Posts Tagged: Google Earth

Technology — 1 Comment
8
Apr 07

Mr.H travels the world

Mr. H, my student and friend, has just left after coming to my house for coffee and dango on Easter Sunday. While he was here I showed him just what you can do with computers these days.

If you’re new to this blog you won’t know that Mr. H is in his seventies and started to learn English a year ago with the goal of traveling around the world on a cruise ship. Sadly for him, his doctor recommended he not travel because of ill health. So, I decided to take Mr. H on a whirlwind tour of the world with Google Earth.

You’ve never seen such an awe-struck expression as the one on Mr. H’s face when I whisked him off to London, New York, Sydney, Wellington and Pyongyang. He just couldn’t believe how incredible it was to fly around Mount Fuji and through the Grand Canyon. We stopped off at some famous landmarks such as the Statue of Liberty, Big Ben and the Sydney Opera House, admiring the views available with Google Earth’s photo feature.

After that, I saw that Mike was online, so I launched Skype and started a video chat with my Canadian friend. Mr. H just couldn’t believe that he was talking face to face with someone on the other side of the world!

It was great to see Mr. H so happy, yet completely gobsmacked at what you can do these days on the internet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s at an electronics store right now getting himself a webcam!

Technology — 4 Comments
19
Mar 07

Visit Japan with Google Earth

The earth as we know it.

Last month I got a new computer, a Windows Vista PC with enough power to run Google Earth! I’ve been playing with Google Maps a lot lately, particularly after I discovered you can manually alter the zoom level to go in further than you thought possible, like this section of Africa in which you can clearly see a man with his camel.

Google Earth is even more fun than playing with the satellite photos on Google Maps.

Google Earth combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings to put the world’s geographic information at your fingertips.

Fly to your house. Just type in an address, press Search, and you’ll zoom right in.

Search for schools, parks, restaurants, and hotels. Get driving directions.

Tilt and rotate the view to see 3D terrain and buildings.

Save and share your searches and favorites.

Here are some screenshots I took on my ‘flight’ from space to the Imperial Palace Gardens in Tokyo.

Approaching Japan

Tokyo, one of the world’s most densely populated cities…

Coming down in Tokyo

Zooming in on the Imperial Palace Gardens…

And hovering over the Imperial Palace Gardens

And across to the Mori Building in Roppongi Hills…

A quick trip to the Mori Building in Roppongi Hills.

Google Earth is a great toy. It’s free to download and you’ll find yourself checking out sights you’ve never seen before, from angles rarely seen by anyone. Zooming in on the Mori building as I did above, brings up a plethora of little buttons which show beautiful photographs taken from the skyscraper and surrounding areas. Fly around Mount Fuji, visit the Japanese alps, or go to Okinawa. You’ve got the whole world at your fingertips.

The Google Earth download page lists the requirements your PC or Mac needs to run the program, and I guarantee that if your machine is up to it, you’ll zoom in and out, and glide around the globe so smoothly, you’ll think you are flying.