If you have not used Google Earth lately then you are missing out on one of the killer applications that merges the web with rich native applications. The 3-D Warehouse of Google Earth plugins has been growing steadily after Google released Sketchup, the 3-D modeling aplication. Sketchup comes in a free version and a professional version. The nice thing about this approach is that you get to use a fully functioning program that scales to the professional level if you need that capability.
"The growing world of Google Earth" provides some insight into just how Google Earth has been evolving. I use Google Earth quite frequently as the means to find places and to explore places that I have never been. You can spend hours doing this and is quite entertaining.
The real power of Google Earth is the API provided by Google that allows you to build upon Google Earth's capabilities by integrating it into your custom applications. Additionally an SDK is provided to allow even more customization. Google Earth is becoming a platform for creating new applications or mash ups.
The imagery database is constantly being updated and I can see the day when the 3-D models for just about everything is integrated and available. I can think of several applications of integrating Google Earth technology and designing 3-D programs for everyday use. For now, we all get to watch this killer application evolve slowly which is ok with me.
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