10 August 2006

It's a small world after all

I've been hearing about Google Earth for quite some time now, but I ever had a chance to visit the site because the IBM laptop issued me belonged to the following categories under "Google Earth may not run if you have: a) a desktop computer older than 4 years old, b) a notebook computer older than 2 years old". Isn't it so straightforward and layman?

But now, thanks to the PowerBook (and Follen's prodding), I am able to see Google Earth at last!

You first get a view of the earth from outer space. You can rotate the globe how ever you like. Constantly rotate it in one direction and it will continue rotating when the mouse is released.
Next: zoom in! zoom in! zoom in! Where else would I go to but my beloved Philippines! Zoom in and you get names of places.

Zoom in some more and you get to see your hometown! Mine's Baguio.
Wow, look at that. Burnham Park! And Burnham Lake with rented boats rowing about!
I was even able to see our office building here in Manila! What a wonderful piece of innovation Google Earth is. It makes us see how big, and yet how small, our green planet is. And that everybody's interconnected somehow.

This is truly a marvel. I know I've just scratched the surface of this application and marveled at the graphics, and this is just the free version. You can apparently add content to it as well! So many things to explore.

Wow, this makes learning about other countries more interesting, isn't it? I'm babbling. So many possibilities! Thanks Google!

12 comments:

  1. I'm still learning the ropes, mama jenn. balitaan kita if it works. o baka hindi sya pwede sa free version? tingnan ko...

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  2. The first time I checked out Google Earth, I typed in the Philippines and it kept zooming me into a blurry area. Only after I discovered how to play with the zoom did I realize that it was zooming me in on the South China Sea right next to the Philippines.

    The first city I checked was Baguio City as well and I too was amazed to see the boats on the lake in Burnham. I tried to find my wife's house but the roads are just as confusing from a satellite as they are from the back of a jeepney!

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  3. di accurate ang map. where are the piles of garbage and the cars caught in traffic? :)

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  4. The maps were updated recently. A few months ago, there was nothing. Now you have Baguio, Metro Manila, most of the Cavite and Laguna area, and Metro Cebu.

    In due course, we will possibly have directions and street maps that makes it possible to interface it with a GPS device and calculate the length of travel.

    If you have a keyhole BBS account, you can post your placemarks online.

    BTW, Google Earth runs on Linux too, but its currently in Beta 4 and requires restricted modules and binary drivers.

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  5. Wow! I didn't know Baguio is in Google Earth na. So far, I've seen Megamall only. Nakakatuwa kasi pati Burnham Park e meron na! :) Will check this out :) Thanks for sharing :)

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  6. i actually used this to locate my brother's place in California last year. Buti na lang malapit lang sila sa Hi-way kaya madali ko nahanap. cool, isnt it???

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  7. kita ko na rin iyong bahay-kubo ko sa province namin ... so di pala peke iyong mga pics na padala sa akin *wink*

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  8. uy astig! sir nick, hindi mo ba natatanggap mga email ko?

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  9. cool talaga ng google earth, bago ako pumunta ng cagayan de oro (1st time) inignan ko muna sa google earh yung location ng airport at nung city, kaya pagdating ko doon di ako masyadong nahirapan :)

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  10. on the other hand, it could be scary too... they could equip those satellites with lasers and zap your house just like that, no matter where in the globe you are ---> conspiracy theorist mode. hehehehe

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  11. Hello Ed! I also thought it was in real time. But even at this stage, it's really a marvel by itself!

    Cherry, they cleaned it up! Photoshop!

    Thanks for this info, jgotangco!

    Nice di ba sayote queen!

    That's one way to use it, Owen.

    Ay talaga Racky nakikita mo rin yung place nyo?

    Chu, natatanggap ko e-mail mo. Yung e-mails ko yata ang di mo natatanggap. Once, nagsulat pa ako ng pagkahaba-habang e-mail. Akala ko inisnab mo. Huhuhu

    Cruise, nasisip ko nga rin yun eh. If people would like to know where our office is, sa Google earth kami mag-usap!

    Angela Bennett, is that you?

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  12. talaga sir nick? wala ako natatanggap na email mo. sa gmail na nga lang tayo mag chikahan. hindi ko natatanggap lahat ng email sakin pag dun sa office account ko gamit ko eh.

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