Google has released a beta version of Google Earth 4, which runs on all the three major platforms. “We got so excited around here about the first anniversary of Google Earth that we decided to celebrate a bit early. Beginning today, you can download a brand new version, Google Earth 4. Running on OS X? Feel the love. Prefer Linux? Ditto. Yes, we’re releasing simultaneously for PC, Mac (universal binary for full performance on both Intel and PowerPC based Macs) and for the first time ever, native support for popular Linux distributions.” They have also seriously increased the amount of high-res images, so that now about 20% of the world’s landmass is in high-res. Including my hometown, Warmenhuizen [.kmz].
No,just two platform: PPC and x86.
Still, it is great that there finally is a Linux version
Edited 2006-06-13 12:50
No,just two platform: PPC and x86.
An operating system + tools is also a platform. The things you mentioned are more generally called ‘architectures’.
Cloudy day there, eh?
(see kmz)
And so far, it’s good enough. Thanks a lot Google! I’m more than one year using Linux almost exclusively, and Google Earth is excellent to play with when I get bored. 🙂
It’s great to see Google finally releasing Google earth for linux. It’s one of the many tools of theirs I enjoy using
Being that Google Earth uses QT, the C++ cross platform GUI toolkit, for it’s GUI, it was only a matter of time before Google released Mac and Linux versions. It’s just a simple recompile.
I’m sure that they wanted to get the kinks out on the Windows only version before they released on multiple platforms.
So here we are.
Google is increasingly making itself a PITA for MS – Dominating search, Writely, Picasa (for Linux), Google Spreadsheet, GMail, servers running Linux, their software based on C++, Java, and Python, and now cross platform Google Earth.
Gotta love good competition – great for consumers, and great for inovation. 🙂
The linux version works great – it even plays nice with xgl/compiz. Very fun to use!
What did you do to get it running. I am using opensuse 10.1 and get an error message about needing to run an X11 server …
I haven’t tried it with SUSE 10.1 *yet*. I’m currently running ubuntu dapper, with the latest quinn debs and cvs’s of XGL from http://www.compiz.net. The updated XGL makes a huge performance difference on my nvidia card, for anyone who’s interested in trying it.
Same here: Google Earth works great in Xgl with my lowly FX5200 card. However, as soon as I load a model of the Taj Mahal… 1 FPS.
no, wait. I just tried it again. Make that 0.5 FPS!
Does nothing other than crash my graphics drivers on Windows, although I’m going to lay the blame squarely on Via for that one…
Runs and looks great on me iBook (g4, 1.33) however.. it starts and than just totally chokes my 900mhz linux box. I think its just too much for the old girl.. She can’t take it captain!!
I have no problems with not much hardware, HOWEVER, it it much better with an xserver that has hardware 3d acceleration. Try that out and see how the performance is.
After Picasa was launched on Linux now google has Google earth. I’m using picasa on linux and it rocks… same way google earth is goona do…
I guess goolge is giving hint to MS!!! It also shows googles interest in protecting all platform users and making sure its presence on all/every platform!
Anyway… till now Google ROCKS!!!
TusharG,
Re: “After Picasa was launched on Linux now google has Google earth. I’m using picasa on linux and it rocks… same way google earth is goona do.”
The more applications ported the Linux the better it is for users.
Re: “I guess goolge is giving hint to MS!!! It also shows googles interest in protecting all platform users and making sure its presence on all/every platform!”
Google recently has been increasing their cross platform support to include more applications on Linux. What makes this different than Microsoft who has a tendency to focus only on Windows and Apple’s focus on applications for OSX. Where as with Google the company is more OS neutral.
Re: “Google ROCKS!
Agree, Google rocks
Especially when one looks at their email solution that offers more free online secure storage of data than Hotmail or even Yahoo. There service works with push email solutions such as Chattermail (used for the Palm Treo) unlike Hotmail. Then there’s their other useful services such as Google Calendar, translation utility, etc.
I agree on all fronts except Google is still making applications for Windows products. If they wanted to show Microsoft anything wouldnt they have to stop making products for Microsoft products? I guess I dont understand what hint you are talking about.
The hint is MS is busy only in MS related stuff… but next level market is supporting all platforms.
Maybe some companies like Adobe will see that GNULinux is usable and start porting theyr products… Well maybe not now, but google shows that linux users are important.
Adobe will port their applications to Linux when they can make money on it.
That simple
On my Mack with the new version I can nolonger see the building polygons. THe interface has changed quite a bit since the last version but now the only thing that mentions “polygon” is reserved to paying users of the plus version.
Does anybody know how to see the bulding blocks once again?
On the left there’s a list of options. One of the first is 3D buildings (if I remember correctly). That will turn them on. Assuming we’re talking about the same things?
Thanks dmdavis, I remember that option from the previous version but haven’t been able to find it on the latest edition. I am not currently working on my Mac but will definitely give it another look tonight.
Still no show. I redownloaded the app from the servers. Here’s my screenshot http://static.flickr.com/49/166627826_c2a0bb8e15_b.jpg
Anybody got an idea of what’s gone wrong?
I am excited also about SketchUp for Mac. Thanks, Google!
http://osvids.com/
Tried it on my x.org 7.0 with radeon 9700 with fglrx (underclocked to 60/60 mhz mem/core) and it worked great.
I think the installer is a GTK application. The buttons are reversed and it has incredible ugly icons.. It look a GNOME application.
Google Earth itself looks like Win95, but doesn’t seem to able to use the linux drivers from NVidia. At least the 3D screen is all black.
Edited 2006-06-13 17:19
It works on my nvidia card in Ubuntu with no problems. Are you sure you’re using the hardware accellerated drivers?
GoogleEarth works fine on my 933MHz iBook G4 w/640MB RAM. I can see my house and snow on the ground, but not the WalMart and Lowes so this must have been taken late 2004/early 2005.
My city is a big blur…
Google actually modified the old loki installer and improved upon it for picassa. They did the same thing for Google Earth. Loki-installer is an open source project you can get from here:
http://www.lokigames.com/development/setup.php3
Congratulations google, you just gave my parents a reason for me to wipe the last windows box in the house, google earth.
The user
1. Downloaded to desktop
2. Double clicked on GoogleEarthLinux.bin
3. Instead of starting installation, gedit opens with some warning message that the user dismissed without reading or understanding.
After asking a Linux friend the user was able to open a dos box and typing in “sudo sh GoogleEarthLinux.bin” and after some clicks, the application was installed. Unfortunately it did never show up in the start menu so the user was not able to acctually run it. The user is beginning to have second thoughts about this “Linux” his friend installed for him…
sudo sh GoogleEarthLinux.bin
would install it as a super user, so it would not be in YOUR menus.
what you should have done was;
sudo nautilus, clicked the filename, clicked properties, accessability, and gave execution privilages to the group…..
then when you double click the file as a normal user, it will install into your home folder, and it will put itself in the menus.
Just for your information and to help you out, it is not a “dos” box, it is the shell terminal. Granted they might look the same to someone who is new but trust me if you learn about using the shell, you will find yourself enriching your computing experience.
http://www.arachnoid.com/linux/shell_programming.html is a good page to start with. This is with the premise that you are interested in learning how to control your computer better to make your computing experience more powerful and efficient.
Never mind that your comment is off-topic, but…
The user would just have to follow the instructions given on the web page where he downloaded the installer in the first place!
(I know, what a concept…)
Please go troll somewhere else.
Google Earth installs desktop files (menu entries) to the standard directories, and they seem to show up in both Gnome and KDE just fine for me. I also was able to install it by selecting to enable Execute permissions and simpily double clicking on the file. It launched a GUI installer. I think you are confused about which operating system you are using.
I don’t have QT installed so it must not be using QT at all.
Anyhow, for the Gnome users who are terminal-challenged; I right-clicked the file, allowed it to be executed, and then double-clicked it. The graphical installer completed in about 15 seconds and it ran flawlessly for me.
I was hoping Google would do this! Thanks!
It is using QT, they’re just statically linking to the QT library which they’ve included in the binary you downloaded. It takes more space than dynamically linking to an installed QT library but ensure compatibility with all linux distros.
I see…it sure doesn’t look very “qt-ish”.
What? It’s using the default QT widget style.
Can we get another useless google application? Sorry, I have yet to find a use for this or any of them. They keep re-inventing the wheel. They make great eye candy, but it really serves no useful purpose. If it does, please enlighten me..seriously.
Try and think of education and geography. From a teachers perspective this is gold. Most school kids have no idea where Bangkok is. With google earth they can truly surf around the globe and find places. Compare to when you had to search in an atlas. I’d like to see an add-on that showed your IP connections on the globe while you surf. They can always add newer and cooler features to this.
Which wheel did they reinvent ?
About the only (non toy) likes of google earth is NASA World Winds, and they appeard about the same time.
Use ? Well it’s FUN isn’t it. Fun things have their use.
Other than that, it’s useful for education, real estate prospects. They have enterprise editions which will make it useful for just about any users of GIS – they can import their own information on top of Google Earth (think metrolgists for one – sure they can find use of a mapping tool ?). Useful for route planning.
Have you ever seen a globus ? – they can be useful. So can Google Earth for the very same reasons.
And let’s not forget government spying
I disagree, I find Google Earth to be a fascinating product. It is loads of fun to explore the Earth with it – and since it can do Local Search and Intinerary Planning as well, it can also serve a practical purpose.
Now, if they can only get Sketchup working on Linux, I’ll be in heaven…
Am I right in assuming they did this the same way they did Picasa, where they linked the Windows code to the Wine libraries? Or did they take the time to make the code cross-platform when creating the new version?
You are wrong, Google Earth is created using the Qt(cross platform) toolkit. Picasa wasn’t.
Much less to port when the GUI code, if done right, doesn’t need porting.
Google has understand that they could use the FOSS community to create a much bigger change wave. I wouldn’t be supprise to see some major lunch or campain from google to promote the penguin. Still don’t expect Google to hit the OS market…
Haven’t tried Piacassa or Google Earth to date, but I will ASAP. Big thumb up for this move Google.
what you should have done was;
sudo nautilus, clicked the filename, clicked properties, accessability, and gave execution privilages to the group…..
then when you double click the file as a normal user, it will install into your home folder, and it will put itself in the menus.
Alternatively, just don’t use sudo at all, run the installer as ordinary user, and install it into your home directory.
Also, I’m willing to bet that there will be rpm/deb packages available when it is released.
Alternatively, just don’t use sudo at all, run the installer as ordinary user, and install it into your home directory.
I don’t know if it’s sad, ironic or both. But I’ve noticed on a number of sites where this new release is mentioned, there are a frightening number of users who defaulted to using sudo for the install for no apparent reason other than thinking they needed to.
When malicious software makes it’s first appearance in the desktop linux world, I suspect *buntu systems will unfortunately be ground zero. Sudo this, sudo that, never ask why. Something needs to be done about that, but even in the bigger picture I’ve always felt generic package management at the desktop level needs less reliance on admin privileges for user apps, it simply encourages bad behavior. I think the problem is magnified with Ubuntu because sudo seems to be far more abused/misused than su does in other distros, but that’s just my opinion.
Me? I’m not a google conspiracist, but I’m certainly not going to give a google application free-reign access over my system. If the install had required access to anything outside my home directory, I don’t think I would have bothered without a very good reason why.
For the most part, I’d agree. Though there is a difference using sudo to install a piece of software and running that piece of software as root. For multi-user systems, you do not want to have every user installing the same app, that would waste a lot of hard drive space. Instead you’d have the administrator install it so that all users can use it.
Of course if you’re the only one using the system, then by all means install it as the normal user.
Is it possible to get a historical borders and placenames plugin? That would be seriously cool.
Under gnome QT is theme to look like the gnome theme, and the same is done under KDE with GTK. If the app is well designed and use only QT widget and not KDE widget, it should integrated as well under both DE. Still under KDE it should look like more integrated.