NASA World Wind

While I'm all for Google Earth (if you don't have it, go get it!), NASA, in a case of Your Tax Dollars at work, (yes, the organization that seems to keep messing up on a huge scale) has an interesting alternative called World Wind. World Wind is free to download, but only for Windows (point GEarth). The initial setup file is about 60M but since you basically need broadband to use it anyway, this shouldn't be a big deal. One huge advantage World Wind has over GEarth in this respect is that if you want to you can download Data Packs so you don't have to stream from the net. These files are huge, but would be great if you have a friend with a fast Internet connection but don't have one yourself. You can download World Wind data here (Scroll down past the archive.org ads). As if it weren't enough to have great imagery of the Earth, World Wind also comes with a Mars version and a Moon version in addition to the normal Earth version and a "Sky Survey" program. You can also view a number of other planets from the File menu (Jupiter, Venus) Google Earth has more high-res pictures (in the areas I checked) and has wider support for 3D models and roads, but that is where it's advantages end. World Wind has a lot of options, including those to turn on or off Lat/Long lines, the compass and various markers. It can also import .kml files from Google Earth. World Wind displays the current Cloud Cover (also possible with GEarth beta4 with a .kml). The feature that I think really sets World Wind apart from the alternatives is the wide variety of maps available. You can view imagery from a variety of different cameras simply by clicking their buttons (to turn them on and off, data can be layered), including various cameras on the LandSat7. One option I really like is the option to replace the images with USGS topographic maps. These maps are good scans and look very good. They can be zoomed to some extent (as you zoom different resolution maps are displayed) and look very good though they take some time to load. If you want them, there are also a number of Scientific options that I haven't had a chance to play with yet.

At any rate, I recommend you try both Google Earth and World Wind. Both work very well and are great for a variety of uses, though each has some distinctive advantages. If you want some KML files to play with check out the Google Earth Community site and the Google Earth blog.

On a side note, I have been noticing that NBC has been using Google Earth from time to time while reporting, so it must be good ;-)

Enjoy your evening and Happy Mapping