I second the motion and if you purchase GoogleEarth Pro for $20 you can upload and download GPS WAYPOINTS among additional features. Other than ArcGIS for serious geographic and cartographic tasks, I find Google Earth Pro to be just right. It is also the program that I often use on my iPhone.
Gary Prof. Gary A. Beluzo Systems Ecologist Holyoke Comm College 303 Homestead Ave Holyoke, MA. 01040 On Aug 17, 2009, at 12:21 AM, Edward Frank <[email protected]> wrote: > ENTS, > > I want to recommend that each of you download Google Earth. The > current version is 5.0. Be sure to uncheck the Google Chrome Web > Browser Download when you get Google Earth. I first downloaded a > copy of the program several years ago. My computer system at the > time barely met the minimum requirements to run the program. I had > the option to abort the download or choose the option that read “I f > eel lucky” which let me download the file anyway. For most people t > oday, unless your computer is from the dark ages you likely can run > the program. The program allows you to view air photos of areas of > the earth. Many websites let you do that. The difference is that y > ou can annotate the maps you see with your own information. You can > mark locations by GPS coordinates (say of the big tree you just mea > sured). You can add text comments, add photos, video clips, or even > make a virtual movie of your hike. > > Another web based application you can use is Google Maps > http://maps.google.com/ > It can import .kmz files generated by Google Earth and allow you > to annotate the points with pop-up windows. > > Together these programs give you a great way to share your field > trips with other members of ENTS. You can mark your hiking paths, > the GPS locations of the trees you measure, photos you have taken, > and other information in a format that is easy to share. > > Ed Frank > > > > Google Earth http://earth.google.com/ > > Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite > imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space > to the canyons of the ocean. You can explore rich geographical > content, save your toured places, and share with others. Operating > Systems supported: Window 2000, XP, and Vista, Mac OS X, iPhone OS, > and Linux > > Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_Earth > > Google Earth displays satellite images of varying resolution of the > Earth's surface, allowing users to visually see things like cities > and houses looking perpendicularly down or at an oblique angle, with > perspective (see also bird's eye view). The degree of resolution > available is based somewhat on the points of interest and > popularity, but most land (except for some islands) is covered in at > least 15 meters of resolution. Google Earth allows users to search > for addresses for some countries, enter coordinates, or simply use > the mouse to browse to a location. > > For large parts of the surface of the Earth only 2D images are > available, from almost vertical photography. Viewing this from an > oblique angle, there is perspective in the sense that objects which > are horizontally far away are seen smaller, but of course it is like > viewing a large photograph, not quite like a 3D view. > > For other parts of the surface of the Earth 3D images of terrain and > buildings are available. Google Earth uses digital elevation model > (DEM) data collected by NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission > (SRTM This means one can view the Grand Canyon or Mount Everest in > three dimensions, instead of 2D like other areas. Since November > 2006, the 3D views of many mountains, including Mount Everest, have > been improved by the use of supplementary DEM data to fill the gaps > in SRTM coverage. > > Many people use the applications to add their own data, making them > available through various sources, such as the Bulletin Board > Systems (BBS) or blogs… Google Earth is able to show all kinds of i > mages overlaid on the surface of the earth and is also a Web Map Ser > vice client. Google Earth supports managing three-dimensional Geospa > tial data through Keyhole Markup Language (KML). > > > > System Requirements for Google Earth > > http://earth.google.com/support/bin/topic.py?hl=en&topic=17077 > > To use Google Earth on a Windows PC, you must have at least the > following: > > · Operating System: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista > · CPU: 500Mhz, Pentium 3 > · System Memory (RAM): 256MB minimum, 512MB recommended > · Hard Disk: 400MB free space > · Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec > · Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM > · Screen: 1024x768, "16-bit High Color" screen > · DirectX 9 (to run in Direct X mode) > · For better performance, see Recommended Configuration. > To use Google Earth on a Mac, you must have at least the following: > > · Operating System: Mac OS X 10.4.11 or later > · CPU: G4 CPU, 1GHz or faster > · System Memory (RAM): 256MB minimum, 512MB recommended > · Hard Disk: 400MB free space > · Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec > · Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 32MB of VRAM > · Screen: 1024x768, "Thousands of Colors" > · For better performance, see Recommended Configuration > Regarding Linux, Google Earth has been tested on Ubuntu version > 6.06, but certainly works on others. Hardware requirements include: > > · CPU: 500Mhz, Pentium 3 > · System Memory (RAM): 256MB RAM > · Hard Disk: 500MB free space > · Network Speed: 128 Kbits/sec > · Graphics Card: 3D-capable with 16MB of VRAM > · Screen: 1024x768, "16-bit High Color" screen" > Please make sure your system has properly-configured OpenGL drivers. > If Google Earth appears to be slow and unresponsive, it is likely > that your system needs different video drivers. > > > > Google Earth Users Guide > > http://earth.google.com/intl/en/userguide/v5/#getting_to_know > > Use the following topics to learn Google Earth basics - navigating > the globe, searching, printing, and more: > > · Getting to know Google Earth > · New features in version 5.0 > · Adding content > · Navigating in Google Earth > · Finding places and directions > · Marking places on the earth > · Showing or hiding points of interest > · Tilting and viewing hilly terrain > · Sight seeing > <clip_image002.gif> > > For other topics in this documentation, see the table of contents > (left) or check out these important topics: > > · Making movies with Google Earth > · Using layers > · Using places > · Managing search results > · Measuring distances and areas > · Drawing paths and polygons > · Using image overlays > · Using GPS devices with Google Earth > > > "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. > It is the source of all true art and all science." - Albert Einstein > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
