and paste the article into GE placemark comments so all you have to do is click on the placemark to read the article.

The only problem with GE is that is requires a fast pc and broadband internet access. When I discovered that the GE KML files can be read directly with Google Maps this problem was almost solved. Slower computers with dial up can now use GE maps.

Google Earth is an incredible tool and I would not know how to replace it.

rivertripper

I work for a public transit agency, and I use Google Earth to create and edit KML files of our routes and stops to be displayed on top of a Google Map on our website.

For a while, I had a license for a commercial GIS product. I found that the number of features it offered made my job more difficult, because it was complicated to do simple cartographic tasks (like, well, draw a line on a map). Since starting with GE, I haven't renewed that license.

I also use GE to share KML data with people who don't have access to commercial GIS software, like high schools, members of the public, the offices of elected officials, etc. I've even sent KML to planning and engineering offices (they can parse out the coordinates to create shapefiles). So, I find it to be far more universal than a more robust, but less widely used commercial GIS product.

Yay Google Earth!

SheClimbs

We use it with our geocaching finds. There are tons of trackable objects out there and its cool to use google earth to see where in the world they've been.

tpc

The only time I ever use it is for geotagging photos in picasa.

kwbridge

I use it to see private roads and parking lots that show up as grey areas on Google Maps. Last week I sent my father a photo of a commuter train station to make a pick-up easier for him.

roslin157

I use Google Earth quite a bit to measure the length of running routes. My Maps on Google lets you do this too, but you have to create a new map every time and the interface is clunkier than Google Earth's. I also have better luck using Google Earth to find off-road trails, mostly because (for me) it scrolls and zooms more smoothly than the in-browser Maps interface, and it displays a 3-D view of elevation changes.

MatthiasW

There are certain projects where I need longitude and latitude. There's a database table I use to access most of the coordinates I need, but there are always a few times where the data is missing.

chicagojosh

As an Earth Science teacher, I cannot strongly emphasize enough the strength of this program as a tool for learning. If you could see some of the lessons people are putting together in the classroom with this software, you would agree that this is not bloatware.

Let me point you toward Google Earth lessons, a blog that reviews and posts different lessons teachers have developed for Google Earth.

[gelessons.com]

elliso92

Google Earth is an absolutely invaluable tool for evaluating locations for new businesses - to check area development, communication lines, pockets of potential customers, draw areas of influence, etc etc.

I'm searching for a location for a new business venture and Google Earth is for me a critical piece! I'd be lost without it

shamaho

comment on do you actually use google earth I use it for two apps (1) I track my brother's RTW sailing trip for the benefit of his wife's family. (2) I use it for races (running, triathlon, etc). In this case, I create a KML file for race directors so athletes can preview a course before hand. Very handy for triathlons with long bike legs. And I also use it for document road closures and other alterations for the government departments that give permits to races (example, county roads, CalTrans, city planning, etc). -- Ron Larson -- Ron Larson

YeiMilda

Yes, I use Google Earth. I think it's absolutely amazing... and it will change things in a very fundamental way.

Some of the comments that I've read sent me back to the mid-90s: "is it useful?" "difficult to use" "what's the point" etc. I remember them in response to my excitement over something new that I had discovered called the world wide web.

Come to think of it, I also remember similar comments in the early 80s in response to my enthusiasm around PCs: "kind of an expensive word processor isn't it?" "what's the use... the point?"

:-)

travels

I use it at least once a week. It's a great,fun app, but not a tool to me.

boomerang42

Google Earth is like the fancy living room that you don't use. It seems like a must have but you don't know why you're wasting the square footage. But then company comes over and your glad it's there.

Melizzard

My company actually has 50-100 licensed copies of Google Earth Pro. We've modified our proprietary internal GIS system to export locations, demographic data, etc. into a KML file to be used in Google Earth. It is a critical tool in our investment decision process.

From a personal perspective, I mainly use Google Maps. I agree with the trip planning, geocaching, camping, and procrastinating uses for GE.

ms16261sm

In the hang gliding community we can take our GPS tracks and lay them onto Google Earth to review, replay, and share our flights.

We can also tilt the view of flying sites to get a feel for the terrain before we actually get there.

Glidinghigh

I typically use Google Maps, but one feature I like about Google Earth is the ability to mark places. I can mark my house, local businesses, or when I'm traveling, I can mark my hotel or whatever location I'll be meeting at.

The problem I have is that every time I start adding a lot of flags to Google Earth, the computer or laptop I'm doing it on crashes. It's almost like every time I start putting money into a car, I end up trading it in. It's almost not worth the effort to mark locations.

emuelle1

I am a graphics designer for a billboard company.
We use Google Earth on a regular basis to measure distances to our billboards from new advertisers businesses. We also use it to view the locations of potential new sites and to measure to existing structures.
Yesterday I used it to give directions to a power company engineer so he could hook up the electricity to a new billboard.
Obviously the usability of GE would depend on what business sector one is in.

I also thought it was cool to see the big yachts in the Monaco harbor.

FxMan

Comment on Do You Actually Use Google Earth? I'm with mnslinky. We use Google Earth for Geocaching.

SavitaJahoobies

Comment on Do You Actually Use Google Earth? I love Google Earth!

SutanukaDisco

Yes, I have used Google Earth frequently to plan walks and hiking trails.

It's use too for taking a screen grab and sending planned walks to friends who are still on dial up and for whom the use of Google Maps is near impossible.

Also I store and share kml files for photos I take.

Make sure to read the guidlines page before submitting pics to Panoramio or other sites for inclusion on Google Earth as some pics and types will not be allowed.

togeboge

As a construction estimator I use it regularly to get the lay of the land on projects too far to drive; although lately I am using the "bird's eye" feature found on maps.live.com.

I find the driving directions a little cumbersome if I want to take a route Earth doesn't suggest.

I have used the measurement feature to plan out running routes around neighborhoods or trails to pinpoint mile points, etc.

My hobby is Geocaching (geocaching.com) and that site makes use of Earth maps for a number of things.

348jack

I actually use Google Earth Plus on a daily basis. The plus version, coupled with GPSGate and EarthBridge allow me to attach my Garmin GPS to my laptop and make sure I get where I am going. The company I work for also uses Google Earth for our Wireless coverage maps. It's cheaper than Delorme and updated on a regular basis.

tarman

I really hate getting lost (and I'm too cheap/poor to buy a GPS navigator), so I use Google Earth every time I'm going somewhere new. I need to zoom in and take a look around and find landmarks to make sure I'm in the right track and possibly find alternate routes.

I do use Google maps to print out the directions and I know that Google maps has the zoom in stuff you can do with Google Earth, but it's way faster for me to just use Google Earth and zoom in and out, rotate, etc. all I want as opposed to using Google Maps for the zooming and moving around the path since it takes a few seconds to load every time you do a new action.

Gakusei

I like Google Earth, it's not only entertaining, but the 3D buildings and different layers make it quite useful.

Spnkr

I tend to actually use GE for directions instead of Google Maps. I like it a lot for that.

ShadyPghGuy

@aj_robins: Ah okay. For some reason, Firefox is becoming totally unstable. Memory management is horrible and things are just very buggy. It reminds me of IE 5. I do see your point on memory becuase all of the KML data will be stored by the browser which could be bad news if the browser has memory problems.

Joseph

I actually find Google Earth useful for site planning and researching potential real estate investments. Aside from hiring a civil engineer, it's one of the best free tools for site research and analysis. The built-in tools do the trick for basic stuff. Been using it in the architecture/real estate world since I had to pay for it (back in 2003) and it was still called "EarthViewer" (pre-Google-acquisition).

Other than that, it's great for geography lessons with my 4-year old.

onesix18

I hate the GE installation process, which offers no option to choose a drive and folder.

opus684

I'm still waiting for my Google Earth globe. Please?

greatslack

I'm a lawyer and I've used it to plot the addresses of class action plaintiffs (it was an environmental issue). I superimposed the plots from the county registrar's office, maps from scientific reports, added lots of flags, and so forth. My boss thought it was very cool but could really only appreciate about 20% of what I'd done.

More recently, when I went to Paris on vacation, my boyfriend and I had a handful of recommendations for different restaurants and bars, but no real idea of how to get there, so I plotted their points on Google Earth, put a big flag there, and then printed it out. We used them NONSTOP during our trip -- it was great. Not sure if GMaps could've done the same or not.

katmmad

I am not sure if others have made this comment yet, but:

Google Earth and view a lot of remote places that are not available in Google Map.

For instance, check out Easter Island. It's not possible on Google Map.

[labs.wanokoto.jp]

ICEBreaker

My girlfriend used it to map coordinates of Paleolithic Gravesites for an archeology paper... Other than that *shrug*

Confuzius

I am using to map potential apartments (with placemarks) in the city where I will move for graduate school. That way I can easily see which are closer to the university.

fxaviercs

I just made a massive 1000 mile trip through the Alps this weekend, with a guy from the Netherlands. We did all of the planning for it in Google Earth, pushing and pulling kml files back and worth (tiny file sizes). And, when it was over, we converted our Garmin Forerunner files back to kml, to compare before and after reality of the drive.

Worked great. Integration with (some) photo sites, and other goodies like YouTube and Wikipedia, made it a great planning tool. Details of the trip are here ([www.blog.artlaflamme.com]).

Art