Attention Leopard Users

If you have upgraded to Leopard OS on your Mac, you need Google Earth version 4.2. Earlier versions of Google Earth do not work on Leopard.

Download the latest version of Google Earth.

Using Sky - Video Tutorial

In case you missed it, here is a great tutorial that shows you how to use Sky in Google Earth:



Learn more about Sky in the user guide.

New Outreach Tutorials

Google Earth Outreach has released a new set of tutorials for Google Earth and Maps.

These visual, step-by-step instructions show you how to publish the same content to both Google Earth and Maps. These include:

Creating Maps using the My Maps Tab
Embedding Maps in Your Web Site
Embedding YouTube Videos in Your Map

Geotagging Photos in Picasa

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the geotagging feature of Picasa. It allows you to tag photos you have imported into Picasa with a specific location using Google Earth. When you upload your photos to Picasa Web Albums, visitors who view your photos online can see where the images were taken in a Google Maps thumbnail. You can also share geotagged photos with others as a KML file or simply save the information in your own private album.

This feature is pretty trick and super easy to use. Here is an example from photos I geotagged over the weekend. Note the Google Maps thumbnail in the bottom left corner of the page.

Learn more about geotagging photos in Picasa.

Adding Content

I try not to break news on this blog. I leave that to Frank Taylor, Stefan Geens, and other bloggers. But you may not have noticed that in Version 4.2, there is a new button entitled Add Content at the top of the Places panel.

Click this to add exciting KML-based content from the Google Earth Gallery. This content is created by users like yourself and varies from fun to breathtaking to downright silly. Be sure to check it out.

Learn more about adding content to Google Earth.

Featured Google Earth Modelers

Have you visited the Google 3D Warehouse lately? It now showcases Featured Google Earth Modelers. This area includes "photo-textured models of georeferenced (located in the right spot in Google Earth) buildings that are developed with efficiency in mind, creating the most beautiful result with the least amount of polygons as possible."

Which is a fancy way of saying that these folks have created extremely cool 3D models for your viewing pleasure. One of my favorites is this collection of buildings in Pakistan. I am also fond of this series of bridges.

Want to build you own 3D models? Download Google SketchUp 6. The product features some great video tutorials.

Where Did My GPS Tracks Go?

When you import GPS data into Google Earth, your tracks or waypoints may not initially appear. This is because the data includes time information and the time slider determines if such time-stamped data appears in the 3D viewer. Fortunately, there is an easy solution.

If you cannot see your GPS data after importing it, try dragging the time slider right range marker toward the right (learn more).

Visit the Google Earth Help GPS group.